Highlights – 8 October

The UK may be facing a productivity gap, but it seems organisations are being counterproductive when it comes to closing it. The Times has cited new CMI data showing that poor performance is going unchallenged in UK organisations. Over half of managers (57%) admit they struggled to tackle performance issues over the past year – because HR procedures actually discourage them from doing so. 

Many organisations are turning to technology to help them. CMI research has found that a third of UK employers are using tools to monitor their employees’ activities online, in part to keep people productive and accountable. 

In this week’s newsletter, we hear from two Chartered Managers who use monitoring tools – one of whom found an employee watching test match cricket while in an online meeting – about how they navigate the privacy and transparency issues. 

We also shine a light on AI, another powerful productivity tool, sharing how managers can harness it without amplifying anxieties over job security.

Bed, board and the ballot box

Another option for improving performance lies in training people. Dine Out Magazine has highlighted a new Hospitality Graduate Apprenticeship Programme, launched by UKHospitality and HIT Training in partnership with CMI. Graduates of the five-year, apprenticeship levy-funded pathway gain a master’s-level qualification and Chartered Manager status. 

Over in Westminster, we’re also working with MPs to address their management skills gap and helping newly elected MPs to become Chartered Managers. In its coverage of the partnership, Politico highlighted “productivity problems and a toxic work culture” that “risked setting up new arrivals for failure from the outset”. It also quoted Petra Wilton, CMI’s director of policy and external affairs, who said it was “frustrating” that the parliamentary system lacks accountability around who should be responsible for ensuring new MPs are properly supported.

Elsewhere, Petra has also appeared in a People Management article covering another controversial subject: a universal in-work health service. A recent Fabian Society report proposed a model funded by a levy on large employers. 

“The report overlooks the significant operational challenges and legal risks this creates for businesses whose managers are not equipped for these sensitive situations,” said Petra. 

Keep building

In other news, CMI’s presence in the Asia-Pacific region is growing at pace. In highlighting CMI’s upcoming future leadership event in Kuala Lumpur, The Star Malaysia remarked how CMI membership in Malaysia has risen from approximately 2,200 to over 6,000 in the past three years. The number of Malaysian university partners has gone from 10 to 19, and employer and training provider partner numbers have shot up from two to 21. 

One of our Malaysian members, Thiben Kerisnain CMgr MCMI, has contributed an article to this week’s newsletter on how to use your experience to make a lasting ethical impact. He argues that, at a time when experience no longer guarantees credibility, managers need to combine ethical clarity, strategic agility and structured practices. 

Meanwhile, Chang Rui Hua CMgr FCMI, chair of CMI Hong Kong, shares her thoughts on diversity in the boardroom and the critical role it plays in shaping resilient, innovative and ethically grounded organisations.

Finally, to another critical management skill highlighted in this week’s newsletter: creativity, which is central to problem-solving, leadership and strategy. We feature an extract from Charlie Curson’s book Be More Strategic: 12 essential practices to build the life and career you want. If you want to see what connects LEGO bricks, technology-free strolls and the shipping forecast, get reading…

Best,

Matt Roberts CMgr FCMI

Director of membership and professional development, CMI