EDITION 1008
26 FEBRUARY 2024

Good morning

Before you dive in, remember our POTENTIAL workbook [see below] is on offer for only £99. This unique workbook will help guide your organisation to its highest potential. Contact us today to start your transformation.

So, as another week slips by, here are 10 things which caught my attention and may have escaped yours. Please feel free to share on social media and forward to your colleagues and friends so they can also subscribe, learn and engage. I would be very grateful if you did.

William Montgomery
Editor and CEO of TEN

1. How to get your team to perform. No matter how big or small your team or what its goal is, there are four things it needs to succeed. As a leader, it's your job to help your group create and adhere to each of these. READ MORE

2. The UK’s faltering economy. The UK’s gross domestic product [GDP] shrank by 0.3% in the fourth quarter of 2023, following a 0.1% fall in the third, according to the Office for National Statistics. That makes two consecutive quarters of contraction- the standard definition of a recession. Over the whole of 2023, GDP grew a miserly 0.1%, and only because the population was growing so fast. GDP per person - a more meaningful measure of prosperity - shrank 0.7%. By this metric, the UK economy has been shrinking for nearly two years, the longest such decline since 1955. The good news is that the worst is probably already over. Business and consumer confidence are picking up a bit; the housing market is showing signs of stabilising; and interest rate cuts are expected by mid-year. The Times and The Guardian

3. How effective are performance reviews? The purpose of performance reviews is to evaluate employees' performance and provide an actionable plan that allows them to progress in line with their role. However, only 14% of respondents in a survey by Gallup strongly agreed that performance reviews inspire them to improve, and half of respondents in a McKinsey & Company survey shared that reviews have not helped improve their professional performance. For a review conversation to be productive, feedback should be specific and descriptive about strengths and weaknesses, as recommended by askten.com, and it should focus on behaviours within the employee's control. Do you find performance reviews beneficial for your career progress? Please share your experiences and insights in our latest poll. VOTE HERE

4. Benefits of a four-day week. While the work-from-home and return-to-office debate rages on, there is one aspect of work that seems to be receiving a resounding stamp of approval: the 4-day working week. More than 51% of firms in the UK who took part in a six-month trial last year have permanently made the switch to a shorter working week, according to new research. Additionally, 89% of companies still allow employees to work four days a week for the same salary. The UK report, conducted by the think tank Autonomy and researchers at UK and US universities, also found there were associated benefits to the shorter working week, including positive effects on staff wellbeing, reduced staff turnover and improvements in job recruitment. The Guardian

5. Government names firms underpaying staff. Greggs, Harrods, Estee Lauder and easyJet are among the more than 500 companies named by the government for failing to pay their staff the minimum wage. The Department for Business and Trade said that around 172,000 workers were left out of pocket as a result. HMRC concluded its investigations in 2023 and forced 542 firms to repay more than £16m to those workers. Topping the list was recruitment company Staffline, which failed to pay more than £5m to nearly 34,000 staff. The government said that "naming and shaming" the firms sent a message about the seriousness of failing to comply with the statutory minimum wage. The Mirror

6. AI chip firm Nvidia valued at $2tn. Nvidia's market value has touched $2tn (£1.58tn), a new milestone in the chipmaker's rapid ascent into the ranks of the world's most valuable companies. The price of the firm's shares has more than tripled over the last 12 months, from less than $240 apiece to nearly $800 in mid-day trade on Friday. On Thursday, the day after its earnings report, buyers snapping up shares pushed its value up by $277bn, Wall Street's largest one-day gain in history. Founded in 1993, Nvidia was originally known for making the type of computer chips that process graphics, particularly for computer games. The company, which became worth $1tn less than a year ago, now ranks as the world's fourth most valuable publicly traded company, behind Microsoft, Apple and Saudi Aramco. BBC

7. UK Armed Forces no longer fit for purpose. The head of the British Army has suggested that underfunding has left it in danger of becoming a static land-force. In a letter which General Sir Patrick Sanders sent to several former generals, he says the ability to mount campaigns overseas is in jeopardy. It quotes him as saying: "I am not sure that this is either the Army the nation needs, or the one that policymakers want." In other news, the test firing of a Trident missile from a Royal Navy submarine has failed for the second time in a row. The missile crashed into the ocean almost immediately after being launched during an exercise in January off the coast of Florida. The Ministry of Defence insisted the nuclear deterrent remains “effective” and that the Armed Forces were always ready to protect and defend the nation. As a veteran of almost 30 years, I despair. Editor

8. Women can exercise half as much as men. Women can achieve greater long-term health benefits with half the exercise of men, new research reveals. The US study, tracking 412,000 adults for two decades, found women engaging in activities including running and strength training, experienced a 36% lower risk of fatal heart attacks or strokes. In contrast, men needed twice the effort for a mere 14% risk reduction. Overall, women and men with active lifestyles were 24 and 15 per cent less likely to die early compared to those leading sedentary lives. Daily Mail

9. Good news for our spiky little friends. Hedgehog sightings in the UK are on the rise after years of decline, an annual survey has found. In a poll organised by Gardeners’ World, 33% of the magazine’s readers said they had seen a hedgehog in their garden in 2023, up from 31% in 2022. More than three-quarters of respondents said they’d taken steps to make their garden safer for wildlife, including by checking for hedgehogs before strimming, reducing the use of slug pellets and creating more wild sections. BBC

10. The bottom line. Asked if the Government should prioritise funding public services or giving people a tax cut, 57% of adults in Great Britain said they support funding public services. 27% said they would prefer tax cuts. YouGov