Blog: 5 ways to get creative with fundraising in the workplace
If you think fundraising means suffering through yet another temptation-filled bake sale, think again. There are a number of ways to get creative with fundraising in the workplace. Doing so will benefit not just the charity but your company as well, building morale and injecting a bit of fun into the everyday routine. We’ve […]
Talking Point: Do HR pros need to get back to basics?
HR is not just a job – it’s a career. As a vocation, it often attracts people who want to help employee communities feel wanted and understood. To this end, scores of HR operational models have been adopted, practiced and adapted over the years, many of which include the core ideal of ‘staff engagement’. […]
A typical HRD: Part 6 – Local government
We are all aware of just how challenging the current economic situation is and the impact it is having on organisations across all sectors. But nowhere is this ongoing era of austerity having a more significant impact than on the public sector in general and local government in particular. The sector is facing a […]
Ask the Expert: What should I include in a data protection policy?
The question I need to write a Data Protection policy for both staff and clients. What are the key legal points that I need to bear in mind and how can we best undertake enforcement – internally at least? The legal verdict Esther Smith, a partner at Thomas Eggar Before […]
Blog: How can you make performance management more social?
The workplace today has changed beyond recognition; new technology is continuously bringing efficiencies to our way of working. However, one thing remains constant – the performance appraisal process. Now, consider Generation Y for a moment, will they be content to wait for their annual or bi-annual review to find out how they’re doing? Probably not! […]
Blog: Is HR really out of touch?
The study by Kenexa reported on HRZone last week has some interesting findings but I doubt it comes as a huge shock to HR. HR has a massive role to play in building a high-performing culture and contributing to the bottom line – but at the moment so many HR professionals are managing the nuts […]
Dealing with the stress factor
Once upon a time, musculoskeletal problems such as bad backs brought on by physical labour were the main cause of long-term sickness absence. But not any more. According to the latest survey from the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development, stress is now – for the first time ever – the most common cause of […]
News: Count your immigrant workers, says Milliband
Overseas-only employment agencies would be banned and an early-warning system set up to highlight areas where locals are "dominated" by an influx of overseas labour, under new plans proposed by Labour. Following a u-turn on immigration policy, Labour leader Ed Milliband woudl insist that firms where more than one in four staff is from […]
News: MPs accuse Beecroft of employment “policy by parable”
The man behind the controversial ‘compensated no fault dismissals’ proposals appeared before a committe of MPs yesterday and got a hostile reception. Entrepreneur Adrian Beecroft appeared before the Enterprise and Regulatory Reform Bill committee theoretically to discuss proposed new legislation, but instead found himself having to defend his stnace on previous recommendations. Opposition MPs questioned […]
Strategy: 5 things to consider when adopting HR shared services
HR Shared Services centres are posited as a way to reduce costs and increase efficiencies in administration, but setting up such arrangements can be a daunting task. HR case management firm Dovetail Software has identified five areas that it says are often overlooked but critical to success. These are: Standardizing common HR processes including […]
Blog: Isn’t the ‘seven second’ performance appraisal throwing the baby out with the bath water?
An article in People Management regarding the new approach by mining company, First Quantum Minerals, which hangs on the idea of a ‘seven second’ performance appraisal form, reminds of the appeal associated with those ‘2 second’ pop-up tents you see advertised. It’s the promise of convenience, ease, speed and time not wasted doing something you are not […]
Ensuring collaboration works
With new and updated HR legislation coming into effect all the time, HR departments need to stay on the ball to remain compliant. Mistakes in this area can have serious consequences and a negative impact in both a regulatory and employee well-being sense. As a result, it can help if HR executives put their […]
Public sector struggles to recruit top talent
Public sector organisations face increased problems in recruiting and retaining staff – particularly at more senior levels – as skilled individuals shy away from the sector as the impact of the cuts is felt and the image of the sector wanes. So argues the latest annual snapshot of the state of the UK recruitment market […]
UK employment trends see more self-employed
Almost 4.2 million people were registered as self-employed over the three months to April, the highest figure since records began in 1992, according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS). That number also represents a rise of 84,000 over the previous three month, a surge which appears to reflect the difficulty of gaining permanent roles […]
HR is completely out of touch?
HR professionals are shown to be completely out of synch with the thoughts and feelings of their employees, according to a study by HR specialists Kenexa. Kenexa argues: "This disconnect between HR professionals and employees is not a sign that HR doesn’t fully grasp the effects of its decisions, but rather that HR has become […]
Blog: All the small things – Getting your PR right in HR
HR often finds itself at the interface between the business and the outside world. As such it is responsible for the external image that the business portrays. I want to share a story that happened last week, which has important lessons for all those who have to deal with the media as part of their […]
Blog: who holds the real keys to the organisation anyway?
What is the narrative of your movie reel? The rank-and-file workforce had weathered layoffs, had their commissions slashed, and on top of that, their salaries had been frozen over the past five years. However, the chief executive’s decision was this — let’s have the senior management team take a lavish trip down to Bermuda and […]
Expert voice: reaping the value of soft benefits
It’s a basic fact of human nature that we all like to feel valued and nurtured. But with tight budgets making it increasingly difficult to reward staff with big pay rises, organisations are, in many instances, looking at offering so-called soft benefits instead. And office perks such as sporting activities, gym membership and in-house […]
Blog: 3 tips for better feedback reception
Recognise This! – How you receive feedback is as important as how you give it. We can’t be great 100% of the time. Yes, we all work hard and want to do a good job, but sometimes we miss the mark. Or perhaps the “mark” moved on us and we didn’t adjust in time. Frankly, […]
Social Media Guide Part 2: How to tweet more effectively
Having set up your Twitter account(s), you will now want to start using it/them to begin pushing your message out and interacting with your new social community. At this stage, you will probably find it useful to begin using a system like http://www.tweetdeck.com/ or http://hootsuite.com/ – these are social media ‘dashboards’ that enable you to […]