The Blog: Culture

Finding our way through the uncomfortable truths – whistleblowing, bullying and harassment

When we encounter whistleblowing, bullying and harassment, we are confronted by the need to discuss the thorny issue of the “truth” and our perception of it. The investigation of and search for an objective truth is often driven by a need to establish right and wrong. This is followed, in some form or other, by the identification of a perpetrator and a victim, of a “crime” and punishment. This can cause us to be very cautious with our words and the truths we affiliate ourselves with. It can also cause us to oversimplify the issues, avoid the grey areas and curtail discussions that are difficult. This leads to a breakdown of trust and, with that, an unwillingness to be truthful for fear of unfair incrimination.

Article by Louisa Weinstein 17 July 2019

Five plants for a healthier and more productive office

In recent years, many offices have transformed from drab, old-fashioned, cubicle-style layouts to modern, open-plan hubs which foster collaboration. In fact, according to Deloitte, office refurbishments outnumber new builds by more than two to one.

Article by Jackie Cooper 4 June 2019

How do you support a diverse and inclusive culture, practically?

We have known for some time diverse boards are better performing. One recent study found that diverse companies produce 19% more revenue. Diversity of thought leads to innovation and competitive advantage - that translates to the bottom line. We have also seen the rise in governance and regulatory requirements (e.g gender pay gap reporting) contributing to diversity and inclusion being a topic high on board agendas. All good news, awareness is rising!

Article by Kirstin Furber 23 May 2019

Three steps to mitigate the damaging impact of low-level conflict on engagement

There are several insidious but potent triggers for disengagement within an organisation that start with low level conflicts. When we start to analyse the link between these triggers and disengagement, we can begin to create opportunities to re-engage members of the workforce. We can also uncover some quick wins to pre-empt or even avoid similar conflicts and/or disengagement in the first place.

Article by Louisa Weinstein 30 April 2019

Why we invested so much time in enriching the employee experience and staff development when expanding globally

Without doubt, we wouldn’t have been able to strive towards these results without the right people behind us and one of the key reasons for our success was identifying, recruiting, nurturing and developing them.

Article by Sean Ramsden 28 March 2019

Grouping in the workplace – The multifarious side effects

What makes them come to the office and enjoy this life? What makes them stay happy for years in their work life? Yes, the primary reasons could be the need to make a livelihood and independence. But that’s not all. A bond or closeness is like a feeling of comfort, of being attached to a group of colleagues all sharing the same thoughts which is also a key that keeps people active, which keep employees happy and rooted to their organisations. Now, does this bond lead only to the happy vibe for employees? Does it have any negative effects? Let’s find out:

Article by Abu Md. Abdullah 13 November 2018

How to stay ‘in the black’ and build healthy, high performance workplace cultures

Four years ago, almost to the day, I was sat in a cafe with the President of a global consulting firm. He had his book open and a picture of a battery in black sketched ink existed with some shading in. I stopped and asked him what it was all about and he explained.

Article by Jane Sparrow 31 October 2018