Industrial Relations
One of the ironies of modern business life is that whenever anyone uses the term ‘industrial relations’ they are almost certainly referring to poor relationships. Similarly, the ‘industrial relations industry’ is about handling (and dealing
Mind the Gap
Firms who wish to be fully productive need a workforce that is engaged, motivated and fully skilled. Firms who do not have fully skilled employees are, in effect, giving away capacity.. Firstly, of course, employees who
Its Productivity Week
For most (all?) countries, at the moment, that headline could ha de been rewritten as ‘Its Productivity Weak”. Productivity, globally, has been fading as a result of general economic decline, the COVID pandemic, the war in
Who Trains Who?
Those managers and executives who have come through the ranks, maintaining their own diaries, typing their own words and creating their own presentations often find it difficult to adjust when they reach the dizzy heights
Is This The Future of Work?
Is the future of work to be similar to the hybrid forms we have seen emerge from the pandemic - with workers attending the workplace only 2 or 3 days per week (or even less)?
What about the Workers?
Over the last few decades there has been steady and continual divergence between productivity growth and pay rises, Analysis of historical data shows that productivity and compensation for ordinary workers grew in near lockstep from
Your Monday morning task
On Monday morning (or perhaps Sunday evening), ask yourself the following questions : What are the critical issues this week? What do I absolutely have to get done this week? What might come back to
How artificial, how intelligent?
Some people praise the potential of AI (Artificial Intelligence). Some are scared by it. Who is right? All of them. We know that all new technologies tend to be misused by unscrupulous and unprincipled actors. The
Small can be effective
In a changing world, business leaders are looking for more training options that provide greater flexibility and variety. They are looking for a mix of formats and delivery options, with a preference for short courses.
Re-Generation
In many countries, governments are raising the retirement age to contain pension and welfare costs. Today’s workers are going to have to work to a ripe, old age. (Since, generally, people are healthier and fitter than they
Digital Overload
We have all experienced sensory overload due to the deluge of emails we receive. This is even more so for those of us whose organisations have provided us with a range of helpful (?) productivity
In Retrospect
A new trend is emerging of organisations organising review and retrospection meetings - perhaps every 2 weeks or so to allow employees (collectively) to review what they’ve done, what they’ve achieved, what went well and
Where is the growth engine?
Lots of countries that expanded their productivity through the 1980s and 1990s have slowed to a crawl. Their 'growth engines' seem to have disappeared or been dismantled. COVID-19 may have been the final nail in
Continuity
Getting people back to the office is proving difficult for many organisations. Employees have got used to the flexibility, and to the lack of commuting, associated with home working. Many organisations have saved money by allowing users
Can I have some more, Sir?
We all need more food. The world population continues to grow. At the same time, however, we devote less land to agriculture as we create mega cities and urban sprawl. The only solution is increased agricultural productivity.
Let Them Laugh
I remember once walking past an office and the staff in there were obviously enjoying themselves. They were laughing - at what, I know not. My first thought was ‘How odd. Shouldn’t they be taking their work
Simple
A very simple way of thinking about productivity is to identify the things that block or slow down throughput and eliminate them. I know this is an oversimplification because in some case, removing a bottleneck
Working Hard is Not Enough
I get concerned when I see famous people in all sort of fields (‘celebrities’?) give advice to youngsters saying something like “You can be anything you want to be, do anything you want to do. You
Learn from other Disciplines
Someone once told me if you want innovation in engineering, don’t ask an engineer. They’ll give you accepted (and workable) engineering solutions but they won’t give you groundbreaking, innovative or creative solutions. What you need is
We need real, not artificial, intelligence
Artificial Intelligence (AI) is touted as ‘the next big thing’ in productivity improvement - and there is little doubt that we will see lots of examples of AI taking over relatively menial, snd some more
Are Some People More Productive Than Others?
Most people assume that some people are more productive than others - and for some jobs, that is clearly true. But for many people, their productivity is determined by ‘the system’, the technology and the productivity
What’s The Purpose?
Many firms put in systems to improve productivity, by monitoring what is going on and how hard people are working. They manage - or micro-manage - the time of their employees and how it is filled.
Trteat gyouyr employees like dogs
Do you have a dog? If so, you know that, above all else, dogs value ... food, yes, but consistent behaviour from their owner. That is how you train your dog - by applying consistent
The Technology Circle
Last week I suggested that technology might be useful in helping drive productivity forward. This week, I am changing my view after further reflection. Yes, over time firms have used technology to improve their business