Feliz Consulting

  Corporate training is an essential part of developing key expertise and competences in our employees and in any business. As we learn more about the importance of inclusivity and diversity, how can we incorporate these important ideas of inclusivity at work into our corporate training plans, actions and company culture? One of the main challenges of embracing inclusivity in training is cultural barriers, and language can be one of these key barriers. Employees from different cultures and backgrounds may better comprehend and absorb training content in their mother tongue, but it can become tricky and expensive for businesses to run stand alone training programs in different languages to cater to everyone. Businesses then have to hire different trainers that speak fluent languages and understand different cultures well. The language barrier in training may create several issues and these are some of them for your consideration: 1. Discrepancy in content understanding – Separate ...

  What is mindfulness? Mindfulness is rooted in meditation and buddhist practices and it has become a popular form of therapy and pain reduction program, especially in the recent decades. In 1979, mindfulness was popularized by Jon Kabat-Zinn at the University of Massachusetts to treat chronic pain. Based on his background in zen practice and his research, John Kabat-Zinn realised the potential of meditations practices in the medical field, hence his inspiring work emerged and started making a huge impact on people’s lives. But what is it, really? Mindfulness is the ability to stay fully present, aware of ourselves and our surroundings non-judgmentally. We may have experienced mindfulness accidentally, perhaps when enjoying a beautiful scenery, or when looking at a child playing, or a moment of total focus at work but many of us tend to stay in autopilot mode, not as aware and focused. Mindfulness teachings and practice help to bring the state of a consciou...

“How are you doing today?” We often greet each other this way. But, truly, how are you feeling today? As we go through a time of unprecedented change; signs of stress and anxiety may creep up on us from different directions. Therefore, an “ordinary” greeting can mean a lot more than the ordinary, if it’s thoughtful and sincere, a “How are you really feeling today?”, “Let’s talk about it”; “I hear you”; “We’ve got each other”; can make a huge difference. According to The Mental Health Foundation in the United Kingdom, the week of 10-16 May is “Mental Health Awareness Week” [1]. In line with this, it is no coincidence that we are seeing more awareness campaigns, quotes, stories, yoga classes, camping and outdoor activities on social media showing the growing importance of wellbeing. In addition to the outdoor activities and exercises we do, what could we say about our inner self? What about our mental strength? Resilience? Mindset?  All of these profoundly affect our day-...

Many companies are experiencing an increase in multiculturalism. The work from home new norm helps to further propel this trend, connecting employees from different regions and different time zones more often than ever. While we enjoy the benefits of cross culture communication, such as better knowledge sharing, gaining more perspectives and ideas, we are also exposed to some down sides. What are these down sides and how can we address them? But also, what are some of the key benefits? Some of the most common obstacles to a collaborative and successful team is the lack of cultural awareness and empathy, persistent unconscious biases , as well as conscious biases and stereotyping. Considering how our world and work are even more connected these days, we find it important to address this rising trend. What are the benefits and importance of multiculturalism? Creativity Having employees bring different perspective is a crucial resource for a company’s success. Based on research, a...

What does science has to say about positive emotions at work? The study of positive psychology and organizational psychology look at these topics in details. Through research, we are provided with concrete evidence that positive emotions are more than just personal moods, but actual factors for positive change in a team and organisation. What types of positive emotions are good for work? According to Professor Barbara Fredrickson and her 15-year research program, productivity and workplace satisfaction can be enhanced with 10 positive emotions. Here we describe a few that we find particularly useful for you to have in the workplace: Joy - joyfulness makes us want to “play” and get involved, which is particularly important for learning skills and experiential learning. Gratitude - being grateful allows us to appreciate and be generous to others, hence we can build better social bonds and relationships at work. Hope - Being hopeful is a great attribute to inspire optimism in dire circum...

Think of the last time you took up an exercise plan or that time you decided to quit a bad habit - how did it work out for you? Many of us have experienced obstacles in fostering good habits and getting rid of bad ones. However, none of us should stop ever trying. But how can we do it better? According to research, nearly 40% of our daily activities are habitual. So, instead of leaving this big portion of life to autopilot mode and standard habits, we can actually do better and program the content of repetitive behaviours to work for us, coach ourselves in a better way. Here in this brief piece, we would like to share some ideas on how to change habits more effectively and be happier. What is a habit? Firstly, let’s understand what a habit is. In psychology, a habit refers to a process where actions are triggered automatically in response to mental context that are learned through prior experiences. A habit comes in the form of automatic actions in order to spend minimum mental resourc...

  With the Equal Opportunities Commission’s Youth Ambassadors We also received great feedback from the students who attended the workshop! “Today’s meeting was impressive and practical. I’ve been wanting to improve my speech for a while now and this presentation has thought me important things - handling nerves, proper posing, and engaging audience. I’d love to have EOC hold more workshops similar to this.” “Today’s training was great. I learnt a lot such as how to be relaxed, confident and professional when giving presentation. It was fun. Mônica was so friendly and also engaged with the class. I like her so much. In today’s class I learnt so many skills!” “This workshop is easily one of my favourite so far. The presenter was really knowledgeable about public speaking and gave us tips relevant to our background.” We really enjoyed this opportunity to partner with the EOC and work with such enthusiastic individuals! Original content posted on https://www.felizconsulting...

  In order to answer this question, we must first understand what unconscious bias is, then look at the content and format of such unconscious bias training to see the possible impact. It is crucial to look at how unconscious and conscious biases, diversity and inclusion programs affect the workplace.  Can they help embrace diversity and promote true inclusion?! If done well, we believe they can. What is Unconscious Bias? As the words suggest, unconscious bias refers to a bias that we are unaware of, which happens outside of our control. It is a bias that happens automatically and is triggered by our brain making quick judgments and assessments of people and situations, based on our background, including our cultural environment, our values, and personal experiences. When we hear the words “Unconscious Bias,” many people still tend to have a negative reaction and think of it as something bad that “others have” but “not me”. However, it is important to understand the concept a...

Picture by Nik Macmillan Most successful people have had a coach by their side. They would also agree that one of the best decisions they have made in order to be happier and win has been to integrate this executive coaching into their day-to-day lives. Bill Gates, Oprah and Eric Schmidt are some of the many examples of successful people who attribute a significant part of their success to the lessons and experiences they had by having a coach. Bill Gates, the founder of Microsoft, believes that everyone needs coaching. As he said: "Everyone needs a coach. We all need people who give us feedback. That is how we improve." What is Executive Coaching? In every good coaching arrangement, there is a deep dive into self-awareness looking at strengths, weaknesses and positive potential of humans. In Executive Coaching there is a big element of receiving feedback, but it is so much more than that. Executive Coaching is an efficient, high impact process that helps people and...

Marriage equality is the state of having the same rights and responsibilities of marriage as others, regardless of one's sexual orientation or gender identity. We at FELIZ Consulting believe that everyone should have equal rights and opportunities in life.  LGBT+ in the Workplace Although things have evolved and improved in the world in regards to equality, the LGBT+ community often still faces hostility in the workplace. They experience discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity when applying for jobs, at work and outside. Transgender workers are especially vulnerable to discrimination as they are many times not hired -- or are fired or not promoted -- due to their gender identity or expression. Fear prevents LGBT+ employees from bringing their "full selves" to work. They often cover or downplay aspects of their authentic selves (e.g., by hiding personal relationships or changing the way they dress, speak or express themselves) ...

Diversity is a measure of the difference in identity: elements like gender, ethnicity, age, sexual orientation, ability, religion and more. Inclusion is a respect for and appreciation of these differences – the deliberate act of welcoming and valuing diversity. Racial Diversity & Inclusion in the Workplace In a workplace, diversity means employing people who may be different from each other and who do not all come from the same background.2 Workplace diversity doesn't just extend to hiring diverse individuals but also making sure that the participation of these employees is equal.3 This is when it is so important to look into our biases, conscious and unconscious, slow down the decision-making process and make better choices. Initiatives like the EOC Charter, customized training and 1:1 executive coaching to leaders can help organizations grow into a more inclusive place. EOC The Equal Opportunities Commission (EOC) is a statutory body responsible for impl...

I think it is fair to say that most of us are feeling a bit unsettled about the uncertainties brought up by the COVID-19, the work from home arrangements and how everything is just very different than our typical routine. With all these changes, I wonder what are you doing to stay physically and mentally healthy during these times? Here are my top 5 tips that I hope can help you, just as they are helping me! (1) Make the most of it: Whereas it is inconvenient to be homebound, to wear a mask when going out and to have your typical daily routine interrupted, it is also an opportunity to appreciate what we have and to make the best out of it. I’ve been feeling really grateful for my home, the medical care we have in Hong Kong and the family bonding time that this virus is giving my family. Don’t get me wrong, having a husband and two teenagers home most of the day drives me crazy at times! But on the positive side, having everyone home has created a lot of great moments...