Book review: “What’s Stopping You Being More Confident?”

This book was reviewed by Deborah Bishop, Director of Work Tree Consulting. Title: What’s Stopping You Being More Confident?Authors: Robert KelseyISBN: 978-0857083098 Introduction When I contacted Jamie at HRZone and offered to do a book review, I had a choice from a list. This book was of interest to me as I have noticed in […]

The importance of employee motivation in training

This article was written by Jason Silberman, marketing director at WalkMe, an interactive online guidance system and engagement platform. Training is one of those terms that elicits a range of responses, depending on the individual. Employees will groan internally, and try to hide the bitterness from their expressions. To them, school was thankfully over, and […]

Top tips – employee engagement in the retail sector

This article was written by Nigel Garrett, Business Development Director at Workplace. In today’s challenging economic climate, the effective engagement of employees in the retail industry is an increasingly vital requirement to maintain exemplary customer service levels and maximise sales. Making employees feel valued and striving to build genuine relationships with them can help retailers to […]

Over a quarter of HR departments are ineffective, say senior HR professionals

Twenty-six percent of senior HR professionals think their HR function is ineffective, according to research released by a management consultancy. Over a third (37 percent) of senior HR professionals feel the purpose and values of their HR function are poorly defined. The research, from Orion Partners, polled 67 HR leaders and senior professionals at both […]

Business lifecycles and the need for different leaders at different times

This article was written by Allison McSparron-Edwards, founder and managing director of Consultrix. The five stages of the corporate life cycle It may seem fairly obvious but as companies grow they appear to follow a corporate life cycle including Creation, Growth, Maturity, Turnaround and Decline. [Kimberley, J. R., Miles, R. 1980., and associates The Organisational […]

Employee RE-engagement… a different kettle of fish?

This article was written by Hugh Tonks, CEO of Thymometrics, which provides constant, real-time monitoring of employee satisfaction over time. External and internal barriers to engagement To paraphrase the opening to Tolstoy’s magnificent Anna Karenina, "All engaged employees are alike; each disengaged employee is disengaged in their own way." To understand this is to recognise […]

Are we all guilty of romancing leadership?

This article was written by Karen Drury, consultant with Maven International (UK) Ltd. “The first myth of management is that it exists. The second myth of management is that success equals skill.”Robert Heller We’ve heard a lot about leadership in the past months – the death of Margaret Thatcher, unrest over Cameron’s leadership and of course, the […]

Contextual search – the future of the recruitment CRM?

Recruitment – tapping into the mine of applicant data This article was written by Tony Conibear, European Business Development Director at Bond International Software. Over the past decade, recruiters have been provided with tools to accumulate vast quantities of information on the skills and job suitability of candidates. However, this increase in both the quantity […]

Twenty ways your brain helps you make terrible decisions

Twenty cognitive biases and how they push you towards illogical decision-making Confirmation Bias The brain’s tendency to give more weight to information that confirms or backs up existing beliefs or theories. This tendency applies to new and existing information. People are also likely to remember and prioritise information from memories that confirm their beliefs. Post-purchase […]

Victimisation and discrimination — important new lessons for employers

This article was written by Jessica Corsi, Partner at UK employment law firm Doyle Clayton. A recent prominent case in which a banker was fired from her job after it was found she was suing her previous employer for sex discrimination brings important lessons for all firms. What happened in Bouabdillah v Commerzbank AG? In […]

An introduction to workplace giving

This article was written by Peter O’Hara, CEO of Workplace Giving UK. At the beginning of the year, the Government launched a consultation on proposals to reform Workplace Giving. This form of charitable giving (also known as Payroll Giving or Give As You Earn) enables employees to donate to charity directly through their pay. Although […]

Employees and social media – managing expectations on the four types of content

Prof. Steven Van Belleghem is author of The Conversation Company and The Conversation Manager (Kogan Page). Follow him on Twitter @StevenVBe. Every company dreams of having a small legion of employee-ambassadors. After all, employees can and do have a huge effect. The company’s reputation gets a positive push. It suddenly becomes easier to find employees. […]

The Engine of Profit: getting the best ROI from your staff

This article was written by Alan Pannett, co-author of Key Skills for Professionals. If you are intent on obtaining stronger ROI from your people, by fine tuning the ‘engine of profit’ in your business, you will need to interpret wisely the five factors identified by David Maister, when he was researching and teaching at Harvard […]

The Emperor Ulrich’s new clothes: re-evaluating the role of HR Business Partners

This article was written by Roger Edwards, SVP and Principal Consultant, Pilat HR Solutions. Amazingly, it’s now over 15 years since Dave Ulrich launched the HR model or concept that would bear his name and the development of centres of excellence and HR Business Partners (HRBPs) have been largely at the centre of HR development […]

Fixed-term contracts: freedom for employers or chains in disguise?

This article was written by Michael Hardiman, employment specialist at national law firm Shoosmiths LLP. Fixed-term contracts in HR Employers often use fixed-term contracts on a regular basis to meet the fluctuating demand for staff at certain times of the year, to cover a specific assignment or project, or more commonly to cover for an […]

Twenty emotions and feelings that drive motivation

Sense of autonomy – that the job you’re doing is yours and yours alone, and that while others may have ultimate control over the bigger picture you are the master of your own world Desire for mastery – a feeling that everything you do, learn and see increases your capabilities, worth and skills as a […]

How can HR use social networks for job referrals while maintaining employee privacy?

Ziv Eliraz is the Founder and CEO of Zao, a social employee referral management platform. According to recent studies, about 92 percent of employers plan to use social recruitment in their hiring practices. At the other end of the spectrum, 85 percent of companies have employee referral programs in their organizations. Pair them together and […]

The changing security landscape – how the HR department can respond

This article was written by Dr Guy Bunker, SVP of Products at web and email security company Clearswift. The last decade has seen many new changes to the technology landscape, with the likes of Facebook and Twitter exploding onto the social media landscape, but along with new technology comes new security concerns. Our latest research found […]

How to tap into the collective knowledge of your workforce

This article was written by Joe Brooks, COO of social career management solution provider Zapoint. Even in reasonably small organisations, managers might be surprised to find what skills someone they have worked with for years has—or doesn’t have. In larger organisations, it’s rare for Human Resource (HR) or anyone else to have any kind of […]

10 signs your employees are suffering from stress and anxiety

This article was written by Rick Hughes, Lead Advisor: Workplace, British Association for Counselling & Psychotherapy (BACP). Taking more time off work than usual Greater use of substances such as alcohol, tobacco and drugs (prescription and illegal) Increased irritability, poor concentration, reduced productivity Deteriorating personal or work relationships, including bullying behaviours Becoming more ‘emotional’, moody […]