Encouraging HR resource best practice – five tips to self-service success
We recently conducted research into the current state of employee service in the UK’s HR departments and discovered some worrying results when it came to the additional strain being put on an already stretched resource. According to our research, HR decision makers are spending more than a third of their day on average – that’s […]
The Art of Communication – supporting those nearing retirement age
If there is one thing in life we can all be sure of it is that we age – hopefully gracefully, but we cannot escape the inevitability of growing older. For one so widely recognised, this fact can often be surprisingly difficult to accept. Employees in particular can often struggle to come to terms with […]
Resilient employees likely to be physically healthier and more productive
Psychologically resilient employees are likely to be physically healthier and more productive in work, according to new research conducted by well-being experts Robertson Cooper. Between June and August 2013, over 500 people from the UK working population were surveyed to determine their current level of psychological resilience – in other words, their ability to perform […]
Managing health and safety: the right-people, right-place, right-time approach
According to a report issued by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE), toward the end of October 2012 there were 17,495 reported non-fatal injuries in the UK; an estimated 27,000 self-reported injuries, and an estimated 33,000 new cases of work-related ill health. It also calculated an estimated 1.8 million working days were lost due to […]
Interview: Brian Bowden, Director of HR Operations at Aer Lingus
1. On your LinkedIn you mention part of your role has been ‘re-positioning the HR function.’ Can you elaborate on this? Where was it before and where do you want it to be? Our transformation has sought to reposition the HR function so as to focus on strategic HR activity and standardise and systemise our HR […]
Five reasons CEOs fail to engage
There is now a weight of evidence connecting employee engagement and business success, within which leadership plays a key role. Yet, much of the UK workforce remains dis-engaged. So, why aren’t our leaders engaging more? Engagement, that is to say, the sense of emotional connection and purpose that is created among employees so that they […]
Applying Transcreation in the workplace
“Transcreation?” I can hear you asking. It may be a new bit of terminology for a lot of readers but the concept of transcreation is slowly being understood and applied within business more frequently – and HR is no different. In this article I would like to introduce you to transcreation and explain how HR […]
Doing business in France – cultural considerations for HR
The French Republic is the European Union’s second most populous country, the EU’s second largest economy and the world’s fifth largest economy. According to the IMF, France has achieved a GDP of $US2.2 trillion in 2012. France suffers from a reasonably high unemployment rate, currently estimated at 9.8%, which is higher than many of the […]
Book review: Leading Teams: Tools and Techniques for Successful Team Leadership
Title: Leading Teams: Tools and Techniques for Successful Team Leadership from the Sports WorldAuthors: Paolo Guenzi, Dino RutaISBN: 978-1-118-39209-6 Our reviewer this time was David Evans of Burn Bridge Associates. This 330-page book has an easy-read style and will be of interest to anyone with sporting inclinations. Its sub-title, “Tools and techniques for successful team leadership from the […]
10 tips to beat stress at work
Mind recently surveyed 2060 workers and found that almost half of people (45%) said that employees at work are expected to cope without mentioning stress at work and a third (31%) said they would not be able to talk openly to their line manager if they felt stressed. Stress is a serious problem, it is […]
An iceberg sunk the Titanic, right? Wrong.
David Buchanan BA (Hons) PhD FRSE Chartered FCIPD is Professor of Organisational Behaviour at Cranfield School of Management. If you investigate why the Titanic sank, you’ll realise an iceberg was just the final straw. “There were a whole host of contributory factors,” says David Buchanan, a professor at Cranfield School of Management. “The lookouts in […]
What leaders can do when opinion is against them
David Cameron’s recent call to arms from the House of Commons, to support action against Syria, resulted in a motion of no support from the house. Not only did this leave him in an extremely difficult position in the UK, but internationally too where the ‘special relationship’ with the U.S. was also called into question. […]
Developing next generation leaders for a sustainable future – the stewardship model
Human resource professionals and leaders alike have many responsibilities, and perhaps among the most important is developing the next generation of leaders and being more innovative as times change rapidly before our eyes. The right leadership style is important in the good times, but is even more essential in the face of budget reductions, fundamental […]
What are invisible workers and why are they putting your information at risk?
Research[1] from Iron Mountain suggests that close to two thirds of employees in Europe are now able to work from home for all or part of the time. This ranges from once every two to three months for 3% of employees to full-time home-working for 15%. In each case the picture will be a similar […]
Four CVs from the best domestic staff in Britain – and the woman who recruits them
Sara Vestin Rahmani is the owner of Bespoke Bureau, a yacht crew and domestic staff recruitment agency that also trains people looking to cut it in five-star establishments. Polishing chandeliers. Driving sports cars. Serving seafood to billionaires in the salty sea breeze. These tasks aren’t in your average job description. But they’re part of daily […]
How to find real value in graduates
Creating a company culture is one way of driving success. However one thing the majority in HR and wider business will agree on is that without the right people you cannot build or maintain a culture. The general consensus is that it is harder to instil a culture in those who move from another company […]
How to hit the sweet spot between conflict and new ideas
Every team is made up of many different personalities, all with their own aspirations, ideas, preferences, and a host of different experiences. Each of these individuals could hold the key to unlocking a difficult problem or providing an innovative way to approach a task. Or even better, the unique combination of ideas and experience in […]
Employers not doing enough to address the stress taboo, says Mind
Stressed workers are suffering in silence against a culture of mental health taboo, according to new statistics released today from mental health charity Mind. Almost half (45%) of the 2060 workers polled by Mind said that staff are expected to cope without mentioning stress at work and a third (31%) said they would not be […]
How can supervisors best support HR directors and their teams?
What is supervision? ‘Supervision is an opportunity to bring someone home to their own mind, to show them how good they can be.’ Nancy Kline, ‘Time to Think’ Supervision is a process of reflection and insight and support that focuses on resourcing the supervisee. Reflection, Insight and Support. Supervision enhances ‘seeing’ – the seeing into […]
Burn Out or Flow Out? What a choice…
This week we were thinking about work and how much is too much. I spend a lot of my working life poised between two extremes. At the stage of the business I am currently at, I am working hard to ensure that we grow, that we retain quality, that we add value to the bottom […]
