Blog: Demonstrating the X Factor – 3 things to help you sparkle in a job interview
Master job interview success by mastering your body language. Learn three practical techniques for confident nonverbal communication—from your arrival through exit—that help you stand out and demonstrate the X Factor to hiring managers.
Blog: I’ve got an underperformer – Get them out of here!
Managing underperformers requires identifying the root cause before taking action. Focus on observable facts rather than judgments, consider multiple factors like clarity of expectations and training needs, and communicate performance gaps directly to avoid costly terminations and legal issues.
Talking Point: Will shared parental leave work?
The UK government introduced shared parental leave proposals set to take effect in 2015, aiming to give parents greater flexibility in how they divide childcare responsibilities. However, success will depend heavily on whether fathers actually use their entitlement, making payment levels crucial. Evidence from Sweden shows that generous state support can normalize shared parenting over time.
Talent Spot: Community blogger, John Sylvester
John Sylvester is an executive director at motivation and performance improvement agency P&MM and a community blogger specializing in employee engagement. Once described by his sons as a “spy” due to the complexity of explaining his work, Sylvester has spent over 24 years helping organizations design and implement effective motivation programs that benefit both business and employees.
The emerging discipline of workforce planning
Workforce planning and HR data analytics are becoming essential tools as companies face growing complexity in managing diverse workforces, skills shortages, and changing labor dynamics. By analyzing employee data across recruitment, performance, compensation, and retention, organizations can better understand what drives productivity and retention while optimizing their most valuable asset: human capital.
The skills paradox flourishes
The job market reveals a paradox: while redundancies and unemployment persist, businesses face acute skills shortages, particularly for STEM professionals and growth-focused roles. Organizations are simultaneously cutting costs and competing intensely for top talent, creating a two-tiered employment landscape where high-value skills command premium salaries.
Employee engagement continues to rise up the HR agenda
Employee engagement is rising on HR agendas amid pay freezes, redundancies, and reduced learning opportunities. Success requires organizations to follow key principles including creating a strategic narrative, giving employees a voice, engaging managers, and demonstrating organizational integrity—with line managers playing a critical role in implementation.
News: Starbucks’ move to cut staff benefits sparks fresh concern
Starbucks has cut paid lunch breaks, sick leave and maternity benefits for approximately 7,000 UK staff, sparking concerns that employees are subsidizing the company’s potential tax bill increase. The changes coincide with parliamentary criticism of the chain’s tax avoidance practices, with workers claiming the reductions feel designed to offset planned tax payments.
News: Disclosure & Barring Service to offer “one-stop-shop” criminal record checks
The Disclosure & Barring Service has been created through a merger of the Criminal Records Bureau and Independent Safeguarding Authority to streamline criminal records checks for employers. The new organization will introduce portable checks, an online update service, and an independent right of review for individuals to challenge disclosed information.
Blog: Punk Rock HR – Counting down the top 10 Christmas HR tips
Explore 10 HR best practices through the lens of punk rock music. This countdown series connects iconic punk songs to core HR principles like employee engagement, empowerment, and authentic evaluation, offering practical insights for modern workplace management.
Blog: Engaging for Success in the words of ITV’s Archie Norman
ITV chairman Archie Norman discusses how employee engagement is shifting workplace dynamics, emphasizing that engagement stems from leadership living shared values rather than surveys. He argues hierarchy is obsolete, knowledge workers require development, and authentic human connections drive both employee and customer satisfaction.
AAT’s Lucy Gregory on the power of followership
Followers contribute 90% to organizational success, yet many leaders underestimate their power. Understanding different followership styles helps HR professionals strengthen leader-follower relationships and drive organizational change effectively.
Making the right choices to ensure career success
Consistent high performance depends on making deliberate daily choices about your attitude, mindset, and emotional state. Drawing from work with elite athletes, this guide shows how focusing on attitude and thoughts—rather than just technical skills—directly impacts your ability to deliver results when it matters most.
News: First employers accredited under London Healthy Workplace Charter
Fourteen employers have been accredited under the London Healthy Workplace Charter, a new initiative designed to improve employee health and well-being through measures like subsidised gym memberships, fresh fruit, and workplace wellness programs.
News: Gen Y will lead to workforce management shake-up
Generation Y’s entry into the workforce is reshaping employment practices, from staff retention to succession planning. Research reveals significant gaps between Millennials and managers in work priorities and expectations, with Gen Y staying an average of just two years per job and prioritizing flexible working and personal ideals over traditional career advancement.
How to ensure there are no legal hangovers after the Christmas party
Employers must establish clear policies and procedures for Christmas parties to avoid legal liability. UK law treats office parties as extensions of the work environment, making companies responsible for employee conduct and potentially liable for discrimination, health and safety breaches, and misconduct claims.
Book Review: Be bulletproof – How to achieve success in tough times at work
“Be Bulletproof” by James and Simon Brooke teaches workplace resilience through mindfulness, positive psychology, and reframing your personal narrative. The book offers practical techniques for handling toxic bosses, rejection, office politics, and difficult feedback, though its comprehensive approach feels dense with information.
Ask the Expert: How can I keep my job with an undiagnosed disability?
A teacher with an undiagnosed disability was sent home despite working three months with reasonable adjustments agreed by Access to Work. Legal guidance explains disability rights under the Equality Act and recommends requesting an occupational health assessment to resolve the workplace dispute.
Legal Insight: The compulsory retirement age issue
A European Court of Justice ruling on Hungarian judges’ compulsory retirement age provides important guidance for UK employers facing age discrimination claims. The court rejected a dramatic lowering of retirement age from 70 to 62 without adequate transitional measures, finding the means disproportionate to legitimate aims.
How to limit the financial risk of salary sacrifice schemes
Salary sacrifice schemes can become costly without proper planning and risk management. Key challenges include covering car costs during employee absences like maternity leave, handling vehicle damage claims after employees leave, and managing mileage overages. Employers must implement contingency plans and forward-thinking analysis to protect their finances.
