Joe Gerada CEO of the Malta based Foundation for Human Resources Development (FHRD) completing a licence agreement with Michelle McArthur-Morgan Managing Partner of Jigsaw@work



Mr Gerada who previously served as Chief Executive Officer of the Employment and Training Corporation in Malta commented that they were looking to use ‘jigsaw’ to play a part in the re-structuring programme that is meant to strengthen the Foundation’s expert role in the field of human resources development for Maltese industry.

We are pleased to share Richard's great news from Dubai:

"We have just today held a signing ceremony for Changing Attitudes LLC Dubai, our second Jigsaw@work sub-licensee. Philip Geatches is the MD of this relaunching training consultancy which has chosen Jigsaw@work as a cornerstone for its new business strategy. The license covers the UAE and Qatar and Philip is, at present the only approved trainer. Philip was previously employed at Dubal, which was one of People Plus’s, first Jigsaw clients in the region.”



We would like to take this opportunity to welcome Phillip Geatches to the Jigsaw@work family.

Our Russian partner Oleg Koschinsky, Managing Director of ‘First Partner’ has delivered his first training programme in Russia using the Jigsaw Discovery Tool.

The Michelin Management Programme “D2D Management” is a two day workshop covering the Management cycle, Situational Management, Team Management, Jigsaw Discovery Tool, Effective Communication, Conflict Management, and Change Management.

The Jigsaw Discovery Tool section included personal profiling, where participants could recognize their personality traits and characteristics, to help them understand how they and others interact and react. Next came the how I see you, how you see me exercise in which participants profiled each other and gave/received feedback from their peers. This was followed by a team activity to separate the 64piece jigsaws into the four character types, a fun competition based on speed and a low mistake level.

Another activity looked at communication styles. Eight pieces of jigsaws were selected to represent the characteristics of good communication and a further eight for poor communication. Individual’s then compared the characteristics chosen with their personal profile.

In the last activity of the day participants selected 16 jigsaw pieces to describe the ideal profile of their job position and identified the development gaps between their personal profile and the ideal profile. As a result, all participants were able to create Personal Development Plan.

Feedback from the day was extremely positive.

To view a selection of photographs from the training programme, see our Flickr page.

Jigsaw@work the Learning & Development Company based at Nostell Business Park welcomed visitors from Russia this week as the team secured a partnership that will see their Jigsaw Discovery Tool delivered across Russia.

Mr Oleg Koschinsky, Managing Director of ‘First Partner’ together with Ms Oxana Luts the company’s lawyer, spent three days at Nostell with Michelle McArthur-Morgan Jigsaw’s Managing Partner. Here the team learnt how the Jigsaw Discovery Tool is delivered to learners and how it can help their teams to communicate more effectively.

During the first phase of roll-out the Jigsaw Discovery Tool will be delivered in English before being translated into Russian, enabling First Partner’s network of trainers to deliver the learning and development programme throughout Russia, Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan, and Tajikistan.



Upon signing a partnership agreement with Jigsaw@work Mr Koschinsky said “We are looking forward to working with .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address). The Jigsaw Discovery Tool is a unique product which will certainly find great favour with our learners and will also help us maintain our position as one of the leading learning providers within the Russian states.”

On behalf of Jigsaw@work Keith Nicholson Creative Director responded by saying that for the company this was an exciting time. They had an existing partnership based in Dubai and had recently returned from exploratory talks in the United States.

Whilst here the Russian visitors were received at Nostell Priory by Lord St.Oswald who presented them each with a book about the house & estate. They also sampled the ski slopes at Xscape as well as enjoying local hospitality at Rogerthorpe Manor.

Courtesy of: ASTD - The Buzz; Savannah Morning News (Ga.) - Chuck St. Arnaud

In order to lead other individuals successfully, supervisors or managers need to take part in a strong leadership training program. Such a program should address such topics as listening and communicating effectively, giving negative feedback in a way that encourages behavior change, assigning responsibility with the appropriate level of authority, dealing with adversity from the work environment or staff, and rewarding exemplary work or behavior. Coaching can be an important element in the program, where a coach establishes rules and a plan to determine how, when, where, why, and what in order to get the job done effectively. Coaching is often perceived as a lot of yelling and repetition, similar to sports coaches, but actually is a form of mentoring. The coaching should come before, during, and after a task is launched and completed. The individuals being coached should be allowed to use their initiative; if they made a mistake, they can get up and try again. The bulk of errors can be easily resolved. Coaching is also about setting an example in the workplace to foster an environment that encourages initiative and risk-taking.

Courtesy of: ASTD - The Buzz. Gallup Management Journal - Jim Asplun; Nikki Blacksmith

Companies that deploy strengths-based employee development may achieve a more engaged and productive workforce, according to researchers at Gallup. The researchers recently formed a short assessment to evaluate strengths-based development programs, and tested it on a company. Gallup found that four factors accounted for the bulk of sales and operating income among the test company's 606 business units and were essential to a successful program. The first factor was the awareness of employees about their strengths and their colleagues' strengths, followed by the intentional application of those strengths, the perceived shared commitment to the strengths philosophy among coworkers and managers, and perceived shared commitment to the strengths philosophy from company leadership. Gallup also developed a list of items for helping employees use strengths in their work. These items were: Every week, I set goals and expectations based on my strengths; I can name the strengths of five people I work with; In the last three months, my supervisor and I have had a meaningful discussion about my strengths; and My organization is committed to building the strengths of each associate. Since their initial development, the index items were administered to employees in 16 organizations. Gallup determined that employees who perceive their organization as committed to building the strengths of each associate are more likely to know what is expected of them at work and perform their best on a daily basis as well as perceive they have support in their developmental efforts.

So what’s all this about Neuroscience, the new buzz phrase in the realms of learning and development?

As a new, fully paid up member of the NeuroLeadership Institute I can tell you that it definitely is THE emerging field in learning and development, which brings together neuroscientific knowledge with the fields of leadership, management training and coaching.

Generally, it’s about gaining a better understanding of how the human brain functions at individual, team and systemic levels.

For me, it’s an exciting opportunity to become involved with the latest developments in neuroscience and its application to leadership and the workplace, which in turn means that our workshops and courses will continue to be relevant and fresh, maintaining our reputation for being at the forefront of our industry.

I’m very passionate about developing my understanding of how the brain functions on different levels and how I can use this knowledge to help others turn their differences into strengths.

It will also inform the future development of the Jigsaw Discovery Tool – our practical development tool which creates an organic learning experience, helping individuals to understand personality traits to improve performance, communication and confidence.

So watch this space - this is an exciting field of study and I’m looking forward to sharing my findings and hearing about how others (both individuals and organisations) are benefitting from the science.

On the 23rd to 25th May the American Society of Training & Development Conference and Exposition takes place in Orlando, Florida. Keith Nicholson and Michelle McArthur-Morgan, founding partners of Jigsaw@work, are attending the Exposition to showcase the award winning Jigsaw Discovery Tool.

The Jigsaw Discovery Tool is an interactive, simple and non-threatening learning and development tool, which helps individual’s at all levels of an organisation to make best use of their personal strengths and turning differences between colleagues into strengths which leads to increased personal job satisfaction and improved team performance.

The Jigsaw Discovery Tool helps individuals learn about self and others, recognising why individuals behave as they do and helping to anticipate behaviour and reactions in any situation.

Through a simple 64 piece jigsaw (The Jigsaw Discovery Tool) learners take a journey of self-discovery and identify a detailed map of their personality type. The learning is then brought to life by four fictional characters to create a fun, unique and memorable learning experience.

The Jigsaw Discovery Tool is available as a facilitated workshop and also as a licensed tool. Michelle McArthur-Morgan said “One of our main objectives for exhibiting at the Exposition in Orlando is to meet with individuals and organisations who may be interested in becoming a Master Licensor for the Jigsaw Discovery Tool in the United States of America. We already have a successful Master Licensor in the Gulf Region and are currently in negotiations with organisations in Europe and Australia. We recently have had approaches from two American based global organisations who are interested in our learning and development programmes and whilst in the short term we are able to fulfil our obligations from our UK head Office, the longer term development of the United States market will depend upon us building a network of USA based licensors.”

If you are visiting the show in Orlando, do come and visit our stand (1551) head for the main refreshment area and you cannot miss us.

Further information about the Jigsaw Discovery Tool

Co-founder of Jigsaw@work, Michelle McArthur-Morgan, has joined leading business figures from the Wakefield district on the Board of Wakefield Enterprise Partnership.

Set up by Wakefield Council, Wakefield Enterprise Partnership will bring members together to draw up an economic growth plan which focuses on local economic development including business and enterprise, employability and land development.

Michelle comments “It’s great to be involved in helping to grow the economy in an area where so much is happening at the moment. As a Wakefield businesswoman, I know how important it is to help existing businesses and new ventures. Wakefield has a lot to offer and I’m looking forward to working on plans with the rest of the Board to help promote the district’s organisations and activities.”

Along with the other Board members, Michelle was invited to apply for a position on the Board by Wakefield Council, whose representatives on the Board are Cllr Peter Box and Chief Executive Joanne Roney.

The group will be chaired by Mark Ridgway, managing director of Group Rhodes, and other members include Stephen Oakes of Chadwick Lawrence, Hayleigh Parkhurst, of Cedar Court Hotels, Janice Haigh, of the Federation of Small Businesses, Ian Taylor of Media Displays, Scott Roberts of Morrisons Supermarkets plc and Margaret Wood of ICW (UK) Ltd.

Wakefield Enterprise Partnership has grown from the district’s local development agency - first - and the Wakefield Prosperity Board which focused on taking the district out of the recession.

Michelle McArthur-Morgan, Co-founder of Jigsaw@work, a Wakefield based learning and development consultancy, has been awarded ‘fellow’ status of the British Institute of Learning & Development (the BILD).

The accolade is awarded by industry peers, who are some of the UK’s leading learning and development professionals, and recognises those who can prove their experience, knowledge and skills in delivering quality and effective learning and development.

Michelle comments: “Being awarded ‘fellow’ status of BILD is a real privilege, not just because my peers recognised and awarded this accolade or because I am amongst some of our sectors most established professionals, but because it also goes some way to support organisations who are looking to commission learning and development.

“In my profession, anyone can decide to set themselves up as a “trainer”, I feel that it is important that there is a professional body which recognises and distinguishes individuals who can prove their experience, knowledge and skills. It is important that when client’s budgets are tight that they receive value for money from a professional facilitator and being a fellow of BILD is a measure of my experience and competence within the sector.”

Michelle, who is also a Certified Learning Practitioner, had to demonstrate her commitment to best practice and continuous quality improvement in learning and development as part of her ‘fellow’ application.

She also had to possess a Learning and Development Level 5 qualification; have ten years experience, including strategic level in a learning and development role; demonstrate her commitment to the BILD Code of Conduct; provide a reference from a current client and a letter of support from an existing Fellow of the Institute.

Here at Jigsaw@work we are very proud to announce that Cerebra is our charity of the year. We will be organising a range of events to raise valuable funds for this very worthy cause during the next twelve months.

Cerebra funds ground-breaking research into brain injury and neurological disorders, cerebral palsy, attention deficit disorder, behaviour and emotional problems or development delay in infants. The charity also supports projects such as Intensive Speech & Language Therapy for older children with Cerebral Palsy, Feeding Difficulties and Nutritional Needs in Children with Cerebral Palsy and Parent Support Network – a group that offers support and information to parents and carers of children with brain-related disorders.

Take a look at the wonderful work that Cerebra do and keep visiting our website to find out about our money-raising plans throughout the year.

Open workshops that deal specifically with the challenges faced by the library sector have been unveiled by Jigsaw@work®.

The learning and development consultancy works alongside some of the UK’s leading library services and has designed the programmes as a direct result of the changes occurring within the sector – from flexible working right through to working with teenagers.

Scheduled at key locations throughout the UK, the workshops include:

• Flexible Working Within a Changing Library Environment
• Managing a Contracting Service
• Removing Barriers to Working with Teenagers
• Successful Partnerships Working for Library Staff
• Stress Management for Library Staff
• Managing Volunteers
• Creating Successful Library Outreach
• The Mysteries of Floor Walking Unfurled
• Service Excellence in a Changing Environment

Michelle McArthur-Morgan, Co-founder of Jigsaw@work® comments: “We have worked with library services for many years – helping them to utilise new technology, adopt new ways of working and embrace the changes that have already occurred.

“Now, like many public sector organisations they are experiencing a great deal of uncertainty, battling job cuts and threats of redundancies. Our learning and development has been designed to address these specific issues, helping them to achieve more with less, providing real support to individuals and teams that benefits the entire organisation and those that use library services.”

Workshops cost just £245 + VAT, for workshop dates, workshop details and locations please visit www.jigsawatwork.com, contact a member of the Jigsaw@work® team on 01924 864444 or email .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)

Jigsaw@work®, the Yorkshire based learning and development consultancy, has unveiled its latest range of open workshops that deal specifically with real workplace issues and address the many challenges faced by public sector and private organisations.

Scheduled at key locations throughout the UK, the workshops include:

• Managing a Contracting Service
• Removing barriers to working with teenagers
• Managing Volunteers
• Dealing with Difficult and Challenging Behaviour
• Service Excellence in a Changing Environment
• Selling Yourself: Changing career path midstream

Michelle McArthur-Morgan, Co-founder of Jigsaw@work® comments: “Budget cuts, redundancies and changes in working practices are placing exceptional strain on individuals and organisations. Our new programme of Open Workshops will help to support staff at all levels of an organisation helping them to work more effectively and efficiently.

“During these challenging times organisations need to invest in learning and development that address real issues – helping them to survive and thrive in the current climate.”

Workshops cost just £245 + VAT, for more information about Open Workshop and Workshop locations please visit www.jigsawatwork.com, contact a member of the Jigsaw@work® team on 01924 864444 or email .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address).

Jigsaw@work®, the Yorkshire based learning and development consultancy, has unveiled a new initiative aimed at helping organisations to cope with the restraints of tighter staff development budgets and the need to demonstrate value for money learning solutions, before senior executives will commit valuable resources.

“Try Before You Buy” provide Learning and Development Managers with the opportunity to commission a 100% risk free bespoke workshop that will deal specifically with real workplace issues and address the many challenges faced by public sector and private organisations.

Qualifying organisations that identify a development need will be able to book a free bespoke workshop for between 8-10 participants, to enable them to experience the learning first hand before making a financial commitment to buy.

Michelle McArthur-Morgan, Co-founder of Jigsaw@work® comments: “Budget cuts, redundancies and changes in working practices are placing exceptional strain on individuals and organisations. During these challenging times organisations need to invest in learning and development that address real issues and meets limited budgets.

“Our new “Try Before You Buy” workshops have been designed to do just that, supporting an organisations’ decision making processes and organisational objectives whilst helping individuals and teams to work more effectively and efficiently.”

To be eligible for a “Try Before You Buy” workshop organisations must commit to having at least one key decision maker in attendance and that travelling expenses for the Jigsaw@work facilitators are reimbursed. For more information about “Try Before You Buy” workshop locations please contact a member of the Jigsaw@work® team on 01924 864444 or email .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)

The London Libraries Consortuim are holding their annual seminar on the 9th December in Kensington. The theme for the seminar is "Managing Change". Keith Nicholson, founding partner at Jigsaw@work, has been invited to speak about the successful work they have carried out with the Royal Borough of Kensington & Chelsea.

Jigsaw@work, worked with managers and frontline staff offering support through the period of major change, to overcome the many challenges incurred during the transition for both the organisation and individual staff members.

“The development programme devised for managers focused on two key areas, leading and supporting teams through the change process and identifying the skills needed to deliver a modern, personalised, customer centred service.
“For frontline teams we helped them to understand the practicalities of RFID and enhanced their skills and knowledge to enable them to ‘sell’ the automated service to customers. We identified and addressed their fears, helping them adapt to the new ways of working and the culture of a modern library service.

Keith will be sharing his experience of working with the Royal Borough of Kensington & Chelsea and giving delegates practical tips to take back to their organisations.

Welcome to the Jigsaw@work blog. It’s with a great deal of pleasure and excitement that we finally launch our platform for commenting about the learning and development sector and our passion for what we do best – helping individuals and organisations to survive and thrive.

The L&D sector is, in theory, experiencing critical times as training budgets are cut and organisations concentrate on the many challenges, whether that’s reducing headcount, merging teams or desperately looking for new products and new markets.

We’re not saying that organisations aren’t investing in their staff, recent research conducted by the CIPD, and indeed our own activity suggests that organisations are still developing their teams - but what we would say is that training budgets are often the first to be reduced or even ‘put on hold’. It’s not about cutting training budgets, but investing them more wisely!

Here at Jigsaw@work we believe that there is a positive shift in the way that learning and development is delivered and that the changes in the market create an opportunity for new ways of working and new ways of learning – presenting a great deal of opportunity for the L&D sector and a great starting point for our blogs moving forward.

A brand new website has been unveiled by Jigsaw@work®, a Yorkshire based company that specialises in helping individuals and organisations survive and thrive through learning and development (L&D).

The new website www.jigsawatwork.com sits in line with the company’s fresh and confident personality and it provides a crisp and clean window into its extensive range of workshops, bespoke programmes and off the shelf packages. It also reinforces its position as a L&D company passionate about people and the training sector.

Within the site, Jigsaw@work® feature case studies and testimonials to demonstrate how the company works and the range of clients that it has and continues to support. Tips and tools from its team of facilitators are also included along with a brand new Blog that will offer an insight into the training sector and comment upon industry trends and topical issues.

Michelle McArthur-Morgan, said: “Although our old site was a great support to our business we wanted a fresh approach that captures our personality and our continued drive to deliver L&D that has a positive impact on individuals and organisations as a whole.”

“Our new website is a simple and effective platform for communicating how we work and what we offer, clearly providing examples of our areas of expertise and ability to offer bespoke and market driven solutions.”

Jigsaw@work®, the Yorkshire based learning and development consultancy, has unveiled its latest range of open workshops that deal specifically with real workplace issues and address the many challenges faced by public sector and private organisations.

Scheduled at key locations throughout the UK, the workshops include:

• Managing People. 26th October - Leeds.

• Dealing with Difficult and Challenging Behaviour. 4th November - London & 9th November - Leeds.

• Managing a Contracting Service. 3rd December - London & 14th January 2011 - Edinburgh.

• Managing Volunteers. 10th December - London & 11th January - Leeds.

• Doing More with Less, Business Process Improvement. 6th December -London & 18th January - Glasgow.

• Introduction of Self Service and New Ways of Working for Library & Information Service. 6th January 2011 - London.

Michelle McArthur-Morgan, Co-founder of Jigsaw@work® comments: “Budget cuts, redundancies and changes in working practices are placing exceptional strain on individuals and organisations. Our new programme of Open Workshops will help to support staff at all levels of an organisation helping them to work more effectively and efficiently.

“During these challenging times organisations need to invest in learning and development that address real issues – helping them to survive and thrive in the current climate.”

Workshops cost just £245 + VAT, for more information about Open Workshop please visit www.jigsawatwork.com, contact a member of the Jigsaw@work® team on 01924 864444 or email .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)