New ‘family friendly’ legislation: Live webchat with employment minister Jo Swinson
The government is currently consulting on proposals to allow new parents to share a year’s leave, and the extension of the right to request flexible working to all employees. On Thursday 2 May at 11.30am, employment relations minister Jo Swinson will join us and our sister site BusinessZone.co.uk for an exclusive live webchat to take […]
Legal insight: shares-for-rights legislation and what it means for employers
This article was written by Robert Davies, Partner at law firm Dundas & Wilson. The Chancellor’s proposals on the establishment of a new category of employees, namely employee-shareholders, were first outlined in his 2012 Party Conference speech and have been the subject of considerable discussion as to their appropriateness and utility in practice, leading to […]
Employment minister Jo Swinson introduces an HRZone live web chat [VIDEO]
On Thursday 2 May, employment relations minister Jo Swinson will take live questions from HRZone.co.uk members on government proposals to allow new parents to share a year’s leave, and the extension of the right to request flexible working to all employees. In the video below, the minister explains more. To take part in the web […]
Talent spot: Philippa Kramer, country HR director for AkzoNobel
AkzoNobel, the world’s largest paints, coatings and speciality chemicals provider, is a truly gargantuan organisation operating in 80 countries and employing 50,000 staff. AkzoNobel in the UK is the home of leading brands including Dulux, Cuprinol Polycell and consistently ranked as one of the leaders in sustainability. It’s the job of Philippa Kramer, country HR […]
What if your employee survey wasn’t an annual event?
This article was written by Hugh Tonks, CEO of Thymometrics, which provides constant, real-time monitoring of employee satisfaction over time. Most companies that conduct an employee survey seem to prefer it to happen as an annual event. It’s not hard to see why; any less often makes it look like it’s not that important, and […]
What’s the secret to getting staff on board?
This article was written by Gary Cattermole, co-founder and director of The Survey Initiative, a leading staff survey provider specialising in employee engagement and internal communications. It is a privilege when we are asked to come into an organisation to help deliver change or get employees engaged with a company’s set of messages. As survey […]
Race discrimination in the workplace: what companies, large or small, need to know
This article was written by Donna Purchase, an employment solicitor and a Partner at QualitySolicitors Redkite. The recent race discrimination case brought against Virgin Atlantic in Wales highlights the importance for companies to bring themselves up to speed with exactly what constitutes racial discrimination, not just in the workplace but also throughout the recruitment process. The […]
Fewer than half of HR professionals have employee engagement strategy
These findings come from an employee engagement survey from HR software company Youforce. While 79 percent of HR professionals say engagement is a high priority, 41 percent don’t have an employment engagement strategy in place. Almost a third (30 percent) of those that do have a strategy say it improves employee performance, while 13 percent […]
Book review: Beyond the Call by Marc Woods & Steve Coomber
Title: Beyond The Call: Why Some of Your Team Go the Extra Mile and Others Don’t ShowAuthors: Marc Woods & Steve CoomberISBN: 978-1119962588 This book was reviewed by David Evans of Burn Bridge Associates Ltd. Opening with the statement from the influential Edgar Schein “The only thing of real importance that leaders do is to […]
Male-dominated culture is significant barrier to women reaching the top, say senior executives
Corporate cultures deemed excessively dominated by males are stopping women reaching the boardroom, according to senior executives. A quarter (23 percent) of respondents said it was the single biggest barrier to progression, while half (52 percent) believe today’s corporate cultures are dramatically reducing the length of time women are prepared to stay and develop their […]
UK SMEs neglecting to provide staff with adequate personal development path
Close to half (47 percent) of surveyed UK employees feel their SME employers do not invest enough in their personal development. A further quarter (27.9 percent) admitted to having never discussed training or personal development at all. This problem is particularly acute in London and the South East, where positive responses to the breatheHR survey, […]
Getting the ball rolling on data-centric HR strategies
This article was written by Jeremy Langley, Marketing & Business Development Director at Lumesse. As a HR leader, you are often sitting on a mound of crucial employee data, but it is often difficult to understand how to best utilise that data in order to implement an efficient HR strategy. Even harder still is knowing […]
News: report reveals mismatched expectations between employers and young applicants
A mismatch exists between employers’ expectations of young people during the recruitment process and what young people think is expected of them. This is hindering the flow of younger workers into the labour market. The CIPD report, entitled Employers are from Mars, young people are from Venus, found the following were contributing to high levels […]
HR analytics are key to boosting the bottom line, says KPMG
Organisations are not collecting meaningful information about their people because of the pressures of collecting and reporting on historical financial data, preventing them from driving growth and speeding up decision-making. According to Robert Bolton, partner in KPMG’s global HR Centre of Excellence, this is creating an “organisational landscape dominated by more questions than answers, with […]
Four recent employment law precedents HR should know
The effects of symptoms should define disability rather than the etiologyFrom: Walker v Sita Information Networking Computing LtdAn employment tribunal concluded that a man weighing over 21st was not – legally – disabled because there was no identifiable physical or mental cause for his obesity. The judge in the appeal rejected the tribunal’s findings, arguing […]
Positive psychology – a useful tool for HR directors
This article was written by Sarah Lewis, chartered psychologist and author of ‘Positive Psychology at Work.’ What is it?Positive psychology is the study of ‘strengths, virtues, excellence, thriving, flourishing, resilience, optimal functioning in general, and the like’ (Donaldson 2011). It was introduced as a field of study by Seligman at his inaugural address to the American […]
What you don’t know can hurt you: assessing your organisation’s social media use
This article was written by Steve Miranda, Managing Director of Cornell University’s Center for Advanced Human Resource Studies (CAHRS), a partnership between industry and academia devoted to the field of global human resource management. With social media, what you don’t know can seriously hurt your organization. An offensive or inappropriate blog post, tweet or Facebook comment […]
Talent spot: Andrew Lawson, Head of People at Drake & Morgan
Andrew Lawson, head of people at bar and restaurant group Drake and Morgan, has spent most of his working life working in the food and drink industry for organisations of all sizes. But if Lawson had stuck to his original plan, he would have been in the kitchen rather than in an office. His first […]
Business hubs – the only way to attract the best talent?
This article was written by Nic Scott, CEO of cloud services HR provider Fairsail. Will businesses in future be concentrated around hubs – encouraging us to share knowledge, talent and resources? Or will business be able to thrive anywhere in the country and attract the best talent to them regardless of location? The benefits of […]
Legal guidance: protecting company information in the cloud-era
This article was written by Sophie Vanhegan, employment solicitor at GQ Employment Law LLP. Recent years have seen dramatic changes to the use of technology in the workplace, creating new potential avenues for employees to steal sensitive data and, consequently, a growing headache for HR teams. One of the latest challenges is the growth of […]
