HR tech budgets increase across the globe, study finds
One in three companies around the world plan to spend more on HR technology this year, according to a new report. The global survey of nearly 1,050 organisations across 45 countries, by professional services firm Towers Watson, revealed that 33% of employers plan to increase their HR technology budget by up to 20% this year, […]
You thought pensions auto-enrolment was the last of it? Sick pay is next
One of the biggest conundrums facing successive governments in recent times has been to cut the enormous spend on welfare benefits. The recent introduction of auto-enrolled pensions is enlightening and, I believe, points to what HR will have to handle at some point in the future. Conceived under the previous Labour administration and introduced under the […]
Men’s Health Week 2014 – Is there a role for business to tackle men’s mental health?
This is men’s health week. Many people question why there is a need to focus specifically on men’s health….surely health is important to everyone? It’s because men are known to monitor their health much less than women and they’re also less inclined to seek help when they need it, usually in the hope the problem […]
Interview: Frédérique Scavennec, Global VP Talent Acquisition, L’Oreal
Who is Frédérique Scavennec? Frédérique has been with global cosmetics company L’Oreal for over ten years, with the last two as Global VP. She has spent more than 20 years working in HR, mainly in senior HR Director positions and covering all aspects of the function. Frédérique holds a business degree from Ecole supérieure des Sciences […]
UK’s toughest interview questions 2014
Employer review site Glassdoor recently posted their list of the toughest interview questions of 2014. A cursory glance reveals that the 'brainteaser' question is still being used across the UK. Google, who gained a reputation for its use, said in July last year that they were a "waste of time" and pointed to behavioural questions […]
Female contractors ‘in minority’ compared to men
The proportion of women working as contractors is less than half that of men, new figures have shown. According to official data, obtained by professional services consultancy Procorre, there are just under 1 million female contractors currently working in the UK, representing 8% of working women, compared to 2.5 million men, who represent 15.5% of […]
Internal mobility and retention: How to hold on to your best and brightest
The number one reason professionals leave a job is not for more money or better perks, but because they see a better opportunity for career advancement elsewhere. That was one of the findings from a recent piece of LinkedIn research looking into the trends around internal mobility and how companies look after and develop existing […]
Employers urged to recruit direct from business schools
Employers are not offering enough work experience placements to business school students, despite the fact that the majority are looking for ‘business-ready’ graduates, a new report has found. Just 22% of employers currently offer work placements or internships to business school students, yet 89% agreed that including work experience within business courses makes students more […]
Employee wellbeing: supporting personal issues at work
Tackling tough work issues is one thing, but what about when the problems are wrapped up in situations at home, in relationships, debt, or bereavement? When complicated personal issues are involved, managers can sometimes prefer to keep their distance and hope the issue goes away. At the Royal College of Nursing, we have 850 staff who […]
Why do women take more sick leave than men – and what can we do about it?
This article is part of our in-depth content series on women in the workplace – take a look at the full list of articles today and increase your knowledge of a range of issues relating to women in the workplace, including sickness absence, impostor syndrome and mental health. Last year, a study by Octopus HR found that women take […]
Interview: Amar Dhaliwal, Chief Evangelist, Saba Software
Who is Amar Dhaliwal? Amar Dhaliwal has been with Saba since May 2005 and was previously co-founder and CTO of THINQ, which was acquired by Saba. At Saba, Amar has led many functions including engineering, product strategy, cloud operations, professional services, and customer support. As Saba’s Chief Evangelist, Amar is responsible for brand, product, technology, […]
The ‘shadow side’ of personality brought to life – part 2
In the first part of this series, I examined the individual characteristics typically seen in people when under pressure, focusing specifically on the ‘moving towards’ and ‘moving against’ types. In this final part, I look more closely at those who ‘move away’ from others, bringing them to life as characters attending a company away day. […]
How can I cope better with setbacks?
Jan Hills is one of our regular contributors – this article was adapted from the content in her new book, Brain-Savvy HR, available to buy in hard copy and for Kindle on Amazon. You and a colleague have been working on a new project proposal which gets rejected by the board. You're gutted, and finding […]
NHS toolkit launched to better link staff pay to performance
An online toolkit has been launched to help place more emphasis on linking pay to performance in NHS organisations. The resource, by NHS Employers, will provide advice, support and best practice examples, and forms part of the Agenda for Change (AfC) framework, which was introduced in 2004 and covers one million NHS staff. Changes were […]
Talent mobility – understanding your talent
In the second part of a four-part series looking at talent mobility, Matt Russell, Head of Talent Development at Lee Hecht Harrison, explores the importance of ‘understanding’ the talent in your organisation and making sure leaders are made aware of their role and accountabilities for being effective mobilisers. Read part one of this series, "Talent […]
Interview: David Foskett, Sales & Marketing Director, ADP
If you are interested in Big Data, take a look at our Big Data hub, featuring a televised panel debate with six experts and related whitepapers and resources to help you understand how Big Data how can help you within your own organisation and industry. The Big Data hub also features on-demand webinars on key […]
Queen’s Speech 2014: Pension reforms take centre stage
Sweeping reforms to pensions were at the centre of this year’s Queen’s Speech. In the final speech before the 2015 election, legislation on ‘collective’ workplace pension schemes was announced, with a Bill that will enable employees to pay into a collective pension fund shared with other workers that aims to cut costs and “pool risk” […]
The ‘shadow side’ of personality brought to life – part 1
In a previous HRZone article, I discussed the ‘shadow side’ of personality, i.e. those bits of ourselves which we normally keep hidden, but which emerge when we’re too stressed, tired or drunk to keep up a polite façade any longer. There are three broad trends – under pressure some of us move towards others, some […]
Merger of cultures: The costs of getting it wrong
You cannot open a newspaper at the moment without the latest merger and acquisition (M&A) processes or predictions jumping out. With the very public tussle over the Pfizer takeover bid for British pharmaceutical firm AstraZeneca hitting the headlines daily, it has bought the issue to the fore even more. With the economy improving and greater […]
Female power and utilities executives ‘have no voice’
Only 4% of executive board positions in the world’s largest power and utilities (P&U) companies are held by women, according to a new report. The research, published by professional services firm EY, found that this lack of diversity is damaging business performance and leaving female executives struggling to be heard. “Diverse boards deliver for companies; […]