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 […]

How technology can hamper employee engagement

This article was written by Gary Cattermole, co-founder and director of The Survey Initiative, a staff survey provider specialising in employee engagement. Much has been made over the past 12 months on how technology can improve employee engagement in the workplace. Social media has become the latest trend with Yammer offering something quite unique to […]

Academic insight: New laws will deter people from raising concerns about wrongdoing

This article was written by Professor David Lewis, Middlesex University Professor of Employment Law and convenor of the International Whistleblowing Research Network. Many workers will remain silent about serious wrongdoing when legislation affecting employment protection for whistleblowers comes into force – as I detailed in evidence submitted to the Whistleblowing Commission recently. The Enterprise and […]

What should HR professionals know about neuroscience?

It's Neuroscience Learning Month on HRZone. You're reading one of the pieces that has been written to help you develop a sound understanding of why neuroscience principles are important to business, and a basic understanding of how you can apply them effectively. There's loads more content going live over the month to help you on […]

Legal insight: obesity as a disability in the workplace

This article was written by Caroline Prosser, Solicitor, Hill Dickinson LLP and Kerstie Skeaping, Partner, Hill Dickinson LLP. In Walker v Sita Information Networking Computing Ltd a man weighing over 21 stone was held to be disabled by the Employment Appeal Tribunal. Does this mean that all those who are obese will be classed as disabled and […]

Hiring candidates from around the world in fewer than 80 days

This article was written by Josh Tolan, CEO of Spark Hire, a video powered hiring network that connects job seekers and employers through video resumes and online interviews. While it might be convenient to imagine your ideal candidate is located around the corner, the truth is your perfect employee might actually be located around the […]

Beat burnout – seven ways to create an extra hour in the day

This article was written by Jeff Archer, Director of The Tonic Corporate Wellness.  Someone said to me recently, ‘All I need is an extra hour each day and I’d get everything that I need to do done.’ Unfortunately, we’re all stuck with 24-hours in the day and 168 hours in the week so an extra hour […]