Hiring for cultural fit: the diversity equation

How does your recruitment programme work? Do you look for personal qualities or abilities, qualifications or past experience? Do you skim application forms, ticking off criteria against a preset list; or do you search for that special something which may enrich the organisation? It’s difficult isn’t it, particularly for those jobs where you’ve had hundreds […]
What’s the connection between leadership & chocolate Hob Nobs?

What IS the ultimate message at the very core of great leadership? Peter Anderton of Internal Alignment strips away the noise and gets right to the heart of it with TEDx Derby – go to https://youtu.be/oDsMlmfLjd4 to watch the TEDx talk – centuries of leadership wisdom in just a few minutes… Helen Clark, TEDx Derby: You’ve […]
The social side of L&D: Why bringing your whole self to social will make you stand out

As a mum of a seven year-old-boy, I’ve recently been fielding a new experience in motherhood. In addition to the myriad of sports balls and legos, there’s something new in my son’s school bag – homework. I get it. My son’s school teacher is stewarding the daily development of a dozen seven year-olds and needs […]
Building a strong culture from the inside out

Who is responsible for the culture of your organisation? Don’t worry, it’s not a trick question! You see, organisational culture is a living, growing and ever-changing thing. As such, it’s affected by every action and interaction, every decision and potentially every person who comes into contact with it either directly or indirectly. So, could it […]
A reason to be optimistic about future jobs

Luke Dormehl is a tech writer and journalist, he recently had his latest book published, Thinking Machines: The Inside Story of Artificial Intelligence. In light of all the scary stories of how AI will disrupt the world of work and life as we know it, we asked Luke to put a few things into perspective and […]
Do team members retaliate or cooperate when co-workers call in sick?

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 can you build a Next Generation culture?

Britain is working/isn’t working. Our corporate governance is one of the best in the world/needs a complete overhaul. Our employees are valuable members of the team/command and control means they’re just there to do a job. When it comes to reporting on British business it can sometimes be a case of ‘ya pays your money, […]
Coffee Break: Stress, tribunals and the truth behind whether bad guys do get ahead

Push your keyboard aside, get comfy in your not-so-ergonomic desk chair and let us dazzle you our picks of the week's HR news, opinion and research. Let us know what you think of the articles we've shared, as well as what you've enjoyed reading this week! AI and tech – How soon will you lose your […]
The key to the HR Revolution: Capacity

It is time for an HR revolution. For far too long we have been dismantled and outsourced, denied the respect we so rightly deserve, and suffered an incredible backlash when we try to solve the issues of our constituents. In my view it’s no longer sufficient to review our organisational models or the sophistication of […]
Culture and HR at Great Ormond Street – an interview with the hospital’s deputy director for HR and OD

This is an interview with James Devine, Deputy Director of HR and OD at Great Ormond Street Hospital. GOSH are finalists at this year's OC Excellence Awards in three categories – Learning, Technology and Public/Not-for-Profit. James is an experienced HR professional with a proven track record of delivering at both a strategic and operational level. You […]
“Operational excellence cannot be one of fifteen initiatives you have running.”

This is an interview with Justin Hughes, a former Red Arrows pilot and the Managing Director of Mission Excellence, a consultancy that partners with organisations committed to high performance. His new book, The Business of Excellence: Building high-performance teams and organizations, is out now, published by Bloomsbury. Jamie Lawrence, Editor, HRZone: What did your time […]
“I’ve experienced a shift in how I like to learn; to what I want to learn and not what others feel I need.”

We're always curious to hear how our members and contributors tackle the challenges that the ever-changing world of HR throws at them. We've got a wealth of experience and knowledge across the site, and what better way to showcase the diversity of our community than to get them to walk us through an average day? Want […]
“We hire people who want to think for themselves, who want to be a force for good.”

OVO is a fast-growing energy company based in Bristol, already making a name for themselves both as a challenger within the industry and for having strong focus on company culture and values, having grown from a handful of employees seven years ago to over 1,200 today. We headed over to Ovo’s foliage-filled office to take a look […]
How Atlassian implemented a culture of innovation and continuous improvement

Dom Price is Head of R&D and Work Futurist at software company Atlassian. We caught up with him at HR Tech World Congress in Paris to find out how he has kept and nurtured Atlassian's culture of innovation despite significant growth. From the beginning, Dom was clear he wanted to maintain a company-wide culture of innovation, […]
Reverse culture shock: hitting home when you least expect it

Returning from an international assignment is often perceived as the easy part of the relocation process – experience gained, job done and the feeling of ‘home sweet home. But increasingly individuals and big businesses alike are recognising that ‘coming home’ is more complicated than it seems. In fact, readjusting back to a culture, lifestyle and self […]
“Business leaders want HR data to be like financial data: standardised, specific and clearly linked to outcomes.”

This is an interview with Nick Shaw, Managing Director of CEB in UK & Ireland. CEB are a global research and technology business offering advice and best practice to help organisations improve corporate performance. If you're looking to strengthen and tighten your talent function, take a look at their newest report – Establishing a World-Class Assessment Function—10 Best Practices […]
Are you a punk or are you a Punk?

Blaire Palmer is CEO of That People Thing, a consultancy dedicated to inspiring leaders in fast-paced, ambitious businesses to drive change in their organisations in partnership with their people. Blaire has been described as a "secret weapon", a "business muse" and "that lady who does the leadership and team stuff". She is a regular guest expert […]
An inconvenient truth: do open plan offices stifle creativity?

They say timing is everything. Our 2016 UK Workplace Survey (WPS) launched against a backdrop of huge political turmoil in the wake of the EU referendum. The UK’s decision to leave the European Union after 43 years – the so called ‘Brexit’ – polarised the nation, and the press exposed the uncomfortable, but obvious differences […]
Systemic dialogue: a gateway to purpose-led leadership

What does leadership that serves everyone call for – in us, in teams and in our wider networks? What does it take to lead such transformation during these times of turbulent change? How can leaders identify solutions that strengthen a whole system? These are the questions that I am finding and exploring with my colleague Ed Rowland […]
HR’s role in mergers and acquisitions: before it happens

In this in-depth series, Benjamin Black of Blacklarke Consulting gives us the lowdown on how HR should handle mergers and acquisitions at every stage of the cycle. Mergers and acquisitions present a plethora of issues. Most business leaders will focus on the obvious legal and financial implications, usually including costs of employment and any issues […]