I like to think I’ve got pretty good geographical awareness.

Turns out I really don’t.

I was down at Chislehurst Golf Club the other day, giving a talk for the GCMA South East.

I finished at 5:30pm, popped my home address into the satnav, selected “fastest” and set off, joking that it was going to take me at least two-and-a-half hours thanks to the M25.

But as time ticked by, there was no indication of me reaching the M25.

Which seemed odd.

It transpired that the sat nav, in its infinite wisdom, had decided going through the middle of London was the quickest route.

Now it may well have been.

I will never know how long it would have taken via the M25, but I didn’t get home until 9pm.

It was lovely to see the Oval Cricket Ground, Battersea power station and the London Eye and the Christmas lights were very pretty.

But in truth, I wanted to be at home, and the advice the tech gave me was not aligned with that desire in any meaningful way.

There’s a parallel there with the clubs who tell us they don’t need human resources support, because – I quote – “we can get everything we need on the internet”.

But here’s the thing: without actually understanding HR, how do you know the document you’re using, or the process you’re following is the right one?

And not just “the right one”, the right one for YOU, your needs and your aims?

You don’t – a Google search might be quicker, but it could result on a seriously damaging detour, potentially to tribunal.

We recently had a situation at a client who had been “too nice” to a new employee.

You might think it’s impossible to be “too nice”, but hear me out:

The client had employed his first female in his fairly new business.

In her first week of work, she was off one day sick and went home early another day.

In the first week!

He rang us and we discussed parting company with her, but at that stage we thought she had haemophilia, which would have been protected under disability discrimination.

He did a return to work interview with her where she said it was actually anaemia that was causing the problems (not a disability) but was then back at work for the rest of the month.

However…

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I used to be Brown Owl. Not a surprise to most of you, I would imagine! And before that a Rainbow leader and a Guide leader.

I did enjoy every aspect of Guiding, but my favourite bit by miles has always been the campfire. And it turns out that I have managed to get myself a bit of a reputation in that area!

I am the Campfire Lady!

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I was on holiday over half term, in Gran Canaria and it was GLORIOUS – sun, sea, sand, and all the food you could dream of.

Seriously, one of the perks of holidays and staying in a hotel is that you can’t cook, even if you want to, which means the hardship of having to eat beautiful food in lovely restaurants every night.

It does come with its own specific challenge though: how much to tip.

And funnily enough, I find it harder to decide on the gratuity when the service has been good – I don’t tend to struggle when it’s been mediocre or worse!

But more than that, what really concerns me is whether the staff are actually going to GET the tip, particularly in the electronic age.

Does the employer keep it and not pass it on at all? Highly likely.

Or does it get put into a pot for all staff to share? Okay, but not really rewarding good service.

Or does that one person actually get what I have tipped? Highly unlikely.

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One of our clients recently had a troublesome greenkeeper.

As each week ticked by, new troubles presented themselves – absences, poor performances, you name it, it happened.

And, because we were advising them, they went through the proper disciplinary process, and the greenkeeper ended up on a final written warning.

Then came the final straw: a shouting and swearing match with his boss, in front of the whole clubhouse.

By anyone’s book, that’s gross misconduct, but a less grievous offence would still be grounds for termination – once someone has an active final warning, anything they do after that would incur even a first written warning, it’s grounds for dismissal.

Yes, you do need to go through a process, but it’s very straightforward, and it seemed like the best way forward in this situation.

We began an investigation, making it clear to the employee how serious this was, and started preparing for a disciplinary meeting.

Then, plot twist, the employee resigned with immediate effect, before we could invite him to the meeting.

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It’s now less than a year until – fingers crossed – my youngest child will be leaving home for university.

And as much as I love to faux-moan about him, I also love having him around, and everyone’s been telling me how much I’m going to miss having children in the house.

So I decided to do something about it to get ahead of the curve, and started looking for a holiday I’d NEVER take the children on, even though they’re both adults now.

Long story short, I’m now scheduled for a transatlantic cruise on the Queen Mary 2 to New York, with a balcony cabin; proper bucket list stuff.

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