In a Nutshell: Five considerations when setting up an HR department from scratch
When Jennifer Longden joined Cititec, the technology recruitment firm did not have an HR department and she had no experience of HR. Nearly four years later, the HR department that she subsequently set up has become integral to the firm’s business strategy. Longden shares the personal lessons that she’s learned from having to establish an […]
Talent Spot: Jennifer Longden, head of HR at Cititec
When Jennifer Longden joined Cititec in 2009, the technology recruitment firm did not have an HR department and she had no experience of HR. From this blank canvas, she has created an HR unit that is helping to shape and support the business as well as adapt to a dramatic shift in focus. Longden had […]
In a Nutshell: Five ways to encourage a positive attitude
In the current climate, a lot of workers are feeling demotivated and dissatisfied. As a result, employee engagement activity has never been so important, particularly as there is overwhelming evidence to suggest that it can be linked to improved financial and staff performance. But how can you encourage better engagement within your workforce? According […]
Talent Spot: Julia Warren, HR director at Serco UK and Europe
When Julia Warren joined the graduate programme at the John Lewis Partnership in 1982, she had every intention of becoming a general manager as she loved customer service and retail. Two years in, however, her “crazy managing director” asked her whether she would like to run staff management. She was only 23, had no […]
Talent Spot: Community blogger, Will Mitchell
Lifelong learning and development is something that Will Mitchell, director of consulting at talent management specialists, A&DC, wholeheartedly believes in. His love of learning was developed on taking a gap year after graduation, when he went to Australia with the Outward Bound Trust, an educational charity that focuses on learning out-of-doors. Mitchell loved it […]
Case Study: Inchcape Shipping Services standardises global HR to boost efficiency
Inchcape Shipping Services is in the process of standardising its HR processes in a bid to boost efficiency and better understand its workforce across the 67 countries in which it operates. Rapid growth and global expansion meant that the maritime services provider had so far failed to introduce global HR or any other IT systems […]
In a Nutshell: Five tips for becoming a staff motivation expert
A lot of managers consider themselves to be experts in the area of employee motivation. This is because we are all employees of one type or another and so we believe that everyone feels the same way that we do, explains John Sylvester, executive director of motivation and performance improvement agency, P&MM. However, the […]
The HRZone Interview: David Frost on sickness absence
Every year, around 11 million workers call in sick and 140 million days are lost to sickness absence. The economic cost of ill-health is estimated to be a staggering £100 billion. Moreover, each year around 300,000 employees will not return to work, joining the benefits system instead. Not surprisingly, the government is keen to […]
Talent Spot: Lynne Graham, HR director at WSH
For Lynne Graham, HR director of high-end catering services firm, Westbury Street Holdings, employee engagement is more than a buzzword – it has seeped into the fabric of the company. “I have a very strong belief in engagement,” she says. “A lot of companies see engagement as an internal PR exercise – reward and recognition […]
In a Nutshell: Five ways for HR to be true partners with the business
As HR director of British Gas, one of the UK’s best-known organisations and a key employer of 35,000 staff, Angela Williams needs to be on top of her game. Here she shares her views on the key attributes and skills that an HR director needs to become a true, valued partner to the business: 1. […]
Talent Spot: Community blogger, John Sylvester
Not everyone always understands John Sylvester. The problem is that, for most people, being a motivation and employee incentives specialist requires a bit of an explanation as to what it means. For instance, after struggling to fathom precisely what their dad did for a living, his two sons eventually hit upon the idea of […]
The emerging discipline of workforce planning
The job of managing the workforce is growing in complexity. At one end of the spectrum, demanding Millennials are now entering the world of employment for the first time, while at the other, growing numbers of employees are choosing to work past the age of 65. In between these two extremes, however, you will […]
The skills paradox flourishes
We are in a skills paradox. On the one hand, headlines have screamed all year of redundancies, high unemployment, and graduates struggling to get a foot through the corporate door. On the other, they have also been warning of rising skills shortages and on-going talent wars. While there has and always will be […]
Employee engagement continues to rise up the HR agenda
Given a perfect storm this year of low pay rises/freezes, increasing workloads in the wake of redundancies and falling levels of learning and development activity, the issue of employee engagement has been rising steadily up the HR agenda. And as the difficult economic climate appears set to continue into the year ahead, it doesn’t look […]
In a Nutshell: Four ways to create a motivated workforce
The closer that HR is to the workforce, the more positive the benefit that it can have on the business, believes Carol Carson, HR director at vehicle glass repair and replacement specialist, Autoglass. With this in mind, she outlines her views on how to foster a loyal and motivated workforce: 1. Listen Being […]
Talent Spot: Angela Williams, HR director at British Gas
Centrica’s British Gas is celebrating its 200th birthday this year – no mean feat in today’s cut-throat business environment – but its long history means that people have preconceptions about the company. “A lot of people see British Gas as old-fashioned and slow-moving and this is so far from the truth,” says Angela Williams, the […]
In a Nutshell: Five ways to ensure that HR works effectively with the business
Susie Robinson is well used to dealing with a large and complex workforce in her role as senior vice president of HR for DHL Supply Chain in Europe, the Middle East and Africa. As head of HR for EMEA at the world’s largest logistics company, she offers her advice on how the function can best […]
Talent Spot: Carol Carson, HR director at Autoglass
After nearly three decades of working in the health and beauty sector, Carol Carson took the plunge two years ago and moved to Autoglass as its HR director. Windscreen repair/replacement and cosmetics may sound like industries that are chalk and cheese, but Carson has found a surprising amount of commonality between the two. “On […]
In a Nutshell: Five ways to get the most out of your team
Emma Littmoden, as a partner at leadership programme provider, The Living Leader, helps HR directors and other senior managers to find ways of encouraging members of their teams to take individual responsibility and innovate. Here she shares five tips to ensure that you get the most out of both yourself and your staff: 1. Appreciate […]
Talent Spot: Susie Robinson, DHL’s executive VP of HR for EMEA
Susie Robinson has been with DHL since 1998 but, as the logistics giant has gone through a merger roughly every couple of years, she feels as if she has had to constantly reinvent herself – and the HR department. “Although the business is large, it is still relatively young and changes massively, so trying to […]