Finalists announced for Employee Engagement Awards

HRZone is the exclusive media partner of this year's inaugural Employee Engagement Awards and we're delighted to exclusively announce the shortlist recognising companies putting workforce engagement at the heart of their strategy. As a judge I found the judging process extremely hard. The rigour applied to engagement efforts and the level of maturity were both incredible. Multinationals […]
“Around 30% of business performance is driven by leadership and line management”

Take part in Deloitte’s annual Human Capital Trends survey and we’ll give you as HRZone readers an exclusive on the biggest challenges facing UK companies in areas such as leadership, change management and talent acquisition. 1. What direction are talent management strategies going in? What are the best-performing organisations thinking? Over the last 12 months […]
Seven essential career tips from highly successful women

Why do we see so few highly successful women at the top? A key reason, I believe, is that women are not as aware as men are of the power of personal branding, whether it’s self-promotion, projecting confidence or strategic networking. I’ve asked over 150 highly successful women their tips for success. Here are seven […]
Winter is coming: what Game of Thrones can teach us about leading in turbulent times

Like many of you, I am a Game of Thrones devotee. The battle to claim the Iron Throne provides a host of learning for those interested in becoming a better leader. As a leadership consultant and coach with BlessingWhite, I have the opportunity to connect with a wide range of leaders across a number of […]
Overtime to count when calculating holiday pay

People working overtime could be able to claim for additional holiday pay, following a ground-breaking Employment Appeal Tribunal. Only basic pay currently counts when calculating holiday pay. Workers will be able to make backdated claims, but only for a limited period. According to Vanessa James, Head of Employment at SA Law, employees could potentially claim […]
Stakeholder engagement is key to successful change

Many have been led to believe that project management, change management and related fields, are simply a matter of organisation – working the right processes and tasks, writing the correct documents and having good governance mechanisms in place and so on. People just distract and get in the way. Some tend to concentrate on these […]
Interview: Jonathan Ferrar, VP, IBM Smarter Workforce

1. Can you explore how organisations and employees will need to work together to maximise the value to be gained from big data analytics? The availability of data is critical to the success of HR analytics, and some of the data HR wants for analytics might be considered personal by employees. It is therefore critical […]
Small change: is your reward structure stopping innovation?

It is widely acknowledged that HR leaders have a crucial role to play in shaping and driving business strategy. Less frequently discussed, however, is their vital role in creating successful innovation within an organisation. ?What If!’s recent research,‘Eyes Wide Shut: Leading for innovation in post-recession Britain’ found that almost all HR leaders (96%) at the […]
Round-up: HR Tech Europe 2014 Amsterdam

HR has always been a reactive function. And yet you wouldn't think that if you'd been at HR Tech Europe in Amsterdam, on October 23rd and 24th 2014. The HR Tech Europe crowd seem to understand what technology advocates know innately – if you’re studying the present you’re already behind. The fate of HR is […]
Can you manage the dynamics of organisational change?

Organisations seeking a blueprint to address the increasing pressures and demands of the rapidly changing corporate landscape are often confronted with change models that are too academic, too static or overly simplistic for their needs. A structured yet flexible model is essential and to work effectively requires outstanding leadership behaviours at all times, to proactively […]
Are HR business partners a dying breed?

Learning and development programmes continue to grow in importance as businesses gear up to take advantage of the economic upturn. But one area appears to be lagging behind. Is there now a shortage of high-quality HR Business Partners? Almost every client I’ve been involved with in the last 12 months has a similar problem – […]
Book review: The Team Formula by Mandy Flint & Elisabet Vinberg Hearn

Title: The Team Formula: A Leadership Tale of a Team Who Found Their WayAuthors: Mandy Flint & Elisabet Vinberg Hearn ISBN: 978-1780923475 This book was reviewed by David Evans of Burn Bridge Associates. This is a ‘leadership tale of a team who found their way’, to quote the sub-title of this very readable book. Following in the footsteps of a […]
Mental health stigma silences employees – 79% wouldn’t speak out

“The costs of mental illness to the economy are astounding… I urge commissioners and decision-makers to treat mental health more like physical health.” – Chief Medical Officer & Professor, Dame Sally Davies According to the annual report by the Chief Medical Officer, mental illness led to the loss of 70 million working days within the UK during 2013, making […]
The Science Museum has chosen a brilliant name for their staff members

I went to the well-known Science Museum in the “museum quarter” in London in late September and was very impressed with the staff there. They’re called Explainers. It’s a brilliant job title. From that one word we learn: Employee purpose: The fundamental aim of their job is to increase public understanding of science Organisational values: The Science […]
The ins and outs of effective panel interviews

Panel interviews are a good way of screening job seekers and finding great talent. It's no wonder then that they're becoming increasingly popular among companies competing in a healthy jobs market to land themselves the next shining star. A panel interview is basically what it says on the tin. One interviewee facing a panel of […]
Why unlimited holiday policies are just hype

When people hear the word "unlimited" they tend to get excited. Unlimited refills, unlimited downloads, unlimited miles, all awesome. But unlimited holiday leave? That has to take the cake, as we Americans say. Most recently Richard Branson of The Virgin Group announced that his employees could take unlimited holidays, sparking excitement across the international blogosphere. However […]
What happens when corporate leaders and managers ‘derail?’

People dictate what organisational culture is, not location, sector or size. Research by Schneider (1987) asserted that ‘the people make the place’; that people are attracted to and recruited into organisations where they think they will fit. Over time, in ways that are outside of individual awareness, organisations maintain the characteristics of the high-status people […]
Share your views in the Global Human Capital Trends 2015 survey

Last year we were involved with promoting Deloitte's annual Global Human Capital Trends survey and we carried an exclusive on the UK results which tackled a variety of topics including current global priorities for HR directors, why we need to re-skill HR professionals and what companies are doing in terms of HR analytics and talent […]
Understanding the differences in types of temporary labour

With an estimated £24bn per year being spent by businesses on temporary workers, it is clear that these contingent – or ‘as needed’ – workers are a key component of a complex UK workforce. Many people still, however, do not understand the full spectrum of temporary labour that exists, nor its significance to the UK […]
Are we forcing women to delay childbirth?

Women make up 57% of the US workforce in professional and related occupations, but only 26% of professionals in the computer and information field. Male domination in the education fields of engineering and computer science, coupled with a masculine business culture has compounded the challenge: tech firms wish to do a better job of appealing […]