When I was learning about management and productivity, one important exercise was the in-tray exercise where the student is faced with a pile of documents from an in-tray and has to work through the pile dealing with them if possible or prioritising them for later handling if that is more appropriate.  Some could perhaps be delegated

I read quite a lot of studies that suggest that remote working did not and does not, negatively impact productivity. However, I am sceptical. The studies are generally of 2 types. The first set are studies that essentially consist of questionnaires asking employees if they have been less productive whilst working from home.  Not surprisingly, they

In the past, you measured how hard people were working by such things as noting who was at their desk or who spoke up in meetings, and who had extended breaks or too many days off sick. In these days of remote and hybrid working, you’ll have to find a new way. Those simple observations

Teamwork is essential in any organisation. Each team must have clear goals and targets and must be capable of working collaboratively to achieve them. Until a couple of years ago,. team building and team development followed well-established patterns based on a thorough understanding  of team building and associated problems. Then pandemic and the move to

We hear quite a lot these days about work-life balance.  But how do you know your own balance is wrong? Well, burnout is man obvious sign. If you are exhausted, physically or mentally, you need to re-evaluate your priorities. But it is not always so obvious. Another possible sign is that your health is OK  but you’re

For some time I was a member of the governing Council of a UK professional body.  We had regular meetings about the forward direction and strategy for the organisation, which at its peak had abut 25,000 members.  We Council members talked, pontificated, debated important issues.  As ever, on such bodies, everybody thought they should make some contribution to

Some managers think they need to keep an eye on their staff, fearing that, if they don’t, those staff will nor give their maximum contribution. One of the problems is that the staff will know they are being watched and will lose motivation immediately, fearing they are not trusted to work to the best of

I talked last week about giving people decent work to do if you want them to be self-motivated. I stand by that but, of course, it’s not the complete solution. Many businesses overload key members of the workforce so that they burn out and either leave or go off sick. Thankfully, in the last few

I have said may times in this blog that expecting higher productivity through exhortation is unlikely to be successful. Organisations or nations need systematic processes that address the causes of low productivity - and actions to reverse or eliminate those causes. In addition, though, employees need decent work to do … they need clear tasks