Catch up on the week in HR with our at-a-glance news round up including why workers just can’t get enough of the office, how flexible working is helping lure talent and who’s got the top job at the HSE.
W/C 1/08/05
Workers find it difficult to switch off
One in six workers will make contact with their workplace while on holiday this summer, according to new research from global recruitment and human resources consultancy, Hudson.
A further one in seven will not even take a holiday during the summer, instead choosing to work throughout.
According to the poll, conducted for Hudson by YouGov, of those who plan to check in by phone or email with work when they are on holiday this summer, the majority (79%) expect to do so more than once a week and a quarter of those will contact work at least once every day.
Male workers are the worst culprits, with one in five (20%) planning to log on or dial in this holiday, compared with one in eight (12%) women. Londoners are the UK’s biggest workaholics, with one in four (23%) expecting to connect with the office while on their summer break.
Scottish workers are the least likely to check in, with only 15% planning to contact work during the holidays.
For more on this story see: www.trainingzone.co.uk
Business reaps benefits of flexible working
According to latest research from the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD), more than half of organisations feel that their efforts to fill vacancies have benefited from the implementation of flexible working practices. A further 70% believe flexible working has a positive impact on motivation, which can help increase productivity.
However, the CIPD believes that there are constraints and businesses will only reap the benefits if flexible working initiatives are carefully managed. If business and employee needs are not carefully aligned, or one group of employees feel that they are getting a worse deal than another, then there is a danger that the benefits will be outweighed by the costs.
John Stredwick, co-author of Flexible Working, said that with the demise of the “cradle to the grave” employment pattern, flexible working practices could benefit employers and employees.
“They give people more control over when and where they work and this appears to mean more focused and motivated employees” he added. “The introduction of flexible working can help attract underused groups, such as parents and students, allowing organisations to compete in the war for talent.”
The CIPD warns that employers who fail to manage flexible working initiatives will not reap the business benefits unless HR get line managers and staff to sign up for all the initiatives.
For more on this story see: www.trainingzone.co.uk
New Chief Executive for HSE
Geoffrey Podger, executive director of the European Food Safety Authority, is to take over as chief executive of the Health and Safety Executive (HSE).
Due to take up his new role on 28 November, Podger will replace the current chief executive, Timothy Walker, who is retiring.
Before joining the European Food Safety Authority in 2003, Podger was chief executive of the Food Standards Agency (FSA) in Britain from its inception in 2000 and spent 18 years at the Department of Health.
Health and Safety Minister Lord Hunt welcomed the appointment. “Coupled with his understanding of Europe, from where much new health and safety regulation stems, this makes him an ideal leader for HSE,” he said.
New report claims learners benefit from inspection
A new study claims that 85% of adult learning providers believe that the overall quality of their training provision has improved since their most recent inspection.
Meanwhile, 90% claim that improvements have been sustained after inspection.
The results come from a cost-benefit analysis looking at the long-term value of inspection to adult learners.
It found that around half of the providers surveyed said that between 40% to 100% of their improvement activity could be directly attributed to inspection. Seventy per cent believed that the inspection helped them to give a better service to learners.
Inspection doesn’t come cheap: the cost varied from an average of £17,897 for work-based learning providers to £133,575 for further education colleges. The report estimated that the cost of a single work-based learning inspection would be outweighed by the economic benefits to learners after four to five years.
David Sherlock, Chief Inspector of Adult Learning, said that the evidence was “overwhelmingly positive.”
For more on this story see: www.trainingzone.co.uk
Skills dominate global business agenda
Attracting and retaining skilled staff ranks highest on executive agendas for 2005 according to a global study by Accenture.
The study interviewed 425 senior executives at leading organisations in North America, Europe and Asia to identify and prioritise the issues of greatest concern to senior management.
Workforce improvement issues dominated the top priorities, making up four of the 10 most-selected concerns. The greatest number of respondents, 35%, selected “attracting and retaining skilled staff,” while second came “changing organisational cultural and employee attitudes.”
Other development issues in the top 10 included “improving workforce performance”, at number seven, and “developing employees into capable leaders”, which ranked 10th.
“The most powerful theme emerging this year is a strong and consistent focus on people,” said Peter Cheese, global managing partner of Accenture’s Human Performance practice. “Even though the business conversations have centred on global competition and the need for execution, business leaders are increasingly aware that nothing happens unless people-talent is engaged in the right way.”
Innovation was also high on the executive agenda; “developing new processes and products to stay ahead of the competition” was the fourth-highest-ranked executive concern.
For more on this story see: www.trainingzone.co.uk
Epileptics suffer at hands of employers
Around a third of epilepsy sufferers have admitted to experiencing prejudice at the hands of employers while nearly half say they are reluctant to change jobs because they fear encountering prejudice elsewhere.
These are among the findings of a survey carried out by the National Society for Epilepsy (NSE) and SHL, psychometric assessment testers for recruitment and development.
In a study that compared sufferers with non-sufferers, SHL found that there was no marked difference between the two groups.
“Needless to say, we weren’t surprised at this finding,” said Margaret Thomas, NSE Assistant Director – Communications. “But we know many people with epilepsy have experienced prejudice in the workplace, with bosses assuming that people with epilepsy are less able in the workplace than those without the condition.”
