Happy Birthday

I never imagined when I set CHaRM up 21 years ago that we would still be going strong all this time later. All I knew at the time was that I needed to get out of corporate life and stop working for stupid people who let their egos get in the way of anything positive happening. Like most people who start their own business, I did not really understand what I was letting myself in for or how much I needed to learn about running a business. All I knew was HR really; the rest came along the way - sales, marketing, accounts etc. What I really wanted to do was to provide HR support to businesses who didn't have the same support as larger businesses. I knew how effective HR could be when it was done properly, and the impact it could have on businesses and on people's lives. That is what I wanted to do and that is what we have been doing here at CHaRM over the last 21 years. We are very fortunate to have such a good bunch of clients - people who do care about their employees and want to do the right thing by them. That fits so well with our own ethos and anything we can do to support that is great. I believe every small and medium sized enterprise should have great HR support.

So much has changed in 21 years. When I started the business there was no email. Everything was done by telephone or letter. While email enables us all to communicate much quicker I do miss the days when we had time to chat, either by phone or face to face. We also had time to think. We are all so busy these days and I am not sure that the introduction of email, smart phones and other social media elements have enhanced anyone's quality of life. There is an expectancy that every communication will be responded to or issue dealt with immediately and when dealing with people that is not always positive. Once the words are out they cannot be retracted. That makes our advice of 'sleep on it' even more important than it was 21 years ago - and it was important then. Having said that, I cannot imagine life without my smartphone or tablet and they are so useful to keep in touch and be able to answer client's queries whilst away from the business. Whilst I would not remove the technology, as it definitely has its benefits, if I could change one thing it would be to give managers more time to think before acting, especially when it comes to people management decisions. So my message and learning from this first blog is for managers to take time to think, prepare and get all your ducks in a row before acting. That would make for better quality decisions and better outcomes - for both the business and its employees.

What fabulous feedback from a client following our first blog!

Wow ! Congratulations on 21Years of Charm. A fantastic achievement of longevity in a “here today, gone tomorrow world.”

In light of your comments on thinking time, It is probably a good opportunity to take a moment to reflect on all the help and advice we have received from you and your team, both past and present. We are most appreciative of all that you do for us.

Congratulations