Embracing employee engagement in 2014
Employee engagement may have been the new ‘buzz word’ from America just a few years ago but now businesses large and small are buying into it in some shape or form. However, in many companies it still seems to be a side project or a matter on the agenda, rather than an intrinsic part of […]
Do we still need managers?
We will always need managers – but we can become much smarter about defining what they do. The case of Zappos In November 2013, Zappos, the online retailer launched a bold management experiment. Its CEO, Tony Hsieh, announced that the reporting hierarchy and job titles would be abolished, and replaced with a self-organizing model called […]
Leadership – too much, too soon?
As we get into the swing of 2014, it’s a different business landscape than that of the start of 2013. The news agenda is a lot more upbeat, with positive statistics around economic growth, decreasing rates of unemployment, and UK businesses successfully leading the way with entering into new markets. Recruiting leaders – tough nut […]
Finding your “Why” – the crucial starting point of employee engagement
No leadership team will commit time and money to a plan to increase employee engagement unless they believe it will improve performance. So the first question any HR professional should ask themselves before committing to an employee engagement survey is, “What are we looking to achieve?” This simple but thought provoking question sets the context […]
Protected beliefs and the case of the democratic socialist in the DWP
The Equality Act 2010 (the Act) prohibits direct and indirect discrimination and harassment in the workplace on the grounds of religious or philosophical belief. Prior to the Act coming into force, the Government made it clear that the Act was not intended to cover political beliefs. However, a recent Employment Tribunal decision has cast doubt […]
HR thought diversity – different people, different approaches
We conducted a study on the thought diversity of 2,195 HR professionals. Thought diversity refers to the different ways a person can approach an issue. The perspective they use to approach the issue determines how they understand that issue and the possible range of their response to the issue. For example, a person focusing on […]
Ethical leadership – do things right, do the right thing
Andrew's insight in this article is based on three years spent with the Royal Navy, examining their attitudes and. From this experience he wrote a book, Royal Navy Way of Leadership. Work is all about execution. It’s about getting things done, meeting the deadline, collecting the money, changing the organization. The discipline is there every month […]
Emotional Quotient – the key to balanced leadership
The recession may finally be on the way out, according to recent quarter-on-quarter figures from the Office of National Statistics. What does the future hold for business, in this new economic phase and how can HR professionals recognise, nurture and develop business leaders? There’s no doubting that we are in need of strong business leaders […]
Brand engagement is not just another HR programme
For most HR executives, retention and recruitment is the bread and butter of HR life. Almost everything else is ‘nice-to-have’. This covers programmes like recognition schemes, staff events, incentive plans, executive development, social networking and CSR. So when the chips are down, it comes as no surprise that longer term, strategic planning often takes a […]
Authority questioned? Here’s what to do
As an HR professional, you often have to make unpopular or difficult decisions or recommendations. You may want to implement a new approach to performance management, for example, which managers see as unnecessary or time-consuming. Or perhaps you are struggling to get a team leader to understand why they have to follow the correct procedure […]
Engaging the Millennials: one HR director’s modern approach to technology
Businesses have found themselves grappling with a workforce that has increasingly become saturated with millennials, or Generation Y. While preconceptions, whether accurate, positive or otherwise, have been assigned to this group of workers, the certain thing is that they aren't going away – in fact, they'll only increase in number for the foreseeable future. The […]
Should management be everyone’s career end goal?
"Brilliant people – people who are good at their jobs – are not necessarily management material." Being technically brilliant does not automatically translate into being a brilliant manager of people. Traditional career paths have held up management positions as the ultimate destination. Management has been seen as the holy grail of promotional prospects. But is […]
How can we find the time to lead?
Nearly all leaders lack enough hours in the day to get everything done. A constant barrage of emails, calls, texts and social media only increases the pressure and demands urgent attention. The key word is ‘urgent’. By understanding the significant difference between urgency and importance, leaders can manage their time more effectively and accomplish more […]
Do you need an HR department?
Andrew's insight in this article is based on three years spent with the Royal Navy, examining their attitudes and. From this experience he wrote a book, Royal Navy Way of Leadership. I have spent the last three years writing the Royal Navy’s leadership manual, now issued to 15,000 naval staff. One of the things that struck […]
Finding those leadership moments of power
Leadership is a vital responsibility of every manager, young and old, in every organisation – the team leader and the lance-corporal, the directors and generals. Every manager needs to value their leadership role and spend time on it, acknowledging where they need help. For new start-ups this is particularly challenging as the focus will be […]
Getting HR the boardroom impact it deserves
Boards need your help Hand on heart, in the last 25 years has HR moved closer to having strategic boardroom impact? In my opinion, no. Yes, HR has flourished, developing new tools and insights and becoming a vital partner in operational delivery and corporate change. But so has finance, and look at what hasn’t changed: […]
How to smash leadership barriers
It has become a common mantra that it is vital to develop leadership in our organisations. Many firms spend thousands of hours and millons of pounds trying to develop their leaders. But when would-be leaders return to the workplace, they find the all the inspiring ideas about leadership are impossible to put into practice. Why […]
The key to 21st century leadership
Despite the IMF forecasting an increase in the UK’s GDP by 1.4% this year and 1.9% in 2014, and initial green shoots of recovery that are beginning to appear, it is clear from the CEOs we speak to that today’s climate is anything but comfortable. Finding strong business leaders has always been a challenge. It takes […]
A new workplace approach to dyspraxia
The Dyspraxia Foundation is the only charity dedicated solely to helping those living with dyspraxia; a condition that impacts on the lives of children and adults on a daily basis. The charity supports an adult group answering queries, producing factsheets, organising events and facilitating an adult Facebook page. A recent award from the Big Lottery […]
Culture change at Zappos and the power of a mantra
Although the spotlight shone on American retailer Zappos when it announced that it was demolishing its traditional leadership structure in favour of a holacracy (flat, without bosses), it wasn’t the first to make this change. Some have been doing it since day one. More than half a century ago, Bill Gore decided that he’d had […]
