It’s harder to manage staff across a distance — whether it’s remote teams or remote working individuals. But enabling your team to cross geographies means you can grow capacity by acquisition and recruit from a much larger talent pool — making it a skill worth learning. Local Leader Remote teams…

Whenever you do anything, sometimes things will go wrong. Expect this — plan what to do and how to react. Anticipate and Accept Expect that things will go wrong and try to anticipate what they might be. Miss steps should never come as a complete surprise. You should always be…

An organisation is its people: The ideas that they generate. The impression they present to the world. The things that they make. The service they provide. Get the people part right and the organisation will stand a good chance of succeeding. Trust People Many organisations treat people as a faceless…

Start-up businesses are all about innovation — building something new is usually their reason for existing. But as they become established the day-to-day of current operations and products can get in the way of building the next new thing. This tension needs to be managed so that you can do…

Even with the best of teams, and with the most progressive of management styles, there will still be times when you need to criticise. How can you do this without falling into a well of negativity? Do It Sparingly When you’re not normally known for it, criticism, when it is…

When a business first starts up, the office is usually located somewhere convenient for the founders. But as it grows it will need to move — usually more than once. When these opportunities arise, what things should you consider? Accessibility How will the staff get to you? Not just the…

Engineers are geeks, they want to stay technical, and don’t do people — right? Wrong! Engineers can often make the best managers — if you introduce them to it the right way. Grow Your Own You could recruit new managers, but it’s usually better to grow your own. They will: …

Whether you’re recruiting from outside or growing from within, what characteristics make a great Test Engineer? As well as the technical skills that you need you should also look for … Play First Great Test Engineers love to play with a new product. Really getting to know how it works…

All businesses regard staff training as a good thing — and it is. But training is about much more than just ticking a box — using just what’s on the shelf. Formal Training Training courses are certainly part of the picture. In-house courses may be more cost effective, but try…