Sarah Cook

This book provides a practical approach to creating a culture where hybrid working encourages effective performance and getting the best out of people in a hybrid environment. It also offers tips on how to make the most of hybrid working whether you are a manager or a team member. Benefits of hybrid working include: Less time commuting, saving money; Better work–life balance, for example more time with the family, the ability to better manage childcare arrangements, more time to exercise, more time to attend appointments and do chores while being able to make up the time elsewhere; and Increased well-being by having more autonomy and avoiding the stress and burnout of travelling to an office five days a week. The move to hybrid working as standard industry practice will continue to be driven by employees’ need for flexibility. This is now a non-negotiable factor for many, especially younger people. This book will discuss: The benefits of hybrid working The challenges of hybrid working Technology as an enabler for hybrid working Top tips for managing hybrid teams Tips for individuals working in a hybrid setting The future of hybrid working From the pandemic onwards, there has been a growing trend for people to work in hybrid settings. This new way of working presents both benefits and issues for managers and team members alike. In this book, you will learn the best way to ensure hybrid working is a success.

In an organisational context, you need to be able to influence well in a variety of situations. These can include but are not limited to: Networking and developing good interpersonal relationships;Leading and inspiring others;Communicating and gaining buy-in for your ideas;Promoting change;Developing a high-performing team;Negotiating with other people;Building successful working relationships;Navigating the complexities of hybrid/remote working; andSuccessful negotiating. This book is very practical. It features case studies of successful influencing and persuading in different industries, including the cyber security sector. It also contains advice, exercises, activities and diagnostics to help you improve your influencing skills. Influencing is a soft skill that is applicable to leaders, managers, project managers and team members.

Career development is no longer a case of climbing the corporate ladder The world of work has changed dramatically in the last decade and so has our expectations. Changing jobs, roles, locations, sectors, and careers is becoming the new normal. Furthermore, the shift to remote working due to the COVID-19 pandemic has dramatically altered the working world and for many, has led to reflection and a desire for a career change. This book will help you: Set career development objectives;Recognise your achievements to date;Build upon your strengths; andIdentify personal and professional development opportunities. The book includes exercises and activities to help you understand what is important to you in a job and how to attain your career goals The author outlines the role of mentoring in career development, how to build your personal brand, present yourself professionally online and in person, and find the resources you need to achieve your development goals. The book also provides a practical example of a career development path in the cyber security sector.

Inspired by the viral TikTok trend #TortillaChallenge, this cookbook is packed with 60 quick, easy and delicious wrap recipes that you can make for breakfast, lunch or dinner.The concept is simple: you cut a slit in a tortilla and then top each quadrant with a different ingredient, then, you fold the tortilla over on itself and toast it, fry it or just eat it as is! There's never been a simpler way of creating a tasty, nutritious meal in a matter of minutes. Whether you're looking for a filling breakfast, lunch to go, or quick fix dinner; this book has you covered. With each recipe accompanied by a photo, chapters include: BRILLIANT BREAKFAST & BRUNCHEVERYDAY FAVOURITESLOVE YOUR LEFTOVERSEASY CHEESYSWEET TREATS

What is resilience? Resilience is the ability to cope with setbacks and find solutions to problems. It is the ability to bounce back from adversity and hardships, learn from experiences and move on. Being resilient means having the strength and conviction to confront life’s challenges and adapt positively to difficult circumstances. A 2020 Gartner survey revealed that 74% of CFOs and finance leaders planned to keep their previously on-site workforce working remotely post COVID-19. Even before the pandemic, the work environment had become one of constant change. People could no longer expect job stability, working time had become increasingly fluid and sophistication of technology meant that businesses were no longer limited to specific geographical locations to manage their workforce. The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, from the uncertainty and stress it created to the realisation that the world of work will need to change to deal with economic uncertainties and modified ways of working, means that resilience is now more important than ever. Why is resilience important? We need to build our resilience to cope effectively with ambiguity and change, and to bounce back in the face of adversity. This is particularly important if we manage and lead others at work. Well-being in the Workplace – A guide to resilience for individuals and teams is aimed at managers who need to build resilience in both themselves and their team and improve their own and others’ well-being. Remote working makes it even harder for managers to identify if team members are struggling, and employees may lack the support network to help them cope with stress in their work and home environments. Recognise the warning signs and take positive action A practical guide, this book will equip managers with the skills and confidence to effectively build their own and others’ resilience and support their team’s well-being. It covers: An introduction to what resilience is and why we need it;The challenges for managers of building resilience in themselves and others;How to assess your own levels of resilience;Tips for physical, emotional, mental and social well-being;How to build resilience in team members; andThe benefits of building resilience and how to make habits stick. Managers, team leaders, those in HR roles, and employees looking to adapt to new ways of working will find this book invaluable. Understand the benefits of building resilience and how you can support your team’s well-being – buy this book today!

SLURP. ZING. BANG.Take your noodles to the next level with these 60 simple yet mouth-watering recipes. With dishes covering every type of noodle you can buy, easy swaps to help use the packets you already have, and 5-minute dressings and toppings to bring the recipes you already make to life - there's never been a better time to get cooking. From store-cupboard time-savers to treat-yourself showstoppers, there's a noodle dish for your every mood and occasion. Discover your new go-to dish with recipes covering:· SUPER EASY 10-MINUTE FIXES· FRESH SALADS· SIZZLING STIR FRIES· SOULFUL SOUPS· COMFORTING CURRIES· PIMP TO THE MAX SPECIALS

Manage your team successfully so you can all reap the rewards of remote working The rise of remote working The world of work is changing. Many employees no longer hold the traditional nine-to-five job. Instead, working time is increasingly flexible. Technology has enabled a rapid rise in the number of remote workers in recent years; the TUC estimates that the number of UK people working from home increased by a fifth in the ten years to 2018, and now stands at around 2.5 million people. This number is expected to continue to rise – as a result of changing attitudes and technological developments – with half the UK workforce expected to be working remotely by 2025. Benefits of remote working Remote working, flexible working, working from home – whichever terminology you use – allows employees to change the locations they work from and their working hours. For the organisation, proven benefits include improved employee retention, a wider pool of applicants, reduced costs, increased productivity, lower absenteeism and carbon footprint reductions. For the individual, the flexibility brings a better work-life balance, reductions in costs such as those associated with commuting, less stress, increased well-being and less time spent travelling. For a manager, it can help them empower team members to give their best, improve well-being in the team and improve job performance and satisfaction. Making a success of managing and working remotely This book will help managers and team members alike who are about to or have already started working remotely. It will enable managers to comprehend the challenges of managing remote workers and put strategies in place to overcome these, and will advise employees how to approach their work when doing so remotely. For the manager, this book provides practical advice on how to manage remotely, with emphasis on the use of technology, creating team cohesion and avoiding isolation factors.For the team member, the book provides tips and techniques on how to work remotely, balance work and outside-work demands, and deliver desired outcomes. Using case studies, diagrams and tables, with a good balance of research and practical advice, the book discusses both the technological and psychological aspects of remote working, helping employees and managers understand how they should approach and evaluate working remotely. Ensure you make remote working a success with proven, practical advice – buy this book today. About the author Sarah Cook is the managing director of The Stairway Consultancy Ltd. She has 20 years’ consulting experience specialising in leadership and management development. Before this, Sarah worked for Unilever and as head of customer care for a retail marketing consultancy. Sarah has practical experience helping managers to manage remotely and create high-performing teams. She has also worked extensively with team members to help them effectively transition to new ways of working. Sarah is a business author and has written widely on the topics of leadership, management development, team building and coaching. She also speaks regularly at conferences and seminars on these topics. Sarah is a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development and is a Chartered Marketer. She has an MA from the University of Cambridge and an MBA from The Open University. She is an accredited user of a wide range of psychometric and team diagnostic tools.

Good customer service may be seen as a crucial asset for most organisations. But how do you know that you are delivering good customer service both externally and internally and, more importantly, delivering it to meet and exceed your customers' expectations? Customer service is an intangible thing, it is perishable and it is personal, so measuring it can be complicated and less than straightforward. Help is at hand. Sarah Cook's down-to-earth guide provides the rationale behind measuring service effectiveness externally and internally and explains the measurement process, from preparation to managing the results. The book also includes an exploration of the various techniques open for measuring effectiveness and how to use them. Utilising her consultancy experiences the author has ensured that there is plenty of ready-to-use materials to enable you to start measuring your own organisation's service effectiveness straight away.

Part of the acclaimed series of anthologies which document major themes and ideas in contemporary art.

Leading the Customer Experience explores the relationship between leadership behaviour and exceptional service. Most organisation’s strategic aims and goals centre on the delivery of excellent service. Loyal customers not only keep buying from a company but also recommend the business to others. It is clear that managers and leaders throughout an organisation have a key influence on the experience that customers receive. How leaders behave has a direct impact on their team member’s motivation to go the extra mile to deliver excellent service for the customer. Sarah Cook’s vision for Leading the Customer Experience is to provide practical advice, tools and techniques for managers in how to effectively lead and motivate their team to deliver the best possible customer service. This book encapsulates her research on the behaviours of leaders who successfully create an environment where employees deliver exceptional service and she brings a pragmatic and business focused approach to the topic. Each chapter contains a variety of case study examples from businesses in UK and Europe, Asia Pacific, US and BRIC countries. These include service organisations in the financial sector, manufacturing, hospitality, transport, healthcare, public and third sectors.

Redefining curatorial practice for those working with new kinds of art.As curator Steve Dietz has observed, new media art is like contemporary art-but different. New media art involves interactivity, networks, and computation and is often about process rather than objects. New media artworks are difficult to classify according to the traditional art museum categories determined by medium, geography, and chronology and present the curator with novel challenges involving interpretation, exhibition, and dissemination. This book views these challenges as opportunities to rethink curatorial practice. It helps curators of new media art develop a set of flexible tools for working in this fast-moving field, and it offers useful lessons from curators and artists for those working in such other areas of art as distributive and participatory systems.The authors, both of whom have extensive experience as curators, offer numerous examples of artworks and exhibitions to illustrate how the roles of curators and audiences can be redefined in light of new media art's characteristics. Rethinking Curating offers curators a route through the hype around platforms and autonomous zones by following the lead of current artists' practice.

Across the global economy, customers' expectations are continually rising - but many companies fail to deliver against those expectations. With the rise in social media, customers are becoming more vocal in expressing any dissatisfaction, which can both lose existing customers and alienate potential new ones. Complaint Management Excellence provides practical advice, tools and techniques for managers to adopt when managing any complaints that come into their organisation. In order to arrive at a culture where complaints are welcomed, the underlying values, processes, structure, strategy and people within an organization all need to be aligned with, and respect, customer needs. Not only does this improve the long-terms prospects for the company itself, but can have a tremendous knock-on effect in terms of boosting employee morale and engagement. With case studies from companies as diverse as John Lewis, Waitrose, DHL, Hilton Hotels, the Starwood group (including Four Seasons and Ritz Carlton hotels) and BT, Complaint Management Excellence explains what customers are really looking for when they make a complaint, how to avoid conflict and how managers can lead culture change to ensure the best experience for all customers and clients.

Effective time-management techniques to revolutionise the way you work! Do you struggle to get everything done in the time you have available? Are you deluged with interruptions to your work flow? Do you find it difficult to prioritise your tasks and wish you were more organised? Today's working environment moves at a very fast pace and, at times, it can be difficult to keep up. Expectations are high, and there are so many things competing for our attention. On top of the workload, we're interrupted by the phone ringing, e-mails landing in the inbox, people dropping in the office and, before we know it, the day has passed and we've only achieved half of what we intended to do. If any of this sounds familiar, then this book is for you! Essential Time Management and Organisation will help you transform the way you work and regain control of your working day. This clear and concise guide offers tried and tested techniques for organising your time and achieving your goals.