News: workplace remains key driver of UK companies’ reputation

The state of the workplace remains one of the key drivers of reputation among the UK’s largest companies, according to new research from global business consultancy Reputation Institute. The UK RepTrak™ 2013 study saw John Lewis emerge with the highest workplace reputation, followed by Selfridges and Marks and Spencer. Engineering company Dyson came fourth and […]

Developing resilience to enhance personal effectiveness

This article was written by stress management consultant Graham W Price, who is a trainer with Body Mind Training. Graham is a chartered member of the British Psychological Society (BPS). We’re all crazy! Every time we’re having a negative thought, we’re having a crazy thought. 25 years ago I witnessed a senior executive, Stuart McGill, […]

Legal insight: what employers should know after the Stella English case

This article was written by Mandy Laurie, partner in the employment team at national law firm Dundas & Wilson. There has been much interest about the recent employment case involving the previous winner of The Apprentice, Stella English, and her claim for constructive dismissal against Lord Sugar. However, in a case held to be largely unfounded, […]

News: education system failing next generation of workers, say CEOs

Over half of UK CEOs (54 percent) responding to a new survey believe the current education system is failing future workers, and that degrees and A levels are no longer a guarantee of career success. The research, commissioned by Skillsoft and conducted by Opinion Matters, found that while 63 percent of CEOs valued qualifications in […]

The decline of flexible working – has the bubble burst?

This aticle was written by Naomi Oppenheim, Solicitor at Fladgate LLP. Marissa Mayer’s announcement that all flexible arrangements at Yahoo! will end this June has been widely reported in the press recently. Ms Mayer is not the only leading business figure of late to view flexible working as a barrier, rather than a bridge, to […]

News: onboarding requires radical shake-up

Organisations must radically rethink their onboarding approaches to reap new benefits, according to a leading academic from the London Business School. Dan Cable, Professor of Organisational Behaviour, studied the onboarding procedures of various organisations – including Oracle and Disney – with colleagues at the LBS. The team found that onboarding processes share a common goal […]

Five reasons companies fail at talent management

This article was written by Lucinda Carney, founder of Actus performance management software and MD of Advance Change Ltd organisational development consultancy. Ok, I admit it, I disagree with talent management – or certainly the way it is currently bandied about as if there is some mysterious secret that only the chosen few have the answer […]

10 common email errors HR Professionals don’t want to make

Alison Kemp runs Switch Vision, where she and her team give training and coaching to technical teams and individuals on interpersonal communications. When looking at improving communications in organisations, ignoring how we use email is like driving with flat tyres and wondering why the ride’s bumpy. So that Human Resources professionals are seen as, well, […]

News: survey points to increased appetite for partnering among finance functions

The majority of UK executives (81 percent) want to form stronger partnerships between the finance department and other parts of the business, according to new research from recruiter Robert Half UK. However, a third of executives (33 percent) say they find it difficult to source candidates with the necessary skills and experience to implement a […]

News: companies must ‘increase transparency of engagement and wellbeing’

FTSE100 companies must increase organisational transparency to measure and improve the long-term successes of their employee engagement initiatives. This is according to the results of the Workwell FTSE100 benchmark, which scored the level of publicly available information provided by organisations across 25 engagement and wellbeing indicators. The research, which was issued by Business in the […]

Top five mistakes to avoid when introducing change

This article was written by Stephen Archer, director of business consultancy Spring Partnerships. Like strategy, ‘change’ is a rather overused word but in truth it is overused because flux is a better word. Change is permanent and so I suggest that ‘perma-flux’ maybe a better way to look at business today. But if change is […]

Making flexible working win-win for both employee and employer

This article was written by Richard Peers, Head of Human Resources, Vodafone Global Enterprise. Flexible working is arguably the way forward for businesses to increase productivity and attract and retain the best talent – a win-win for employees and employers. So why aren’t all businesses doing it? Because despite the well cited benefits, many questions and […]

News: staff comfort levels on salary discussions vary across the globe

More than half of respondents to a new global poll are not comfortable discussing salaries with their colleagues. There were significant geographic differences in the survey from job firm Monster – just 25 percent of US respondents were happy to discuss their remuneration, compared to 43 percent of Europeans. Of the 3000 responses, 18 percent […]

News: employee volunteering provides many benefits to employers

Research released by volunteering charity CSV shines light on trends in employee volunteering (EV) and the ways in which employers can maximise its effectiveness. The report, entitled ‘Employee Volunteering – Who’s Benefiting Now?’ [PDF, 335KB] analyses the relationship between different stakeholders, including businesses, employees and community brokers (who connect firms with local projects). Employee volunteering […]

Delivering feedback in a way that works

James and Simon Brooke are directors at Threshold, an international training and communications consultancy, and have just authored a book called Be Bulletproof, which aims to give employees the tools to protect themselves against the hazards of the workplace. Most organisations operate on the assumption that their managers are giving good feedback to employees. But […]

Top five Margaret Thatcher quotes and what they say about success

Since former Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher died on April 8, commentary has been flowing in from around the world. Much of it has been positive, paying tribute to a passionate and dedicated leader who had the interests of Britain in her heart. There has been criticism as well, of a rigid and unwavering leader who […]

News: Employees ‘blame work’ for lack of exercise

Four in ten people blame work commitments for their lack of regular exercise, according to a new report from Nuffield Health and the London School of Economics (LSE). The report, 12 minutes more, emphasises the role that employers should be playing in encouraging staff to take exercise. Over £7bn could be saved, says the report, […]

The role of CSR in driving business performance

Nicky is a CSR professional with 20 years’ experience in managing and directing corporate social responsibility in global companies. She runs her own CSR consultancy, Nicky Amos CSR Services Ltd. She spent ten years as Head of Corporate Responsibility for The Body Shop. Successful business leaders are unlikely to disagree with the proposition that corporate responsibility […]

News: replace charismatic leaders with ‘intelligent conservatism’

Conservatism rather than charisma is the vital characteristic of successful business leaders, claims a new study.Research into leadership at European companies that have been in operation for over 100 years, conducted by Dr Christian Stadler, found that ‘charismatic conservatism’ is more important than charisma in driving businesses forward. Some of the firms Stadler looked at […]

Are you getting true value from your corporate values?

Many organisations these days have a set of corporate values as part of their employer branding. Relating to anything from ethics to relationships to actions, corporate or company values aim to articulate those things that an organisation genuinely believes in. They provide a framework for how people treat both internal and external contacts, do their […]