Budget 2013 – what it means for HR

Chancellor George Osborne has announced his 2013 Budget to Parliament – referred to by the chancellor as one for an ‘aspiration nation.’ Read on for our analysis of how new measures introduced could impact the HR function. You can keep up with comments on the budget by following hashtag #Budget2013 on Twitter. Tax incentives for […]

News: skills gap dragging down leading economic powers

Many of the world’s strongest economies are suffering losses in productivity revenue due to a skills gap, according to new research from CareerBuilder. Employers in economically strong countries said that extended job vacancies have resulted in an inability to grow their business. Those in China were most likely to report the negative effects of open […]

‘The Cloud’ leaves HR & learning’s traditional relationship up in the air

Gerry Griffin, director of Skill Pill M-Learning, looks at how the cloud environment is set to shape the face of learning in the workplace and asks where HR will sit in the aftermath? Cloud computing, a relatively new addition to the workplace, has already managed to establish itself as an indispensable asset for organisations. The […]

Facilitating the cultural shift to remote working

This article was written by Jane Kirk, director at search and intelligence consultancy Armstrong Craven. The news that Marissa Mayer banned Yahoo!’s entire workforce from home-working sparked an immediate surge of protest. The move seemed to fly in the face of growing evidence to support flexible working. Engagement and well-being are cited as key benefits, as […]

That sinking feeling – handling difficult conversations

This article was written by Kate Russell, MD of Russell HR Consulting. Managing difficult people and helping managers to manage difficult employees comes with the HR turf. The question is how can HR professionals best grasp the nettle when trying to manage difficult people/scenarios, either their own team or the wider workforce? For the purposes […]

News: sickness a major issue affecting service delivery

Sickness and absence is a major issue affecting service delivery and the customer experience, according to new research. The research, conducted by Redshift Research on behalf of Cognito, surveyed 200 business managers responsible for mobile workers across the UK to examine the key hurdles to delivering service excellence. Sickness was ranked as the most common […]

News: Work is biggest cause of stress in people’s lives

Work is the most stressful factor in peoples’ lives, with one in three people (34 percent) saying their work life was either very or quite stressful, above debt or financial problems (30 percent) and health (17 percent). This is according to a study of 2000 people conducted by mental health charity Mind. Frustration with poor […]

Interview: Jenny Westworth, 2013 Apprentice Champion of the Year

BAE Systems apprentice Jenny Westworth, 23, was recently announced as the first Apprentice Champion of the Year, an award which recognises inspirational role models that champion the benefits of apprenticeships in the UK. She talks to HRZone about her journey so far and the ways in which HR functions can better attract and nurture apprentices. […]

News: older workers more worried about job security than Gen Y

 Older workers’ confidence in their job security fell by as much as 10 percent in January 2013, according to new research from Legal & General’s Job Security Index. Confidence over job security among workers aged 45 and 54 fell by 10 percent since October 2012 to 69 percent. Workers aged 55 and over experienced a […]

How to deal with sexual harassment in the workplace

This article was written by Vanessa James, Joint Head of the Employment department at SA Law. It seems sexual harassment in the workplace is rarely out of the headlines at the moment, with the recent Liberal Democrat scandal surrounding claims that Lord Rennard behaved improperly to female members of the party again shining a light on […]

The Position of Employer in the Family Unit

A person’s primary social group is called their family unit. The family unit traditionally includes parents and children; some will include grandparents and wider relatives. Close friends will be included in a minority but the family unit is typically populated by blood relatives only. The workplace has been historically outside the family unit. Work divides […]

Research: concerns over trust in flexible working highest among HR professionals

Almost half of HR professionals (46 percent) responding to a new study said that a lack of trust over productivity was the biggest barrier to flexible working, compared to an average of 28 percent and 19 percent in the legal profession. HR respondents were also divided on whether they make more of a conscious effort […]

Book Review: Exposure by Michael Woodford

Title: ExposureAuthors: Michael WoodfordISBN: 978-0670922222 Reviewed by Alan Warner, MTP plc Michael Woodford is the man who was appointed CEO of Japanese company Olympus, only to be sacked soon afterwards when he tried to expose past wrong doing by fellow senior managers. The fact that the press, other media and the shareholders outside Japan were so solidly […]

News: personal issues main reason for employees leaving

Three quarters of UK CEOs have cited personal issues – such as stress – as the main reason their employees leave the company, according to new research. Pay was cited at 34 percent and job dissatisfaction 19 percent by respondents to the study, which was commissioned by Skillsoft. The research also found a lack of […]

Are companies meeting the needs of an ageing workforce?

This feature was written by Kevin Young, General Manager, Skillsoft EMEA It is rare for a Government initiative to be of direct relevance to almost every business in the UK. However, with recent changes to the retirement age and pension payouts, businesses need to start thinking about how they will manage an ageing workforce. By […]

News: benefits packages stagnating as employees demand more

Benefits packages provided by employers are out of step with the needs of employees, according to new research commissioned by Unum from Populus and Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU). UK employees are becoming increasingly risk averse because of the recession. Over three-quarters (77 percent) are concerned over financial security and are prioritising long-term financial security in […]

News: young people want green skills to get green jobs

More than half (59 percent) of the UK’s young people (19-25) say they would be interested in working in the green economy, yet 38 percent say they don’t have the skills required to do so. This is according to new research released recently by British Gas, which also found a quarter of young people (26 […]

HRD Insight: Creating Person-centred Organisations

This feature was written by Stephen Stirk, HR Director at United Reponse. Person Centred Organisations work on two simple premises – the first is a belief that the person centred thinking tools and practices developed primarily for use in interactions and relationships with and between people with learning disabilities could be applied to a range of […]

News: employers to design their own apprenticeships

Employers will soon have the power to design and develop their own Apprenticeship standards in order to tackle skills shortages, announced Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg today. This initiative is in response to the Richard Review, carried out by entrepreneur Doug Richard last year, which called for an improvement in the quality of apprenticeships. Richard […]

Businesses as living entities – the shift to corporate communities

“The only long-term sustainable advantage is the ability to adapt to change.” In his book The Living Company, Arie de Geus differentiates between businesses that prioritise their growth as a living, breathing community and those that prioritise short-term return on capital. De Geus argues that while profit-driven companies can succeed, they have a poor record […]