Q: Two of my team have recently announced they are leaving and I have been told that they cannot be replaced in order to reduce costs.
I'm dismayed at the disruption this is going to cause and wonder how to keep the morale of the reduced team from descending further as our work load is already too heavy?
A: Stop looking at this as your problem to solve. Call a team meeting including your boss and the two leaving and discuss a way forward. The last thing you want to do is create a top-down answer that just encourages the remaining team to feel even less empowered. Although this all sounds painful now, what you discover is that the remaining team not only discovers their priorities but discovers how to do the job more effectively.
One of my clients was confronted by the need to reduce headcount by no less than a third and he felt this dramatic cut would incapacitate his department. Six months later he was clear that his function was stronger; more focused with greater team spirit and a more cost-effective contributor to his organisations' wellbeing. The elephant trap to avoid, he learnt, is not to cut every process by a third but to reduce the processes by a third. Have fewer priorities but make them really effective.
Q: I have just moved into a new department which is open plan, and I am having great difficulty in getting anything done. The noise and banter of others in the office affects my concentration and I am struggling with my reports and phone calls. How can I get used to this new environment?
A: Stop listening! I fully understand why you find this new environment such a distraction and I have no doubt that, in time, you will feel much more comfortable.
At Asda, Allan Leighton famously advised that anyone who was busy and didn't want interruption should wear a red hat. I'm not sure this is to everyone's taste, but body language usually sends out a pretty clear signal.
Most open-plan offices have meeting rooms. One of my clients regularly books meetings so that he can work on difficult topics uninterrupted. A meeting room may also be the place to make difficult phone calls without being distracted. Customers and suppliers are fully aware when you are not paying full attention to them because you are watching someone in the office playing the fool on a Friday afternoon.
The real skill for you when working in an open-plan office is not to tune in but to tune out. Good luck.
I'm dismayed at the disruption this is going to cause and wonder how to keep the morale of the reduced team from descending further as our work load is already too heavy?
A: Stop looking at this as your problem to solve. Call a team meeting including your boss and the two leaving and discuss a way forward. The last thing you want to do is create a top-down answer that just encourages the remaining team to feel even less empowered. Although this all sounds painful now, what you discover is that the remaining team not only discovers their priorities but discovers how to do the job more effectively.
One of my clients was confronted by the need to reduce headcount by no less than a third and he felt this dramatic cut would incapacitate his department. Six months later he was clear that his function was stronger; more focused with greater team spirit and a more cost-effective contributor to his organisations' wellbeing. The elephant trap to avoid, he learnt, is not to cut every process by a third but to reduce the processes by a third. Have fewer priorities but make them really effective.
Q: I have just moved into a new department which is open plan, and I am having great difficulty in getting anything done. The noise and banter of others in the office affects my concentration and I am struggling with my reports and phone calls. How can I get used to this new environment?
A: Stop listening! I fully understand why you find this new environment such a distraction and I have no doubt that, in time, you will feel much more comfortable.
At Asda, Allan Leighton famously advised that anyone who was busy and didn't want interruption should wear a red hat. I'm not sure this is to everyone's taste, but body language usually sends out a pretty clear signal.
Most open-plan offices have meeting rooms. One of my clients regularly books meetings so that he can work on difficult topics uninterrupted. A meeting room may also be the place to make difficult phone calls without being distracted. Customers and suppliers are fully aware when you are not paying full attention to them because you are watching someone in the office playing the fool on a Friday afternoon.
The real skill for you when working in an open-plan office is not to tune in but to tune out. Good luck.
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