Archives

Five questions and answers to a better graduate programme

pamela_moore

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 […]

Encouraging women into STEM – what can we do?

istock_000071579425_medium

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

berniephoto

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

grinvalds

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

pinstock

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 […]

Factors that influence employee engagement – your complete list

runeer

Factors that influence employee engagement are varied and very diverse. While there are some that depend on the prevailing culture within the organisation, there are also common threads for all individuals, and also individual factors that can significantly influence a person's relationship with colleagues and their organisation. Take a look through our list of factors […]

Politician analysis: Donald Trump

andykatz

Donald John Trump, the man that Barack Obama has recently labelled “unfit” to be president of the US could potentially hold that very office on Tuesday November 8th 2016. We ask, how does a man who is widely reported to be brash, rude and more than a little economical with the truth, get to be […]

Work smarter, not harder – how the housing sector will need to change

istock_49719210_medium

Having stayed proudly resilient during the financial crisis, the housing sector is now experiencing the most radical shake up it has seen for decades – no surprise really given the national housing crisis.  There are financial challenges, headlined by a government enforced rent cut, regulatory challenges with the introduction last year of a new compliance […]

Essential presentation skills for introverts

istock_000056574722_medium

Those of us who try to go through life unnoticed will often panic at the thought of having to give a presentation. It doesn’t matter if it’s to a small board, a book-club, or a major conference audience with hundreds of people, we simply don’t like having to get in front of a group of […]

Helping employees manage their emotional investment

istock_16903322_medium

Some jobs require a great deal of emotional investment, such as being front of house with the necessity to be perpetually polite and perky. But what does it cost the said staff member to put up this façade day in and day out? Are they simply soaking up negativity like a sponge with long-term impacts upon […]

Personality in sport: British Olympians on and off the field

dagdurrichphotography

As the Olympic Games opening ceremony draws near, the world is immersing themselves in the details about the athletes that are representing their countries and latching on to their favourites. Scanning the competitor pool, it’s easy to see there are as many different individual personalities types represented in the games as there are countries. Looking […]

HR must shift its focus to enhance agility: leadership development is king

istock_36137876_medium

Agility – a term discussed more and more in boardrooms, particularly as businesses operate in an increasingly global environment, driven by consumer choice and innovative technologies. It’s the ability to anticipate new opportunities and respond and transform effectively.  In our experience, organisations that fail to grasp the importance of agility will fall behind competitors and ultimately […]

Getting to day 1: HR’s crucial role in the E.ON carve-out

michael_luhrenberg

Corporate transformations may be increasingly common, but that’s little consolation to those charged with executing them. E.ON’s recent split into two companies was about as complex a transformation as one can imagine, with an almost impossible timetable. The results speak volumes about the importance of good strategy, planning, and execution.  They also serve as an […]

How to get the best value from apprenticeships

istock_000071579425_medium

Employers increasingly view apprenticeships as a rich source of future talent; securing the right candidate gives an organisation young learners who they can nurture into keen and loyal staff, eager to learn new skills from day one. In fact, the value of an apprentice’s lifetime contribution to a company has been placed at £105,000 by researchers at […]

Coffee Break: Dress code, employee perks and the case for changing your job title

coffee-break

We've spent another week sifting through the mountain of HR articles and blogs to find the best nuggets for you to read over your lunch break or morning coffee. Let us know what you think, or if you have any other articles to recommend! Recruitment – For employee retention, there's no place like home (Fortune) – […]

The ‘gig economy’: how does HR need to adapt to this new breed of employee?

istock_000088621773_medium

The “gig economy” has firmly entered employment vocabulary, becoming a catch-all term for anything from Uber taxi drivers and Airbnb hosts to freelance professionals. But what does this highly flexible way of working mean for HR? Until recently, the only people who looked to get a “gig” were musicians. The rest of us found “proper” jobs that […]