Richard Lowther Richard Lowther

Productivity issue?

Firms with Below-Average Productivity Employ 70% of UK Workers

The majority of UK firms report below-average productivity; a recurring theme is that where leadership invests in capital and skills, productivity increases. The teams built and developed using tried and tested good management practices are more successful when compared to teams that have a dysfunctional leadership team and do not have a vision for their talent and skills strategy.

Top growing organisations, invest 2.6 times more than low growers in intangibles, such as people investments, and firms that prioritise people and performance return a ROIC of 28% compared to typical performers at 6%; they also report a lower employee attrition rate of 5%.

To get the best from your people management practices;-

  1. focus on ensuring employees receive an adequate total compensation (note adequate, not necessarily the highest),

  2. provide people with meaningful work,

  3. offer workplace flexibility,

  4. provide career development and advancement,

  5. and a safe and non-toxic workplace environment.

We can support you to create your vision and implement the changes that will support your productivity improvement and growth.

We can hire new talent, create succession and individual development plans, provide executive coaching and mentor HR teams, and help organise team structures. We also offer negotiation workshops for all levels.

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Richard Lowther Richard Lowther

One Small Step

Leadership Connect Solutions Ltd is a boutique talent management firm; we help make talent discussable to improve innovation and team performance.

Leaders of teams who promote experimenting as path to learning deliver higher quality results.

Here’s an interesting example from Amy Edmondson, a Harvard Professor: Researchers at NASA wanted to test fatigue error rates on flight teams. The researchers ran tests in flight simulators (thankfully!) with a group of twenty, two person teams; half the group was ‘in a fatigue’ position, and the other was ‘well-rested’. The teams ‘flew’ as if it were the last segment of a three-day shift. The ‘fatigue teams’ flew three eight-to-ten-hour shifts – this included at least five take off and landings, sometime up to eight. The ‘well rested’ teams entered the flight simulator, after two days off, essentially, they were entering the flight simulator like their first segment of a three-day shift. To their surprise, the researchers discovered the fatigued teams performed better than the rested teams. As expected, the fatigued individuals made more errors than there well rested counterparts, however, because as teams they had flown more multiple flights, they made fewer errors as teams. Apparently, they were able to work together, catching and correcting one another’s errors, avoiding serious mishaps. In contrast, the well-rested pilots, who flew fewer flights together, were unfamiliar and therefore did not work as well together as teams.

If you are interested in nurturing better team results, we can help you get there.

Leadership Connect Solutions Ltd is a boutique talent consulting firm focused on improving business performance through better leadership and team structure. With decades of experience on the client side of talent management we are now enjoying life on the other side of the table, helping our clients to answer their strategic talent questions. We help you plan who your next superstar is; nurture better results from your top team; plan out career development opportunities; hold onto best performers; find and settle in your new talent.

In today’s turbulent business climate, an organisation’s success relies on its capability to innovate. Innovation is scary, it requires leaders to have the courage to experiment, to be vulnerable and cope with failures, and inspirational to motivate their teams to learn and try again. Leaders of teams who promote experimenting as a path to learning deliver higher quality results. Here’s an interesting example from Amy Edmondson, a Harvard Professor: Researchers at NASA wanted to test the impact of fatigue error rates on flight teams. The researchers ran tests in flight simulators using a group of twenty, two person teams; half the group was ‘in a fatigue’ position, and the other was ‘well-rested’.  The teams ‘flew’ as if it were the last segment of a three-day shift.  The ‘fatigue teams’ flew three eight-to-ten-hour shifts – this included at least five take off and landings, sometime up to eight.  The ‘well rested’ teams entered the flight simulator, after two days off, essentially, they were entering the flight simulator like their first segment of a three-day shift.   To their surprise, the researchers discovered the fatigued teams performed better than the rested teams. As expected, the fatigued individuals made more errors than their well rested counterparts, however, because as teams they had flown more multiple flights, they made fewer errors as teams.  Apparently, they were able to work together, catching and correcting one another’s errors, avoiding serious mishaps. In contrast, the well-rested pilots, who flew fewer flights together, were unfamiliar and therefore did not work as well together as teams.

To innovate and chart the future is a role of the leadership team in any organisation. By taking small steps, we work with CEO’s to increase the impact of their leadership team in an uncertain world. If you are interested in nurturing better team results, we can help you get there.


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