The Team Building Blog

As the recession begins to bite, it is going to be vital for organisations to optimise their resources. And surely any organisation’s most valuable resource is its staff.

Nurturing talent will be a key tool in combating the recession

For example, one option is to use this period to promote young talent rather than take on the cost and risk of recruiting externally, a tactic backed up by Dr Emma Parry’s recent report, Nurturing Talent, published by Cranfield School of Management. Another report from Cranfield suggests that initiatives such as Investors
In People can have a positive impact on financial performance.

In these leaner times it is going to be increasingly important to draw a distinction between financial capital and human capital. Whilst there’s little doubt that finances are restricted, now is not the time to constrain your people. In fact this climate of change offers the perfect opportunity to unleash new talent within your organisation, encourage innovation and allow the next generation of leaders to identify themselves. Read the rest of this entry »

Unrealistic demands in the workplace?

The Communication Workers Union has recently claimed that postmen are being bullied by Royal Mail managers because they do not walk quickly enough whilst making deliveries. 

A BBC News report says that union officials claim that a new softaware system, Pegasus, requires delivery staff to walk at four miles an hour. They claim that the demands of this system pressure postmen into completing “unrealistic” rounds in order to gain financial savings.

So how can Royal Mail managers motivate and inspire their staff, rather than stand accused of bullying them, to allow the organisation to cope with its busiest time of the year? Read the rest of this entry »

Merger of Lloyds TSB & HBOS will require some serious team development

A new superbank

Back in September, Lloyds TSB announced it planned to take over HBOS. Since then the merger has been approved and looks set to complete next month, creating the UK’s first “superbank”.

Lloyds TSB was was created when the Lloyds Bank and the Trustee Savings Bank (TSB) agreed to merge their operations creating what was, at the time, the second largest bank in the UK. LLoyds TSB currently operates Cheltenham & Gloucester, Scottish Widows, Insurance.co.uk and Intelligent Finance. HBOS, for its part, was created as a result of a merger between Halifax plc and the Bank of Scotland. HBOS operates Halifax, Bank of Scotland, Birmingham Midshires and The AA.

The merger will therefore create a banking giant with around 145,000 staff and 3,000 branches across the UK.  Read the rest of this entry »

A nuclear submarine provided an unusual venue for business leaders to work with their colleagues on their team skills. 

A submarine offers an unusual venue for teambuilding

A team of business leaders were given permission to witness officers and ratings participating in damage control exercises on board the nuclear submarines HMS Sceptre and HMS Victorious before being put through their paces themselves. The team, which included business leaders from the local area, got a rare glimpse of the challenges of life at HM Naval Base Clyde, home to the UK’s strategic nuclear deterrent.