Be Brave tackles workplace numeracy, helping students understand percentages and other equations applicable to the workplace. However, it does so much more than that – building confidence, tackling bullying head-on, helping people learn to speak out, and changing attitudes. At Griffins, this has had an enormous impact on the company, individuals, and their families. Let’s hear Shirley’s story.
Mum of three, Shirley, has been with Griffins for eight years, working her way up from table hand to Oven Operator, where she runs the oven from 4 pm to midnight each day.
During Be Brave, she and her colleagues decided to focus on a big issue – communication.
“We all agreed that communication is an issue on the floor. So our project was to help people out in the factory with knowing more about what’s going on and coming up with a better way of getting access to information that we need out on the floor, like plan changes or what’s happened in the other shifts,” explains Shirley.
“We wanted to make it paperless by using electronic devices such as iPads, TVs, and touchscreens. Everyone puts it into the same system under different categories, meaning everyone knows what’s going on. If there’s an update on a plan, the line operators will see that straight away and won’t set up for the wrong run.”
Shirley, by her own account, used to be a pretty negative person. Her first thought on hearing about the Be Brave programme was “Why me? Am I going to get anything out of it?” but she thought she’d go see herself what it was about anyway.
Now though, she says that everything has changed.
“I’m very, very happy to have done this Upskills training. It changed me a lot as a person,” shares Shirley.
From gaining confidence in public speaking during team meetings (something she says used to be “nervewracking” and now is “like a breeze”) to becoming a more positive person, the skills she’s gained have impacted all aspects of her life – from the way she interacts with the team through to the way she talks to her kids.
“I’ve applied the stuff that I learnt to my outside life, like using empathy. That just didn’t apply to me before – thinking about other people and what they might be going through. That never stuck with me before but now I’m more empathetic, explains Shirley. “I definitely appreciate my team more too and they’re much happier with me!”
“I find myself being more positive in life. A lot of people have seen me change – my parents, my partner, my kids – for the better. For me, it’s been life-changing.”
Keen to get your people communicating more confidently? Contact us today to find out how you could get funding for workplace training.
