Have you ever thought why you make the profit you do? Yes the market sets your selling price based on perceived value, your value proposition. How quickly do you react to that market information? Do you have a business that is constantly trying to improve its competitive advantage? Largely that is to do with productivity, and the productivity economics in particular. Can we afford to be more productive? What can we do for achieve better work productivity? How can we increase productivity at work? What if your people were 10% more productive? Or 20%, 30%….. Ask your finance people what that would do to your profit. How do you achieve great increases in people’s productivity? That’s largely down to leadership styles and management skills to boost employee engagement. Forget the employee engagement survey, the real measure of your employee’s relationship with your company is your bottom line, your profitability. Enjoy the video then call us! It could be the best investment of five minutes of your time this year!
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Positive management
Have a look at the management practice in your organisation for a moment. I’m sure you give people objectives, goals or targets and check to see they have accomplished them. That is catching people out who have failed! Wouldn’t it be better if the management process helped people achieve what was needed. The video has a trivial example, but what could you do in your organisation?
Continue readingPraise the person, criticise the behaviour – Performance Review
Whether you do annual Performance Reviews or have adopted a process of regular ‘chats’ the title applies – Praise the person, criticise the behaviour. It is possible to have a conversation about what they did, their behaviour, as something apart from their self. You can have a dispassionate discussion as to why the behaviour was not appropriate, not optimal. It is impossible to discuss what went wrong when the person feels attacked and threatened. Conversely, when someone has done something well, praise the person for the behaviour. The balance makes a person feel more positive about their work, their manager and their employer, so they seek to achieve more positive feedback. Don’t forget “Praise the person, criticise the behaviour”! I’d call that a win-win, wouldn’t you?
Continue readingEmployee Engagement Initiatives that don’t work!
Employee Engagement Initiatives, I’m sure you’ve tried some or seen some? They promise to fix your low engagement score yet your survey results barely change? Using to a survey is like using a microscope – any change you see will be microscopic! An effective employee engagement programme will show on your bottom line. If it doesn’t then it hasn’t worked.
Continue readingFocus on improvement, not results
We all have targets don’t we? The target at the top determines the strategy and the direction of the organisation. Have you ever been on a trip with your children and five minutes down the road they start with “are we there yet?” If you have you know how annoying, frustrating and miserable the journey can be! It’s supposed to be a fun trip! Is your Boss one that asks “are we there yet incessantly”? Don’t be the Boss that asks that! Watch the video for what to do instead – the clue is in the title!
Continue reading‘Impossible results’ say the HR partners!
‘Impossible results’, why would HR Consultants say that do you think? There is a world of difference between HR and People Management. HR is about behaving properly in a legal sense, contracts, obligations and so on. People Management, Line Management, is about getting work done by the people. Yes, of course it has to be legal, decent and properly done. So HR advice is needed. But their view of People Management is heavily shrouded, peering through fog of legal restriction. In essence, HR is reactive, they adapt local rules and advice to changes in the law and company policy. As a result, they are not on the cutting edge of innovation. Don’t imagine I have a poor view of the HR function! It is necessary and it isn’t People Management. The video proves the point precisely! Because, these ‘impossible results’ are historical!
Continue readingListening to Government Business Advice is a bad idea
Why do I think listening to Government Business Advice is a bad idea? We are two weeks from the supposed date for Brexit. It looks like the decision, the form of the decision may take some while longer. Parliament can’t agree. Fiddling while Rome burns perhaps? Meanwhile, businesses are all demanding that the Government do something to make business more profitable. Unfortunately, there is no academic qualification, no apprenticeship scheme, no training whatsoever needed to be elected to Parliament. The only reason to look to the Government for help is because they have the money, our money. The Government does not understand business! The video has an example of why listening to Government Business Advice is a bad idea.
Continue readingThe thought process to raise productivity
There is much confusion around productivity, and its meaning, not helped by the same word being used to mean different things. The meaning differs for an individual, an organisation and the Government! Productivity is important, indeed vital. It determines your standard of living: whether your organisation succeeds and how much the Government has to spend. We need better productivity to afford the NHS, Education, Police, in fact, for everything the Government provides. You can watch a definition of productivity here Watch the video to improve your thinking on productivity.
Continue readingValue Engineering your Processes
Value Engineering is an approach to understanding how what you are doing contributes to the value your Customers’ receive, and that they value. You may be surprised at what you unearth when you think about it! The video shows you the way.
Continue readingProductivity
Productivity – a simple word with multiple meanings! The UK has struggled with “productivity” since Victorian times! The Victorians were worried about the rise of the American and German industrial competition. All that a century seems to have added is a few more countries for us to be worried about! Productivity means different things to different people at different times. This video tries to clarify what “productivity” means in your organization.
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