End of June Music

Sour Grapes

admin — Sun, 04 Jan 2009 19:16:15 +0000

There is an old story called The Fox and the Grapes written by Aesop thousands of years ago. The story shows how little human character has changed in those thousands of years and offers some lessons for us today.

The story goes something like this: A fox was walking along when he spied a bunch of grapes hanging over head. The grapes where big and to the fox looked perfectly ripe and ready for eating. To one of us, we might have decided that the grapes would be perfect for wine making, but since a fox is always on the lookout for a meal and doesn’t appreciate a fine wine the way we do, this fox decided that he would get those grapes and eat them straight away. The only problem was that the grapes were hanging from a vine which had grown up a tree and were suspended out of reach overhead.

Foxes tend to be good jumpers, but even they have limits. The fox jumped as high as he could but missed the mark by a wide margin. He tried again and again, and although he got a little bit higher with his repeated efforts, his snapping jaws closed short of the prize every time. The fox sat and pondered. Foxes are not climbers, so climbing the tree was out of the question. Even if he could climb it, the section of grape vine from which they were suspended had reached far out on rather frail looking branch which would certainly not hold hid weight. Seeing no other way to get the grapes, the fox resumed his jumping attempts, but to no avail. Having thoroughly exhausted himself, the fox finally gave up. As he walked away he thought to himself, “Those grapes were probably sour anyway.”

So the lesson is that we tend to disparage those things we cannot have. No matter how good a thing looks at first, we console ourselves that we don’t need it, wouldn’t have enjoyed it, or that it is in some way tainted and worthless. Perhaps this convenient lie eases our minds a bit, but no matter how you look at it, the fox went home hungry that night. I’d bet that the very next day some local villager came along and discovered the very same grapes. Using his much higher reach or even a stick to knock them down, I’m sure he took them home along with others from the nearby vines and made a very fine batch of wine, proving that the grapes were indeed worth having.

The villager’s enjoyment of the grapes was in no way lessened by the disparagement heaped upon the grapes by the disappointed fox. In fact, after the villager poured the wine from his decanter into his finest wine glasses to share with his family and friends, I’m sure that he thanked the heavens that no wild animals had eaten the grapes before he found them. While there may be things that are not destined to be had by some of us, that doesn’t lessen their value for others, nor does our disparagement of those things help to satisfy our own needs.

Rapunzel: What Really Happened

admin — Wed, 17 Dec 2008 19:25:42 +0000

We’ve all heard the story of Rapunzel, that beautiful damsel in distress who wanted nothing more than to spend all her days on Earth with the love of her life. But you may be surprised to know there’s a lot more to the story. Here’s what really happened…

News of the engagement spread throughout the kingdom, and the citizens rejoiced. Soon, the wedding preparations were in full swing. Rapunzel found a dress that was fit for a princess, for that’s what she would soon be. Her mother brushed her golden locks each night to keep them soft and silky, and the king’s son did everything Rapunzel asked.

A few days before the royal wedding, the king’s son was approached by four of his childhood friends.

"We’d like to take you out for the night, friend," one of his groomsmen informed him.

"It’s important that Rapunzel be left at home," said another, "for we will be making merry and associating with common women."

Well, the king’s son thought this sounded like a grand idea indeed. But when he told Rapunzel, she pouted, and stomped her feet, and told him he mustn’t go. He tried everything he could to make her happy again, but she refused to speak to him.

When the evening arrived, the king’s son decided to go without Rapunzel’s approval. The wedding was still days away, and he figured he’d be able to make it up to her by then. The night was filled with mead and laughter and pretty barmaids, and the group didn’t part ways until the sun was rising the next morning.

After a few hours of sleep, the king’s son decided he should go talk to Rapunzel. When he arrived at her home, however, he got quite a surprise.

"She’s very upset you went against her wishes," Rapunzel’s mother told the king’s son. "She’s locked herself in the tower."

When the king’s son arrived, he saw Rapunzel sitting in the window. She glanced at him briefly, and then went back to brushing her hair. The door to the tower was locked, and he soon learned from Rapunzel that she had the only key. The only way for the king’s son to get to her was to climb her hair (the longest in the kingdom).

"Rapunzel, let down your hair," the king’s son cried.

Rapunzel pretended not to hear.

"Rapunzel, let down your hair. I’ll get you an extra servant."

"I’ll give you a pony."

"I’ll buy you a ruby."

After some time, Rapunzel decided she would have everything the king’s son had promised, along with a few more things that were to her liking. She used the key to exit the tower on her own, the wedding took place as planned, and the king’s son never dared to go against his wife’s wishes again.

Commemorative Custom Shot Glasses for Every Occasion

admin — Fri, 12 Dec 2008 18:38:06 +0000

In tourist towns, theme parks, and gift parks the world over, there is one universal constant. You will be able to find a selection of commemorative shot glasses for the place. Whether you are visiting Six Flags in upstate New York or Caesar’s Palace in Las Vegas, custom shot glasses to remind you of your visit are all lined up and waiting for you in the gift shop.

Since the number of shot glasses that can be used in any one household is fairly limited, one must assume that the aforementioned custom glassware is primarily purchased and used for decorative purposes. One must also assume that it these engraved gifts are highly sought after since every gift shop in the world seems to carry them.

For collectors, then, it must be something of a challenge to visit these places and find their next crystal acquisition. Because of the high cost of travel and lodging, the average person can only make one or two trips each year. While an astute collector may purchase several variations at each destination, the shot glass collection must seem to expand with dreadful slowness.

Fortunately, there is a ready solution that will help collectors expand their collections with much greater speed. Glasswithatwist.com allows visitors to send custom text and artwork via the internet to be etched onto a shot glass. The new creation is then shipped safely and conveniently to the customer’s home, saving the expense of airfare and hotel. It’s a wonder that no one thought of this sooner. Now, instead of having to trek halfway across the country, the collector of custom shot glasses can simply order a high quality shot glass etched with such classic tourist locations as The Grand Canyon without the risk of actually falling off the edge or the necessity of riding a donkey in the desert heat.

Even more amazing, is the ability to now purchase shot glasses from historic events. Did you miss the "Fall of the Berlin Wall, November 9, 1989?" That’s no reason not to own a shot glass celebrating that historic occasion. Imagine visitors gazing through your collection with awe as they see custom shot glasses from such events as London’s Millennium Celebration, D-Day, The First Moon Landing, and the UnforgettableWedding of Bubba and Arlene.

Customized commemorative shot glasses from any time and place, but wait there’s more. With glasswithatwist.com there’s no need to wait for the actual event to take place. You can order such future classics as First Man on Mars, September 19th, 2023 Give or Take a few Years or the fast approaching Unforgettable Divorce of Bubba and Arlene. Why wait?

We’ll Always Have Montreal

admin — Fri, 07 Nov 2008 19:46:25 +0000

Like many men, I spent my early twenties doing everything I could to avoid getting into a serious relationship. There were just so many beautiful women out there that I felt it would be impossible to choose just one. Me and the guys spent our weekends at the clubs, partying until sundown and hooking up with beautiful women.

As I got older, my friends started settling down. More and more I found myself alone on those once fun-filled Saturday nights. I also found myself starting to wish I could find the perfect girl, but it seemed like all the good ones were already taken. Truthfully, I was feeling a little down about my single status. When my last remaining single friend told me he was planning to tie the knot, I felt even worse.

The best man called me a few weeks before the wedding to inform me the future groom’s bachelor party would be in Montreal. He had hired a company called Montreal VIP to take care of all the details, and he assured me it would be a weekend I would never forget. While I packed, I prepared myself for a weekend of hitting seedy clubs and strip bars. It might be fun, but it certainly wouldn’t give me a chance to meet any quality women. Boy was I wrong!

The first club we hit was very exclusive. The line-up was huge, but our host got us right in and took us to the VIP lounge. While we were waiting for our bottle service, I saw her looking my way. It sounds cliché, but it was love at first sight. Her classy black dress showed off her perfect body, her blonde hair flowed halfway down her back, and her blue eyes were absolutely breathtaking. I didn’t think I’d ever have a chance. With a little convincing from my friends, however, I decided to go over and say hi. We chatted for about an hour, and then exchanged email addresses before our group left to go to another club.

Truthfully, I didn’t think I’d ever hear from her again, but there was a message waiting for me when I got home. The rest, as they say, is history. We emailed each other, talked on the phone, and flew out to see each other whenever we could. After eight months, I knew she was the one. I proposed to her in the airport, and she said yes! Walking down the aisle on our wedding day, I finally understood that she was what had been missing in my life. I never could have predicted that my buddy’s last night of singledom would also be the first day of the rest of my life, but I’m eternally grateful that it was.

Electrician 4 Hire on 60 Minute Makeover

paul — Wed, 05 Nov 2008 05:25:37 +0000

If you are looking for a company of who is dedicated to the customer and is always striving to pass on its benefits to those who want them, then Electrician 4 hire ltd is the place to go. They offer their services to the county of Essex and offer very affordable, efficient and highly trained electricians for companies and residential owners. They pride themselves on being entirely focused on the needs and demands of the customer, which makes their service that extra bit special –as proof of this, most of the company’s future sales are through word-of-mouth.

Electrician4hire is a business that is run by the family so you’re assured to get a much personalised and greatly interwoven team members. Electrician4hire was founded in 2006 by the managing director Les Grayson. Since the company began back in 2006, the company has grown substantially and is now recognised throughout the county of Essex by tradesman and customers alike. Years of hard work and customer focus has brought the company to a new level, offering services that other competitors cannot match. Though they focus mainly on Essex, they also can provide an Electrician Dartford

All customers are assured that they will be 100% happy with any work undertaken and all electricians will leave your house looking as tidy as it was when they came in from when they leave the front door. It’s also company policy to never sub contract any of their work to third party companies as they cannot be guaranteed that the work carried out professionally. Each and every electrician is hired directly by Electrician4hire so you know and what exactly who you are dealing with.

Whether you’re looking for a Domestic Electrician or an Commercial Electrician electrician4hire are equipped to meet your needs.

The company prides itself on customer service and what better way than by repaying the customers for their continued support? Electrician4hire offer free callout services and also offer free estimates and never involve any hidden charges. To get the most for your money, they will charge half-hourly which means if you need an Electrician for just 15 minutes, it won’t cost you an hour’s work. These days it’s fairly difficult to find electricians who charge you this way.

The quality of their work is that of highest regard and all electricians ill make sure that the customer is entirely happy with the work that they have done at the properly and will always give you that little bit extra to ensure their happiness.

They have catered for commercial and non-commercial clients and have also worked with the likes of ITV and Stratford theatre. As part of working on ITV’s show “60 Minute Makeover” they had been asked to do a single episode, however after showing hard working ethic and great professionalism they were asked to come back and finish the rest of the series! This adds to the companies’ ever-growing client base and proves that their work will leave you one hundred percent satisfied. Electrician Romford.

You can find these services being offered in the areas of Essex, which includes Grays, Thurrock and Rayleigh. If you need someone on the same day, this can be done. A simply phone call will ensure that a highly-skilled electrician will be with you any time of day or night and charge you a one-off small fee for out-of-hours callouts (labour included).

As part of our customer focused company policy, we ensure that all electricians are certified by the NICEIC, which is a company who ensure that all registered members follow set guidelines, procedures and codes of practice. All electricians are regularly assessed on how they operate and anyone found to be below-par will simply no-longer be a part of the organisation. NICEIC holds nationwide recognition and ensures that they can demonstrate the knowledge and skills to ensure competent work.

It is believed that approximately 90% of Local Authorities in the UK restrict work to NICEIC Approved electricians on safety grounds and householders can be assured that all work undertaken by an NICEIC-registered contractor will be safe and of high standards.

MMC Forums - Mp3 Ringtones

paul — Wed, 29 Oct 2008 00:59:09 +0000

When you’re scouring the net for mobile content, you’re probably looking for something that’s free and furthermore no hidden ties and simple to navigate and find the content you’re looking for without having to think.

You need look no further than MMCForums.net, a massive online community of mobile phone lovers and more specifically mobile content creators and those who love customizing their mobile phones.

MMC offers mp3 ringtones, Sony Ericsson themes, Nokia themes and a brilliant community of mobile fanatics from over 200 countries all over the world. Though English is the primary language of the website.

So just how can you customize your mobile phone? Gone are the days when ringtones and wallpapers were the only customizations available. There’s now a whole new level of customization available in the form of themes. Mobile themes allow you to completely transform the look and feel of your mobile phone. It seems Nokia and Sony Ericsson are the only 2 manufacturers who have truly offered full support for themes.

Nokia Series 60 phones have the best theme support on any handset to date. You can customize literally every element of your handset including: Wallpaper, clock, battery and signal indicators, menu bars, nokia theme icons, font colors, calendar and music player buttons and much more. Nokia have actually created their own tool called carbide, which allows a user to create their own themes for personal use or to share on websites such as MMCForums. Nokia Phoenix Theme is a great example of what’s possible using carbide.

Sony Ericsson and Nokia s40 themes aren’t quite as versatile but still most aspects of the theme can be customized, minus things like icons and battery indicators. Despite the restrictions, there’s still a massive amount of Sony Ericsson themers at the site and even more who download the themes religiously. Sony have their own tool for creating themes which is a freeware tool and much easier to use than Nokia’s carbide.

Some websites such as Ownskin have even created an online tool for theme creation. Tools like this aren’t quite as functional as the likes of Carbide but they’re much more use friendly and prove very popular with new comers to theming. Veteran themers tend to use Carbide over the online tools, as it’s a more precise and professional tool.

The whole theming thing has an incredible community spirit. Themers unite on the forums and share ideas, wallpapers, icons and all other various resources for themes. Despite monthly competitions for the best theme, the themers are always supportive of one another.

Often users downloading themes, will also want a ringtone to compliment the theme. At time of writing Halloween is coming up and with it tons of halloween themes and ringtones being shared by members. Check out this popular Halloween Ringtone.

All content at MMCForums is free of charge and can all be downloaded at the click of a button. Sign up is required but takes literally 20 seconds or less.

e-Lottery Affiliate Programme

admin — Mon, 13 Oct 2008 12:29:53 +0000

Would you be interested in a business opportunity that costs only £9.99 annually and allows you to tap into the massive global lottery market?

When you join e-Lottery as an independent affiliate you will discover just how easy it is to run your own lottery business on a part-time or full-time basis from the comfort of your own home. You can develop a useful part-time income or a significant full time income promoting e-lottery products and services.

e-Lottery offers a low-cost start-up with high residual commissions on player subscriptions and the opportunity to build a sales team and earn rewards based on team volume generated from player subscriptions. You receive a state-of-the-art ecommerce website with a full affiliate back office and all the assistance and support you could wish for. There could not be an easier, more gratifying way to run your own business.

Millions of individuals play the UK National Lotto and/or the Euro Millions Lottery every week and the e-Lottery syndicate system exemplifies a superb sales product with easy repeat business from your players who will get used to the array of benefits of playing the e-Lottery way.

Ways to Build your e-Lottery Affiliate Business

The e-Lottery pay plan is open to all affiliates based on the accomplishment and maintenance of ongoing qualification criteria dictated by e-Lottery product and service sales volume. As you progress to the higher ranks in e-Lottery, the pay plan requires you to focus more on the development of your team members so that their objectives can be met. To help you achieve your targets, you will have the assistance of not only your sponsor but also a number of senior “up line” members, as well as e-Lottery member support.

The 3 Commission Types

Personal Player Volume (PPV) Commission
For each member you introduce to the e-Lottery syndicate system, you will earn 20% ongoing commission for as long as that member remains a subscriber.

Group Player Volume (GPV) Commission
When your team of affiliates begins to recruit players, you can qualify to earn 5% commission on the total player volume in your group (this does not include the members that you personally sponsor who count toward PPV, as described above) up to and including seven levels. The levels on which you receive commission depend on what your position is within the pay plan.

Global Revenue Share
If you decide to take the e-Lottery affiliate programme seriously and reach the more senior ranks in the commission plan, a brand new bonus awaits you. Global revenue share (GRS) is a bonus made up of a percentage of all e-Lottery monthly revenues which is then set aside and shared out amongst all qualifying affiliates.

e-Lottery affiliate benefits include:

Your very own high end website with unique URL and guest login
Automated email ‘Prospector’, genealogy and other management and tracking tools>
Online ‘statement’ so you are able to view your commissions and payments
Affiliate news bulletin with success stories, events, news and business-building suggestions
A selection of payment methods available for individuals joining your business
Player and Affiliate testimonial movies
Personal assistance from your sponsor and “up line”
Access to marketing materials including downloadable banners, flyers, and many other promotional tools
Easy-to-follow ‘getting started’ website
Multi-lingual customer service team offering live telephone and e-mail support 6 days a week
Affiliate business training events and web conferences

All this for just £9.99 per year!

What is Memory Foam?

admin — Sat, 11 Oct 2008 04:51:52 +0000

You may have seen memory foam mattresses advertised on TV by companies like Tempur-Pedic, but have you ever wondered just what memory foam is, and how it works to give you a better night’s sleep? Memory foam was originally developed by NASA as they sought ways to cushion the astronauts’ bodies from the crushing G-forces of a rocket launching into space. Since then it has been adopted by hospitals and mattress makers and is now accessible to you and me.

The principle of memory foam is simple. It is designed to provide firm support, while yielding to and molding around the contours of the body to relieve pressure points. Lower density memory foam yields under the pressure of the body, while higher density memory foam actually softens in response to body heat, allowing it, too, to mold itself to the body. Both kinds are made of a special polyurethane blend to achieve these special qualities.

A memory foam mattress offers firm support while relieving the discomfort that can be caused by the pressure of your your body against a traditional firm mattress. Although memory foam products were once priced too high to be affordable for most people, prices have come down dramatically over the last years, and memory foam mattress toppers can be purchased for under $50 for a twin sized bed.

A mattress topper is a layer of memory foam that is placed on top of a traditional mattress to provide increased comfort and a more restful sleep. Thicker memory foam mattress toppers can even add more firmness and support to your old mattress. Padco Memory Foam offers mattress toppers in both high and low density memory foam in thicknesses ranging from one to four inches.

Of course Padco Memory Foam also has a full range of complete memory foam mattresses, but they also have memory foam pillows, and other unique products. They even have memory foam pet beds so your dog or cat can enjoy the space age comfort of memory foam. For the living room, Padco Memory Foam lounge sacs are the modern evolution of the beanbag chair. Memory foam lounge sacs are the last word in comfort for the home theater room, a college dorm room, or a reading room. Some are big enough for two people to sit and watch a movie together.

If you have seen memory foam mattresses advertised on TV, thought it was too expensive for you, you owe it to yourself to check out the amazing variety of products and the great low prices at Padcomemoryfoam.com. Padco Memory Foam knows how to make you sleep comfortably at a price that’s just as comfortable on your wallet and shipping directly to your door is always free.

Freight Broker License Training

admin — Sat, 11 Oct 2008 04:51:15 +0000

When you take a training class you want confidence that the instructors not only have the book smarts to teach a class, but also the experience that only comes from being in the trenches. Jeff Roach and the other instructors at Brooke Transportation Training System aren’t just teachers, but are also experienced industry professionals who have walked the walk in the transportation industry. Many have owned or still do own their own successful brokerage companies. They know what it takes to start a business and make that business successful. They also know the freight brokerage industry inside and out.

They are ready and willing to share that knowledge with students at Brooketraining.com. Brooke Transportation Training System offer detailed instruction on how to become a freight broker agent and even how to open your own business as a freight broker. They offer week-long basic freight brokerage training classes in Texas, Florida and California or an advanced class at their N. Richland Hills, TX headquarters.

The freight brokerage classes conducted by Brooke Transportation Training System offer participants industry knowledge so that even those new to the freight business can speak to industry veterans with the confidence and expertise that are so important to being viewed as a fellow professional. Students will also learn what it takes to start and run their own business. Jeff Roach and his team of instructors will also provide students with in depth knowledge of the business processes that one needs to follow to be a successful freight broker or broker’s agent.

Bryan Flanagan, one of the Brooke Transportation Training System guest speakers, had this to say about the class, "I have had the opportunity over the past four years to view first-hand the transformation of the participants in this dynamic course. You will be glad you enrolled in this training. It will pay you dividends for years to come." In addition to being a guest speaker at Brooke Training, Bryan is the founder of the Flanagan Training Group, and author of Now, Go Sell Somebody Something.

Brooke Transportation Training System’s Founder and lead instructor, Jeff Roach, has been in the transportation industry for 22 years since graduating from college. The other instructors bring similar experience and skills to the table as well.

The students of the five day course also receive another unique benefit. At the end of the week Brooke Training hosts an exclusive job fair for course graduates where each graduating student sis given the opportunity to meet with representatives of existing freight brokerage firms and discuss agent positions with those companies. The resource and job fair also offers networking opportunities with business in related fields that may be able to complement the businesses of those graduates who plan to start their own freight brokerage companies.

As Angela M., put it after completing the course, "I learned lots of contacts to make the training a success. On Friday we had a job fair with 8 vendors offering us all the chance to ask pointed questions; such as what is involved with the actual percentage the agent or operational agent would receive. Each company has many avenues and great tools to help me become a success. It is all up to me. If you have not tried the training, what are you waiting for?"

For more information, visit the Brooke Transportation Training System Website at www.brooketraining.com.

Ciphr Products In Practice - Yes Telecom’s Success Story

admin — Tue, 07 Oct 2008 09:58:01 +0000

HR Software
HR Training
HR Consultancy
HR System
HR Software
Human Resources Software
Absence Management Software
HR Outsourcing
HR System Hosting
HR Software

There’s no hard and fast rule dictating when growing companies should start investing in serious people management technology, but with a headcount of 100 employees, an HR team of five people and ambitious plans to expand, Yes Telecom was stretching its manual systems to the limit in 2006. Founded in 2001 and now a wholly-owned subsidiary of Vodafone, Yes Telecom boasts over 100,000 business-to-business customers for its mobile and fixed line communications services. Operating as an autonomous unit from its giant parent company, it’s seen rapid growth, with headcount climbing from 100 to 160 in the last eighteen months alone. From a people management perspective, however, that growth has brought a number of challenges. Until the autumn of 2006, most of the company’s HR administration was based around a combination of paper-based systems, spreadsheets and Word documents. The paper systems were inherently inefficient - holiday forms were occasionally lost, for example, which made it all but impossible to track employee entitlements with total confidence about the accuracy of the data. And the spreadsheets had their own limitations. “As we were growing in size, we required more and more reporting capability,” says HR officer Mellissa Wong. “We had to rely on the IT department to help us create complicated formulas to report on basic stuff like sickness absence. HR personnel were spending lots of time managing, collating and maintaining data.” Those administrative inefficiencies caused a number of problems for the business. Absence data, for example, had to be entered into one central spreadsheet by every line manager. But because it wasn’t designed for multi-use, as soon as one person started amending the spreadsheet everyone else had a ‘read-only’ view - and if there was a problem with a formula, the whole system could crash. Generating custom reports from spreadsheets can also be tricky - if managers wanted details of all new recruits joining within a certain timeframe, for example, Wong would have to manually search through every start date. Those difficulties alone would have been enough to encourage the company to consider investing in an HR Management System (HRMS), but the balance was tipped in April 2006 when it started subscribing to a benefits service from Thomsons Online Benefits. The service, which was introduced as an incentive for both retention and recruitment purposes, gives employees greater personal control over their benefits, including flexibility to change their pension contributions and the ability to select other features such as childcare vouchers. The new service raised awareness among employees and managers about the potential of internet-based HR systems, helping persuade the company to go to tender for an HRMS. Computers In Personnel’s Ciphr product was selected at the end of that process from a shortlist of five, and the core system, Ciphr People, was implemented at the end of 2006. Ciphr Net, the self-service application, was rolled out in January this year, followed by training and recruitment modules.

Simple HR System Implementation - User Friendly

Wong says the initial self-service rollout was incident-free and relatively low-profile. “A lot of employees didn’t know what to expect. We just informed them that there would be a new HR intranet system that would allow them, for example, to book holidays online. That was pretty much the only bit of information they got pre-training. Once they saw it was pretty user-friendly, there were no more concerns at that stage.” The system is used for a variety of administrative and business intelligence needs. At a basic level, employees can now enter their own personal data and update their bank records, saving HR administrative overhead and reducing the likelihood of errors. By the same token, managers can look up contact details for their own team members, rather than asking HR for information and waiting for information to be emailed. Removing paper forms has also improved efficiency and speed, and created an audit trail in case of future disputes.

From a talent management perspective, employees can log training requests online, which are automatically directed to their line managers for authorisation. They can also apply for internal vacancies through Ciphr Recruitment. And from a management perspective, reporting has improved significantly. Managers can now see a calendar view of absence to spot sickness trends, for example, helping them analyse how much time is being lost and where.

Automating HR Process

Just as important, automation has had a significant impact on efficiency and effectiveness within the HR function. The HR team remains at five people, yet with total employee headcount up 60 per cent, it’s now supporting a far bigger workforce with the same level of resource. Significantly, the nature of its work has also changed, with the balance shifting away from administration to more proactive people management projects. Inevitably, there were one or two teething problems in the rollout. While the system training for the HR team and employees went well, for example, the company hasn’t been able to make the most of the specialist training it received on Crystal Reports, a leading reporting tool that comes bundled with Ciphr. That’s largely because of the big gap between the two-day crash course that the Yes Telecom HR team went through at the start of the year and the time when they started using the tools in anger and wanted to amend the standard reports.

Future System Strategy

Going forward, Yes Telecom is also liaising with Computers In Personnel about enhancing the self-service system for performance management. The system allows managers to enter information about one-to-one performance reviews through web-based forms - Yes Telecom’s managers, however, are used to typing up notes in custom-built Word-based templates. In the short-term, managers continue to use the templates, but future enhancements to the Ciphr Net system this autumn will allow users to attach and post documents. Those issues aside, overall feedback on the new self-service capability is strong. “In the general workforce, overall it’s been very positively received,” says Wong. “We’ve had feedback from new starters who’ve joined from bigger companies, and they’re very impressed with what it does compared to their previous employer.”