ReThink Productivity Podcast

ReThink Productivity

Join Simon Hedaux, Co-Founder of ReThink Productivity, alongside a network of industry leaders, innovators, and clients as they share proven strategies to build smarter, leaner, and more profitable organisations. Whether you lead Operations, Strategy, or HR, this podcast delivers the tactical advice and real-world data you need to bridge the gap between high-level strategy and on-the-ground execution. What to Expect Every Month: Early Month: The Productivity Pulse Data-Driven Action: Hear directly from our internal experts—Sue, Simon, and James—as they share real-world trends, fresh data findings, and actionable productivity insights emerging straight from live projects.Align & Engage: Discover practical ways to connect head office goals with frontline execution, ensuring every team member is pulling in the same direction.Real-World Wins: Get tactical advice and success stories from organisations that have successfully unlocked transformative productivity.Late Month: The Industry Guest Spotlight Elevated Insights: We sit down with industry experts, trailblazing leaders, and clients to tackle the macro trends shaping business today.Deep-Dive Content: Move beyond surface-level metrics to explore complex, data-driven insights covering customer behaviour, market shifts, and evolving industry standards.Ready to transform your business? Subscribe today and get the tools to power your organisation's potential.

  1. 4d ago

    Fix the Behavior, The Sales Will Follow

    Send us Fan Mail In this episode of the Productivity Podcast, we speak with Kayleigh Fazan, founder of the International Retail Academy, to discuss why transforming the customer experience has to start behind the scenes. Kayleigh shares her insights from over 20 years in retail, explaining why true productivity is all about empowering leaders, building team confidence, and getting the basics right. Here are the key takeaways from our conversation: Behavior Over Metrics: Retail leaders often fixate on lagging indicators like conversion and ATV that only show what happened yesterday. To genuinely improve productivity, managers must focus on the daily behaviors that create those results. The Power of Service: Delivering an exceptional, consistent customer experience is one of the most commercially productive activities a retail business can perform. Targeted Training: Overwhelming part-time staff with massive libraries of learning materials is highly ineffective. Businesses should instead empower their leaders to separate critical, "must-do" training from optional "nice-to-have" learning. Sustainable Growth: Retailers cannot simply cut costs to achieve growth. Adopting a bottom-up approach to customer service naturally boosts commercial numbers, which in turn allows for future budget growth. 📅 Save the Date! Join us live at the Productivity Forum on 10th September in Birmingham. 🎟️ Secure your spot: ReThink Forum 2026 Download a copy of our first ReThink Productivity Retail Report  #theproductivityexperts Register for the 2026 Productivity Forum Download a copy of our first ReThink Productivity Retail Report Connect to Simon on LinkedIn Follow ReThink on LinkedIn

    Fix the Behavior, The Sales Will Follow
  2. Aug 23 ·  Video

    Productivity Pulse Episode 9 - Case Studies and More

    Send us Fan Mail In this episode, Sue and Simon explore essential resources for enhancing productivity and validating business cases. If you're seeking insights to inform your next project, this conversation is packed with valuable information. Case Studies: Learning from the Best Sue highlights the importance of case studies for anyone looking to build a solid business case. These real-world examples provide a deep dive into specific projects, showcasing what clients aimed to achieve and the results they accomplished. This firsthand knowledge can guide you in tailoring your own strategies. "If you're trying to think about what will be the business case for a particular project, it's a good one to drill into and find out what somebody else's experience was." — Sue Whitepapers: Broadening Your Understanding In addition to case studies, Sue discusses the wealth of knowledge available in white papers. These documents offer a broader introduction to topics like improving productivity and workload modeling, featuring multiple case studies to illustrate different approaches. Ideal for those still narrowing down their options, whitepapers can provide the general learning needed to kickstart your projects. "If you're still thinking about what you should be doing and want to get some general learning about what other people have done, then the white paper is a great place to start." — Sue Further Learning: Books and Courses Simon and Sue also touch on the book Every Second Counts, which compiles frequently asked questions and offers practical insights along with various case studies. This resource is particularly beneficial for those looking for quick wins in their productivity efforts. From foundational training courses at the ReThink Academy to specialised workshops on workload modeling and methods study, there are numerous opportunities for deeper learning. As Sue notes, these courses can equip you with crucial knowledge and skills whether you're new to productivity or seeking a fresh perspective. Upcoming Events and Resources Don't forget to sign up for the ReThink Forum 2026 happening on September 10th in Birmingham. With over 200 episodes of the Productivity Podcast available, there's a wealth of information at your fingertips. Additionally, Simon and Sue announce a pause on the Basket and Barometer series, making way for new conversations, including the intriguing Hedaux Hogg and the Machines, focusing on AI's role in retail and hospitality.  #theproductivityexperts Register for the 2026 Productivity Forum Download a copy of our first ReThink Productivity Retail Report Connect to Simon on LinkedIn Follow ReThink on LinkedIn

    Productivity Pulse Episode 9 - Case Studies and More
  3. Aug 16

    Data-Driven Coaching and AI in Store Operations

    Send us Fan Mail This month on the productivity podcast Ben Collier, co-founder at Ocasta discusses how streamlining store communications is helping drive actionable tasks, frontline micro-learning, and better sales conversions, and looks ahead to when AI will automatically guide managers through effective team coaching. Key takeaways: From Consumer Apps to Frontline Operations: How a serendipitous project shifted Ocasta from building consumer apps for major brands into creating user-friendly, bespoke operations platforms for retail enterprises.Removing Operational Guesswork: Why turning disguised head-office communications into clear, actionable tasks with real-time visibility eliminates confusion on the shop floor.Micro-Learning in the Flow of Work: How extending traditional knowledge bases into bite-sized, AI-generated training allows store teams to access and complete critical standard operating procedures in just minutes.The AI-Powered Coach: A look ahead at Ocasta's upcoming AI coaching assistant, designed to analyse real in-store observation data and provide managers with tailored action plans and prompts—removing the guesswork from human judgment.Ocasta Webinar: Watch the Webinar Ben mentions in the Pod Event Alert: Catch up with Ben and the Ocasta team to get an early look at their new AI coaching assistant at the upcoming Productivity Forum. 📅 Save the Date! Join us live at the Productivity Forum on 10th September in Birmingham. 🎟️ Secure your spot: ReThink Forum 2026 Download a copy of our first ReThink Productivity Retail Report  #theproductivityexperts Register for the 2026 Productivity Forum Download a copy of our first ReThink Productivity Retail Report Connect to Simon on LinkedIn Follow ReThink on LinkedIn

    Data-Driven Coaching and AI in Store Operations
  4. Aug 1

    From Insights to Execution: The Future of Frontline Productivity with WorkJam

    Send us Fan Mail This month on our business productivity podcast, we spoke to Will Eadie, Chief Strategy Officer at WorkJam. We discussed how Task Management tools are helping drive compliance, productivity and colleague engagement, and looked ahead to when systems will automatically suggest actions, saving even more admin time. Key takeaways: Productivity Drives Engagement: Why giving frontline workers clear expectations and streamlined tasks boosts overall job satisfaction and engagement. The £6.25 Billion Opportunity: Insights from the Rethink Productivity 2026 report, highlighting the massive savings organizations can unlock by managing capacity intelligently. From Insights to Execution: How AI is moving beyond data-dumping to provide store managers with actual decision support and dynamic task prioritization based on real-time signals like footfall and POS transactions. Democratizing Tasks: Real-world examples of how digital collaboration platforms allow managers to assign tasks based on skill and availability, keeping operations running smoothly even across differing shift patterns. The Autonomous Frontline: A look ahead at the next 12 months, predicting a shift toward systems that automatically suggest optimized actions—freeing managers from administrative burdens so they can focus on coaching teams and serving customers. Event Alert: Catch up with the WorkJam team at the Rethink Forum on September 10th in Birmingham. 📅 Save the Date! Join us live at the Productivity Forum on 10th September in Birmingham. 🎟️ Secure your spot: ReThink Forum 2026 Download a copy of our first ReThink Productivity Retail Report  #theproductivityexperts Register for the 2026 Productivity Forum Download a copy of our first ReThink Productivity Retail Report Connect to Simon on LinkedIn Follow ReThink on LinkedIn

    From Insights to Execution: The Future of Frontline Productivity with WorkJam
  5. Jul 12

    Productivity Pulse Episode 8 - Countdown to the Productivity Forum 2026!

    Send us Fan Mail The countdown is officially on. We are just two months away from the annual Productivity Forum on September 10th in Birmingham, and this week on The Productivity Pulse, we’re giving you an exclusive sneak peek at what’s in store. With over 150 operational and productivity leaders already registered, this year’s event is shaping up to be our biggest and most impactful yet. Join hosts Sue, Simon & James as they break down the 2026 agenda, which is built entirely around real feedback from the industry and our latest retail report. Rethinking Efficiency: How leading businesses are tackling rising costs by smartly reducing task loads in-store.Deploying Tech Pragmatically: Moving past the hype to look at real-life success stories in implementing workforce and task management tools.Managing Capacity Intelligently: A cross-industry look (retail + hospitality) at how to protect and maximise your peak trading periods without burning out your resources.Our 2026 Keynote: We are thrilled to welcome serial entrepreneur and ex-Dragon Sarah Willingham, who will be sharing her hospitality and business wisdom!Insider Tips: The team shares their top strategies on how to network, collaborate, and get the absolute most out of the day.📅 Save the Date! Join us live at the Productivity Forum on 10th September in Birmingham.  🎟️ Secure your spot: ReThink Forum 2026  #theproductivityexperts Register for the 2026 Productivity Forum Download a copy of our first ReThink Productivity Retail Report Connect to Simon on LinkedIn Follow ReThink on LinkedIn

    Productivity Pulse Episode 8 - Countdown to the Productivity Forum 2026!

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About

Join Simon Hedaux, Co-Founder of ReThink Productivity, alongside a network of industry leaders, innovators, and clients as they share proven strategies to build smarter, leaner, and more profitable organisations. Whether you lead Operations, Strategy, or HR, this podcast delivers the tactical advice and real-world data you need to bridge the gap between high-level strategy and on-the-ground execution. What to Expect Every Month: Early Month: The Productivity Pulse Data-Driven Action: Hear directly from our internal experts—Sue, Simon, and James—as they share real-world trends, fresh data findings, and actionable productivity insights emerging straight from live projects.Align & Engage: Discover practical ways to connect head office goals with frontline execution, ensuring every team member is pulling in the same direction.Real-World Wins: Get tactical advice and success stories from organisations that have successfully unlocked transformative productivity.Late Month: The Industry Guest Spotlight Elevated Insights: We sit down with industry experts, trailblazing leaders, and clients to tackle the macro trends shaping business today.Deep-Dive Content: Move beyond surface-level metrics to explore complex, data-driven insights covering customer behaviour, market shifts, and evolving industry standards.Ready to transform your business? Subscribe today and get the tools to power your organisation's potential.

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