We have all experienced it, we walk into an outlet seeking to make a purchase, sometimes even have the goods in hand, only to look around to find no one wants to help you complete your purchase. Has customer service been driven out of the retail or distributor fundamentals? The continual drive to reduce labour costs, combined with a company drive for results and a differing mindset of the younger generation is leading to a customer service break down with 2 losers, one bein

From an operational point of view there are many names for HR and it is not Human Resources, nor are they flattering. HR, or People and Culture as it is now often referred to, have traditionally had a poor reputation across many organisations as the policy police, putting the brakes on innovation and creativity resulting in a process and policy drive which in turn has stemmed the overall company results and built a wall around HR excluding them largely from the reality of wh

With changing times and the free flowing profits of old no longer an everyday part of life we drive for increased outputs from our people. There are a few very loyal employees that accept the challenge and bend over backwards to assist the company in achieving the result, but the reality is the new generation do not appear to have this same level of dedication and commitment. Their focus is on self rather than on company. So what can we do as leaders to build loyalty and co

In business we often hear about staff motivation and the pressures on management to improve staff motivation and staff turnover. We have always heard that we can not directly motivate people but need to create the right environment for them to motivate themselves. With this, we have always worked on trying to create the right environment, ensure we hire the right people, looked at teams and many other aspects, but the reality is we may have been doing this all wrong and mis

Preparation by both parties is extremely important. Make sure you know what you want to discuss covering the entire review period Complete a self-appraisal at least 1 week in advance Create a win folder that summarises your year. If you do not have this, review your calendar and emails to help you remember the period that was Think about your goals and see how you can bring them into your review Share you career goals with your manager Your review is an opportunity to share w