Developing the skills of the workforce is a clear way in which capacity and productivity can be increased. Indeed, it is an approach often advocated in this blog. However, there is quite a lot of evidence that at the moment significant (and large) number of employees are pushed too far (or push themselves too far)
Businesses have been through a series of trials and tribulations over the last decade - including economic shocks and, of course, COVID. It is not surprising that they are now looking for AI to give them a productivity boost and help regain their resilience and confidence for the future. However, those of us who have
For almost all time, humanity’s well-being has been determined by how well it does certain things - catch animals for food, grow crops, build ships, forge weapons, etc. The Industrial Revolution changed the way in which things were done, but it didn’t change that basic formula - the people and the nations that produced more
I read a piece recently suggesting that creating opportunities for staff to volunteer for charity work helps raise engagement, motivation snd job satisfaction - all factors that can have a positive impact on productivity. I don't doubt this - though, of course, the increase in productivity has to be sufficient to balance any productivity lost
Many people want to improve their productivity. They are trying to get noticed, promoted and supercharge their careers - or they are trying to get through the mountains of work that seem to perpetually contained in their inbox. That's good - but nowhere near good enough if we want to transform the productivity of the
Some (but thankfully fewer) managers believe that you increase the productivity of employees by driving them harder. increasing their workload and punishing mistakes. Nowadays, most managers know that getting results is more of a balance between 'driving' and 'caring', ensuring that hard-working staff are not overworked, burnt-out or increasingly anxious about their work. We need to
Those interested in productivity improvement (such as me for writing this blog, and you for reading it) often look separately at different sectors off the economy. This is not because the principles of productivity improvement differ across industrial sectors but the context does, as often do the priorities of organisations. This means that treating SMEs
Many of you will know of the concept of a 'flow state' whereby humans enter a mental state where they feel completely engaged and absorbed in the task in hand. Distractions fade away and you concentrate fully onethe task and applying your skills to it. It is sometimes referred to as being 'in the zone'.
Those who read my posts regularly will know that I am not a believer in any positive productivity effects of working from home. It van help but only if the organisation is able to save substantial accommodation costs on workspaces that are no longer needed - and this applies to very few companies who normally 'hedge
There has been a trend over recent years to strip out management layers - searching for the great productivity boom said to result from flattened organisations. Delayering is said to improve communications, increase transparency and lead to faster and better decision-making. The streamlined organisation has higher productivity. Like many productivity approaches, there is an inherent logic to