James Purvis, CERN, on human resources at the world-famous nuclear physics lab
This is the second interview in a two-part series – the first looked at talent acquisition at CERN. 1) Tell us a little about the structure of the HR function at CERN e.g. is there a strategic business partnering focus? Is there a VP that sits on the board? Our HR department has a frontline […]
Why HR needs to take religion seriously
This article is based on the chapter ‘Religion in Organizations: Cognition and Behaviour’ by Gary R.Weaver and Jason M. Stansbury from Religion and Organization Theory: Research in the Sociology of Organizations. HR Zone has exclusive free access to this chapter throughout October. For more information and to read the book chapter click on the link. www.emeraldinsight.com/tk/HRZoneReligion Religiously-influenced behaviour […]
Managers, it’s time to walk the talk on communication skills
Most managers and leaders think they have strong communication skills and that are adept at managing others. Those reporting to them might think otherwise – even if they don’t openly say so. Most of us think we are good at communicating. We don’t know what we don’t know and that is not the best place […]
A new ‘relationship agenda’ for HR?
The Tomorrow Company with other partners including the CIPD recently published a research report called ‘Tomorrow’s Relationships – unlocking value.' This echoes some of the key themes in my book published by Gower in 2013; namely, that risk in relationships is not given the attention it deserves alongside other aspects of business; the need for […]
Addressing bereavement at work – why it’s time for employers to act
Last week Acas launched its good practice guide for businesses on managing bereavement at work. Such guidance is long overdue. How well employees are supported by their employer following a bereavement can be something of a lottery, with some disparities, even within the same organisation, in the way line managers handle bereavement and in the […]
Is it about time we forget Ebbinghaus?
The importance of Ebbinghaus Most Learning and Development professionals know of Hermann Ebbinghaus and the Forgetting Curve that his research developed in the late 1800’s. From a workplace performance perspective, we need to ensure that whatever skills or knowledge that need to be learnt to impact behaviour, gets remembered and can then be applied back […]
How can we approach live online learning to ensure good practice?
With the advancement of technology the benefits of delivering some learning and marketing through webinars and live online learning have become clear over recent years. There are cost savings for organisations and individuals with regards travel, accommodation, facilities and time away from work. The impact of good live online learning, or so-called ‘virtual training’, can […]
Britain does not have an over-regulated employment environment
The European Union has played a substantial role in shaping rights at work in the UK over the last thirty years. For Eurosceptics, this is a prime example of the EU over-stepping the mark and undermining national sovereignty. With our future within the European Union looking more uncertain than ever, it is an important time […]
Interview: Cathy Brown, Executive Director, Engage for Success
Cathy is a judge at the inaugural Employee Engagement Awards which will recognise the very best in engagement programmes publicly. Who is Cathy Brown? Cathy Brown is Executive Director at government taskforce Engage for Success. She originally joined Engage for Success as a secondee, then as a volunteer, before returning to become Executive Director. She also works as […]
Can we assign a credible value to talent?
Organisational leaders routinely tell us that talent is a firm’s most important resource. This may very well be true, but there is no universally agreed-upon method to place a valuation on talent. Over many decades there have been numerous approaches designed to value human capital – each approach may be reasonable, depending on what assumptions […]
Diversity in the science workforce – successes and failures
Science careers face diversity challenge Recent research conducted by Westminster Business School for the Royal Society’s Leading the way programme – aimed at increasing the diversity of the science, technology, engineering, maths and medical workforce (STEMM) to increase opportunities for women, minority ethnic and disabled people – finds that science is less diverse than other […]
Vaping in the work place – developing policy guidance
Key facts There are over two million regular electronic cigarette users in England. Electronic cigarettes DO NOT contain cancer causing tobacco, but do contain nicotine which is addictive. There is growing evidence that they can help smokers quit. The long-term health effects are not known. However there are no circumstances when using an e-cigarette is […]
James Purvis, CERN, on creating amazing teams to discover amazing particles
How does recruitment work at the world’s most famous particle physics laboratory? 1) Does the recruitment and talent identification process change when you are recruiting for extremely high-profile projects e.g. the Large Hadron Collider (LHC)? James Purvis in 15 seconds James Purvis is Head of Talent Acquisition at CERN. He is fully responsible for all […]
HRZone user survey – the results are in
In August this year we ran a user survey on HRZone that asked our users what their browsing habits were and how they used the website. The survey ran for three and a half weeks and received 104 responses. From the survey results we are able to better understand the needs from you, our users. […]
Interview: Crispin Manners, Chairman, Onva Consulting
Crispin is a judge at the inaugural Employee Engagement Awards which will recognise the very best in engagement programmes publicly. 1) What does employee engagement mean to you? I believe that many companies fail to recognise that the solutions to many of their problems, and the sources of innovation that could be transformational, can come from their employees. […]
Interview: Astrid Erlandsson, employee engagement expert, Effectory International
Earlier this year you moved to Amsterdam to join Effectory International from Stockholm, where you were working for TNS-Sifo. Can you tell us what attracted you to your new role? It was a great opportunity for me to develop professionally, and I was immediately drawn to the culture of the organisation. Effectory International is an […]
Don’t be too smart when you’re trying to learn
How quickly do you learn? Are you one of those people who picks things up with ease? Feel slightly smugly in training courses? Don’t need anything explaining twice? Well here’s a way of thinking about learning that might give you pause for thought. One way of categorising different types of learning is to distinguish between […]
Interview: Laura Temple, Head of Leadership Engagement, SABMiller
Laura is a judge at the inaugural Employee Engagement Awards which will recognise the very best in engagement programmes publicly. Who is Laura Temple? Laura Temple heads up leadership engagement at the world’s second largest brewer SABMiller, famous for beers such as Peroni, Grolsh and Pilsner Urquell. Laura is a strategic communication and engagement specialist and […]
When did bribery stop being an HR issue?
When did HR absolve themselves of responsibility for people issues? Prior to the commencement of the Bribery Act in 2010, when I was being instructed on an investigation into employee misbehaviour, such instructions would usually come via the HR team. But since the Bribery Act, everything seems to have changed. Now I'm sure that HR […]
The untapped end of the talent pipeline
A majority of organisations in the UK are now concerned about their ability to fill critical leadership roles, with only 14% confident about their available talent pipelines. It is now time for employers to explore new talent pools and to make the most of what the country has to offer. Hidden talent pool What is […]
