What Do You Expect?
Those of you who are regular readers of this blog will know that I am a great believer in looking after the well-being of your employees - making sure they are engaged, fully skilled, motivated
What Do You Expect?
Those of you who are regular readers of this blog will know that I am a great believer in looking after the well-being of your employees - making sure they are engaged, fully skilled, motivated
Let Your Employees Flow
The Lean philosophy emphasis a number of factors related to effective and efficient working - one of which is ‘flow’. Materials and information should flow through s process with no barriers or restrictions. What about
Create Post-Pandemic Networking Opportunities
You should always keep your business life separate from your personal and social life. True? On first reading, or first thought, it seems to make sense. However, think of all the times you have: Been bowling
Use Your Data Well
Modern manufacturing or service delivery systems produce lots of opportunities for collecting data which can be used to improve those systems. Many firms have recognised this and have installed a system of key performance indicators (KPIs) which
Volunteers Wanted
Volunteering generates a £4.6bn productivity boost to the UK economy each year, new research has found. A study by the think tank Pro Bono Economics, commissioned by the Royal Voluntary Service, estimates the UK benefits
Don’t Turn Burnout into Bored-Out
Many people seem to be suffering from burnout. They feel the organisation asks too much of them, that they are never completely off-duty. An organisation might respond with consideration by reigning back on some of the
Making Learning Productive
Todays’ students are happy to use technology as part of the learning process. However, teachers and parents are worried about the distraction effect of technology when students go ‘off topic’ and start browsing and
Big Isn’t Always Best
There is a universal truth that the private sector is always more efficient than the public sector - that the profit motive drives efficiency. Larger companies have the advantage of being able to negotiate e
What is Non-Productive?
A focus on productivity, and its development is a good thing - indeed, an essential thing for all organisations. However, there is a danger that we over-focus and forget about balance. There is a tendency
Going Backwards
The UK is technically in recession - it has had two consecutive quarters with negative growth. Worse, the economy has been at best stagnant for over two years and productivity has been falling. Our Prime
Small Can Be (More) Efficient
SMEs (Small and Medium Enterprises) have a number of problems reaching optimum productivity when comported to ‘the big boys’. It is harder for them to achieve the same economies of scale and hard for them
Silo Mentality
Silo mentality is one of the most significant obstacles to organisational success. It has become more severe and more common during the era of hybrid working and especially remote working. Because communication takes more effort, and is
Exploit the Zeigarnik Effect
The Zeigarnik effect describes the way unfinished tasks remain active in our mind, intruding into our thoughts and our sleep until they are dealt with, much like a hungry person will notice every restaurant and
AI Outside the Box
Many people - and especially pundits - are predicting significant productivity gains from the use of AI (Artificial Intelligence). However few will say exactly how this transformation will happen. My view is that gains will come
The New Status Quo
Lots of ‘soft’ initiatives are claimed to improve performance and productivity, often by increasing the motivation or satisfaction of employees. These include such things as reduced working hours, flexible working hours and wellness programmes. These may indeed
Virtually non-Productive
We all got used to meeting online during the pandemic. Apps like Zoom and Teams were part of the fabric of our work. Now many of us are back in the office but the Zoom/Teams
Am I Wasting My Time?
There are quite a few blogs offering advice on personal productivity - how to handle complex ToDo lists, how to delegate tasks, how to prioritise, how to concentrate on important tasks, and so on. Such
Happy New Year
Each year we say to friends, family and colleagues, "Happy New Year" - either as the 1st January rolls around or the first time we see them in the new year. What we are saying
Soccer Lessons
It is obvious that good soccer coaches or mangers earn the respect of their players and create a ‘playing system’ and an environment (or culture) in which players want to perform for their colleagues, club
Getting Engaged
HR professionals have been trying for years to discover how to improve employee engagement and productivity, A collaboration between Wharton Neuroscience Initiative (WNI) and global consulting firm Slalom is aiming to find out. By giving EEG
Soccer Lessons
I am a soccer fan. I watch it (mainly on TV) regularly and have my favourite teams. I also take an interest in football management - especially in the ‘management merry-go-round’ where managers are sacked by one club
Its the Service Sector, Stupid!
Productivity growth has been falling or stagnating for the last couple of decades. Everyone seems surprised. (Well pundits, journalists and politicians do!) I'm not! The growth referred to above was mostly in the manufacturing sector
Theb British Productivity Malaise
Though this post refers specifically to the UK, there are lessons for most nations … so don’t turn the page… read on! UK productivity stagnated some time ago and has been bouncing along the bottom