We have invited over 600 customers to test the new renewals service and printed just under 150 passports. We are still looking for volunteers to participate in the Online Renewals private beta. If you (or a friend or family member) need to renew your passport, please take a moment to complete our eligibility survey at http://www.surveymonkey.com/r/passportrenewalbeta

This week saw the whole of the HMPO SLT spending three days in Durham to learn about OPEX and to help shape the next few months. In a fast and furious few days the team had a deep dive into OPEX and participated in many of the same exercises and activities that we are currently delivering to Level 1 leaders. There was also a lot of discussion about the next steps for HMPO, particularly how we widen the impact of OPEX beyond passport and GRO operations.

This was a critical event for HMPO as OPEX can only be successful when it has both sponsorship from the top and the Level 0 leaders living and breathing the OPEX model.

Just down the corridor Dave and Lynette were also delivering the Learning and Engagement week to another group of very enthusiastic Operations Level 1 leaders. They will be delivering these events, one every two weeks between now and the end of February.

The OPEX Movers Yammer site is rapidly gathering followers - and we have posted pictures from the engagement events this week - check it out if you have not done so already!

- Graham Roberts

The SLT spent three days in Durham this week to attend an OpEx training event. We did some of the learning and exercises from the Level 1 course currently being taught in Ops as well as taking time to discuss the rollout of OpEx across the whole of HMPO, including S&C. We jumped in feet first, making a rather chaotic production line for paper aeroplanes and building magnificent lego towers. You’ll be pleased to hear that the team which included all the S&C members of the SLT (Debs, Sophie, Gemma and me) were the clear winners!! Photos are on Yammer.

We’ve returned from the training excited to implement OpEx across the business and you should be seeing some changes soon. The Private Office Team will be starting our journey from Monday so if we start using different language and talking about “monkeys” you’ll know why.

As OpEx training spreads across the business and we all get to take some time out to consider better ways of working, there will be plenty of opportunities for everyone to get involved. But we won’t be waiting for the training opportunities to come to S&C before we get started. Debs, Sophie, Gemma and I will be changing some of the ways we personally work with you straight away and, as I said above, we will be using some of the tools we have learned immediately to jump start the S&C OpEx bus.

- Alice Matthews, Chief of Staff

This last stage coincided with the Christmas season; both inspiring and frustrating. I played a couple of gigs at The Abbey Tavern, Kentish Town on 8th December and 17th December - which warranted high ‘personal scores’. But the other dates were somewhat hit-and-miss.

Previously, playing The Duke’s Head, Richmond, I never felt ‘at one’ with the technical set-up. But on the 11th December, I realized why. Because the pub was in a residential area, there was a lukewarm sound. Unperturbed, I used the second night on the 18th, to premier a Van Morrison obscurity, ‘Joe Harper Saturday Morning’. Despite some slight chord-mangling, I was pleased that I played it - a last-minute decision.

Wednesday 9th December, I played at Venn Street Records Bar, Clapham. A ‘double-edged affair’: “Nice sound (with a top notch PA/mixer), shame about the noise”. It was dominated by the ‘after-work crowd’ who generated a ‘Wall of Sound’. I played over well this customary ambience. But I didn’t get any reactions ‘from the floor’.

Sunday 13th December was my birthday (I celebrated the previous evening). I played at The Stage Door in Waterloo. I announced said anniversary after my first song. The audience later sung the appropriate song after I played - a nice gesture. This venue was where I played my final gig a week later - to round fully off the quota.

Thursday 17th December, I ventured east to the former Olympic town of Stratford to play The Edward VII. This was generally one to ‘get out the way’ as the punters were celebrating Christmas. The guy who organized it was a nice bloke; played four songs and the sound was good. But I had the same dilemma a la Clapham…..

When it was over, it felt predictably anti-climactic. But I thought that I did well insofar that I had ‘braved the cold’ at the very least!

- Humphrey Fordham

Evidence suggests there are five steps we can all take to improve our mental wellbeing, don’t take my word for it try them out for yourself;

• Connect – Connect with the people around you: your family, friends, colleagues and neighbours. Take time to learn something about them, interacting with other people is always interesting and you never know where it might lead.
• Be active – Find an activity that you enjoy and make it a part of your life, being active helps release feel good chemicals.
• Keep learning – Learning new skills can give you a sense of achievement and a new confidence. It doesn’t have to be work related it could be a new activity – canyoning. Knitting this year’s Christmas jumper or unleash the rock star in you (cause we all just wanna be big rock stars).
• Give to others – Smile at a colleague, say thank you, break the 2MS mould - if you walk past someone you know say hello (they might not bite. Kind words go a long way.
• Volunteer to help a charity or get involved in raising money for others. Helping others can improve your mental wellbeing.
• Be mindful – Be more aware of the present moment, some people call this ‘mindfulness’. Being more aware of your feelings and thoughts, your body and the world around you can positively change the way you feel about life.

Further information can be found on the NHS metal-wellbeing pages.

Please see the attached flyer about Mental Health and Debt, produced by http://www.moneysavingexpert.com

- Karen Mitchell, People Engagement

Sam Herriott is heading a team with myself and 2 other HMPO staff (Glasgow & Belfast based) who are competing against other teams from the Home Office to raise as much money as we can for the charity Centrepoint. Centrepoint helps homeless young people, not only assisting them to find accommodation, but supports them back into training, education and employment as well as looking after their general wellbeing.

As we are a competitive bunch (and we really want to make a difference to the charity) we are eager to raise as much funds as we can. Logistically it is proving quite difficult due to our locations and we have had several obstacles to overcome. Some of our fund raising objectives are to hold bake sales locally, run a quiz night in the Liverpool area and participate in a sponsored sleep-out to experience what these young people have to go through on a nightly basis. We have created a charity eBay page and have canvassed our own offices for donations for items we can sell with all proceeds (less a minimal eBay fee) going directly to the charity.

We are looking for the support of our S&C colleagues to help us reach our goal. Do you have any unwanted Christmas gifts, good quality clothing and accessories that you no longer want that you would like to donate to our EBay site? Would you consider donating some of your proceeds from your next charity event to our cause? We are open to all suggestions on how to reach our fundraising target and any offers of help would be very much appreciated. This is the link to Centrepoint’s internet page http://www.centrepoint.org.uk/ if you want to learn more about the charity.

Many thanks

- Emma Winning

Last year I made the decision to start making more of an effort in terms of my career development.

Whilst I genuinely love the job I do now, the day to day demands of work and two small kids meant I’d never really taking time out to consider where I want to be in five or ten years’ time.

That is when I decided to set myself up with an external mentor. I knew this approach would work for me because it would force me to ring fence time to talk to my mentor about career development and to complete any tasks they came out of those discussions. I secured a mentor via Civil Service Learning and the whole process was quick and easy. The site allows you to search a database which introduces you to all the coaches/mentors/facilitators out there. You can learn their names, location, areas of expertise etc. Once you find someone you think you could work with, you simply fill in a short form telling them why you are looking for a coach/mentor/facilitator. This is then sent to that person to consider. CSL will then let you know whether they have agreed to become your coach/mentor/facilitator and you take it from there.

My mentor is Kate, she is a G6 in DWP. We meet about once a month and she is great at helping me to work out exactly what it is I want to do. She is a straight talker often reminding me that I can’t have it all and challenging some of my assumptions (I both love and hate the way she asks me why, why, why, why). She has guided me through a number of models and tools and we are now at a point where I have a clear vision of where I want to be in ten years’ time. Now, we are about to plan the interim steps that I need to take to get there which includes how I go about filling any skills gaps.

You can seek a coach/mentor/facilitator to support you on a range of topics not just career development. They include conflict resolution, personal impact, prioritisation, leadership, performance the list goes on and on – the options even list voice coaching. Whilst there is a charge for some of the services available on the CSL page, the mentoring that I receive from Kate and that can be provided by many others like her is completely free.

I really do recommend this approach for anyone who wants to ring-fence time out to think about topics that are important to them and take steps towards a particular outcome.

- Pauline Kirk-Harding

• Rebecca Morris (SEO BA) started 04 January and is working on Secure Delivery.
• Greg Krmadjian (G7 PM) starts 25 January.

Do you know what to do if you feel bullied?

The Home Office Support line can find you the support you need and help you take back control of the situation. Contact them on – 020 7035 6996 or 020 7035 8800

Further information can be found on their Horizon page.

a:gender is the support network for staff in government departments or agencies who have changed or need to change their perceived gender permanently and those who identify as intersex.

The Home Office has recently won first place at the a:gender cross Civil Service summit for a new gender health-check initiative. The health-check was praised by the judges as a benchmark for all government departments on the policies and support offered to those going through gender reassignment or who are intersex.

We (HMPO) continue to receive very positive feedback from both a:gender and Spectrum on the work we do to support our LGBT staff and the service we provide for LGBT customers. Let’s keep the momentum going in 2016 by:

• Challenge – challenge your assumptions and those of others
• Champion - champion difference and the value it brings
• Change – change your outlook and approach

If you want to find out more about a:gender please follow the attached link; http://www.agender.org.uk/

- People Engagement

Next week’s Bulletin will be brought to you by Sophie Conrad.