Anne Marie Interview

 

1.    The current economic slowdown is causing many employers to reduce workforce numbers - what advice would you to prepare for recovery?

Employers are understandably looking to minimise costs and often taking hasty action in reducing head count when in fact a calm cool stepping back and looking at where value lies is what is needed.

Fourteen years ago when entering this field, I worked with traditional manufacturers as they made the transition to Lean Manufacturing. This was the BIG change in industry. Not only is there nothing new, change happens constantly, there is a lot that we can learn from that time. Of major importance right now is the need for employee talents to be properly leveraged in the workplace. Take the opportunity to take a good look at the talents and skills of others in your workplace – this is where untapped potential lies. This is what I used to do with shop floor operators, with startling results for the bottom line. The current climate gives us a golden opportunity to consider new ways of working.


2. How do you feel the workplace will change over the next five years?

We need to be realistic here. We are unlikely to see huge changes overnight. I am quite pessimistic about the rate of change of working practices. Work will undoubtedly change over time. Consider this change as a bit like an iceberg   moving a millimetre at a time. It is not apparent to the naked eye but it is unstoppable and inevitable in its ability to gouge out the landscape.

Times really have changed, for example nowadays a typing pool is a thing of the past. Thirty five years ago when I first started work as a youngster, I was given a dress code for woman, written into my employment contract, different from that given to male employees (that sort of discrimination just would not happen today).


3. What do you feel can be done to raise productivity in distributed teams?

Businesses need to understand that we are social animals. In my experience, businesses are well aware of the importance of supplying the right tools to the right people, which is a given. What is also crucial is the right environment which encourages socialisation and collaboration. This has always been the case but even more so now as teams become significantly more distributed and connected.

4. You have been providing consultancy in the area of smart work/flexible working for many years. What fired your original interest in the area?

This is very personal. I grew up in Scotland near the shipyards on the west coast of Scotland. My father was an electrical engineering manager. I was fascinated by the skilful way he worked with his team. He treated them with total respect. That combined with the way that huge ships could come about by the combined efforts of thousands of men (designers, engineers, riveters, carpenters, electricians, welders etc) developed within me a deep respect for craft and skill, and curiosity about the process of organising.

 5. As the leader of the Global Mobility Network - tell us more about the organisation and what do you hope it will achieved?

The forum came about casually at a conference in Rome, where I met the co-facilitator of the network. It is a bunch of interesting people – senior professional and business leaders, who come together to collaborate and share thinking on a variety of different themes on the subject of the future of work. We do not aim to grow the size of the group hugely. The format of the meetings is loosely around the themes – we deliberately do not control the direction of the conversations that take place - and the outcomes produced are intelligent, predictive and hopefully relevant for all the attendees.

6. Tell us more about your work at the smart work company.

Currently best-practice knowledge in smart working exists by the  spade full and date back decades but is difficult for employers to reference when required. We know these techniques exist and work and seek to educate and raise awareness of possibilities in this area. Also, making the transition to new ways of doing things is not easy.

Our company works with senior executives and top teams to help them make the transition to new strategic positions. Everything we do is driven by what our clients need to achieve. In partnership with clients, we scope and create action plans and put in place support teams to assist the transition to new processes. New knowledge, tools and techniques are introduced as required and at the point where they are needed.



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