The Eos Life~Work resource centre
Services for your organisation
Eos is an Occupational Psychology consultancy based in Surrey, UK run by Dai Williams. Our corporate services are available to Managers, Human Resource professionals and Occupational Health practitioners in the UK and overseas. These include:
- Operational support programmes
- Specialist programmes and policy support
- Transition management
- International consultancy
Occupational psychologists specialise in work and organisation behaviour. They are best known for selection techniques like psychometric testing. But the profession now offers a much wider range of "organisational technology" - from career and personal development for individuals, through analysing organisational problems to advice on strategic issues like staff motivation, retention and managing change. See notes about the Division of Occupational Psychology section on the BPS website:
www.bps.org.uk/dop/about-the-division/about-the-division_home.cfmIn Eos one of our aims is to transfer relevant skills and insights to senior managers and professional staff within client organisations. Adding to your "toolkit" of organisational skills e.g. personality awareness and transition management can often pre-empt costly problems like losing key staff to competitors, long term sickness or serious management conflicts. Using an external consultancy can be important where personal as well as work factors need to be considered and can be discussed in confidence.
Operational support programmes
These are available as one-off contracts to respond to specific staffing situations e.g.Specialist programmes and policy support
Career assessment and development - assessments to support individual staff appointments or full programmes to support career development decisions. These may include identifying redeployment or "in-placement" options for staff displaced by re-organisations. Often used to motivate and retain high-potential staff who are becoming restless for development. Also useful screening prior to sponsoring high-cost education programmes e.g. professional or postgraduate courses.
Outplacement & redundancy support - individual or group programmes for redundant staff. Includes a full Eos life~career planning programme plus additional mentor support for up to a year after release. Our principle of "leaving with dignity" aims to sustain commitment of staff who are needed to maintain or hand over operations during their notice period. Advice to senior management on planning redundancy programmes with wider employee relations and transition management issues in mind, especially motivation of remaining staff.
Career crisis support - for individuals under severe stress, coping with known personal traumas (e.g. accident, separation or bereavement), or with sickness-absence, performance or disciplinary problems. See Briefing #1 Career First Aid. Some of these situations can be mistaken for incompetence or malingering. We normally work closely with HR and/or Occupational Health professionals within agreed terms of confidentiality. Assessment is recommended before disciplinary or dismissal procedures are started. Staff often return to normal performance within a few weeks, sometimes to make a much enhanced contribution within a few months. If return to work is not possible the same process gives staff the equivalent of our outplacement support programme.
- Strategic human resource development issues affecting regional development in UK and other countries. These include aspects of staff training and development, fair employment policies and impacts between working practices and the quality of family and community life and health.
These are usually projects to review existing practices or to develop ongoing human resource services in an organisation. Where possible techniques may be passed on for operation by Managers or Human Resources staff (see also the Specialist Services page for HR and Occupational Health professionals).Transition management
Career development and succession planning programmes for organisations or groups of staff who need structured training and development to fulfil specialist roles e.g. managers, supervisors, technicians and engineers.
Psychometric assessments for internal and external selection of senior managers and staff.
Stress management strategies and support for managers/staff in high pressure roles, stress audits, preparation for organisation change and support after rapid change or trauma. Based on specialist psychological methods with additional Occupational Health advice if required.
Life~work boundary policies and practice - briefings or projects to raise awareness of the effects of personal life on work performance, and effects of work practices on employee health and family life see Briefing #2 Managing the Life~Work Boundary.
Eos consultant Dai Williams has specialised in transition management for over 20 years - from culture shock briefings for staff on international assignments to the effects of trauma and change in Governments. He convened a symposium on these issues with leading psychologists in January 1999, see report Human responses to change published in the strategic planning journal Futures. He is currently Chair of the UK Forum for Organizational Health. He presented a paper to the ESTSS (European Society for Traumatic Stress Studies www.estss.org ) Conference in Berlin (May 2003) on effects of trauma and change in organisations since the September 11th disasters in the USA in 2001. In June 2003 he was invited to lecture in Kyoto, Osaka and Hiroshima on health and safety issues in current conflict zones.The article on Transitions: managing personal and organizational change explains the phases of change after major work or personal life events and their implications for individuals, managers and employers. This is an essential subject for Managers and advisers at all levels responsible for organisation change. It is also important for organisations with staff in high risk occupations who are vulnerable to Post Traumatic Stress Disorder.
The power of transition effects on senior management teams can be seen in the periodic crises for senior politicians and governments, the most visible type of organizations in the media. The Eos analysis in Accidents waiting to happen started in January 2000 illustrates how transition theory can be applied to forecast potential cycles of crisis and recovery in senior management teams, in this case the UK Government.
Similar analyses of stress and transition cycles are important in all organizations to track psychological climate and performance during periods of change.
Eos offers:International consultancy
Management briefings on the hazards and opportunities of transitions for individuals and organisations.
Monitoring the effects of traumas and major organisation changes on management and staff.
Mentor support for managers, teams and staff in transition.
Crisis analysis and support for Managers, Human Resource and Occupational Health professionals.
Transition management strategies to enhance opportunities for transformation.
Eos has a special interest in international staff development schemes running international graduate selection services for companies in the Far East in cooperation with UK University Careers Services from 1986-91. Internationl contacts include businesses in Japan who have sent students to the UK for graduate study and contacts with work psychology and occupational health specialists in Europe. In recent months Eos has been asked to brief senior managers from organisations in China and the Gulf.Consultant Dai Williams worked in Shell Canada from 1981-3 and was Far East Recruitment and Student Adviser for Shell International from 1983-86 before setting up Eos. From 1986-90 he specialised in international graduate and professional recruitment for 11 major employers in Singapore. He has advised individual and employer sponsored clients from over 20 countries on education, career and professional development. These ranged from technicians to postgraduate researchers at leading universities (eg Cambridge) and business schools (eg London and Manchester).
Eos has progressed from graduate recruitment to offer specialist career development issues and crisis support for senior managers in commercial, public sector and not-for profit / charity organisations including international staff and children of expatriate families. We are keen to encourage pro-active employment policies for international employers. We have active contacts with other Occupational Health and well-being specialists in Europe.
Recent community and organisational psychology projects have explored ways of tracking psychological climate in organisations and communities during periods of trauma or change. While this is initially offered for discussion with international network contacts similar methods can be applied to commercial or public service organisations or for business planning in periods of political change or conflict.
Costs and Terms
We have standard fee rates for our main operational support programmes e.g. individual staff career reviews and outplacement support with various options (fee rates and example packages are available on request). Quotations will be provided for other projects. Our corporate rates are competitive with other professional consultancies. They also reflect the added value of identifying wider potential of managers and staff or saving the cost and disruption of staff turnover or sickness. Prices are subject to UK Value Added Tax.Corporate projects may require a range of specialist skills. We will advise potential clients of other specialists e.g. Occupational Health or Human Resource consultants if needed for a specific project.
All enquiries are treated in confidence. Eos Terms & Conditions for Corporate Clients explain how confidentiality and disclosure can be handled to guarantee individual privacy while appropriate information is available to Medical, Human Resources/Personnel and Management. These terms are agreed in advance with all concerned according to specific situations. We operate within the British Psychological Society's Guidelines for Professional Practice and Conduct of Occupational Psychologists (PDF download).
Contacting Eos
Individual managers or business owners are welcome to contact Dai Williams to discuss specific situations or to request an introductory briefing on any of the subjects listed above. In larger organisations it may be more appropriate to route enquiries through the Human Resources or Occupational Health Departments (see Professional Networking).
Dai Williams, M.Sc C.Psychol, Chartered Occupational Psychologist
Eos Career Services
32 Send Road, Send
WOKING, Surrey GU23 7ET
UK
For further information about these services click here >> eosuk@btinternet.com
or phone Dai Williams on 01483-222017 (UK) or +44-1483-222017 (international)page updated 1 October 2007. © Eos Career Services 2007
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