Labour of Love: Getting to the Heart of Productivity

Heart-shaped chocolates bulge from shelves, chefs lovingly prepare romantic-themed menus, and bar staff perfect their mix for Cupid’s cocktail. As Valentine's Day approaches, the retail and hospitality sectors are bustling with activity. Yet, amid these preparations, the impact of recent cost challenges looms large. It raises the question, how many will come up smelling of roses, and how many will be left seeing red?

Steve Goodburn is a Director at mdj2, the consultancy specialising in solving critical

challenges in the retail, trade, and hospitality sectors. He observes that those who maintain a customer-centric approach to productivity effectively walk their core customers hand-in- hand to the till, ensuring that every step of their experience aligns with their needs and expectations.

“We’ve seen too many businesses fail by cutting costs without considering the customer impact,” remarks Steve. “The key to not weakening your proposition while taking costs out is to only make reductions that the customer doesn’t notice.”

A customer-centric approach to productivity

While cost reduction is the intended outcome, adopting a customer-centric approach to productivity involves getting the right balance between both efficiency and effectiveness.

Efficiency means streamlining to find the simplest, most cost-effective methods. Although this often results in labour-savings, it’s not about indiscriminate cuts. Changes might involve reducing or redefining roles, reorganising reporting structures, or evolving systems and processes.

These actions are strategic, not merely blanket cost-cutting measures. The effectiveness

component ensures that any changes continue to meet customer needs. Both aspects must work in tandem to ensure that efforts to cut costs do not compromise service and sales.

The pitfalls of narrow cost-cutting

“Every change needs to benefit your core customer – and ideally, your colleagues as well,” says Steve. “Maintaining this focus is crucial, but you can lose sight of it, especially when under pressure to cut costs.”

Indiscriminate cost-cutting can erode an organisation’s value proposition.

“Without understanding customer reactions, reducing costs can initiate a ‘doom loop’. Ultimately, you can cut away at the very heart of your offer, until you go out of business.”

Putting efficiency and effectiveness at the heart of productivity

‘Will my core customers notice this change, and if they do, will it be a good or bad thing?’

This question is invaluable because it reflects the fundamental LEAN principle that customers identify what’s valuable. “If it isn’t valuable to them, it’s waste,” says Steve.

Efficiency and effectiveness are about waging a relentless war on waste, which means

eliminating expenses that do not add value and refining methods to achieve more with less. Identifying the most effective changes requires a deep understanding of operational realities.

An outside-in perspective can be helpful in this context, enabling decision-makers to see which changes will genuinely benefit their operation and enhance customer value.

Grounding your decision-making in your reality

“A big chunk of effective management hinges on making informed choices that drive up standards and sales,” notes Steve. He highlights the learning from many projects that often the most insightful productivity answers come from those in more junior ranks - those who are closest to the customer and the day-to-day work.

Steve, who previously led productivity departments for two major retailers before becoming a consultant, has since helped many leaders better understand the realities of what’s really happening within their teams and processes. Through comprehensive interviews, measurements, and analysis, mdj2, in collaboration with its specialist labour productivity

partner ReThink, provides a clearer picture of operational realities.

Significant savings from consistent experience

“The resulting savings can be significant, with seven figures secured for our most recent hospitality client,” says Steve. “This project initially aimed to boost field team effectiveness, rather than focusing on cost reduction”.

The organisation faced a customer experience challenge. Operating multiple consumer brands, each with its own identity, the goal was to enhance consistency in customer experience across these brands without compromising their unique personalities or standards.

This required distinguishing which operational elements were universally mandatory and which were discretionary, allowing brands the flexibility to adapt to local customer needs.

“Our analysis uncovered several areas for improvement, including excessive communications and travel, confused accountabilities, and inconsistencies in compliance, audit, and IT,” continues Steve.

By implementing these recommendations, the business will not only improve operational effectiveness and deliver better, more consistent customer outcomes but also achieve a

seven-figure cost saving.

The heart of productivity in consumer-centric sectors

Getting to the heart of productivity in sectors reliant on their people to deliver and

differentiate their customer offering is indeed a labour of love. It requires a commitment to place customer satisfaction at the core of every leadership decision. But, as anyone who has ever nurtured a strong personal relationship knows, the more attention you pay to the things that truly matter, the more rewarding the relationship becomes. As businesses finesse their preparations for Valentine's Day, the most astute will recognise an opportunity. They will reinforce that showing true love in business means continuously putting their customers at the heart of every decision.

At mdj2, we solve critical challenges in the retail, trade, and hospitality sectors to drive change, efficiency, and growth. Leaders in these sectors choose to partner with us to harness their opportunities and overcome their greatest pain points — everything from proposition and process to productivity and people. This year we’re celebrating 20 years of delivering real and measurable outcomes because to us, yours is always more than just another project. If you’re looking for a partner this Valentine’s Day who cares about you and your next productivity project – then we’d love to chat to you.

Contact us at: +44 (0)1329 833 291 / info@mdj2.co.uk / www.mdj2.co.uk