News: National Stress Awareness Day – 1 in 3 take “stress day” since recession

A third of the population has called in sick due to stress in their working life, with money, work and relationships the biggest causes of anxiety, according to research published to coincide with National Stress Awareness Day. Nearly half of UK workers have felt more stressed since the onset of the financial crisis, finds the […]

News: Long term incentives boost FTSE director earnings

Basic pay and bonus growth for FTSE-100 directors has slowed almost to a halt over the last year, with salaries matching inflation and bonuses down on the previous year, new figures from Incomes Data Services have revealed. However a big rise in the value of vested long term incentive plans (LTIPs) awards means that directors’ […]

Blog: Five reasons why organisational change fails

Change is difficult, especially when it involves an entire organisation. When you’re making high-level changes, there are a lot of factors that need to be assessed. As well as plenty of things that can go wrong. Let’s look at the top reasons change fails and what HR should consider when developing a change strategy. 1. […]

Blog: National Stress Awareness Day – How to deal with stress in the workplace

We may be officially out of recession, but the market is still tough, and many businesses are suffering from its consequences. We have seen redundancies across a range of sectors, and often companies have been forced to diversify into different areas to compete with rival firms. Changes such as these can create anxiety and be […]

News: CIPD 2012 – ‘Crowdsourcing is the future of management’

Crowdsourcing is the future of management and organisations that fail to embrace this “management 2.0” model will become increasingly irrelevant, according to leadership guru, Gary Hamel. Speaking yesterday at the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development’s annual conference in Manchester, he described old management 1.0 methods that focused on conformism, standardisation and formal hierarchies as […]

Talking Point: Do you know how to devise a social recruitment strategy?

A recent report claims most HR directors consider social media platforms to be ineffective as recruitment tools. Since then, other experts have argued that this is largely because these tools are used ineffectively. The debate looks set to continue, but one thing is for certain; businesses intending to employ social media for recruitment should start […]

Talent Spot: Community blogger, Emma Littmoden

On Emma Littmoden’s road to the top, you’ll find some loo roll, wet wipes and a jockey’s uniform. Before becoming sales and business development partner at leadership development provider The Living Leader, Littmoden had earned her sales spurs selling hygiene products and been one of the top five female amateur jockeys in the country. In […]

News: CIPD 2012 – ‘HR must redefine itself’, says Peter Cheese

HR must redefine itself and its purpose in order to cope with the changing nature of work, the workforce and the workplace within the broader “context of a volatile, uncertain, complex and ambiguous world”. This was the key message of Peter Cheese’s first address to the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development’s annual conference in […]

News: Office romances cost British business millions

Office-based romances could be costing British businesses millions and inflicting untold damage to their reputations. Over a thousand individuals responded to the ‘Are Office Romances a good idea’ survey and over 200 businesses to the ‘Impact of Office Romances on UK Businesses’ survey, both commissioned by website IllicitEncounters.com last month. Three quarters of individuals said […]

News: Apprenticeships review urges reform

Urgent reform of the Government’s apprenticeship programme is needed if it is to succeed, a report by MPs has warned. The Business, Innovation and Skills Committee report into apprenticeships, which follows an 11 month review of the government’s apprenticeship programme, warns that the delivery programme is still too complex and the sheer number of organisations […]

Blog: Unsigned employment contracts carry weight, high court rules

It is always good practice to ensure that a contract of employment is signed following a change in role or promotion so that there is no doubt that the employee has understood and agreed to the terms associated with the employment.  However, the recent case of FW Farnsworth Ltd v Lacy considers whether an employee […]

Blog: Social networking in the workplace is coming of age

The standard view of social networks in the workplace is that they are time vacuums. Facebook and Twitter are the ultimate procrastination tools; great for staying in touch with friends but the enemy of work productivity. However, social networking is maturing for the workplace. Enterprise social networks (ESNs) take the concepts and communication tools from […]

HRD Insight: William Hill’s David Russell on an African adventure

It’s just two months since we announced our employee project in Kenya – a major building and development project at the Ol Maisor Primary School. Our aim was to create an experience where a group of people from William Hill were able to help a rural community in Africa and by doing so learn more […]

A day in the life of a newly-appointed HR director

The UK Mail Group is the largest independent parcels, mail and logistics services company within the UK, offering innovative delivery solutions both locally and worldwide. With a national network of more than 55 sites and 2500 vehicles, the company offers business customers an integrated service with a full range of time-sensitive and secure delivery options […]

News: Living Wage Week – Labour to offer employers financial incentives

The Labour Party intends to make the ‘living wage’ issue a core economic policy going into the next election and is currently evaluating what financial incentives might encourage employers to take it up voluntarily. According to an article in the Observer newspaper to coincide with the start of Living Wage Week (Sunday 4 to Saturday […]

Blog: Punk Rock HR – Will NLP decide the US election?

As the US Elections draw to a climax, I thought I’d highlight some of the tactics of influence used by leaders.   Many world leaders are thought to be exponents of Neuro-Linguistic Programming (NLP), which has mixed views.   On one side, NLP is seen as an effective tool of win-win influence. On the other side, […]

Blog: HenryTalk – Any answers for all your questions Part 2

We’ve had a busy couple of weeks again in Any Answers and were keen to pick out some more highlights.  All of these discussions are still active so if you have any thoughts, please do head over and weigh in!   First up is Isobel, who is concerned that her employer isn’t doing enough to […]

Age audit tool unwrapped: How ageist is your organisation?

In the blink of an eye, the default retirement age made employees go from being seen as important contributors to society to a perceived ‘burden’. The recent end of the DRA is just one element of a broader shift towards recognising the changing role, and value, of older workers.   Enabling more people to defer […]

News: Lift etiquette – What are your colleagues’ eight most annoying habits?

It’s the little things in life that can really get to you and lift etiquette at work appears to be one of those things. Here are the top eight most annoying habits of colleagues when using the lift, according to a poll of 400 UK workers conducted by online jobs board, www.CareerBuilder.co.uk. They comprise people: […]

News: ER role shifts in line with changing nature of industrial conflict

The changing nature of industrial action means that the focus of employee relations practitioners is shifting increasingly towards preventing rather than managing conflict, according to the CIPD. In its ‘Managing Employee Relations in difficult times’ report, the HR membership body revealed that the average number of days lost each year to industrial action had plummeted […]