It's not unusual for us to work with clients who initially believed that running their studio or organisation would just happen and that managing people wouldn't become a priority because they were all mates so it was just going to be about a group of friends working together on the same game. However, by the time they talk to us they're usually taken aback and surprised by how drained of time and energy people managing really is. Having thrown a team together its almost a surprise to realise that it hasn't quite gone to plan. 

Structure isn't formal and doesn't need to be, but it provides stability and avoids uncertainty.  When employees are dealing with too much uncertainty and a clear lack of direction or information, they will create their own narrative and that's often a source of much misinformation and overthinking on their part.  What you need with a workforce is a plan; what are you working on, what are the milestones and what are the skills you need to complete the work.  It seems simple but in fact, amongst the talent wars and shortages of skills you need to be really well thought through when it comes to that workforce plan. 

And equally you need to know who will manage and how.  Line management needs knowledge and skills, that are often expected to magically be known.  Trust us, theres a regular set of training we use with organisations for line managers who are bewildered by the whole people management experience until they work with us.

We always suggest that you start with finding out how people feel and what they are seeking. Your role is not to solve these issues, but to simply listen or observe. Once you have a strong overview of how many people want these changes you can make a decision based on both the organisations financial wellbeing but also how these changes will improve performance.

The four day working week is something that is currently being talked about a lot, but do you really understand the implications for this kind of change.  Any change takes planning and consideration about how it will work practically. Feedback mechanisms are really powerful but also a thorough overview and understanding of the business implications should be done.  Not everyone will adapt well to a change like this, because for some work is their sanity. But equally can you deliver in a four day week what you can in a five? Some businesses are adopting a four day week over a five day working principle still (i.e. the teams are in for different four day weeks) but this takes planning and careful understanding of the nuances of your business. And when you're busy running the ship, do you have time to do this too?

We set up our retainer packages to make that conversation easier for small businesses, so they can either simply have access to our guidance as a leadership team or the whole wider organisation can talk to us too.  By giving us this access it's amazing what we see with clients that they were simply unaware was leading to the challenges they experience.

We are here to help you understand and navigate all changes or workplace structures and our services are simple for you to set up so we can get the ball rolling as soon as you've given us the green light.  If you'd like information on our retainer get in touch here.