Why we should embrace the six-hour working day
Gary Cattermole, Director, The Survey Initiative, discusses how some companies in Scandinavia are introducing a six-hour day to boost levels of employee engagement and how this could really benefit businesses in the UK too. No doubt if we held a referendum on who is fed-up with the 9-5 there would be a majority eager to embrace […]
Coffee Break: Transparency, bias and the impact of Google on your career
Here is your weekly list of news, opinion and interesting blogs from across the HR world. Let us know what you've enjoyed reading this week, and what you think of the pieces we've picked out for you! Performance – Technology never sleeps (The Future of Work is Human) – Surprising ways music can affect work […]
Coworking – the opportunities and challenges for HR
Multiple firms, entrepreneurs and freelancers working in the same office space, an arrangement known as coworking, is one of the most recent trends to sweep across the world of work. Firms of all sizes, the length and breadth of the country, are beginning to supplement their traditional, static offices with a range of flexible and […]
Brand building from the inside out: employees’ role in creating an authentic culture
When most people think of a brand, they think of the logo and design, and maybe the marketing and advertising. They think of all the externally facing communications and touch points someone might have with a brand. The brand seems to be the way a company or product presents itself to the world. But a […]
Why HR & Marketing need to buddy up to attract top talent
Today, a job isn’t just a job. For many, work is a huge part of their identity, a place they spend more time at than home and, for those graduating, a destination they have invested £44,000 to reach. Just this January, British graduates were reported to have left over 1,000 jobs unfilled as the brightest […]
Adopting European Works Councils to give staff a greater voice
Instilling a culture of strong employee engagement is becoming increasingly important for businesses to retain talent and improve productivity. Andrew Bailey, elected UK representative to the Bilfinger European Works Council, looks at how adopting a European approach to industrial relations can help UK companies deliver greater transparency between senior management and the wider workforce without […]
Don’t look for a silver bullet when measuring employer brand success
There’s no simple way to measure the success of an employer brand. But just because it can be complex and at times confusing, that is no excuse for neglecting to track the ROI into employer branding. Analysing the effectiveness of new branding programs means businesses can identify the issues that need to be addressed, and […]
The potential of computer-aided applicant pre-screening
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 […]
“Encourage young talent into the business by sharing inspiring success stories”
Making those first few tentative steps into the job market is a daunting prospect. With more focus being put on apprenticeships and full time work as an alternative to university, there is more need to prepare those leaving education for the workplace. There is also a growing responsibility for employers to demonstrate their value to young […]
Coffee Break: PLNs, firing strategies and why HR needs more manners
You've worked hard enough to earn yourself a break, so make yourself a brew and read through our picks of the week's news, blogs and opinion. Tell us what you've enjoyed reading this week, or what you think of the articles we've shared below! Recruitment – The subconscious advantage of whiteness in hiring (Leniece F. Brissett, LinkedIn) […]
Case study: How an overhaul of Nationwide’s careers website reduced cost to hire from £3,000 to £69
Attracting and retaining talent is harder than ever. We live in an age of increased complexity – where power has shifted from producer to consumer and employer to employee. With the proliferation of digital devices, platforms, channels and apps, all of this “stuff” means brands need to act smarter to cut through the noise and […]
What can we learn from Olympic silver medals?
It isn’t just world-class athletes who are driven by a desire to come first, to win a Gold medal, to stand on the top step of the podium and to bask in the glory of winning. But in any event, there can only ever be one winner. So one of the key psychological aspects of […]
How to strike fear into your team and alienate colleagues
This article is not about putting shackles on personality but it is about understanding what is, and definitely what is not, appropriate behaviour for a manager to exhibit in the workplace. Being a manager is a tough job. When you want to say something, instead of blurting it out you need to consider the impact […]
How to boost a feedback culture based on praise
Knowing what your strengths are can be the first step in taking your career to the next level. Positive feedback is not just a compliment on a job well done; when analyzed correctly it can help you identify your strengths. Therefore, when peers share positive feedback with each other, the whole team benefits from the performance […]
Five questions and answers to a better graduate programme
Alan Price is Employment Law & HR Director at Peninsula, recently awarded the Best Place to Work for Graduates 2016 award. In this interview Alan talks about honing graduate soft skills, the benefits of graduats in the workplace, and the common ways that businesses mismanage graduates. Jamie Lawrence, Editor, HRZone: Graduates are often intelligent but unprepared for working in a commercial […]
Coffee break: Credibility, Lego offices, and why we’re all responsible for a bad culture
It's time for another round up of HR news & opinion for you to enjoy over your coffee break or mid afternoon slump. We've been sifting through our favourite articles this week, and here are the ones we've selected for your perusal. Enjoy! Culture – The destructive brotherhood (Tim Sackett) – When culture goes bad […]
Encouraging women into STEM – what can we do?
There's been a lot coverage on the need to develop more women for roles in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics), due to the lack of representation across these industries. But where does the responsibility to change mindsets and expectations sit – with schools, universities, L&D departments, or at home? Colleen Smith is responsible for planning, […]
Making sure your recruitment works in an uncertain environment
We are living through Volatile, Uncertain, Complex and Ambiguous (VUCA) times. Uncertainty affects almost every aspect of work, and recruitment is no exception. How can recruiters successfully navigate a VUCA environment? During times of uncertainty, where there is ambiguity and pressure, we know that decision-making becomes more instinctive. This has two implications for recruitment. Firstly, […]
Keeping diversity and inclusion on the agenda during uncertain times
During uncertain times, such as the recent fallout from the decision on the European referendum, leaders tend to opt for the ‘tried-and-tested’ policy, often to the detriment of their diversity and inclusion (D&I) work. But keeping D&I at the forefront of our minds is even more important for leaders when the future is looking unclear. People […]
How to achieve diversity through merit-based hiring
Employers worldwide are recognising that to grow their businesses and address the challenges and opportunities they face, they need to be diverse and inclusive. This is not just to fulfil legal compliance or their moral obligation. There are sound commercial reasons why today’s workplaces should reflect the diversity of the population. With a diverse talent […]
