CMI Highlights – 26 July 2023

Dear CMI,

Exciting news: the shortlists for CMI’s prestigious Volunteer of the Year and Chartered Manager of the Year awards have just been released, as have our four Partner Awards: Student, Apprentice, Training Provider and HE Partner of the Year. Congratulations to all the nominees! Discover more here.

Earlier this month, We Are The City, in partnership with CMI Women, celebrated more than 100 remarkable women, male allies and companies at the Rising Star Awards Ceremony. These awards celebrate inspirational people who have made a significant impact. CMI’s chief technology officer Tavier Taylor presented the Champions category. Learn more about all the winners here.

CMI championing apprenticeships

In response to the recent labelling of the apprenticeship system as a “con” in a Daily Telegraph article, Anthony Painter, CMI’s director of policy, wrote a letter to the paper arguing that using such a term “undermines the achievements of millions of apprentices and thousands of businesses”. 

Nor does it reflect the views of employers, he added, citing CMI research which found “that just 5% of employers believe university degrees are preferable to apprenticeships, with companies increasingly turning to high-quality apprenticeships to plug skill gaps”.

Anthony acknowledged that changes are needed to make apprenticeships easier to access for both smaller employers and those in hard-to-reach communities. CMI has made recommendations for changes to the Apprenticeship Levy, which you can find here. 

Leadership and workplace culture

CMI has also been contributing to national discussions around workplace culture: Ann Francke was interviewed by BBC Radio 5 Live (10:30) and Times Radio, where she emphasised that how an organisation handles serious allegations plays a crucial role in shaping workplace culture. Training managers to handle these issues is really important.

Also on workplace cultures, CMI's research on alcohol-related behaviours at work parties found that 42% of respondents support cutting down on alcohol at work events. This was referenced by BBC One East Midlands during a debate on the consumption of alcohol and Kate Palmer in her guest contribution to The HR Director, among others. 

Call to take part in Menopause in the Workplace film

The Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) is producing an important video series focusing on the (peri)menopause at work and steps that employers can take to support staff experiencing menopausal symptoms. 

The video series will feature case studies of employers who have taken proactive steps and implemented reasonable adjustments to support their staff. If your organisation would like to take part, contact Sophie Cowell on sophie.cowell@equalityhumanrights.com by 4 August. Filming will take place at a time and location that is convenient to you.

Share your professional insights with CMI

Would you like to feature on CMI's Knowledge & Insights hub? Whatever your experience, we'd love to share your professional insights with the wider CMI community. Over the next few months we'll be focusing on the themes of Making Decisions and Developing People in particular.

Interested? Introduce yourself to our editorial team at editorial@managers.org.uk – they can't wait to hear from you!

In this week’s CMI member newsletter, we focus on difficult conversations:

• 5 tips for giving feedback to a sensitive employee
• The tricky discussions that helped Tyler Grange successfully pivot to a four-day week
• How to write the perfect email – including how to deliver bad news tactfully
• Are Gen Z underequipped for workplace communication? 
• How to prevent conflict in your distributed teams
• 5 strategies to make your difficult conversations easier

Kind regards,

Ian