Catch up on the week in HR with our at-a-glance news round up including how HR is meeting the Gershon challenge head on, reaction to the latest NMW hike and why red-tape the Dutch way is getting the thumbs up.
W/C 3/10/05
HR meets Gershon challenge head on
HR professionals in the public sector are taking the practical steps necessary to respond to the challenges presented by the change agenda.
Public sector modernisation and reform are top of the Government’s policy agenda. Reviewing the role of the HR function is part of the reform plan.
Fit for Business, the latest report from the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD) examines how well HR in the public sector is responding to the twin challenges of enforcing widespread change amongst the workforce while looking inwardly at the efficiencies of their own function.
Mike Emmott, CIPD Employee Relations Adviser, who led the research project, said:
“The significance of the changes under way can hardly be over-estimated. They focus on putting people issues at the heart of the reform agenda. Targets and budgets are important tools for public service managers but engaging the hearts and minds of employees will be critical to raising performance and service standards.
“The interests and views of those affected need to be taken into account at the outset, when changes are being planned. This will only be done effectively if HR is actively engaged in the business, understands the needs of the organisation, speaks a language that employees and managers understand, and establishes close and productive working relationships with line managers.”
At the same time, says Emmott, HR needs to develop its skills and ability to adapt, particularly when staffing levels in HR are planned to fall significantly with part of the administrative tasks formerly performed by HR moving to shared service centres.
The CIPD point to several organisations that are currently meeting the HR challenge head on including: Derbyshire County Council, HSE, Gateshead Council, DWP and the Food Standards Agency.
High fives for the NMW?
The National Minimum Wage (NMW) has for the first time risen above £5; adults will receive the new rate of £5.05 per hour effective as of 1 October while 18-21 year olds will now take home a minimum £4.25.
The Trades Union Congress (TUC) applauded the hike but said more could be done to raise the standard of living for those on the poverty line:
Brendan Barber, the TUC’s General Secretary commented: “An extra 20 pence an hour is going to make a real difference, with many hard-up families better off as a result. But as ever, with each minimum wage increase comes the predictable wave of protest from business saying that it cannot afford another rise. Every year miserly bosses say any wage boost will be at the expense of jobs, but every year their predictions of doom and gloom fail to materialise.”
While Barber urged the Low Pay Commission (LPC) who review the minimum wage each year not too listen to the ‘bleatings’ of business, the bosses’ group the CBI urged caution, saying the impact of the rate rise would need to be carefully assessed by government and the LPC.
Commenting on the increase CBI Director-General Sir Digby Jones said:
“Next year’s rise of 5.9 per cent to £5.35 will have a serious impact on those sectors traditionally affected by the minimum wage – but the minimum wage is also starting to bite in the retail and the manufacturing sectors. Even big employers who provide so many with their route to work are currently experiencing a serious down-turn.
“The UK is already edging towards the top of the International Minimum Wage League Table so it is critical that the impact of these increases is carefully considered by government and the Low Pay Commission.”
Bosses’ group applauds Dutch red-tape plan
As a new set of legislation is triggered for the second time in the year, the CBI has made their call to government to match the Dutch authorities’ commitments to cut red tape and regulation.
Amongst the legislation are new rules governing the employment relationship including, updates to the Sex Discrimination Act and Equal Pay Act to implement the Equal Treatment Directive as well as a hike in the National Minimum Wage rate.
John Cridland, CBI Deputy Director-General, said: “Businesses always judge the Government’s words on reducing regulation and red tape by what they experience on the ground, so the implementation of revised and new rules from today will be another test of its better regulation credentials.”
Welcoming the launch of a project to measure for the first time the total cost of regulation to business, Cridland urged the government to look at stemming the flow of new laws originating from the EU:
“We also need to see action at an EU level, where half the new regulations affecting our firms originate, and we hope the European Commission’s publication of a list of planned legislation that could be revised or dropped indicates a genuine policy shift in Brussels. Again, it will be implementation that counts – action to head off the competitive threat from the proposed agency temps and REACH chemicals Directives would prove the Commission’s resolve.
“Firms welcome the Government’s renewed pledges on red tape but they won’t believe them until they see real change in their daily business lives.”
Mandatory pension age is bad for business
The Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD) made the comments in reaction to new figures from the Continuous Mortality Investigations Bureau which revealed the average age of mortality for wealthier males to be nearly 90.
Charles Cotton, CIPD Pensions Adviser said: “These figures emphasise the need for the abolition of mandatory retirement ages. These arbitrary end-points to working lives are bad for business, and bad for the quality of life of the long-term pensioners they create.
“Many workers want to keep working beyond current retirement ages, albeit in many cases on reduced hours or in other more flexible ways. In the future, we expect this trend to accelerate as people choose to extend their working lives in order to supplement their retirement incomes and maintain quality of life.”
Cotton added: “By kicking people out of the door because of their age, employers are also waving goodbye to experienced and talented workers. At a time when employers are struggling to recruit and retain workers with the skills and experience they need, this makes no business sense. With an ageing population, many firms are recognising that they need to recruit and retain older workers to ensure their workforce reflects the populations they serve.”
CIPD research reports:
- The average cost of replacing a member of staff who leaves is around £4,500
- Workers over the age of 40 begin suffering age discrimination – something that will become illegal from October 2006
- Employers see older workers as, on average, more productive, reliable, committed and punctual than the rest of the workforce
Communication skills crucial for managers
A new survey highlights the importance for managers to be skilled communicators, with more than half of workers polled saying they plan to quit their companies over the next two years because of bad communication.
According to a report by workplace communications consultancy CHA, the typical UK workplace is awash with communications initiatives. However, while workers may be bombarded with corporate-speak, many are still not sure what their organisation stands for, where it is going or how their contribution is going to make a difference. The alternative, it seems, is no communication at all.
The poll shows that workers only want relevant information. Of the 1000 workers surveyed, 60% of those who are kept in the dark plan to leave in the next two years, however those who know what the plan is are five times more likely to be motivated.
Meanwhile 65% say too much of the information they get is not relevant to their job.
For more on this story see: TrainingZONE
Training by text message
A training company is set to use text messaging to reinforce learning when delegates return to their normal roles.
The service from sales training company TACK International provides regular ‘bite sized’ reminders and advice to help delegates apply what they’ve learned on their sales training programmes once back in the office or the field.
Delegates receive two text tips each week for three months following the course, giving them instant short reminders, wherever they are.
Rob Barham, CEO of TACK International said that the aim was to keep training fresh in the learners’ mind. “Because the text tips follow on directly from a delegate’s course and are sent from their trainer, they keep the momentum of their learning moving by regularly re-enforcing and reminding the salesperson about relevant topics they can use everyday,” he said.
E-learning trends on agenda at global conference
Almost 100 leaders in the areas of training and online learning from the USA, UK, Australia and South Africa, have been discussing the industry’s key trends and issues.
Organised by global e-learning producer TATA Interactive Systems (TIS), the conference looked at trends in learning.
Elaborating on the role of online universities in supporting workforce development, Brian Mueller, CEO of the University of Phoenix Online, argued that the delivery of learning will become increasingly mobile; while the upcoming generation of workers will show a marked preference for learning via problem solving simulations and gaming.
Mueller felt that learning’s dependence on high quality instructional design. He told delegates: “If content is king, instructional design is the genius in learning.”
For more on this story see: TrainingZONE
Political parties divided over skills gaps
Most Conservative MPs dismiss economic migration as a way of plugging UK skills gaps, according to a survey published by Skills for Business.
Fewer than two in ten Tory MPs support economic migration as a means to reduce Britain’s skills shortages. This is in direct contrast to MPs in the other two main political parties, the majority of whom believe that economic migration should be encouraged to close the UK’s skills gap.
The report, conducted by MORI, showed that:
* 87% (or nine in ten) of Labour MPs agree that economic migration should be used to plug skills shortages in the UK.
* 85% of Conservative MPs agree that the limited skills available in the current workplace are constraining UK employers from producing more complex products or better services.
* Three in four Tory MPs believe that the gap between the skills we need and the skills we have among our workforce is growing.
The findings came on the day the Tories prepared to discuss skills issues at their annual Conference and highlight the fact that 60% of employers admit that they currently have problems recruiting new employees with the required skills.
For more on this story see: TrainingZONE
New induction standards for care sector
Skills for Care, the strategic development body for the adult social care workforce in England has launched a new set of Common Induction Standards (CIS).
The new standards are designed for people entering social care, and those changing roles or employers within adult social care and were developed to reflect recent changes to the NVQ requirements and the Care Council Code of Conduct. The new CIS will form the basis of registration of all social care staff.
For more on this story see: TrainingZONE
Skills Council pledges to raise standards of learning
Lifelong Learning UK (LLUK), the skills council for adult education teachers and learning professionals, pledged to raise the quality of learning at its latest launch in Wales.
Speaking to more than 100 guests at the Cardiff launch LLUK chief executive David Hunter promised that, by upskilling teachers and other learning professionals, the new Sector Skills Council (SSC) would help ensure that more opportunities for training and development were on offer to employees and those seeking work throughout Wales.
“LLUK’s priority in Wales is to give our employers a voice and so enable us to truly represent our workforce,” said Hunter.
For more on this story see: TrainingZONE
Inspectors warn quality of basic skills training must improve
The government’s Skills for Life programme has attracted learners, but has yet to deliver significant improvements in the quality of literacy and numeracy education for adults, according to a report by Oftsted.
Skills for Life in Colleges: One Year On, evaluates the Government’s Skills for Life Strategy which aims to improve adult literacy and numeracy skills.
Inspectors found that the strategy had been successful in attracting learners from priority groups and in helping more learners gain nationally recognised qualifications, estimating that between 2001 and 2004, 800,000 learners achieved at least one literacy and numeracy, or English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) qualification.
However, Ofsted warned that the strategy had yet to deliver significant improvements in the quality of education provision.
For more on this story see: TrainingZONE
Flexible working highlights skills need for managers
Line managers need training to help them implement successful flexible working practices, according to the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD).
In a survey the CIPD found that almost half (45%) of line managers reported difficulties in implementing flexible working practices. The factors most likely to cause problems were demonstrating fairness between employees, communicating with their team and controlling workflow.
It sees performance management, communication and resource planning skills as essential for managers in order to make flexible working successful.
For more on this story see: TrainingZONE
