Blog: Lessons from Mars – How to prevent staff burn-out
As Curiosity touched down on Mars we all saw an elated NASA team jumping for joy that their lengthy mission had successfully reached a fundamental milestone. The passion of the engineers, scientists and astronauts involved in the project was obvious for all watched the news that day, but back down here on Earth there a […]
Book Review: How not to worry by Paul McGee
‘How not to worry – The remarkable truth of how a small change can help you stress less and enjoy life more’ – a long title, but a good one. A lot of people in my circle seem worried – about major issues such as the economy, their weight/health, job security, the spread of war […]
Case Study: LV= focuses on staff enagement to negotiate change
LV= (London Victoria) has nearly tripled its workforce from 2,000 employees in 2007 to 5,600 in 2012 and now insures one in 10 cars on the road. But its HR director, David Smith, recognises that such fast growth can foster uncertainty and anxiety as well as generate cultural change that is not always positive. […]
News: Prisoners allegedly paid £3 per day to replace call centre staff
A business in Wales that is paying inmates from an open prison just £3 per day to undertake work experience has sparked controversy amid claims that it sacked other staff to take them on. According to the Guardian, the Ministry of Justice confirmed that dozens of people from Prescoed gaol in Monmouthshire, South Wales, had […]
Blog: How to stop your talent from becoming tea leaves
A recent report from CIFAS has shown that the dire economic climate has had another impact – staff who may not normally stray from the straight and narrow are turning to fraud and various acts of ‘low level dishonesty’ against their employers, and justifying it to themselves through resentment of payfreezes, insecurity, unemployment and other […]
Blog: Lessons from Olympians – The danger of perverse incentives
Recognise This! – After-the-fact recognition delivers better results than if/then incentives, which can be easily gamed. I’ve written before about the difference between recognition and incentives. This is an important distinction to understand, as is the distinction between incentives and motivation. This was brought home to me in particular this week in two ways […]
Talent Spot: Caroline Waters, BT’s director of people and policy
Because Caroline Waters has only been at BT for 33 years, she classes herself as a bit of a newcomer in an organisation where two people are celebrating 50 years of service and 3,500 have clocked up 40 or more. Today, as director of people and policy, Waters has a long list of responsibilities outside […]
News: UK employers do little to tackle poor internal management skills
Even though the vast majority of UK businesses believe that their performance is at risk of being held back by a shortage of skilled managers, all too few are doing anything much about it. According to a survey conducted among 750 managers with responsibility for talent management by the Institute of Leadership & Management, the […]
News: Liberty threatens to sue ICO over blacklisted construction workers
A human rights charity is threatening to sue the privacy watchdog unless it takes immediate action on behalf of thousands of blacklisted construction workers in a scandal that it compares in stature to phone hacking. According to the Independent, Liberty has written to the Information Commissioner, Sir Christopher Graham, accusing him of failing to act […]
News: Sainbury’s evaluates value of “micro-exercise” in cutting sickness rates
Sainsbury’s is currently evaluating whether encouraging its staff to become more active by taking “micro-exercise” breaks can help cut levels of sickness absence. The supermarket chain introduced a six-month pilot project at its Coventry satellite office earlier this year, which saw 85 workers perform a series of three-minute stretches using Power Plate‘s vibration training machine […]
Blog: Entertainment, media and tech are HR hiring hotspots
There is no doubt the economy is fragile. Last week it was reported that the UK recession has deepened as latest official figures show the national GDP fell by 0.7% between April and June. Despite this, sectors such as high-end retail, entertainment and media are still seeing growth, and in times of financial insecurity, […]
Blog: The secret of good networking
Most people know that networking is an important business skill but most people avoid and dislike it. That's because most people fail to understand what networking is all about and only network with people they like. Networking success depends on reciprocity – it works because you are willing and able to trade or […]
Diary of a misfit: For hire – One creative/HR director hybrid
I am a misfit, a freak of nature, the result of a three-year HR experiment gone badly wrong. Either that or I am the future, a ground-breaking trailblazer to lead HR into a new era. I’m not sure which – and this is why I need your help. You see, after more […]
In a Nutshell: Five ways to nurture your own career
The current economic climate has really put into sharp focus HR’s contribution to business success. As businesses have downsized and try to hold on to and attract talent, they have turned to HR professionals to come up with innovative solutions to business issues. Here are five ways to make yourself even more indispensable: […]
News: Unpaid back-to-work schemes declared lawful
Although back-to-work schemes that require jobseekers to undertake unpaid work experience have been ruled lawful, the government could still find itself open to millions of pounds in reimbursement claims from people stripped of their benefits. Cait Reilly, an unemployed graduate, lost her case in the High Court after accusing the government of supporting “forced labour” […]
News: Surrey contract bidders asked to offer NEET apprenticeships
Contractors bidding to work for Surrey County Council are being asked to hire apprentices in an effort to combat the high number of young people currently not in education, employment or training. The move comes only weeks after the local authority pledged to create a £3,000 pot to fund apprenticeship places at small-to-medium enterprises for […]
Blog: Training needs analysis – How to choose the right option
You’ve conducted a Training Needs Analysis (TNA) and the results are in: training is indeed required to make sure your organisation forges ahead successfully. It’s generally accepted these days that some degree of employee training is an important part of any successful organisation. Training can reduce the skills gaps identified in TNA and improve […]
Blog: Kite Foundation encourages learning transfer through charitable donations
It is widely accepted that the biggest challenge facing trainers is not so much what goes on in the classroom but what doesn’t go on in the workplace. For a myriad of entirely understandable reasons, learners struggle to find the time, opportunity and motivation to use their nascent capabilities in the crucial first few days […]
Legal Insight: Dealing with workplace sexual harassment
Tippi Hedren, the heroine of Alfred Hitchcock’s masterpiece, ‘The Birds’, recently told how her movie career was “sabotaged” after she rejected Hitchcock’s advances. Having done so, Hedren was held to her contract – the modern day equivalent of being sent to Coventry. Fast forward to 2012, and if the alleged events happened now, she […]
News: Microsoft’s Yammer enables HR to monitor staff emotions
Microsoft’s Yammer has teamed up with emotion analysis company, Kanjoya, to enable employers to monitor staff attitudes based on their enterprise social network posts. Kanjoya’s Crane analytics dashboard communicates with Yammer in order to retrieve information from Yammer groups and other communications made over the company network to enable organisations to gauge employee emotions. […]