Leaping Forward with Marginal Gains

LEAPING FORWARD WITH MARGINAL GAINS

How does a 1% change result in incredible results? The ‘Marginal Gains’ theory is a well-documented and much-applauded business innovation that sees organisations identify tiny, seemingly insignificant, opportunities for improvement. Once identified, improvements are made and gradually they all combine to create a phenomenal cumulative result.

Before being adopted by business gurus and industry leaders, the theory first revolutionised the sports industry and this is where it first gained attention. The most notable usage of this approach was spearheaded by Sir David John Brailsford CBE (performance director of British cycling).

Sir David used the marginal gains theory to effectively ‘break down’ the goal of winning into small and manageable steps. By focusing on improving lots of little things (everything from sleep quality to hand washing and nutrition), the overall aggregate progression was astounding. It nods to the age-old saying that ‘the whole is greater than the sum of its parts.’

By 2012, Sir Bradley Wiggins became the first British cyclist to win the Tour de France, and the British Cycling Team won 70% of the gold medals available at the Olympics. To clarify, by making 1% improvements that seemed negligible in as many areas as possible, they won 70% of what was available! Incredible results!

MARGINAL GAINS AT WHITE LABEL

Imagine the sales results that could be achieved if businesses took the same approach. Imagine how much happier your clients could be? Imagine how much happier your workforce could be?

And this brings us to the crux of it – in September last year, we announced our #MakingPeopleBetter campaign. This campaign is based on our commitment to be the industry leader for culture, development and well-being. If we’re going to spend a 1/3 of our lives at work, then we’re going to make it amazing!

The Marginal Gains statistics have really resonated with the team here at White Label and we are all therefore doing as much as we can to find 1% gains in all aspects of our lives. We are totally committed to finding those 1% gains for candidates, clients and our own staff.

• For Candidates this means connecting them with opportunities that offer them a step up, career progression or an improved lifestyle.
• For our clients this means ensuring the talent they have access too is driving innovation, growth and new ways of thinking.
• For our lovely team at White Label, this means offering them greater life experiences, better finances and improved well-being

You can find lots of advice about marginal gains and the 1% theory online such as here.

Leaping forward 1%

This year we were lucky enough to benefit from it being a Leap Year which meant that we all got one extra day to make marginal gains in both our personal and professional lives.

Our managing director, Louise Davey, vlogged about how she was making the most of her day and we’ve spoken to some of our other staff members to see what they did:

For my extra day of living I had a super positive ME day…. I went for a nice run in the morning, met a friend for a healthy lunch, went shopping for some new clothes and a bit of retail therapy, and then I finish the day with a massage and a nice bath. Serious gains for my mental health and wellbeing!

I had a ‘get organised’ day, starting with CrossFit in the morning, followed by the food shop and getting organised with life, I even started a new book in the evening! I always know if I’m organised for the week then it makes life less stressful, so it didn’t seem like the most inspiring of days, but it did make life easier the following week!

For my extra day I made the time to go to Boxing, I went for a nice lunch with a friend, treated myself to a new coat and even had some Planning/Vision time to myself in the evening! I ended the day with the best of gains – a new nephew to spend time with!

So, I used the extra day to the max! I had Bootcamp first thing, then ballet, followed by a viewing on our house, viewing someone else’s house, followed by a 40th Birthday party in the evening!

Well done team! Great gains all round for our wellbeing there!

If you want further information on our #MakingPeopleBetter campaign or our recruitment practices then contact us on info@whitelabelrecruitment.co.uk