Sir Ken Robinson: “There are processes that are more likely to encourage innovation than not.”

Sir Ken Robinson gave the most viewed TED talk of all time, Do schools kill creativity?. HRZone Managing Editor Jamie Lawrence caught up with Sir Ken at HR Tech World in London, in March 2017, and asked him about creativity in organisations, the role of the human being in future organisations, and more. “There’s a […]
Change leadership: how to give employees a sense of control

A few years ago a group of London psychology students were charged with carrying out a survey on the general public. Their study consisted of approaching strangers in the street and posing the question, “Which of the following would you find the most physically challenging? (1) deep sea diving, (2) power gliding, (3) addressing a […]
Gig economy: what’s its place in the future of work?

In this five-part series to understanding the gig economy, we’ll look at a number of topics: What is the gig economy? How to integrate freelancers into a talent acquisition strategy The challenges of managing a freelance workforce Address skills shortages with talent pools and the hidden workforce Gig economy: what’s its place in the future […]
Address skills shortages with talent pools and the hidden workforce

In this five-part series to understanding the gig economy, we’ll look at a number of topics: What is the gig economy? How to integrate freelancers into a talent acquisition strategy The challenges of managing a freelance workforce Address skills shortages with talent pools and the hidden workforce Gig economy: what’s its place in the future […]
Gig economy: the challenges of managing a freelance workforce

In this five-part series to understanding the gig economy, we’ll look at a number of topics: What is the gig economy? How to integrate freelancers into a talent acquisition strategy The challenges of managing a freelance workforce Address skills shortages with talent pools and the hidden workforce Gig economy: what’s its place in the future […]
Gig economy: how to integrate it into a wider talent acquisition strategy

In this five-part series to understanding the gig economy, we’ll look at a number of topics: What is the gig economy? How to integrate freelancers into a talent acquisition strategy The challenges of managing a freelance workforce Address skills shortages with talent pools and the hidden workforce Gig economy: what’s its place in the future […]
Gig economy: what exactly is it?

In this five-part series to understanding the gig economy, we’ll look at a number of topics: What is the gig economy? How to integrate freelancers into a talent acquisition strategy The challenges of managing a freelance workforce Address skills shortages with talent pools and the hidden workforce Gig economy: what’s its place in the future […]
“Going into opening our new location in Dublin, we knew we were entering a war for talent.”

Cathy Donnelly is HR Director at Liberty IT. She was previously UK & Ireland HR Manager at Ikea and before that Head of HR at Botanic Inns. In 2015, Liberty IT opened a new office in Dublin (with an established one in Belfast) and Cathy talked to us about how they smoothed the process and […]
If your organisation came to life as a person, how would you describe it?

This is one of the questions that Martin Reddington asks with his employee engagement tool. On March 9th, I went to the launch of the white paper on workforce engagement in the public sector, where Reddington shared his research and work with us. The presentation was interesting in several regards – since I normally work in […]
Gig economy: the equality challenge?

This article was co-authored by Sean Dempsey, Partner, Lewis Silkin LLP and David Hopper, Associate, Lewis Silkin LLP. The onward march of technology and the “gig economy” is re-shaping the workplace with the move away from traditional “9-to-5” jobs and towards technology-enabled “gigging” for a multiplicity of work providers at any one time. An authoritative study published […]
Why it’s HR’s job to kill organisational complexity

Adam Howe is the founder of Stop., a simplicity consulting and training business. Stop. simplifies organisations by eliminating unnecessary complexity. Jamie Lawrence, Editor, HRZone: What do you mean by simplicity and complexity? Adam Howe, Founder, Stop.: Organisations are, by definition, complex systems. Some of this complexity creates value (e.g. a new product), whilst some complexity […]
Why we need simplicity to cope with complexity – mindfulness in business life

This article was written by Parham Vasaiely, Feature Strategy and Engineering Manager of Autonomous Vehicles at Jaguar Land Rover. He is the chair of the JLR Mindfulness Programme. Before joining JLR, he worked at Airbus, as well as a management consultant in Switzerland. Parham is part of the All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) Mindfulness Initiative. Parham will […]
Automation & Robotic Service Orchestration: driving the evolution of HR Shared Services

HR today is not a case of human or machine. We have now reached an age of human and machine. The variable now is how the division of labour is managed. Yet the role of automation in HR shared services centres has been limited in scope and success. Few companies are doing it well, and […]
“When you explicitly put shareholders at the top of the pecking order, the others don’t make out as well.”

This is an interview with Rick Wartzman on the rise of the gig economy in America. Keep reading for Rick’s bio and our questions. Who is Rick Wartzman? Rick Wartzman is a senior advisor at the Drucker Institute at Claremont Graduate University, a contributor to Fortune magazine, and the author of The End of Loyalty: […]
Me Inc: the rise of the freelancer

Since 2009, the number of freelancers working in the UK has risen by 25%. Together they turnover an estimated £109 billion a year. And more than 2 million people now classify themselves as contingent workers or independent contractors. People who’ve made their living working from one project to the next have always been around. However, […]
How to transfer accountability when giving autonomy: Part 1

This is the first part of a two-part series from Joe Britto on transferring accountability when you give autonomy. Read part 2 here! Joe is an experienced global leadership consultant with a grounding in experiential learning, psychological coaching and a study of literary theory. I think it’s fair to say we all want our direct reports to grow in their […]
How to transfer accountability when giving autonomy: Part 2

This is the second part of a two-part series from Joe Britto on transferring accountability when you give autonomy. Read part 1 here! Joe is an experienced global leadership consultant with a grounding in experiential learning, psychological coaching and a study of literary theory. Welcome to part two on transferring accountability. As I said before, […]
True Colours: is personality testing at work useful, or even desirable?

From the court of Henry VIII to the Reagan administration, the cast of someone’s horoscope has, throughout history, played a significant role in whether they have been perceived as viable, valuable talent. Are modern day psychometric tests any different – or any more robust? We love to play amateur psychologist, don’t we? It’s what keeps us […]
“The gig economy does not have to rely on denying worker rights.”

This is an interview with Erin Hatton, who is Associate Professor of Sociology at the State University of New York at Buffalo. Her research focuses primarily on the sociology of work and also includes forays into race, gender, social inequality and law. Jamie Lawrence, Editor, HRZone: Can you contextualise the gig economy historically? Is it a […]
How do psychological work stressors impact commuting behaviour?

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 […]