ReThink Productivity Podcast
In this exciting podcast, Simon Hedaux from ReThink Productivity shares his insights and strategies for improving productivity and efficiency in the retail and hospitality industries. With the help of clients, partners, and the ReThink team, Simon covers everything from measuring and tracking productivity to developing and implementing effective strategies.
Whether you're a business owner, manager, or employee, this podcast is a must-listen for anyone who wants to learn how to get more done and improve their bottom line.
Here's what you can expect to learn:
- How to measure and track productivity
- Proven strategies for improving efficiency and reducing waste
- How to create a culture of productivity and innovation
- Tips for motivating and engaging your team
- Real-world examples of how other businesses have used ReThink Productivity to achieve success
Don't miss out on this opportunity to learn from the experts and get ahead of the curve with your own business.
ReThink Productivity Podcast
Productivity Forum 2025: Key Takeaways
We recap the highlights from the Productivity Forum 2025, diving into key presentations and insights that left attendees buzzing with new ideas about retail productivity.
• Alex Rezvan kicked off the event with insights on retail's evolution toward non-transactional, cultural spaces that are highly tech-enabled
• Halfords shared their productivity journey and implementation successes
• The Innovation Lounge featured eight partner companies showcasing technological solutions in a treasure hunt format
• Harding Retail presented unique challenges of running shops on cruise ships with limited space and connectivity
• Current insights session explored emerging retail trends and changing industry dynamics
• Graham Wilson closed the forum with strategies for making change happen and engaging people effectively
• Forum 11 is scheduled for September 2026 with registration already open
Registration for next year's forum is now open. Register using the link below...
https://rethinkproductivity.co.uk/productivity-forum/
#theproductivityexperts
Register for the 2026 Productivity Forum
Find us in the Top 50 Productivity Podcasts
Connect to Simon on LinkedIn
Follow ReThink on LinkedIn
Welcome to the Productivity Podcast. We're back from the Productivity Forum 2025, number 10. I'm delighted to be joined by Sue and James, both from Rethink, who are integral parts of the day. Hi James, Hi Simon, Thank you for having me. Good you recovered.
Speaker 2:Still got tired feet but I know Buzzing still with the ideas.
Speaker 1:Good, hi, sue. Hi, you recovered Just about buzzing still with the ideas.
Speaker 3:Good, I see hi, you recovered just about just about.
Speaker 1:Yeah, it's one of those days that kind of blurs past, isn't it? It's an early start, lots of uh interesting conversations and a tidy up, and we're done. So we'll wedge you through the agenda that we went through. James and sue will give us some reflections on each of the sessions and then we'll talk about what's next. So Sue and I opened the day usual. You know where are the toilets, where are the fire exits, all the important things about when lunches and when breaks are. And then we had Alex Rezvan, who's the host of the Retail Podcast and pretty much tours the world for all. The hospitality and retail show. Give us some insight into navigating the retail revolution. James reflections on Alex's opening message.
Speaker 2:Well, I think the fact that what he's seen in China is coming here, in the number of years and the way that retail and hospitality are different, there moving more towards non-transactional space, cultural revolutions and highly tech enabled. Yeah, fascinating and inspiring, and this question of do you want to be famous for making money or do you want to be famous for saving money really resonated with me.
Speaker 1:Yeah, some interesting straplines to take forward throughout the day. And, sue, I think it's the first time you've met Alex, so what resonated with you?
Speaker 3:And Sue, I think it was the first time you'd met Alex, so what resonated with you? I really enjoyed the fact. It made you think, it took you out of the day-to-day and made you think about what could happen, what would be different, and I think he gave some great examples of how other brands are successfully navigating those changes and trends that are coming. So it was both future looking and thought provoking, but was also has some real good practical examples as well.
Speaker 1:So it was a really great session yeah, and he's posted for those of you that don't know him ali resvan. I think he is on linkedin. Look him up. His content's great to follow anyway, so good job, good job, ali. Then we had a bit of a q a with ali, so lots of questions. We won't go into those because they stay in the room. And then we had a presentation from halfords. So, sue, you work closely with halfords on the project, so must have been nice to see some of that come to light in the room you know, it was great to hear how they've taken it on and what they've done with it, the changes that they're making.
Speaker 3:So it was a real positive story and some really interesting things that they're doing.
Speaker 1:And James, you were an integral part of the data analysis and the insights and again must be nice for you to see that come to life on stage.
Speaker 2:Yeah, and it's a great thing about the Productivity Forum is how willing our clients are to share their productivity journeys and what they've learned with the audience.
Speaker 1:I think everybody got a lot out of this session. Good. Then we had our first innovation lounge. So we had a set of partners which we'd kind of married up with some of the themes that we've seen across the studies we've been doing in the last 12 months. So it wasn't just a bunch of people put in a room and, james, you introduced it. So I'll kind of let you explain the process that we went through with everybody.
Speaker 2:Well, it's kind of like a treasure hunt. We wanted to make sure that everyone in attendance got an opportunity to learn about the different technological innovations, so we set up a series of eight-minute presentations from the vendors. People split into groups and had to work around them, and I think that meant that people were… getting short, short, sharp introductions to different topics, different technologies and ways they could help their business, which, from the feedback we had, obviously Happy or Not, gave us a couple of terminals to get feedback. Looks like the feedback on that was pretty positive in terms of how people felt about it and, yeah, our partners giving out free socks always helps as well.
Speaker 1:Yeah, socks are always popular.
Speaker 3:Sue, I know you were kind of busy in the day, but thoughts on the innovation lounge I think people really value the chance to see some new things that they might not have come across, and it's they'll always be it. You know, it would be impossible for us to have everything in there was of interest top of mind interest to everybody. I think quite a few of the people I spoke to they found a number of things that were interesting and thought-provoking for them. So even if they didn't need to buy their shelf-raised labels, for example, then there'd be something else that was of interest to them. So it seemed to work well and I think it'd be something we'd be keen to do more often in the future.
Speaker 2:Yeah, it's something I know you two won't talk about because you tend not to blow your own trouble on those things, but you know we gamified it by doing a little prize draw for people that attended all eight sessions, but the prizes were giving Rethink, donating some money to charity, and we had five worthy winners and five different charities supported. So I thought it was a really nice touch from you both.
Speaker 1:Good Thank you, yeah, good feedback. So we've kind of spoken to all the partners as they were packing up and I helped some of them pack up and we've had various emails today congratulating us and said what a good event it was and how helpful the Rethink team were. So always good to know. It's nice. It doesn't cost us anything to be nice to people, regardless of what we're doing. So, yeah, one to think on for next year about. We make that bigger and better. We then moved into the afternoon sessions and we had a really interesting presentation from harding retail. So for those that don't know, harding retail kind of managed all the shops on the cruise ships, from alcohol through to very, very, very expensive pairs of earrings, as we found out, sue, always an interesting presentation.
Speaker 3:Yes, fascinating to think that all your core retail processes are the same but different and the different challenges, same but different and the different challenges. So and then when you think, whatever your business is, you face some unique challenges. Every business does because of the unique branding that we deliver. Actually, some of the real practical challenges of operating on a ship where space is tight, you know you can't, you haven't got good connections to wi-fi, and some of the real things that are basics that you take for granted everywhere else just don't happen there and yet this is aligned to deliver a brilliant customer experience and bring in the sales.
Speaker 1:So it's a really interesting to hear about again, james, you're integral in the insight for that one.
Speaker 2:So thoughts on the, the harding journey yeah, I mean I'd echo what sue said about the similarities between this, you know, retail at sea versus retail on land. Next year we'll have to do some retail from the air. I have to win some airborne clients so we can talk about retail in all places. But Steve made a point, having observed the innovation managers, that people want to be productive at heart, and he talked about some of the really clever ways the teams on the boats were becoming more productive despite the challenges they faced. And I think that was just a reminder for me that lots of our clients have fantastic people doing a great job all the time to be as productive as possible and if we can just enhance that energy, I think we'll be in a really strong place. And yeah, that was what I took out of Steve's presentation.
Speaker 1:Yeah, there's no way to get more people once you've set sail. Is there? So interesting challenges. We have various panels throughout the day. Interesting challenges. We had various panels throughout the day. So, again, we won't go into the detail of those, but some great clients and partners on panel sharing stories with the room. Then we moved into current insights. So that was both of the people on the podcast. So, sue and james, we won't, we won't, dwell on this, not because it wasn't good and not because it wasn't important, but it deserves its own episode. So I think, sue and james, you're going to record something and put it out in a couple of weeks, pretty much replicating that session. Is that right?
Speaker 2:yeah, I think. I think that would be good from my point of view. Like we do lots of analysis for lots of clients, those presentations are always thought through and there's lots of interpretation of the data.
Speaker 2:We never just provide data and say you know there you go, there's, there's a bunch of slides and you know, because of because our data is based on the people we work with, we're not doing a census of the state of retail in the UK, for example, so so I feel like we're maybe a little bit reticent sometimes to share you know what, what we're seeing, in case it doesn't represent everyone, but I think the feedback I got on the day was that the themes that Sue pulled out and what they meant for our clients and for the attendees were really valuable, and so I think we should do more of it. So I don't know if you agree.
Speaker 3:Yeah, I think it was good to pull out the things that I see that are changing, and a lot of them. You might say. Some of those things have been always with us and they have, but I think it's time to change and the world moves on and retail and hospitality moves on and faces different challenges. I think it's always interesting to see what is it that's emerging, because it's so useful to know what's happening generally, because it allows you and your business to think about is this happening here? What do we need to do? So I always enjoy sharing those sorts of insights good.
Speaker 1:And then we finished with graham wilson who first came. We've known for a number of years. First came last year and came back to reinforce the story around making change happen. Graham's a great speaker, always got some great stories, relates a lot of it back to his military and motor racing passions and careers. James again seemed really good, barely minding it was the last session of a long productive day seemed lots of engagement and again seemed to resonate with people.
Speaker 2:Day seemed lots of engagement and again seemed to resonate with people. Yeah, and ultimately everybody in the room was there because they're trying to make their businesses more productive. But that's always going to involve working with people and changing people's behaviors and winning their hearts and minds. So it felt like the perfect end to me to kind of picking up on some, some loose threads that were that were there from the sessions throughout the day.
Speaker 1:And so you've been agreeing for a number of years as well. Good way to end the 10th forum.
Speaker 3:Yes, and a reminder that sometimes implementing the process change or the tech might be an easier part than actually doing the engagement and the work around it that you need to do to actually deliver something successfully.
Speaker 1:Number 11 is now almost well under a year away, potentially so for those listening registration's open. It will be in September. Location day TBC. But you can get your name on the list because we were oversubscribed this year.
Speaker 3:Sue hopes for the 2026 forum, number 11?.
Speaker 1:I'm hoping, bigger and better.
Speaker 1:Okay, quite a bit to live up to after this year and the previous nine, james, I think, just just if I, if people can get as much value from it next year as they got from it this year, then I'll be more than happy perfect, so we'll put the link in there in the show notes so you can register early and say it will be in September exact date, tbc, but it'll be after the kids have gone back to school and location where we're debating and we'll look around, but typically it'll be in that Birmingham area. So all plans are in place. Well, I look forward to your episode, sue and James. It gives me a week off of hosting the podcast, so I will look forward to your episode, sue and James. It gives me a week off of hosting a podcast, so I will. I look forward to replaying that session. Thanks both for your efforts yesterday and we'll speak soon bye thank you see you soon.
