Six reasons why people analytics will be central to the future of HR
The Danish physicist and Nobel Prize winner Niels Bohr once mused, “Prediction is very difficult, especially if it’s about the future.” This is partly why I have finally given up predicting at the start of each season that Liverpool will win the Premier League, and have demurred in forecasting that 2017 will be the year […]
One size does not fit all when it comes to engagement
Everybody’s aware of how recent advances in technology have greatly impacted the way we communicate with each other in our personal lives, but it’s also important to acknowledge the role technology has had on our work communication. Old faithfuls for internal communications, such as intranets, e-mails and the staff newsletter, are no longer enough to […]
A wake-up call to HR: GDPR is right around the corner
The Plainspeak Analyst is Katherine Jones, Partner and Director of Talent Research at Mercer, the world’s largest human resources consulting firm. Her job is to design and deliver insight research and services to Mercer’s global clients. She was previously VP, Human Capital Management Technology Research at Bersin by Deloitte. She has a PhD in Curriculum and Instruction from Cornell University. […]
Compassion – great at work, but for whom?
This article was written by Gail Kinman, Professor of Occupational Health Psychology at the University of Bedfordshire and is based on research conducted by Professor Kinman and Dr. Louise Grant, also of the University of Bedfordshire. Around three million people in the UK are employed in health and social care – one in ten of the […]
Ensuring your data is readable and actionable in talent acquisition
Forrester reports 74% of firms say they want to be “data-driven,” but only 29% are actually successful at connecting analytics to action. Actionable insights appear to be the missing link for companies that want to drive business outcomes from their data. In recruiting, when you’re using aggregated data sets to make decisions, you need to make […]
Internalised sexism: an unconscious bias that is kept out of the spotlight
There’s been much discussion of late about the ways in which women have been insulted or marginalised by their male counterparts in the working world due to biases around gender. The most recent example hitting the headlines is over the now infamous Google memo, in which a senior employee at the company claimed that women […]
Do the best leaders have big mouths?
While selecting good leaders is a focus for all businesses, there is growing concern that not many firms are actually good at it. The failure rate of senior executives remains alarmingly high, with estimates varying between 30% and 60% within 18 months of appointment. These failures are associated with large costs, too, with conservative estimates […]
Book review: Pivoting – a coach’s guide to igniting substantial change
HRZone has a range of books available for review (click for the list). If you would like to receive one of our business books, free of charge, please contact the editor on editor at hrzone dot com and we can send you a list of what’s available. Please note this offer is only available to those who […]
Working twice as hard to get half as far: the truth behind differential payoffs and penalties
There’s so much rich insight coming out of the academic sector that HR professionals need to know. At Academics’ Corner we feature the best HR researchers that tell you what they’ve found and what you need to do differently on the back of the research. Get connected to the academic sector through Academics’ Corner and […]
How to make change easier and smoother
It is getting harder to change. We are surrounded by a heady concoction of accelerating technological change, unremitting global socio-political unrest, and persistent economic frailty. However you want to characterise the times we live in, social, economic and commercial stability is not a part of it. And against this backdrop, it is hard to find […]
Why businesses need to reimagine the bonus structure
Last month it was revealed that four directors at the engineering firm Melrose had been awarded £40m in bonuses each, indicating that the UK’s bonus culture is showing no signs of slowing. Often seen as a motivational tool, many organisations believe that there is a direct correlation between large bonuses and company performance. However, there are […]
Reality v aspiration: women in senior roles
The poet W.H. Auden once wrote that civilizations should be reassured by “the degree of diversity attained and the degree of unity retained.” The same could be said of boardrooms and executive leadership teams. Today, the importance of boardroom and top tier executive diversity is universally acknowledged. However, there remains a gap between aspiration and […]
System selection: creating the right process
In our 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 […]
Is there a limit to creativity?
Creativity is a big thing in organisations – it influences, apparently, everything from individual productivity to product innovation, from financial performance to competitive edge. It’s widely seen as a driver for growth and development, enabling companies to thrive in dynamic environments. Without it, technology companies in particular would be out of business in no time. […]
HR challenges for 2017 – and beyond
The Hackett Group’s 2017 HR Key Issues report had much to reveal about the state of the profession – and the challenges and opportunities it faces in the near future. Based on a survey of executives from more than 180 large international companies, the report paints a picture of HR at a turning point in its […]
Unconscious bias in action: four of the most common bias-related issues in people decisions
A while ago, I spoke to an investment banker who believed that he was far too clever to have unconscious biases. His argument was that he was so intelligent, everything passed through his conscious mind in order to get into his unconscious mind. He therefore believed it was impossible for him to have any unconscious […]
HR technology: Is early adoption the key to success?
As with any industry, the impact of technology is being felt acutely across the employer provided benefits and pensions landscape. This raises a conundrum for employers of how to distinguish admin-cutting technology which facilitates streamlined best practice, from flash-in-the-pan gimmicks that will soon be superseded by more efficient innovation. Being an early adopter allows you to […]
Three fascinating studies on diversity you won’t have heard of
We’re writing loads of content on diversity in order to help organisations turn the dial, all collated in our diversity content hub. In this piece, we look at three interesting studies on diversity and the conclusions that were drawn. Study #1: Non-white or female bosses who push diversity are judged negatively by their peers and […]
We need to talk about race: why are we making so little progress on ethnic diversity?
We’re making significant progress with gender diversity in the workplace. Yet when it comes to race and ethnicity, advancements have been harder to see. Only 6% of top management jobs are held by black, Asian and minority ethnic (BAME) leaders. That is simply not good enough when you consider BAME groups make up 12% of […]
Employee perspectives: “I’m quietly hoping for a revolution.”
We wanted to take a look at how employees within the healthcare industry are coping with the NHS crisis – on top of what is already a very challenging sector to work in – and whether they feel HR is supporting them adequately in their role. In this anonymised interview, a registered NHS nurse and […]