Kathy Ratcliffe

Since starting out 25 years ago on a mission to change lives for industrial companies, I've found that fewer and fewer people offering solutions to disengagement are prepared to venture into the workplace, let alone engage with the shop floor. When I delivered the first record-breaking programme in 2002, no-one else was doing it in the Midlands. Some London consultants would come on-site at a cost few SMEs could afford... £10,000 for a developmental leg-up considered cheap! Most organisations...

I spoke at SubCon to a senior exec in a top-line trade association. He told me that he sees predominantly positive cultures, but having been on a fair share in my time I quietly question what he's actually experiencing on site visits. Leaders will say that their culture is great; walking the shop floor may tell a different story. If, that is, the guest is clued up to signs that 'all is not well' beyond seeing people doing their jobs at their workstations. Managers usually talk their way round...

Engineers are among the most likely socio-demographic groups to take their own lives. Engineering workers are 3.7 times more likely to die by suicide than the national average. This sobering statistic SHOULD act as a wake-up call to sector leaders while the engineering industry sits on the fence regarding employee welfare, continuing to invest heavily in emergent technology while ignoring the needs of its human workforce. Not all industrial companies are being complacent - some are notably...