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Gail, Rethink's Project Coordination Manager, reveals the secrets behind planning and delivering successful productivity projects across diverse industries and time zones.

• Communication, proven planning processes, and a professional team of work-study engineers are Gail's "secret weapons" for keeping projects on track
• Project setup involves three key steps: initial planning with clients, detailed scheduling, and ongoing support throughout the project
• ReThink adapts its core project planning principles across industries from retail and hospitality to pharmacies and cruise ships
• Matching analysts to projects considers previous experience, industry knowledge and geographical location
• Client collaboration is crucial - quality setup conversations, clear communication channels and briefing on-site teams ensures smooth project delivery

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Diane Wehrle CEO at Rendle Intelligence and Insights joins Simon for their monthly chat about footfall trends and shopping behaviours from March to April 2025. Consumer confidence has taken a hit as Easter trading results reveal ongoing caution, with the GFK Index dropping from -19 in March to -23 in April 2025. Despite footfall increasing by 7.2% in April year-on-year, the combined March-April period showed minimal growth of just 0.2% when accounting for Easter timing differences.

• Consumer confidence dropped across most age groups except 25-34 year olds
• Retail parks saw 2.7% footfall increase while shopping centres declined by 0.7%
• High street sales dropped 2.2% over the March-April period
• Fashion sales down 5% in the first four months of 2025
• Clothing and footwear prices decreased 0.4% in April, suggesting retailer discounting
• Overall inflation rose to 3.5%, driven by housing, utilities and communication costs
• National Living Wage and NI increases took effect end of April, adding pressure to retailers
• Recent cyber attacks on retailers highlight security vulnerabilities and potential additional costs
• PWC research suggests declining consumer sentiment typically precedes behavioural changes by six months

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Discover the intricate costs associated with employee turnover and how they impact your business. Join us as we dive deep into the hidden implications and strategies for retention with Helen Seale founding partner at WH People

• Understanding the alarming rise in post-pandemic turnover rates
• Exploring the hidden costs beyond recruitment
• The importance of effective training and onboarding for new employees
• Strategies for creating a more engaging workplace culture
• The role of leadership in employee retention

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Simon Hedaux, co-founder of Rethink Productivity, shares his expertise on implementing simple, actionable solutions to common workplace productivity challenges. Drawing from over 20 years of experience from the shop floor to productivity consultancy, Simon reveals how businesses can achieve quick wins through data-driven insights and practical process improvements.

• Understanding business operations through accurate, up-to-date data is fundamental to productivity improvement
• Small changes like optimising stock placement or redesigning store layouts can yield significant efficiency gains
• A retailer saved over £500,000 annually by simply redesigning till receipts
• Future productivity advances will focus on "intelligent stock" using video analytics and smart technologies
• The right work must be done by the right role at the right cost - expensive leaders shouldn't be performing basic tasks
• Productivity improvement is an ongoing process, not a one-time project

Listen to Episode 2 and Discover the People Powering Productivity.

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Focusing on the fundamental aspects of successful tech implementations, we explore the importance of team composition, data readiness, and fostering change within organizations with Paul Karnowski founding partner at WH People

• Importance of having a dedicated project manager
• Effective data preparation is crucial for success
• Need for quick decision-making and transparency
• Emphasising collaboration between vendors and internal teams
• Cultivating an organisational culture that embraces change

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Creating a vibrant workplace culture is essential for driving employee engagement and business success. Wendy Muirhead founding partner at WH People discusses the interplay between culture, visibility, and technology, emphasising the need for organisations to invest in their people while simplifying processes through effective Workforce Management (WFM).

• Exploration of workplace culture’s impact on engagement
• Wendy’s journey in establishing WH People
• The role of leadership in cultivating organizational culture
• Challenges of maintaining culture in larger businesses
• Importance of communication and clarity of vision
• Benefits of Workforce Management technology
• AI’s influence on Workforce Management and employee engagement
• Interrelation between culture, productivity, and retention
• Investment in people as a strategic business imperative

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Diane Wehrle CEO at Rendle Intelligence and Insights joins Simon for their monthly chat about footfall trends and shopping behaviours from February to March 2025, focusing on the impact of Easter timing differences on year-over-year comparisons. The conversation explores how footfall, consumer confidence, and inflation metrics are painting a complex picture of the retail landscape with some sectors showing signs of recovery despite challenging conditions

• Footfall into stores down 5.4% overall and 4% in high streets (comparing non-Easter March 2025 vs Easter March 2024)
• Food and drink spending dropped 6.3% this March compared to a 9.8% increase last March during Easter
• Fashion sector showing signs of recovery with only a 2.7% decline, better than February's 7.4% drop
• Grocery spending decreased by 5.4% versus a 3.5% rise last March due to Easter timing
• Consumer confidence slightly improved from -20% to -19%, with better outlook on general economic situation
• Inflation dropped to 2.6% in March (from 2.8% in February), with clothing at just 1.1% inflation
• Hospitality remains challenging with high inflation at 4.22%, affected by labour costs and minimum wage increases
• Upcoming National Insurance payment increases likely to impact businesses and consumer spending patterns
• Next month's data will show the combined impact of the Easter shift and provide clearer year-over-year comparison

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The ReThink team shares fresh insights from the Retail Technology Show 2025 at the Excel in London, where AI applications in retail have evolved beyond marketing buzzwords to practical implementations in forecasting, computer vision, and data mining.

• AI usage becoming more sophisticated with specific applications rather than just marketing claims
• Computer vision technology now identifying shoplifting, tracking store traffic, and creating heat maps of customer movement
• Surprising amount of cash handling technology despite declining cash transactions
• RFID innovations eliminating manual scanning with fixed readers tracking merchandise throughout stores
• Footfall tracking systems can detect mobile phones even when powered off
• Stock management systems now prompting intelligent markdowns to reduce waste
• Employee communication platforms continuing to evolve for frontline worker engagement
• Notable absence of customer experience measurement technologies and concrete ROI metrics

Join us for our upcoming forum on September 11th in Birmingham featuring an innovation lounge with exciting tech partners, and catch us at NRF Europe in Paris the following week.

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