I remember the first time I had to deal with a team member who wasn’t meeting the needs of his role. We’d gone through the support, the training, trying to find another role. But ultimately none of that worked. So I took the next step. Which was to sit on it for a few months. […]
People and HR
Don’t be a people business. Be a business that recognises its individuals
Treat your team as individuals, rather than your company as a “people business”. I’ve been rereading two books by Oliver Sacks, “Awakenings” and “The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat”. Both are wonderful books, as enjoyable in the second reading as they were when I read them first over 2 decades ago. I’m […]
Dismissal is hard enough – don’t make it inhuman
The hardest thing I’ve had to do professionally was to make people redundant. It can be easy to forget how much harder it is for the person going. If it’s unavoidable (and I’ve resigned over being asked to do it when I believed it was entirely avoidable), then make sure you stay human as you […]
Swearing isn’t unprofessional. Or is it?
Do you swear at work? Often if leaders do, they set a tone. Which is *really* unprofessional. Because people don’t go to work in order to feel like extras in a Tarantino film. But I don’t think people go to work to feel like extras in a Mary Poppins film either. They go to work […]
Newer isn’t always better – 2 of 4
We crave the new. Last week I wrote about how this can hurt client revenue. But it also shows its addictive face when it comes to our teams. If your business needs a new hire, pause. Does this create an opportunity for someone in your existing team? Can someone fill the role and allow you […]