Management Skills Shortages Continue
Professional and management skills are still in short supply according to latest figures from the Recruitment Confidence Index (RCI).The RCI findings, from the from Cranfield School of Management and The Daily Telegraph, show that more than 40% of organisations responding to the survey anticipate an increase in recruitment activity over the next six months. The […]
Case Study: Supporting Future Leaders at the Learning and Skills Council
The Learning and Skills Council – which aims to make England better skilled and more competitive – has saved over £100,000 on external recruitment costs, in six months, with a new system to develop its next generation of leaders. Now, the LSC plans to run development centres for the next level down in the organisation. […]
Value of Strategy Workshops in Question
Strategy workshops or away days have become common place, but the findings of a new survey raise questions for UK organisations about how much real value they deliver.Despite the expense and time spent on strategy workshops by senior management teams, few measure the impact of these events, according to the study by the Chartered Management […]
Managers Find it Difficult to Switch Off
With holiday season upon us, many managers are finding it difficult to switch off, according to a new survey by the Chartered Management Institute (CMI).Its survey of 6,000 managers found that many are fearful about the impact of their absence and almost half (49%) contact their organisation by choice during their break. A majority (68%) […]
The Way I See It… The Motivational Customer
Sophie Ejsmond of Attiva contests that customers can be the key to boosting team motivation levels. Put the key of despair into the lock of apathy. Turn the knob of mediocrity slowly and open the gates of despondency – welcome to a day in an average office. – David Brent, The Office.We’re all meant to […]
Parkin Space: Get a Strategy
Problems co-ordinating your evaluation? You need a “learning evaluation bible”. Godfrey Parkin explains why and how to put it together. Why do we spend so much money, and a substantial amount of time, on training? What is the point? Do we just do it because we have always done it, or because everyone else is […]
Employment is Booming
Despite gloomy predictions early in the year, employment is still booming according to the latest Job Creation Index (JCI).Latest figures show that over 65,000 jobs were created across the UK’s 21 key industries in June hitting a peak for job creation in 2005. This month’s top industries are vehicles and parts and food and drink. […]
Dress Down Friday “Boosts Productivity”
If you’re reading this in a pair of jeans and flip-flops tucked under your office desk, be assured that your boss considers you to be at the height of creativity.In a new survey, seven in 10 employers said that ‘dress-down’ days were having a beneficial effect on employee performance, while half believed that formal clothes […]
Review: Vision, Leadership and the Creation of Management Consulting
Title: Vision, Leadership and the Creation of Management Consulting – McKinsey’s Marvin BowerAuthor: Elizabeth Haas EdersheimPublisher: John Wiley and Sons IncISBN: 0-471-65285-7Price: £19.99Reviewer: Jo Lamb-WhiteValues, integrity and respect are three words, which are continually used to describe Marvin Bower in this authorised biography. The author first met this ‘role model of management’ idolised by many […]
The Way I See It… Understanding Their Motivation
Kevin McLaren, co-founder of Blue Eskimo Solutions, argues that organisations can learn from sport and the armed forces if they want to understand how to motivate teams. The task of a leader is to get people from where they are to where they have not been. Henry KissingerIt is not by accident that the managers […]
CMI Survey Highlights Need for Management Development
Nearly half of organisations have problems recruiting managers due to skills shortages, according to the 2005 National Management Salary Survey.The survey of 20,989, by the Chartered Management Institute (CMI) and Remuneration Economics, shows shortages of skilled managers across the board, with 43% of respondents experiencing recruitment difficulties, up from 30.9 per cent last year. The […]
Feature: Motivating Teams
Neil McCracken of Motiva Corporate Development argues that when it comes to setting inspiring team goals, the answer lies close to home. A critical aspect of the manager’s role is to set goals in such a manner that they inspire and engage others, increase performance and provide a motivation for individuals to excel. In professional […]
Parkin Space: Protect Their Privacy
Do you think data security is an issue for IT? Godfrey Parkin invites you to think again. The recent admission that 40 million customers of all the major credit card companies have had their data hacked is the latest in a mounting wave of failures to secure customer privacy. In the past few months alone, […]
Police Trainer Named Britain’s Best Boss
North Wales Police Sergeant Iwan Owen has beaten off stiff competition from across the UK to win the Lloyds TSB and Working Families “Britain’s Best Boss” competition. Sgt Owen manages the Western Division Professional Development Unit and is responsible for six tutors who train student police officers in law enforcement, coaching them through the everyday […]
The Way I See It… Team Reflection
Do the issues faced by teams mirror those of management? Alastair Olby of Kaizen Training believes it is often the case. Something that crops up time and time again when facilitating senior teams is how the challenges their teams face are in fact a mirror image of what’s going on at a senior level. The […]
Case Study: Customer Service Development at Norwich Union
John Willmott, director of customer service at Norwich Union Insurance, explains how the insurer is implementing an original new technique to boost the quality of customer service it offers through its customer contact centres. At Norwich Union Insurance we have always believed – I hope justifiably – that we offer a high level of customer […]
Feature: A Positive Approach to Team Development
When looking at team development do you focus on the problems or the things that are going well? If it’s the latter, then you’re taking an Appreciative Inquiry approach. It’s a positive, optimistic philosophy, that Barry Bailey, Director of Programmes for Mobile Team Challenge, says gets to the core of team beliefs and performance. Appreciative […]
The Way I See It… How to Choose a Training Provider
With an ever-increasing number of training providers offering a bewildering array of business related training courses, choosing the best supplier for your business can be a difficult task. Mike Gardner, Managing Director of WMG Associates, offers some advice. Cutting through the jargon and ensuring that the training you purchase meets the goals you want is […]
Feature: The Three Elements of Successful Team Development
With today’s flatter management structures and growth in project-driven teams, team building and development have become more important. Joe España Managing Director, Performance Equations Ltd looks at how effective team development involves a process of getting the balance right between individual, unit and the wider group. In an increasingly complex world, where organisational structures are […]
The Way I See It… Having a Laugh
Used by organisations as diverse as HSBC, Scottish Equitable and Continental Airlines, positive appreciation and humour in the workplace is a method of boosting team and indivisual morale. Joe Hoare makes the case for injecting some humour into the office (but please no David Brent-style gags). In the old days, work was work, work was […]