If we all worked smarter we could take Fridays off…
UK productivity is lower than most of Europe
In the UK we produce 10% less per hour than the average Italian and a startling 30% less than workers in Germany, the US and France.
“By Thursday lunchtime some countries have already produced the amount it takes us to produce by Friday afternoon.” Professor John Van Reenen, head of the Centre for Economic Performance at the LSE.
According to research by the Bank of England, productivity in the UK is now 16% below its pre-recession trend.
There are many theories about why UK productivity is so weak, but there is general agreement on three main causes:
- Poor quality of management – businesses are not well-run or their people effectively engaged or well led
- Poor general education and training – UK business struggles to find the skills it needs
- Lack of investment – specifically in Technology, R&D, equipment and infrastructure
So clearly the need to increase the quality and calibre of our managers, plus develop and upskill people, is critical in the UK workplace.
Manager’s need to stop managing and start coaching
Coaching types of behaviours, (such as effective questioning, listening and giving constructive feedback) play a pivotal role in responding to the dilemma: The Harvard Business Review, June 2014 found that:
‘Effective coaching raises employee commitment and engagement, productivity, retention rates, customer loyalty and subordinates’ perception of the strength of upper-level leadership’*
*Based on responses from half-million individual contributors worldwide over 10 years evaluating approx. 50,000 managers
Change the nature of everyday conversations
When manager’s ask better questions, listen more effectively and challenge people to think and act for themselves, here’s what happens to them:
- They are provoked to own a situation and be responsible for a solution
- They feel valued e.g. ‘My manager wants to know what I think’
- Their performance and productivity increases e.g. as their engagement and involvement in situations grows so does their contribution
If you can’t coach – how can you manage?
Where engagement rests on a manager’s ability to reach an individual’s heart and mind, a highly directive style (I speak you listen) simply doesn’t work. Manager’s need simple principles to operate from in conversation that create a dramatic shift in impact upon people, for example:
- Support the person to fix the issue: recognising that their goal is to help someone think and act (rather than do that for them)
- Effective listening: listening with the intention to understand (rather than fix)
- Ask better questions: that provoke action, e.g. ‘what needs to happen then?’ or ‘what are you going to do?’
We are recognised experts and we can help
From manufacturing to professional services, from IT to Retail, at Starr Coaching we prove that coaching behaviours simply work. For over 15 years we’ve been helping manager have more effective conversations to drive performance and engagement through simple principles and methods. To show you how we can raise productivity on your organisation, get in touch, or visit our website at www.starrconsulting.co.uk.
