GDPR compliance: practical steps to take control of your HR data
The new GDPR legislation, which becomes law on May 25th, impacts virtually every aspect of how you manage HR data – from the basis on which you collect it to when it needs to be deleted. The practical implications of some aspects of the legislation will need further clarification; such as the ‘right to be […]
Family friendly benefits under threat from new gender pay rules
Despite new rules propelling the gender pay gap into the spotlight, Sodexo Engage’s Iain McMath believes employers must continue to fly the flag for family-friendly benefits to help working parents. The countdown is on; by April, businesses with 250 or more employees will have to publish their gender pay gap in a move that’s likely […]
Pensions communications: change the what, not the how
How can we improve our organisation’s pension communication? The aim of this article is not about making a case for better pension communication. That shouldn’t be difficult. Put simply, from an employer perspective, poor pension communication will make it less likely that members will understand their company’s pension offering. And without understanding, it is unlikely […]
Pensions communication: helping employees differentiate between DC and DB
Pension promises have changed over the last few years. Not many employees are still building up a guaranteed benefit based on a fraction of their salary multiplied by years of service – known as a defined benefit (‘DB’) pension. Most new employees are now automatically enrolled into workplace pension schemes that offer defined contribution (‘DC’) […]
Benefits take-up – the why of getting it right
The employee benefits market in the UK is highly developed. Employees have been getting support with living and welfare costs from their employers since the 1950s and I don’t see it changing. Increasingly, benefits are supplementing or replacing State support which is the most significant macro change in the landscape in recent years. Employee engagement, […]
HR technology: Talking about Training and Communications
In this 12-part series, Kate Wadia – Managing Director at Phase 3 Consulting – guides the HR professional through how to navigate, succeed and lead with HR tech project-work. From the inception of the business case to the handover into BAU, we’ll follow an indicative project timeframe to explain the way and the why of a project […]
“When I was told that I would never walk or talk again it put fire in my belly.”
In the BBC 2 series Employable Me, a programme that follows people with disabilities as they attempt to find work, Speakers Corner opens up a public speaking career for disabled businessman Andy Ibbott. Below, HRZone speaks to Andy about his inspirational journey to recovery and reemployment, and with Managing Director of Speakers Corner Nick Gold […]
Will we see you at Unleash 2018 in London?
Unleash 2018 in London, previously HR Tech World, brings together themes around people performance, technology and cutting-edge HR practice to deliver a programme of speakers and insights to help HR professionals wanting to shape the future of the profession and perform better in the face of a changing world. It takes place on March 20th […]
The Good Work plan: has any real action been taken to improve employment rights?
The HR Dept has been calling for a long time for a simplification of employment status, to protect rights and ensure that business owners do not fall foul of legislation due to ignorance, confusion or bad business advice, giving evidence to a Parliamentary Select Committee last year. Like many, we have witnessed the blatant circumnavigation of […]
2018 HR trends: what’s in store for the industry this year?
HR is changing its focus from automation to business impact and engagement, and that is where we are headed in 2018. We saw the growth of HR analytics in 2017, as well as the use of technology to enhance how companies use their employee data. Organisations now have the tools to make a business impact, […]
How HR can help close the gender savings gap
Despite the 1970 Equal Pay Act and 2010 Equality Act, women today still earn about 10% less per hour than men. Policy is changing, driven by years of activism, enlightenment and regulatory changes, including the April 2018 mandate on gender pay gap reporting, but progress is slow. The pay gap is the red flag at the […]
How home working can help people with cancer maintain a work-life balance
With advances in treatment and long-term survivorship, we now talk about the ‘cancer journey’. For those living with cancer, and for those without, work plays a very important part in our life’s journey. It not only provides financial stability, but a sense of normality, routine, and self-esteem. And cancer patients often crave normality and routine […]
How to achieve diversity through fair assessment
Aspiring to achieve a diverse workforce, which reflects the diversity of the population, is a worthy goal. However, positively discriminating by recruiting individuals from selected groups to achieve diversity targets is illegal and unfair. Instead, today’s employers should aim to attract a diverse range of applicants and ensure that every person has an equal chance […]
Why resourcing is everyone’s business
One could be forgiven for thinking that managers (or indeed anyone else in the organisation) have practically no part at all to play in resourcing. Strategic workforce planning, social recruitment, AI, impactful job ads, powerful metrics and outsourcing, assessment methods all seem to be owned by HR. Of course, it isn’t really like that and […]
How and why wellbeing proactivity pays
A proactive approach to employee wellbeing shouldn’t just be for the privileged few, says Courtney Marsh, Commercial Director of Health Shield. No matter the size of your company or budget, it can be a reality for all. Everyone’s talking about wellbeing these days. Yet how many employers are still paying lip-service to it? And how […]
Workplace benefits uptake: map employee lifecycles to benefits
The employee lifecycle typically encompasses attraction and recruitment, onboarding, development, retention and separation – when the employee leaves the organisation. Mapping benefits to employee lifecycles is key to driving uptake, layering on top of that a strategy to match the right benefits to your workforce demographic. But, aside from high profile Silicon Valley tech giants, […]
It’s National Sickie Day. Let’s analyse this dangerous abstraction…
I’ve been indundated with ‘news’ around National Sickie Day today – the day of the year when absences due to sickness are highest. Many factors explain the high absence rate, including job interviews for those spurred by the new year into jumping ship, an increase in flu and colds due to the cold weather and general […]
Employee benefits uptake: why less choice is more
The benefits industry has long held to the mantra that offering more employee choice is the way to deliver better benefits but there’s not much evidence that this, on its own, is the lead factor is employee satisfaction. So it’s worth digging a little deeper and seeing whether choice is always the best thing to […]
Employee benefit uptake: 4 thoughts to better results
It’s February. The “New year, new me” phase is all but a distant memory and fewer and fewer employees are making full use of the onsite staff gym. The free fruit initiative is beginning to ferment and grow fur. Uptake on the EAP is dwindling by the day despite increasing absence figures. Employee benefits are […]
Beyond employee benefits: How to create a culture that sticks
Company culture is a tricky thing. We all agree on its importance yet nobody knows exactly how to cultivate it or even whether it should be cultivated? Should we just let it emerge and develop? Probably not. Developing a clear and consistent company culture is a crucial – and ongoing – task that every business […]