The Big Freeze - your winter check list
Just as you would take steps to prepare your car for winter, topping up the anti‐freeze and charging up the battery, it's essential to ensure your business can keep running when the cold begins to bite.

This involves examining your HR policies. As always, employment legislation can be tricky, so we
urge you to take advice. However, once your policies and procedures are firmly in place, you will be better prepared for whatever comes your way, including volcanic eruptions and next summer's holiday travel hold‐ups!... Read Full Article

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How to buy the right laptop
Power technology users need a machine that delivers top performance at a reasonable price. But before you head for the retail outlets this year, it may be worth stepping back for a few minutes to consider all the other elements that go into making the ideal laptop. Have you thought about battery life, keyboard quality, and portability? Is your next machine going to be a notebook, a netbook or perhaps a trendy table? ... Read Full Article

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Should you learn ITTOs by Heart?
Many project managers have successfully passed the PMP exam without any memorization. The current PMP exam is all about an in-depth understanding of applying project management concepts and principles from the PMBOK® Guide as well as general management knowledge from other sources to project situations.... Read more

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Welcome to another newsletter from PSS-Europe.

My first experience of using the Eurostar service is that it really quite good, no long hanging around at departure gates and the queues for check-in and passport control are very short. As the name suggest PSS-Europe does work abroad as well as in the UK, with consultants capable of delivering pan-European projects using matrix based and or outsourced teams.
PSS-Europe is joining as a “just make it happen” project reaches deployment, it is not the ideal introduction but having done a number of these types of projects a solution will be deployed and a stakeholders managed. Part of the engagement is to bring structure to the next 6 site deployments, changing just make it happen, into a repeatable production line deployment process. The work is interesting as the will to change is there in the project staff but the challenge is ensuring that there is senior management buy-in to the change to a structured project management approach. Projects can be  as structured as you like but if there is no strategic direction and priorities keep changing then there will be little chance of success. Currently the programme is looking at potential quick wins that will prove my case in order to gain trust that less haste will improve speed of delivery.
The ideal will be if PSS-Europe can manage the development of the PMO at the client site as it is currently in the embryonic stage as it is vital that the PMO manages the governance of projects and has the authority to enforce the rules. PSS-Europe can bring the skills and experience to manage the project governance and implement programme management and support the senior management in the development of vision and strategy. The aim being that having set the vision and strategy the business will define programmes of work to support the vision and strategy and then the projects that will deliver the changes to achieve the vision and strategy.
The New Year pipeline is looking strong with a number of leads opening up that could prove interesting; all involve business process re-engineering and significant travel either in EMEA or N. America or both. If two out of three materialize next year will be a good one.

The key: communicate, communicate, communicate.

Implementing organizational change is a difficult and critical task. It has always been that way and is getting more so with the accelerated rate of change in most organizations. Whether the change is being forced by external issues (such as wartime scenarios or base realignments and closures) or being brought about internally by leadership decisions (such as implementing new financial systems or consolidating financial services), most people seem to resist change even if they agree it is needed. If, however, one gets below the surface, people may not be resisting change but, rather, the process or transition that change requires... Read more..

Liz Drysdale - Project Manager
Available immediately

Liz is a multi-skilled, energetic and highly capable manager with a demonstrable record of delivering quality, technical and business change projects and programmes to time and budget. Accomplished in building and maintaining effective relationships to ensure successful delivery, Liz is a confident and able manager who enjoys high level responsibility. Liz is self-motivated with an excellent ‘can-do' attitude with the ability to work alone, as part of a team and as a man manager.

More information on Liz's career.

To book Liz's time

Tom - 07789 994994 or E-Mail Project Services ___________________________________________________

Ajay Budhraja - Project Manager
Available immediately

A Well-organised and flexible individual, with over 5+ years' experience of working in IT focused environments gaining a great knowledge of key IT systems, Software and ability of understanding key architecture across organisations.

Working within Professional services across EMEA, highly customer focussed, and required key understanding and demonstration of internal products and customer network architecture. The Project Management role was highly involved in the presales and ongoing management of the customer post successful implementation.

More information on Ajay's career.

To book Ajay's time

Tom - 07789 994994 or E-Mail Project Services
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Jane Donoghue - Programme and change manager
Available December 2010

Jane is an experienced, pragmatic programme and change manager with an impressive track record of driving out process issues and recommending and delivering change. She has excellent communication skills and builds credibility and relationships across an organisation to facilitate understanding, buy-in and ownership at all levels. She has the ability to grasp complex and unfamiliar issues quickly to find solutions to business and organisational challenges.

With over 20 years experience in the financial services industry, latterly, her experience has been within the Carbon Trust, a government funded organisation which has enabled her to demonstrate her flexibility and transferable skills across very different business environments.

Jane has significant experience of working in general insurance, London Market and multi-national environments. She led a global process practice and was a member of the technology and e-business practices for a global insurer as well as being the Business Change Manager for a major international programme delivering process and technology change across 135 countries.

More information on Jane's career.

To book Jane's time

Tom - 07789 994994 or E-Mail Project Services
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Lawrence Richardson - Senior Consultant/Project Manager
Available immediately

Lawrence has substantial international experience of managing and delivering major projects and programmes of work primarily in the Telecoms Sector. Successfully working with management at all levels to determine appropriate business and technical strategies and manage the implementation.

Held senior roles as Programme Manager, Billing and Revenue Assurance Director and Project Manager/Consultant (contract and permanent). Over 20 years progressive experience, while still retaining a fresh and direct approach to new challenges. Able to quickly integrate into any organisation or sector and provide immediate value. Business focus is paramount and most projects have been sponsored by the Business other than IT or technical enablers. Effective Stakeholder management has been key factor in getting good results.

A significant contributor in establishing four separate start-up operations in Europe, USA and the Middle East .

More information on Lawrence's career.

To book Lawrence's time

Tom - 07789 994994 or E-Mail Project Services ___________________________________________________

Fabio Salomao -Programme & Project Manager
Available immediately

Fabio is currently seeking to facilitate an organisation in prioritising and implementing business change, aligned to strategic objectives. Having managed and contributed to the implementation of both business and technology programmes between £1-500 Million for blue chip organisations, Fabio could support a senior director (acting as a Programme Manager, Director or PMO) in controlled environments.

He is a pragmatic professional, possessing good academic qualifications and an ability to quickly learn and grasp concepts. His most recent experience includes:

• Programme and Project management
• Performance improvement
• Programme Management Office
• Offshore
• Vendor management
• Quality assurance
• Corporate Social Responsibility
• Full programme lifecycle of enterprise Web based solution
• Systems Integration, software and infrastructure

More information on Fabio's career.

To book Fabio's time

Tom - 07789 994994 or E-Mail Project Services

VAT change approaching fast ...

With the countdown to Christmas well under way, don't forget that the standard rate of VAT in the UK will rise from 17.5% to 20% on January 4th 2011. If VAT applies to your goods and services, you'll need to start planning now. Find out how and when to apply the changes to ensure that your organisation is ready for business in the New Year.

HMRC Guide to standard VAT rate changes