happy people

Practicing What We Preach – Guest Blog by Esther Stevenson

Trust and empowerment in Angola agriculture

Connecting for Happiness – Guest Blog by Shannon Banks

Eighteen months ago I left Microsoft, where I had spent 17 years. It was a huge decision for me and one I struggled with. I was really scared of the change. But do you want to guess what I was most afraid of? It wasn’t loss of income, it wasn’t status, it wasn’t instability. I was afraid I’d be unhappy.

Epic's requirements were commercial capability and culture transformation. The key test was whether the new company could not just survive but successfully expand its services. Here's what we did.

Happy produced a 30 minute online course on cyberbullying which was part of wider programme aimed at reducing the bullying of disabled children and young people and those with SEN (Special Educational Needs) in school. The aim of the course was to leave teachers and carers better equipped to identify, respond and prevent cyberbullying.

Outlook: What is the Focused Inbox?

And why is it hiding your emails? Microsoft Outlook is hiding messages from you – and here’s how to find them.

Five Top Tips to be a Great IT Trainer

Last week I had the pleasure of being a practice learner for our 4 day TPMA Certification Essentials course. The delegates taking the course had been working on their skills all week, learning to become effective IT trainers. They did really well, but it was a real eye-opener for me at how hard being an IT trainer really is.

Radical Innovation In a Key Part of UK Government

Members of GCHQ discussed how they are bringing innovation into the department using a new crowdfunding-style system.

Brendan O’Keefe, Epic CIC – Advice For Re-Motivating Staff

Brendan was the last speaker of the day, and is Managing Director of Epic CIC. On 1st January 2014, Epic moved away from Royal Borough of Kensington’s Youth Support and Development Service, becoming the UK’s first youth service employee-led mutual. Brendan and his team worked with Happy to create an exciting and happy workplace. Brendan discussed the challenges involved in this new way of working – including giving staff pre-approval to make decisions, removing triangulation from the workplace, and recruiting for attitude.

Dom Monkhouse, iomart – Lessons From the Private Sector

Dom Monkhouse is CEO of iomart, and talked about several books that he had learnt from and how he’d used their ideas. His recommended reading included ‘Work Rules’ by Laszlo Bock, which stresses the importance of recruitment. He also discussed the way he recruits – rather than focusing on qualifications and experience, his common interview technique is to ask candidates to draw a picture of what motivates them, as it gives an interesting insight into who they are! He recruits for attitude, as you can train for skill – which is also one of the 10 core principles of Henry Stewart’s in the Happy Manifesto.

What Does ‘Digitisation’ Really Mean For an Organisation?

Dr Sally Howes is the Executive Leader responsible for innovation at the National Audit Office.