The science behind a happy and productive workforce
Humans have been fascinated by their own behaviour for thousands of years. Understanding each other has been critical for survival – both as Neanderthals and in today’s corporate world. A successful employee will not only possess the right skills, but their working style often matches their role requirements. However, an individual’s working behaviour type isn’t […]
Scottish independence will ‘put job creation first’
Scotland could benefit from a major boost to jobs if it votes to leave the UK next month, the Scottish government has claimed. The Scottish National party this week unveiled a 10-point jobs plan for an independent Scotland, stating that control of economic policy would allow the country to build on its strengths and create […]
Customer service: Is another training programme the answer?
As a service nation we all know the importance of customer service – it has been drummed into us that the customer is always right. However, knowing this and actually behaving in a way that serves the customer beautifully seems to be something that we are incapable of doing.[1] This poor service costs. According to […]
‘Dinosaur’ employers reluctant to hire working mums
Nearly 40% of managers avoid employing working mothers for fear they won’t perform as well as their male colleagues, new research has found. A survey of 500 managers by law firm Slater & Gordon has revealed that nearly half of bosses would resist recruiting a mother for a senior role, with 38% hesitant about hiring […]
Is loneliness the next workplace ticking time bomb?
Four in 10 report having no close friends at work at all, according to a new survey of 5000 people by relationship charity Relate. Most workers also have much more contact with their boss and colleagues than with their own friends or close family. The study found a link between low self-esteem and poor work-life […]
Tackling unconscious bias in HR departments
With HR departments increasingly having to implement diversity initiatives, specifically within staffing and recruitment, one area that is growing in importance is that of unconscious bias. The main aim here is how to tackle the “unconsciousness” element, as most of us already know that we are biased in one way or the other. But what […]
Book Review: Know what you don’t know by Michael A Roberto
Title: Know what you don’t know: How Great Leaders Prevent Problems Before They HappenAuthors: Michael A RobertoISBN: 978-0131568150 This book was reviewed by David Evans of Burn Bridge Associates. Decision-making, problem-solving and creative thinking are significant and current challenges in management practice and so Roberto’s book has some apparent relevance. Sub-titled “How Great Leaders prevent problems before they happen”, […]
Interview: Gabrielle Toledano, executive vice president of HR, Electronic Arts
We recently caught up with Gabrielle Toledano, executive vice president of HR and facilities at Electronic Arts Inc, and member of the Visier board of directors, to discuss the importance of developing internal talent for leadership roles, why using data is crucial in HR decision-making, and why working in HR in Latin America was a career high-point. 1. […]
Book Review: Risk Intelligence by Dylan Evans
Title: Risk Intelligence: How to Live with UncertaintyAuthors: Dylan EvansISBN: 978-1451610901 This book was reviewed by David Evans of Burn Bridge Associates. When senior managers are polled about the greatest challenges that their organisations face, one of the issues that regularly achieves high scores is that of the quality of their people’s decision-making (others, like problem-solving and talent, […]
Does Google look for boring leaders?
Yes, according to a blog post from July arguing that Google data suggests their best-performing leaders are those that are boring. Except ‘boring’ is just a headline-grabber – what they actually mean is predictable. Which actually means consistent. More about Google Is Google the new HR department? What you can learn from what Google learned […]
More than half of companies have no e-cigarette policy
Over half (58%) of UK businesses haven’t introduced a policy on the use of e-cigarettes, with 53% unconcerned over ‘vaping’ among staff. This is according to a new survey from employee health risk company PMI Health Group. How many people 'vape' in the UK? The total number of e-cigarette smokers in the UK has climbed […]
Why HR is its own worst enemy when it comes to employee engagement
In recent years, the use of the written term ‘employee engagement’ has overtaken phrases such as ‘staff incentives’ and ‘employee motivation’1 for the first time since 1920, demonstrating an emerging new ‘engagement’ model when motivating staff, particularly those who work for large, global organisations. Employee engagement is a compelling proposition and there have been dozens […]
Time for a rethink of what we mean by talent?
Talent is arguably one of the most imprecise concepts in management-speak. When I ask a group of HR professionals and/or line managers to expand on what they mean by talent, it’s common to receive at least a dozen different responses. For example, they may refer to: A specific skill or aptitude Someone who demonstrates high […]
The new HR challenge: Retaining talent in a recovering job market
It has been 15 years since Gallup’s renowned research study sparked the notion that ‘people leave their manager, not their organisation’. Marcus Buckingham and Curt Coffman popularised this concept in their 1999 book First, Break All The Rules[1]. But is it still true? Hay Group[2] has warned that today’s organisations face the threat of a […]
Understanding the psychology of conflict
Organisations devote huge amounts of money to conflict: in trying to prevent it, and trying to manage it when it does arise. So it is well worth devoting time to understanding this phenomenon that is conflict. Where does it come from? And why does it arise with such predictable regularity? We can see conflict in […]
Boris Johnson ‘committed’ to helping his staff manage stress
Employees working for London mayor Boris Johnson are being given free advice and support on how to manage their health and wellbeing. Free resources, such as mindfulness podcasts, are being provided on the Greater London Authority’s (GLA) staff intranet at City Hall, the Huffington Post UK reports. "We have a wellbeing portal on our intranet […]
HRSS review: The must-know HR tech trends
The HR Software Show is always a good place to get a feel for how the world of HR is faring and what professionals’ priorities will be for the coming year. It provides an opportunity to gauge what’s going on in the wider industry and tap into the latest concerns and trends, to get your […]
British workers snub social media bans
British employees are most likely to ignore workplace bans on social media, compared to their European counterparts, according to a new report. Two in five European employees are either banned from, or have restricted access to, Facebook in the office, the study by Samsung Electronics found. In UK workplaces where Facebook is banned, 41% of […]
Why I won’t recruit from HR
When recruiting my own team, candidates can fall into one of two categories – time-served HR and those with little or no HR experience. I find that recruiting those who have little or no HR experience is by far the best option. Bitter experience tells me that time-served HR people come into this consultancy and […]
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UPDATE: Thanks to everyone who took the HRZone Survey! We had an absolutely fantastic response and are now working though the data that will really make a difference to how we run the site. In a few week time we'll be announcing some of the findings from the survey. In the meantime, if […]
