“Untitled”: How do you name a new way of working?

When you’ve got a complex, radically different new role open at your organisation, what do you call it so that people understand what you mean? Packing relationships, empowerment and a vision for the future into two little words – or not.

Up the Devolution

The opportunity to hand power back to local community networks is too valuable to discount – here’s Manchester native Cath Dillon on her hopes for the devolution agenda.

As I write this, the UK Devolution Summit is in full swing in Glasgow, with leaders from Manchester, Newcastle, Nottingham, Liverpool and Scotland taking part. Devolution has been on the agenda for some time now, with support across the political spectrum. At Participle, we’ve seen first hand that when you put power in the hands of local people, good things happen.

A matter of time

Our new year’s resolutions are personal declarations of how we plan to spend our time in 2015. But how will our frontline workers be spending theirs?

Here we are and January is half gone already! There is still a bit of that new year’s feeling: that you have a clean slate and a whole year ahead of you to stick to your resolutions. There’s so much that could be achieved. But time is passing, as it always does. You’ve started out with the best of intentions – but what will you do with your time? The choice is yours.

All Wound Up

Working intensively with people leaves you both exhausted and wound up at the end of the day, even in the best of circumstances. The people working this way need support, including those in the JobCentre.

By Jessica Hughes, Head of Marketing and Facilitator for Backr

“We’re winding down for December.” I seem to be hearing this phrase a lot at the moment. And whilst it’s understandable, as many of us do tend to wind down our work around the festive period, this isn’t necessarily a luxury extended to those who work on the frontline of services. Regardless of what time of year it is, life goes on for the people we’re helping.

How to work a holiday party, relationally

Got work drinks, family feasts or a holiday shindig or two you’re feeling anxious about? Use Backr’s relational approach to rule the festive season (and maybe learn something new while you’re at it).

By Gosbert Chagula, Service Developer at Backr

For many, the prospect of the holiday season and its implied socialisation fills them with dread. I’m sure many have felt it as you manoeuvre from one festive party onto the next during mid-December. Staff parties, end of year celebrations, family gatherings, are just a small sample of the variety of occasions to which some of us will be summoned. But what’s the problem? Well, in many instances, despite an increase in time spent socialising, things simply continue as they were before – circular conversations, often-repeated stories and the awkwardness of having forced chatter with a room full of strangers.

But does it have to be this way?

“I love the interaction with people”: Samir Dawlatly, GP

A GP from Birmingham on what his job is really like, why many health problems are related to social problems , and the tricks he uses to keep himself at his best while connecting with patients all day long. 

If our model of general practice were not so familiar, it would sound more like a slightly sadistic game show format than a job.

First steps to thinking relationally

Take the first step in faith. You don’t have to see the whole staircase.

-Martin Luther King Jr

At Participle, we strongly believe that a 21st century welfare system must work relationally. (In fact we believe it so strongly, that’s what we’ve named our blog.) So what does that look like?