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 […]
How to design and conduct an effective assessment day
Assessment centres allow you to interview several candidates in one day and see considerably more behaviours and characteristics than you would in conducting a one hour interview. The assessment centre process must be a positive experience for the candidates involved as they will be assessing you as a company too. First impressions count on both […]
Rethinking your workforce management solution – what the data says
The Sierra-Cedar 2014-2015 HR Systems Survey White Paper, 17th Annual Edition, took a close look this year at how organisations are leveraging one of the most overlooked areas of HR Technology: the workforce management solutions set. These HR applications are used to allocate the actual work of employees and a growing number of contingent workers, […]
HR and health: The hard work starts here
Wellbeing and work. For HR at least the two ideas are synonymous but it’s only relatively recently that some of our biggest businesses and CEOs have settled down to consider this new world view. Perhaps they’ve been distracted by the huge numbers flying around: absenteeism costs £29bn a year, presenteeism £15bn and mental ill health […]
What’s new in neuroscience? Reporting from the NeuroLeadership Summit 2014
I'm just back from the NeuroLeadership Summit. Before I went Jamie [HRZone editor] asked me to write an article on what's new in neuroscience that’s relevant to HR. Judging by last year, I thought I would have loads of new science from the summit, but to be honest the approach to the agenda this year […]
All change for the workforce after three days of awesome new technologies for HR in Las Vegas
The 17th annual HR Technology conference, the world’s leading event focused on technology for human resource executives and professionals, took place in Las Vegas last week. At the conference, we heard from a long line up of great speakers who confirmed what we already know: The modern workforce is changing, and our use of technology […]
How to deal with the politics of data
I am fed up with hearing about the exciting potential of data. We all know there is serious value in data. There is no news there. And yet 90% of companies have chronic problems with missing, outdated and inaccurate data[1] and in two thirds of organisations the majority of time is wasted on consolidating data instead […]
HRZone are the exclusive media partner to the EE Awards
You've got one day to get your entries in for the Employee Engagement Awards as the deadline is TOMORROW – get your entry in now and make history in the first ever Employee Engagement Awards! We’ve got some great news – we are the exclusive media partner to the Employee Engagement Awards, newly launched for this year. […]
Engaging through powerful, authentic conversations
Low levels of employee engagement are still burdening many organisations if the findings of a recent survey by The Oxford Group reflect what’s happening more broadly. In a survey of 1000 ABC1s (upper middle class, middle class, lower middle class), only a third of UK employees said their relationship with their boss was characterised by […]
Interview: Shauna O’Handley, Head of Talent Value Proposition & Performance, Misys
Shauna O’Handley in 15 seconds Shauna O’Handley is Head of Talent Value Proposition & Performance at financial risk management and banking software company Misys. Misys has over 4500 employees around the globe. She was previously Head of HR Transformation for Transport for London, where she Designed and delivered a comprehensive HR transformation programme that delivered cost […]
Top tips to retain your graduate talent
A report from leading advisory firm CEB, published in August, highlighted that a quarter of graduates leave their first job within a year of starting it with an estimated sunk cost in the UK of £112m in 2013. What can businesses do to retain their graduate talent? Here are my top five tips: 1. Employ the […]
Seven ways to help staff look after their back
The cost of absence and lost productivity due to back injury or pain is a major consideration for many organisations. This week is back care awareness week so here are 7 ways that you can help everyone in your organisation take care of their back every day. 1) Keep everyone moving Sitting still has been […]
The shadow side of leadership – hubris, derailment and overdrive
Dark side characteristics are found in almost everybody’s make up. Anyone working with executives will be aware of how a tough focus can lead to unhelpful behavioural features that strains relationships. There are, of course, steps that leaders can take to minimise the risks resulting from the dark side of leadership. Ashridge’s latest research, The Leadership […]
How businesses can follow best practice when it comes to work experience
While the Office for National Statistics has recorded youth unemployment figures steadily falling, it seems that the number of businesses bemoaning the lack of young people with workplace ready skills isn’t. Research from Barclays found that one-in-five businesses said young people were “not ready” for entry level jobs, with 55 per cent claiming school leavers struggled […]
