February 20, 2009
Guru likes a corporate jolly as much as the next person.
In theory, the higher up the career ladder you climb, the better quality jolly you should be invited on. But in today's economically tough times, companies and PR firms are cutting back on the entertainment they offer to key contacts.
Back in the good old '80s when greed was good, Guru knew of journalists extravagently wined and dined by big IT firms. One colleague was even taken to New York on Concorde by a famous software firm.
The Cabinet Office has recently published a list of hospitality received by board members of government departments in 2007. Some of Whitehall's big-wigs really are enjoying a better class of freebie.
Jonathan Stephens, permanent secretary at the Department of Culture Media and Sport, enjoyed the tennis at Wimbledon twice within five days.
Dozens of civil servants are listed as having had meals provided by private sector firms, attending the ballet, rugby matches, cricket, dinner dances, foreign trips and Proms concerts. Cabinet Office HR chief Gill Rider even declared her night at the Personnel Today Awards back in November 2007.
Guru was also pleased to see that Beverley Shears, HR director at the Ministry of Justice, went to a 'life training' event hosted by TV hypnotist Paul McKenna explaining the vaguaries of neuro-linguistic programming.
Shears was the most prolific HRD on the list when it came to hoovering up the freebies. For the seven month period between April-November 2007 she enjoyed 19 lunches or dinners with consultants and recruitment firms.
The Cabinet Office has pointed out that corporate hospitality is an accepted practice in business for maintaining relationships. All Guru will say is that Shears must have excellent relations with, among others, IT supplier Fujitsu.
Guru's Tweets