‘Mid-life pay crisis’ hits female bosses as pay gap widens
Female managers are still being paid 35% less than their male counterparts, meaning they would have to work 14 years longer to equal men’s total career earnings, new research has found. The report, by the Chartered Management Institute (CMI) and XpertHR, revealed that female executives over the age of 40 are being hit hardest by […]
Five ways HR can develop innovation cultures in large companies
Ask any CEO and they’ll tell you that innovation is vital to a company’s long-term success. In fact, a recent IBM study (IBM, 2010) of over 1,500 global CEOs found that ‘creativity’ was the number one most important capability for achieving their ambitions. Yet many large companies will secretly admit they don’t have the capabilities […]
Third of workers happy for employer to use their social media data
Almost a third of employees would allow their employers to access their personal data, such as social media profiles, to help measure productivity and engagement, according to new research. This type of data profiling, already used by retailers and advertisers to understand consumer behaviour, could soon become common in the workplace, PwC’s Future of Work […]
The do’s and don’ts of a second interview
Second interviews are not always essential – I have made successful hires from first interviews, having identified and assessed the key traits and experience I wanted the candidate to demonstrate at the first stage. However this is often not the case; despite utilising experienced interviewers who probe in all the right places, second interviews are […]
Five myths about personality profiling
1. Can personality change be based on mood? Personality profiling tools measure the core or DNA of personality. The underlying traits don’t really shift. Research shows that the re-test for reliability statistics of profiling are high. Changes can occur because of a life event which may have caused, for instance, an emotional trauma, and people […]
Auto-enrolment reaches four million mark
Over four million workers have now been automatically enrolled into a workplace pension, The Pensions Regulator has claimed. The figure represents an increase of over one million this year or an average of around 6,000 a day, according to the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP). More than 21,000 employers have now completed their ‘declaration […]
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 […]
