Lord Sugar, The Apprentice and the cost of staff turnover

While several million people were transfixed as Lord Sugar chose his sixth apprentice at the weekend, it’s worth asking if the ‘world’s toughest job interview’ even works.

Of the five apprentices ‘hired’ so far, none of them currently works with Lord Sugar! Tim Campbell the first apprentice left after two years, Michelle Dewbury lasted only 11 months in the company. The 2007 winner Simon Ambrose resigned to set up his own business, Lee McQueen won the 2008 show only to quit after little more than a year and the 2009 winner Yasmina Siadatan is now a busy new mum….

New Year, New Job – 6 things to keep the right people in your team

Will your team be the same next year?

If you are fortunate to be part of a stable and established team, don’t rest on your laurels. All that effort you’ve put in to team building could be lost within moments of the bells tolling the start of 2011. Here’s why:…

The X Factor of teams

As we approach the year end it’s good to reflect on our achievements. It’s even more gratifying to reflect on the achievements of others, particularly those we’ve helped along the way.

Some time ago we were asked to create a team exercise for X Factor runners up JLS. As the video above shows their performance was outstanding and it’s no coincidence that a year later JLS are have become one of the most successful teams in their field.

Our normal candidates for our team building activities are work teams and during 2010 we’ve seen teams from industries including oil, wine and management consulting all raise their game having adopted some of the same principles that pop stars JLS exemplify:…

Five Practices That Help Motivate Individuals and Teams

Have you ever thought that some of the same best practices that support individual employee motivation and performance could also apply to teams?

Here are 5 management practices we normally associate with driving individual performance and motivation that I think should be applied to teams:…

Tailored Team Building Exercises on Tap

August 2011 will mark Fresh Tracks’ 20th anniversary. During the past two decades we’ve designed, developed and delivered hundreds of experiential team building exercises.

Along the way we’ve created some classics that we use again and again but we still get excited when a client gives us a brief to create something totally new.

For many years we’ve worked with a water company, monitoring their staff engagement and delivering an annual company conference. Part of the brief this year was to create a 30 minute team exercise for the conference that would entertain, involve and educate over 100 people. …

Want your staff to be happy? Here are the four components of happiness

There’s been a lot of talk about happiness and general well-being of late.  Here we explore the four components of happiness and ask if busy executives can ever achieve a happy state.

Since becoming the Conservative leader David Cameron has argued that we should be monitoring GWB (General Well Being) alongside GDP (Gross Domestic Product).  This is an idea possibly inspired by the Kingdom of Bhutan’s GNH measure (Gross National Happiness), but Bhutan isn’t facing huge state spending cuts and bailing out neighbouring countries….

5 More Tips for Instant Team Motivation

Our earlier blog “5 Tips for Instant Team Motivation” was so popular that we have put together another with details of 5 more ways to boost productivity and create a great working environment.

So here are the 5 extra routes to raising team morale in an instant:…

The Future Of Psychometric Tests?

Thirty years ago psychometric tests were largely administered by men in white coats and viewed by most managers with a healthy dose of scepticism. Now, most people in senior business roles will have completed a psychometric questionnaire either as part of a recruitment process or within a leadership development programme.

In recent years the number of psychometric tools has increased significantly. Quality varies hugely along with cost. A quick search on line or flick through a magazine will provide access to numerous free questionnaires, all claiming to unveil your hidden abilities and confirm your suitability to a given job role. At the other end of the spectrum you can pay several hundred pounds for a tool that will generate a ‘personal report’ an inch thick full of psychological terminology and coloured charts. Both have their place and probably contain some useful insights, if you are able to find them….

The Top 5 Leadership Qualities

The success or failure of a business or team is very dependent on the leader.

What, therefore, are the most important leadership qualities leaders should be aware of if they want their team or organisation to succeed? Here are our suggestions for the top five:…

Five Tips for Instant Team Motivation

With massive cuts announced across government spending this week it’s unlikely that the office Christmas party is top of the management team’s agenda.

So here are five no cost routes to raising team morale in an instant:…