Blog: What Boris can teach us about resilience
As nights draw in during early October, and the rain beats down outside, another political party conference season continues and we see some leaders blossom while others blunder! While George Osborne spreads apocalyptic doom across the country of slashed benefits spending and ever worsening public finances, we can rely upon Boris Johnson to raise our […]
Talking Point: Do you know what stress looks like?
Health and Safety Executive figures show that 10 million working days are lost in the UK each year to stress. Each case of stress-related ill health leads to an average of 30 days off work, resulting in an annual cost to British business estimated to be in excess of £5 billion. And the problem […]
News: Sickness absence down, presenteeism and mental illness up
Although average employee absence levels have dropped by as much as a day, job insecurity has led to a rise in presenteeism and mental health problems such as anxiety and depression. According to a survey conducted among 667 employers by the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development and health insurance provider Simplyhealth, staff absence levels […]
News: UK’s most satisfying HR software to be unveiled at Harrods
The great and the good of the UK business software industry will gather at the Software Satisfaction Awards‘ traditional venue of Harrods this week to hear who this year’s winners are. Organised by HRZone‘s publisher Sift Media in association with Intellect, the SSAs comprise the UK’s biggest survey of opinion among business software users – this […]
Blog: The shares-for-rights conundrum – A fair exchange?
Is the lure of owning an amount of shares, and not paying capital gains tax on the profit that those shares make (if any) a fair exchange for surrendering some of your employment rights? The Chancellor’s proposal has about as much detail as a child’s sketch of a cloud so let’s consider the following scenario: You […]
Blog: The World of HR – Today’s frustrations, tomorrow’s dreams part 1
Imagine this scenario. You’re a few years retired from your role as HRD of the ACME company. You’re enjoying the fruits of your labours, perhaps sipping on an Elderflower cordial whilst sitting in your favourite chair and bouncing your grandchild on your knee. She looks up at you and says, “When you had a […]
CEO Insight: Spencer Ogden’s David Spencer-Percival on engagement
The workforce of 2012 is a fluid one. Gone are the days when a job was for life. But even in this time of increased job insecurity, when you would assume that most employees would cling onto their positions for dear life, the rate of staff turnover is high. Figures vary according to industry, […]
Five considerations for carving out a successful HR career
Our research identified five important questions for HR professionals: What is your company looking for? What are the table stakes? What stage is your career at, so what do you need to focus on today? What do you need to develop for tomorrow? How do you build depth and breadth? 1. What is your […]
News: Chancellor’s shares-for-employment-rights scheme ‘open to abuse’
The Chancellor’s plans to enable staff to sell employment rights in exchange for company shares could be open to abuse by unscrupulous employers, experts have warned. George Osborne in his Conservative party conference speech today said that, as of April next year, employees who are given company shares worth between £2,000 and £50,000 will no […]
News: Sheila Lawlor – Scrap “family-unfriendly” maternity leave
The UK should scrap paid maternity leave because it creates a “perverse incentive” for women to return to work and replace it with an unpaid career break instead, the head of a right-wing think tank has said. Sheila Lawlor, director of Politeia who will chair the organisation’s fringe ‘Women in The Boardroom’ event at the […]
Ask the Expert: What to do about a serious staff/manager rift?
The question Within the business, we have an employee and a line manager whose working relationship has completely broken down. The line manager has been with us for 20 years and has an unblemished record. The employee has been in post for three months, but has had no previous employment issues and her references […]
Blog: Are your staff getting enough shuteye?
For many of us pressing the snooze button on our alarms has become part of our daily routine and taking your laptop home alongside that extra pile of paperwork has become something of the norm. But do we actually realise the negative impact this is having on our productivity in the workplace? ‘Chronic lack of […]
Blog: Five reasons for bullying – or being bullied
Bullying or allegations of bullying at work is always stressful for the people involved. For employers who have to deal with claims and instances of bullying, the dynamic can prove destructive and costly in a myriad of ways. Not least the potential cost of employee complaints, as well as the loss of trust […]
Dragon’s Den’s Dupsy Abiola on internships
On Sunday (7 October), Dupsy Abiola, founder of InternAvenue.com, became the first participant in the BBC’s Dragon’s Den TV programme to succeed in pitching a recruitment business. Her website enables employers to connect with student and graduate internship candidates online. Here she speaks to HRZone about her views on the market and how HR […]
News: Extent of ‘off payroll’ deals in public sector “shocking”
The widespread nature of “off payroll” payments being made to thousands of public servants has been branded “shocking” by a committee of MPs concerned over potential tax avoidance activities. A Public Accounts Committee report singled out the BBC for paying 25,000 employees – 13,000 of whom were broadcasters – a gross amount into a company […]
News: Workmates more important than bosses for job satisfaction
While getting on with the boss certainly helps to keep staff happy at work, it is nowhere near as important as having a good relationship with colleagues, according to research. A survey undertaken among 1,000 UK workers by online recruiters Jobsite.co.uk revealed that seven out of 10 see their ‘nine-to-five buddies’ as being most crucial […]
Blog: Punk Rock HR – HR strategies unplugged
I get many questions about what the main HR Strategies are and how they differ from each other. So, I thought it would be helpful to share the main points from materials I use when conducting HR Strategy reviews in companies or in keynotes on HR excellence. So here are four HR Strategies in a […]
In a Nutshell: Five tips when recruiting for a start-up
The hospitality sector is a people business and poor management can quickly turn customers off, no matter how plush a hotel’s facilities. Caroline Lowe, HR director for Hilton London Heathrow Terminal 5, who was involved in launching the hotel last year, explains how she dealt with recruiting the right 130 staff to try and ensure […]
Working prisons: A new source of affordable labour?
Even though only 20% of employers have knowingly recruited an ex-prisoner, most bosses report that they work as hard, if not harder, than those with no convictions. But employing offenders and ex-offenders isn’t just good for business. It also contributes to creating a safer society. So rather than offshore their operations, we’re calling on […]
News: Lack of HR support means 1/3 senior hires consider quitting in first 3 months
A failure by top managers to work closely enough with HR means that two out of five senior hires consider quitting in their first 90 days and are 50% less productive than they would otherwise be. According to a survey among 283 senior executives and 38 HR directors conducted by recruitment consultancy, Harvey Nash, a […]
