How much have jobs in your organisation changed over the past 5 years? 

 

Think about it for a minute or two – are your working practices the same as they were 5 years ago? Do you have the same number of people doing the same type of jobs? Are you working with the same customers? And do they behave in the same way they did 5 years ago? Are you still using the same technology? 

“We’ve tried to implement change, but some individuals won’t accept their new responsibilities.” 

 

Does this sound familiar? A typical scenario involves a new management structure, new roles, and some key responsibilities that should have been devolved to more junior employees but remain stubbornly “stuck” with their managers. As a result, managers struggle to cope with their workloads, while staff are underemployed and not actually performing the full scope of the jobs they are employed to do. 

If you’ve recruited recently, you’re probably not in a hurry to do so again anytime soon! How many other business activities are as time-consuming, expensive, and angst-filled? (Will they fit in? Will they be any good? Will they stay?). Holding on to good staff is vital, but as the number of jobs advertised across the UK increases, how confident are you that you will be able to retain your best employees? 

Last week I watched Nick Leeson give the keynote speech at Nottingham Business Expo 2015. You may remember the so-called “Rogue Trader” who brought down Barings Bank 20 years ago, by hiding the losses he was making from his bosses.