We hold these all-morning meetings to help keep us abreast of current
thinking by inviting people to contribute to a discussion on a business
issue, new or old. While we host them, they are not sales events and
individuals are invited for their contribution. The notes of our
conversations are then posted here. If you would like to propose a topic, or
attend, please give us a Call!
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When the going gets tough….employee retention in difficult times
an fe3 mindstretch® 23 March 2010
Although the faintest glimmer of improvement in the economy has yet to gather strength, organisations still need to have skilled employees to take advantage of the upturn when it finally comes. But how do organisations retain staff when the tried and tested techniques they might have used in good times are not available now? If financial inducements to remain are limited – if available at all – what else can senior managers do? This mindstretch® looked at motivation and give an update on research in this area, and considered the impact of being a survivor on individual and collective productivity.
Click here to read notes and slides
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Who do you think you are - today? Identity and work
an fe3 mindstretch® Tuesday 13th October 2009
In this session, we looked at identity, which seems to have links to almost everything – from the success or failure of mergers to leadership and the effective working of teams. We asked if understanding identity was the universal panacea for organisational woes, or if it was too unstable to be useful to making organisations more effective? We also debated if public sector identity and private sector identities exist, and if so, how do they differ?
Click here to read notes and slides
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Fear and loathing in the office – workplace abuse
an fe3 mindstretch® Tuesday 14th July 2009
Managers have been questioning the rational approach to decision making for some time, citing inadequate information, increased time pressure and fast-paced change as factors which make the traditional management approach less effective. But can these be supplemented, or even replaced by something as subjective as intuition?
This mindstretch® looked briefly at intuition and where research has been focused in the past ten years, invited people’s reactions to a process which has not been mapped, and in a wide ranging discussion, looked at - in an increasingly litigious world - the implications of making decisions which often cannot be explained.
Click here to read notes and slides
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I knew you were going to ask me that... Intuition: hogwash or (inexact) science?
an fe3 mindstretch® Tuesday 19th May 2009
Managers have been questioning the rational approach to decision making for some time, citing inadequate information, increased time pressure and fast-paced change as factors which make the traditional management approach less effective. But can these be supplemented, or even replaced by something as subjective as intuition?
This mindstretch® looked briefly at intuition and where research has been focused in the past ten years, invited people’s reactions to a process which has not been mapped, and in a wide ranging discussion, looked at - in an increasingly litigious world - the implications of making decisions which often cannot be explained.
Click here to read notes and slides
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It’s engagement, Jim – but not as we know it
an fe3 Mindstretch®, Tuesday March 10th 2009
Although academic research on this proved a bit elusive, the sorts of things we discussed were:
- Is engagement for virtual/remote workers different and if so, how?
- What are the risks with these types of workers? What are the consequences of getting it wrong?
- What helps?
- What doesn’t help?
We also talked a lot about the definition of engagement and increasing academic criticism that it isn’t “pure” as a concept.
Click here to read notes and slides
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Tell me a story – storytelling in organisations
an fe3 mindstretch® 13 January 2009
As an uncertain 2009 begins, and the financial and corporate worlds continue to reveal twists and turns worthy of a blockbuster thriller, we thought we'd look at storytelling. Narrative is an important concept in organisations, not only in communication, but also in organisational culture. This mindstretch® looked at what storytelling is, where it sits in the way culture is constructed and also considered how (and if) it could be used in internal communication and change programmes.
Click here to read notes and slides
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Be careful what you wish for...
an fe3 mindstretch® 18th November 2008
Feedback is key to engagement, but how do you get it? More importantly, what do you do with it when it's dreadful? This session looked briefly at the requirements for engagement from an academic viewpoint and then at methods to encourage and facilitate feedback from employees, both good and bad, including some case studies.
Click here to read notes and slides
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Change in a recession
an fe3 mindstretch® 14 October 2008
With belts being tightened, more companies considering redundancies according to the CIPD, and the media practically talking us all into a recession, what differences does this make to your change programme? This session looked at whether stormy weather alters the way companies implement change, and indeed, whether it should.
Click here to read notes and slides
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I'm lovin' it - A passion for work
an fe3 mindstretch® 13th May 2008
A passion for work
Employees who love their work are rarely seen as a problem - but are they? At this session we considered the environments needed for a passionate workforce and discussed if such employees are born, not made, and what, if any problems come with these strong feelings.
Click here to read notes and
slides
- CSR - or
PR?
an fe3 mindstretch® Tuesday
11th March 2008
This mindstretch® looked at the trends for corporate social responsibility and considered how -
if at all - this differs from good public relations. Is this a case for
the emporor's new clothes, or does CSR improve
business? And how can your CSR programme avoid the accusations of
corporate "window dressing"?
Click here to read notes and
slides
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Love and marriage - or just living together?
Employee engagement - an fe3 mindstretch® 23 January 2008
So what IS employee engagement? Is it communication of the highest order, or is it deeper than this? How does it differ from our view of commitment and indeed, is the difference worth worrying about? And finally - is it possible? The mindstretch® looked at the lead indicators of engagement and asked questions about whether engagement is really just old fashioned HR, well executed.
Click here to read.
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Single choice culture - the cult of high performance -
an fe3 mindstretch®. 4th December 2007
Organisations strive for "high performance" cultures - but what does this mean? Is it appropriate for all organisations, all the time? Or have we been hoaxed by management writers into wanting something that may not be right for our organisations? What other cultures are there? Why would they be good for our organisations? This session aimed to look at what high performance really means, challenge the management rhetoric and see if the concept of culture has been hijacked.
Click here to read notes and see slides.
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In God (and the Boss?) we trust: Trust and organisations -
an fe3 mindstretch® 30th October 2007
From false claims of a "forty five minute warning" to Aunty Beeb rigging the voting for the name of Socks, the Blue Peter cat, we look at the elements of "trustworthiness" and discuss the pro's and con's of trust between an organisation and an employee. We'll also look at whether trust can be measured, facilitated, even taught and the role of senior management, for both public and private sector organisations in the development of trust.
Click here to read notes and see slides.
Emotion in organisations a mindstretch® held on April 17th
Once more, with feeling: emotion in the workplace - an fe3 mindstretch®
In the past ten years, consultant and academic interest in emotion in organisations has risen significantly. But is there a place in organisations for emotion, or does the need to be "professional" ensure that emotion is contained? This session looked at the positive and negative sides of emotion in the workplace - the negative elements characterised by the phenomenon of "emotional labour" and its consequences, particularly in customer services. We also looked at the tools available to measure emotion, and how organisations attempt to manage the emotions of their workforce
Click here to read document.
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Can HR ever add value – and how do you prove it?
The search for a measure of Human Capital - an fe3 mindstretch®
Much time and effort has been spent on making a business case for HR, to date with only mixed results. For many commentators, organisations and the environment in which they operate are too complex to enable HR practitioners to measure the impact of their activities on the bottom line. And even with an intuitive view that managing people better will produce better business results, the majority of organisations are clueless about how to go about measuring this. This session will take a look at the issues and the evidence that HR does make a contribution to the business, and Chris Nutt, from FiSSInG, will update participants on the search to find a measure of Human Capital
Click here to read document.
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Bend me, shape me…
the benefits and challenges of flexible working
A changed psychological contract, an aging population, more women in the workforce and organisations competing for skilled talent in a tight labour market. These societal changes are all alerting organisations to the need to offer work differently. But how do organisations implement flexible working in a way that benefits the organisation and employees, and doesn't cause divisions among your workforce? How do managers manage people who don't work in the office and who can't be seen? Does part time mean part time hours and part time workload? Or will some employees end up still sitting at the PC at midnight? This session was run in conjunction with FlexWorks!
Click here to read document.
Smoke and mirrors – is culture change an illusion?
Academic opinion is bitterly divided on whether organisational culture can be changed. Our first mindstretch® in this series looked at the evidence for and against, the main protagonists and what they think and we invite participants to bring their own views of the issues and successes of change in their own organisations.
Click here to read document.
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Learning from catastrophe – lessons to prevent dream deals turning into disasters
Financial history is littered with the wrecks of companies which failed to achieve the expected returns from combining with other organisations.
This session considered some key characteristics of human disasters and discussed if the same characteristics are present in “disaster deals”. Are there early warning systems which might be put in place to mitigate these issues, help company integration and therefore increase the potential for financial return?
Click here to read document.
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The management of meaning
Change often fails because of a lack of communication. However, for many organisations, communication is about the explicit giving of information and while this is also vital, they ignore the symbols and the less obvious signals that are more powerful to employees than any corporate literature. This session looked at the symbols in organisations and the messages they give.
Click here to read document.
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Employees – sick of work?
This is one of the most highly studied areas in organisational psychology, possibly because it was one of the last areas of controllable cost – and where there’s money, there’s interest.
Click here to read document.
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Values in action
So, you’ve created the values for your organisation and they sit proudly on a credit-card sized bit of plastic or adorn the company’s annual report. What can you do to make them live in your organisation? A mindstretch® discussion about the pitfalls of values in organisations. Click on slide numbers to see slides. (24 January 2006)
Click here to read documents.
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Finders, Keepers? The importance of induction in retention
(8 November 2005) A mindstretch® discussion about induction, socialisation and retention and the introduction of a new diagnostic
Click on slide number to see slides.
Click here to read document.
All in the mind?
(21 June 2005) A mindstretch® discussion about brand and the psychological contract.
Click here to read document.
Whose motivation is it anyway?
A mindstretch® discussion about motivation
(10 May 2005) To see slides, click on the slide number.
Click here to read document.
Creating the perfect organisation - structure Vs people:
(19 February 2003) To see slides, click on the slide number.
Click here to read document.
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Can't buy me love:
A mindstretch® discussion about recognition as opposed to reward
(November 6th 2002)
Click here to read document.
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A new approach to leadership:
An email discussion between Mahen Tampoe and Karen Drury
(July/August 2002)
Click here to read document.
Developing reward strategies to motivate and compensate knowledge workers
Dr. Mahen Tampoe
Click here to read document.
