Book Review: Transformative HR by John Boudreau & Ravin Jesuthasan

Title: Transformative HRAuthors: John Boudreau & Ravin JesuthasanISBN: 978-1118036044 Reviewed by David Evans of Burn Bridge Associates. This is a book that ostensibly has a very clear mission: to champion the cause of evidence-based HR management. There is, however, a ‘sub-plot’ which relates to the need for HR professionals to be able to operate with their […]

Posture at work – how to improve it, why it’s important

Healthy body flexibility and movement diminishes as a consequence of inactivity and regular activity restores it. Joints maintain their youth essentially by virtue of movement. Diminished movement, from our desk-based office lives, can age the body prematurely. When tissue isn’t regularly moved, it dries out like the sponge that isn’t used. If you don’t move […]

News: Video recruitment on the increase, say UK HR Directors

HR Directors across the UK are increasingly relying on new technology to support recruitment processes, according to new research from recruitment consultancy OfficeTeam. Close to nine in 10 (89 percent) of senior executives labelled it ‘somewhat’ or ‘very’ challenging to find skilled professionals. Small (91 percent) and medium-sized (90 percent) businesses find it most difficult. […]

News: The business case for flexible working – £34bn worth of savings

HR directors looking to make a case for flexible working may want to check out the latest research from Vodafone, revealing that the UK could save around £34bn by freeing up desk space and working flexibly. Despite these potential savings, many UK business leaders are underestimating how much their companies can save with 65 percent […]

Book review: Never Mind the Bosses by Robin Ryde

Reviewed by Tanya Cowin The objective of the book, Never Mind the Bosses by Robin Ryde, is to demonstrate that deference in the workplace “impedes organisational success.” The author has been strongly influenced by the punk movement and its anti-deferential attitude and devotes a whole chapter of the book to explaining the punk music explosion […]

HR and Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) – it’s all about balance

This article was written by Simon Meager, Managing Director of Footprint Media. Bring your own device (BYOD) programmes spark many a conversation in and outside the IT department. It’s a growing trend that clearly identifies the consumerisation of IT, in which consumer preference – rather than corporate direction – drives the decision on what technology […]

The future of flexible working in the 21st century

This article was written by Eileen MacMahon of law firm Dundas & Wilson. When Marissa Mayer’s recent memo banning Yahoo employees from working from home was leaked to the press last week, a lot of us questioned whether the UK Government’s stance on the promotion of flexible working was still relevant. Mayer, whose appointment as […]

News: employers who fail to engage will fail the UK

HR has known the importance of engagement for a long time – now there’s research out that points to just how important it is for long-term economic prosperity. According to new research from Adecco Group, employers that do not engage, motivate and retain their best employees risk damaging the UK’s economic position, according to new […]

News: men and women working later due to rising female pension age

Men and women are working later in life because women have to wait longer to receive their state pension, according to new research from the Institute of Fiscal Studies. HR will increasingly be working with an older workforce as the age of pension entitlement continues to rise – it currently stands at 61 years and […]

The Lowdown on National Apprenticeship Week

With National Apprenticeship Week just round the corner the media buzz is beginning to mount. If you’re unsure what the event is about or what’s going to be happening, read on to find out more. What is National Apprenticeship Week?National Apprentice Week, coordinated by the National Apprenticeship Service (NAS), is put on once a year […]

Six insights into Performance Management best practice

A few years ago, the CIPD report ‘Performance Management in Action’ revealed the shocking statistic that less than 20 percent of organisations said they realised ‘some’ benefit from their investment in performance management. Just pause a moment and think about that number: this means that more than 80 percent of organisations see no benefit at […]

News: business perceptions of employment law differ from reality

Business perceptions of the impact of employment law are at odds with the reality, according to a new government-commissioned study published by Employment Relations Minister Jo Swinson. The study, Employer Perceptions and Impact of Employment Regulation, said that businesses viewing employment law as “burdensome” were often expressing a lack of understanding. In the case of […]

Legal commentary: what extension of parental leave means for HR

HR professionals will be more than familiar with the complex array of legal rights enjoyed by working parents – dealing with maternity leave and flexible working requests can consume huge amounts of time. However, parental leave tends to be something of an afterthought – take –up rates are low and employee awareness of the right […]

What you need to be doing when employees leave the business

 HR departments carry the vast majority of the administrative burden when employees decide to leave. But beyond the usual P45 paperwork, how else do HR departments need to prepare themselves and ensure the necessary processes exist for departing colleagues, while ensuring that company property is returned and regulations are adhered to? Roger Moore, General Manager […]

News: CIOs increasingly collaborate in face of changing business environment

New research highlights the increasing need for business divisions to collaborate in order to respond to the changing business environment. A Forrester Consulting study commissioned by Colt Technology Services, which investigated the relationships between IT and other business divisions, revealed that insufficient engagement between IT and customer-facing business departments is affecting positive business transformation. Despite […]

A practical view to the pitfalls of auto-enrolment

After what has felt for many like an eternity, auto-enrolment has finally arrived. As the UK’s largest employers complete the process, now is an ideal time to consider some of the lessons learned so that employers with auto-enrolment on the agenda for 2013 can avoid some of the pain and pitfalls that may occur along […]

News: study suggests mismatched employer/employee perceptions around sick leave

 A new study points to a difference in perception between UK employers and employees over sick leave in the workplace. “Looking Ahead,” released by Adecco Retail, found that while 87 percent of employers think employees shouldn’t work at home when ill, 31 percent of employees think employers expect them to do so. And despite the […]

News: just half of British firms vet suppliers for Bribery Act compliance

Close to half of British firms (48 percent) fail to vet their suppliers for compliance with the UK Bribery Act, yet only six percent would re-tender if they found out their suppliers were not compliant. These findings were revealed by the Fraud Investigation & Dispute Services team at Ernst & Young, who polled procurement managers […]

Understanding employee healthcare leads to better management

Article by Pamela Gellatly, CEO of Healthcare RM When Dame Carol Black first put absenteeism on the Government agenda in 2008, the market for employee health and wellbeing services really took hold. Over the last few years, we have seen huge investment in this area as employers seek to manage sickness absence better and improve employee […]

News: women non-execs carve very different route to the top

Women non-executive directors (NEDs) are recruited from far wider backgrounds than their male counterparts, a report by headhunters Ashton Partnership reveals. Only 16 percent of the women in the analysis – Women on boards: where is the new NED talent coming from? – hailed from the traditional group CEO or CFO background, compared with 60 […]