Is it time to get out of HR?
The route to the top in HR is fairly standard – you work your way up from HR adviser, spend some time in an HR specialism like comp and bens, acquire line management experience and impress the big bosses while doing it all. The shortage of HR representation at board level is well documented. But […]
News: UK Border Agency ‘cut too many staff, too quickly’
The UK Border Agency cut too many staff too quickly and so is now having to hire extra people and increase overtime to cover its workload, the government’s spending watchdog said today. More than 1,000 employees, who handle immigration at key entry points to the UK such as Heathrow airport, were axed last year over […]
Blog: Seeing eye-to-eye
How do you feel when someone doesn’t look you in the eye? It’s amazing what people read into poor eye contact. Peoples’ perceptions may differ but they all have one thing in common – they’re all negative … they’re all bad. Here are some of the comments I get on my confidence building courses […]
News: Yahoo appoints pregnant CEO
Female chief executives are still lamentably rare, female chief executives in the hi-tech computer industry even more so. Female chief executives who are pregnant when appointed are hitherto unknown, however. But, refreshingly, search engine company Yahoo has broken the mould by appointing Marissa Mayer as its latest CEO knowing full well that she’s six month’s pregnant. Mayer […]
Blog: Stories from the HR journey
I don’t know about you but I love hearing about the different journeys people have through HR. Some have been clear about their path all the way through. Others have joined the HR community part way through their working life. Some specialise and some like the variety of a more generalist role. The twists […]
K2 Advisory research note: Is UK-based Fairsail a credible rival to SAP and Oracle?
In the recent past, we’ve seen some significant moves in the HR applications space by SAP and Oracle, which have spent something like $5.3 billion between them on SuccessFactors and Taleo respectively. However, while this is clearly very significant for the market, there are, of course, other suppliers that you should still consider. At […]
In a Nutshell: Five ways to boost employee performance
All too often, employees can end up focusing their efforts on work that doesn’t really help to move the business forward. So what can you do to help them make the shift from ‘just doing things’ to doing the right things in order to improve organisational performance? The key is to encourage managers to […]
CEO Insight: Stinkyink’s John Sollars on staff motivation and development
Across the office and warehouse, I have a team of about 16 people. And I think the thing that I am most proud of is the way that I have been able to help them develop and ‘improve’. Small businesses can find it hard to set concrete goals for employees’ performance because they need to […]
The art of influencing and making your ideas stick
1. Steve Martin on influence & communication Steve Martin is fascinated by the science of decision making and the power of influence. He explains: “I’m not interested in what people tell me they want to do; I’m interested in how they act.” He also states that information alone as an attempt to influence clients, […]
News: NHS “pay cartel” proposes staff pay cuts and longer hours
Thousands of NHS staff in the South West of England could face the sack unless they agree to take pay cuts and work longer hours under a new money-saving scheme. A document leaked to the Sunday Times showed that NHS managers from 19 Trusts in the region have joined forces to form what is being […]
News: Pressure mounts on Adidas over alleged worker exploitation
Pressure is mounting on Adidas after stores across the country were targeted on Saturday by protesters angry about claims over how little the Olympic sponsor pays its workers in the developing world. The move came as the London Organising Committee for the Games also launched an investigation into practices at the sportwear brand’s Shen Zhou […]
News: Start-up scheme targeted at redundant public sector workers
Public sector employees facing redundancy are being encouraged to start their own business with the help of a new government-backed initiative. The Ready for Business scheme, funded with £15 million from the Regional Growth Fund and £1 million from Barclays, is targeting areas "disproportionately affected by the downturn in the economy". It is offering […]
Ask the Expert: Can a pregnant worker sue for unfair dismissal after 4 month’s employment?
The question An employee has been sacked who is four-and-a-half months pregnant. She had no formal warnings and there were no sanctions on her record. She was also out of her probationary period, which ended three-and-a-half weeks earlier. Her manager was informed of her pregnancy only five days before she was dismissed. No legitimate […]
Blog: Why ‘The town that never retired’ should be compulsory viewing for HR pros
Viewing BBC1’s two-part programme, ‘The town that never retired’, should be made compulsory for all employers and HR professionals. Shown last week as part of the BBC’s current series on ageing, 'When I’m 65', it brought into the spotlight many of the issues and stereotypes surrounding older and younger people in today’s workforce. Episode […]
Blog: Crappy performance management rule 4 – Job descriptions should be old and vague
If you really want to make a disconnect between performance management and your staff here are three must haves for your teams Job Descriptions: 1. The old ones are the good ones: Why go to the bother of updating perfectly good JD’s? If you’ve an old one that’s been faithful in the past, then save yourself […]
Blog: Punk rock HR – Top 10 HR tips from music
Whilst we were preparing for a leadership event the other week, the media asked me to offer them some punchy (and short of course) punk rock tips for business. Here’s the ones that got through the press filter on the BBC One News piece with Dolly Parton introducing: BBC NEWS. And here’s 10 […]
Legal Insight: How to accommodate Ramadan
Over recent years, workforces have become increasingly diverse. This means that employers now need to take account of a wider range of cultural and religious sensitivities, not least for staff motivation purposes. One important such consideration among Muslim workers is Ramadan, which starts this year on Friday 20 July. Ramadan takes place during the […]
How to cope with Friday the 13th (and other superstitions)
Fear of the number 13 is so common that there’s actually a word for it: Triskaidekaphobia. Many employers are affected by peoples’ fear of this number and have had to change their practices to accommodate it. For example, buildings often avoid naming a 13th floor, while airlines report that every time a Friday 13th […]
News: New tribunal fees spark outrage across political spectrum
A decision to make claimants pay up to £1,200 to take an employment tribunal claim all the way to a full hearing from next year has sparked outrage across the political spectrum. While unions branded the decision a “disgrace”, employers’ groups attested that the move would have little impact on plans to make workers think […]
News: Whitehall cleaners demand living wage from ministers
Government ministers and the most senior judge in England and Wales were presented with letters from their cleaners yesterday asking to be paid a London Living Wage. The initiative, which is the latest in a series to be organised by campaign group, London Citizens, saw more than 150 cleaners across Whitehall sign and personally deliver […]