Effective Decisions and Implementation

As CEO or Head Teacher, do you occasionally feel frustrated by the failure of your senior managers to implement decisions effectively or their blaming of others for the ineffective outcome? Occasionally, the cause may be the incompetence of a manager. Usually, the cause is ambiguity in the decision processes within the school, company etc. That […]

Management Bonuses – what should they reinforce?

Once more the issue of rewards and links to long term success of the company have been raised.  The Financial Reporting Council will be advocating stronger links and also clauses to enable bonuses to be clawed back [1].  However, focusing on the payment formula alone will not produce a sound scheme.  Like an iceberg, the danger […]

Develop Young People for their Working Life

Are young people ill equipped for life at work?   We blame schools for not giving youngsters the skills to be effective when entering the workforce. However, it is not just school leavers, graduates also lack the necessary skills.  So is it just our education system or is it a failure by managers to work with […]

Industrial Action – plan your responses in case you are caught up or caught out

When the economic climate is troubled, industrial action tends to increase due to several factors – differing political views, general uncertainty, frustration and accentuated problems within organisations.  You can be caught up by such action even though your organisation is not a target.  For example, delivery drivers and service engineers may encounter picket lines when […]

Employee Engagement or Re-engagement

The need to engage with work forces to help drive the economy forward is receiving much attention. Many attempts have been made to define engagement (1) but put simply it is about connecting with employees and others associated with the organisation to produce an effective and customer focused firm that adapts successfully. Academic studies have […]

Employing a Cost Effective Mix of Temporary Workers/Staff *

Deciding by Fact or Fiction Do you have the right mix of temporary workers to meet your seasonal or fluctuating needs? Have you experienced a pressing need for temporary workers but none with the right skills/knowledge are to hand immediately? Over 54% of employers rely upon agency workers (1) for more than 12 week periods […]

Harnessing the Living Entity in your Organisation *

In companies and public service organisations, senior managers face similar challenges to raise performance and provide added value.  Their technology, markets, resources and context will differ but they will assert that their people are their most important asset but still struggle to optimize innovation and performance of their people.  In the turbulent months ahead, it […]