Gender politics: woman losing out in the UK, but on top in France
UK women’s grip on positions of power in politics and public life is slipping away dramatically, claims a report. Sex and Power: Who Runs Britain? by Counting Women In, a coalition of five organisations including the Fawcett Society and Hansard Society, found damning evidence of British women losing representation across politics, the judiciary, police, media […]
British Gas goes green with recruitment
British Gas is offering 1,000 unemployed youngsters a chance to train for skilled ‘green’ roles at the company over the next three years. The energy giant has joined forces with Accenture and environmental charity Global Action Plan to offer free sustainability training to 1,400 17 to 25 year olds not currently in education, training […]
Talent Spot: Karen Myers, HR director for UK and Western Europe at RSA
Karen Myers, HR director for UK and Western Europe at insurance firm RSA, loves what she does. She must do, she says, otherwise there’s no way she would endure a 5.15am wake-up call and a 3.5 hour commute each way. But the company, people and culture are a “natural fit”, according to Myers. […]
In a nutshell: making changes without ruffling feathers
When you join a new company, the temptation is to change everything at once. Marcus Powell, group organisation development and HR director at Nuffield Health, shares his tips on making changes without ruffling too many feathers. Be appreciative Seek out what is working well and learn how to amplify the good things and dampen […]
Part timers worry about job security
Part-time staff are more worried about job security than their full-time co-workers, according to Legal & General’s Job Security Index. Job losses at HMV, Rolls Royce and other high-profile companies have helped knock the confidence of all workers, but the drop has been most notable among part-time workers. The Index showed that 65% […]
Health and Safety: businesses need to keep defibrillators to hand
Defbrillators should become part of regular office equipment, urges an occupational health group. A survey of 1,000 UK firms by the Institution of Occupational Safety and Health (IOSH) found that more than half of UK businesses do not have a defibrillator, which restarts the heart using an electric shock following cardiac arrest. While six […]
Redundancies on the up – but so are salaries.
2013 promises a high number of redundancies but also healthy salary increases for UK firms, reports an Aon Hewitt survey. The survey revealed a mixed picture of the jobs market in the UK. More than a third (35%) of UK organisations said they were considering redundancies this year – higher than any other European country […]
Ask the Expert: strategies for mental wellbeing
The statistics are stark: one in four British adults will suffer at least one diagnosable mental health problem in any one year, according to The Office for National Statistics. Yet, despite the prevalence of people suffering from stress, depression and other mental illnesses, there is such a huge stigma around mental health that many people […]
Mental health reform brings HR implications
The Mental Health (Discrimination) Bill was given its final approval by the Lords last week, marking a major step forward in the way society views mental illness. Three key changes will become law when the Bill gains Royal Assent, probably next month. It will lift the barrier on people who have suffered mental illness from […]
Best practice: Staying mum at Merrill Lynch
Bank of America Merrill Lynch is spearheading an innovative campaign to help stay-at-home mothers and carers get back into the workplace. The ‘Returning Talent’ programme offers practical advice to people hoping to re-enter the workplace after three or more years caring for their family. It is aiming to attract middle to senior-ranking professionals from […]
Best Practice: Royal Mail delivers better recruitment
Royal Mail Group has overhauled its recruitment process in a bid to pinpoint postmen, drivers and other operational staff that better fit the organisation’s sharpened customer focus. Each year, Royal Mail hires about 10,000 people for operational roles, whittled down from 170,000 applications and 22,000 interviews. These positions not only include front-line staff delivering mail, […]
Talent Spot: Marcus Powell, HR Director at Nuffield Health
Marcus Powell, group organisation development and HR director at Nuffield Health, knew what he wanted to do very early on – and it was wasn’t HR. Powell was fixed on the idea of working for Marks & Spencer and that’s exactly what he did, staying for a total of 16 years. The retail giant […]
Best Practice: wellbeing initiative proves healthy for Ipswich Building Society
Ipswich Building Society is reaping the rewards of its employee health and wellbeing initiative with a dramatic fall in absenteeism and staff churn. The 110-strong building society embarked on a health and wellbeing programme four years ago. Since then, absenteeism rates have plummeted 48%, staff turnover has dropped to a record low and it has […]
Vocational training wins SME backing
Vocational qualifications and apprenticeships are gaining popularity with smaller employers as a means of recruiting, training and retaining skilled employees and boosting business performance. A survey of 1,000 SMEs by a group of further education organisations found college leavers were better prepared for the workplace, with a better attitude and higher motivation than school […]
Employees don’t get the benefit of not being 9 to 5
HR professionals must make a better job of explaining the merits of flexible working, as many workers wrongly assume this is just another way for their employers to slash costs. Nine in ten UK professionals believed flexible working would soon dominate working practices, according to a survey by recruiter Ortus. Yet, only 12% of […]
Technology: employees need to understand the crime of stealing data
Businesses must step up efforts to protect their corporate data, as most UK workers believe it’s perfectly acceptable to transfer confidential intellectual property to a new employer when they leave. More than half of the UK employees in a survey by IT security firm Symantec admitted to stealing corporate information when they left an […]
In a nutshell: Lorraine Makepeace, Head of Amazing at The Chemistry Group
Lorraine Makepeace is Head of Amazing at Chemistry Group, which provides predictive assessment to solve complex people problems in large businesses. It’s a small company with 21 staff, but has put in a lot of effort getting the culture right and worked hard to describe its values and ensure that employees live by them every […]
News: Cyber-loafing – employees latest way to be bone idle
Up to 80% of employees time on the Internet is spent ‘cyberloafing’ rather doing anything work related, reveals a university study. Cyberloafing – the art of time-wasting online – is endemic in business, accounting for 60% to 80% of time spent on the Internet by all employees, regardless of age. Businesses were struggling to police […]
News: man-flu cured by sick economy
Worry over job security is forcing many UK workers to haul themselves off their sickbeds and trudge into work, according to Fisherman’s Friends annual British Cold and Flu Survey. Six out of 10 workers did not take a single day off work with cold or flu in 2012, even though on average most people […]
News: work experience and a vicious circle
Many young job seekers are finding difficult to break through the cycle of ‘no experience, no job’ and kickstart their careers. A study of 2,000 UK people by defence recruitment firm Advanced Resource Managers (ARM) found 70% of young adults knew someone who’d been told by potential employers to go away and get experience […]