Blog: Using employee segmentation as a tool to cut staff turnover
“What time did you get in last night,” I asked my daughter. “Around 3 am,” she answered. It was now 5:45 am and I was leaving the house. As I walked downstairs from her room, I shook my head in wonderment. My question was this: how can you continue working people all these hours? […]
Talent Spot: Donna Miller, European HR director at Enterprise Rent-A-Car
Ask Donna Miller, European HR director at car rental firm Enterprise Rent-A-Car, what she does for a living and you may get a rather surprising answer. “I’ve always been a very sales-oriented person and when people ask me what I do, depending on whether it’s in Enterprise or outside, I’ll often say I’m in sales,” […]
News: Charities and spooks replace financial services on employer wishlist
Financial services firms have dropped off the list of top ten graduate employers for the first time as organisations that aim to have a positive impact on society such as charities knocked them off their perch. The Guardian’s UK 300 poll, in which more than 25,000 UK students voted for their most desirable employer, revealed […]
HMRC’s Real Time Information: What you need to know
By law, all employers will have to submit RTI to HM Revenue & Customs by October 2013. This will mean reporting information to HMRC every time they pay their employees instead of summiting a summary form at the end of the tax year. Payroll software will collect the necessary information and send it to HMRC […]
News: Saatchi & Saatchi X offers internships for grads with best ‘elevator pitch’
In order to win a paid internship at Saatchi & Saatchi X, graduates will be given 30 seconds on Friday to impress senior managers with an ‘elevator pitch’ that demonstrates their advertising skills. This is the second year that the advertising agency has run its ‘Saatchi & Saatchi X Boot Camp’ training programme using the […]
CEO Insight: Sinead Hasson on Hasson Associates’ CSR programme
The arrival of 2012 brought with it the news that there are still 2.65 million people out of work in the UK. Widespread redundancies, salary freezes or even cuts as well as the increasing loss of employee benefits are not only hitting employers hard, but also causing employees to question their job security. And […]
Blog: Why you should dump ’employee of the month’
Recognise This! – Employee of the Month programmes create competition and resentfulness, not appreciative work environments. Compensation pros – when you think of base pay in today’s organisation, do you think in terms of guaranteed annual increases or in some form of pay for performance? Most realise the former is the method a century […]
Talking Point: Taming management beasts
Horrible bosses may be driven by ego and a desire for self-promotion. But in my experience, 99% are striving to do their best under enormous pressure to produce results. They genuinely care about staff and take their people management responsibilities seriously. Unfortunately, the pressure that they are under can generate situations where it is […]
Olympus whistleblower demands answers at shareholder meeting
Former Olympus president and chief executive Michael Woodford has demanded answers over his sacking at a shareholder meeting in Tokyo. Around 1,000 investors approved a new board at the Olympus extraordinary general meeting amid calls from Woodford that it was a “mockery” to claim the group was making a fresh start. Shareholders approved five years’ […]
CSC axes 1,100 jobs, 640 go offshore
Only days after CSC workers conducted a national lunchtime walkout over plans to impose compulsory redundancies, they have been told that 640 more posts are to go, bringing the total job losses since February up to 1,100. Unite members from CSC’s Chesterfield, Chorley, Leeds and Solihull offices took part in the walkout last Thursday to […]
SMEs refuse staff extra day’s holiday for Diamond Jubilee weekend
Two thirds of small-and-medium-sized companies are refusing to give employees an extra day’s holiday to honour the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee, research has revealed. According to the poll of 700 SMEs by business support services company Elas, 62% intend to either open as usual or force staff to take the extra day on Tuesday 5 June […]
Former press officer sues GCHQ for bullying amid “widespread” racism claims
A former senior press officer is suing GCHQ for allegedly having been a victim of “widespread” race discrimination and constructive dismissal after being victimised for making “public interest disclosures” as a whistleblower. Alfred Bacchus claims that his managers bullied him while he was a senior press officer at the government’s secretive spy base in Cheltenham, […]
Construction sector sets up industry-wide forum to boost inclusion
The construction industry has set up an industry-wide forum to try and improve diversity and boost its employment levels among women, ethnic minorities and disabled people. The Construction Industry Leadership Forum for Fairness, Inclusion and Respect was set up following recommendations by the Employment and Human Rights Commission, after two studies on diversity demonstrated the […]
Legal Insight: How to cope with tube strikes
Passengers are expected to face widespread disruption on the London Underground from tomorrow (24 April) due to a four-day strike by maintenance workers that is likely to affect services. The action looks likely to go ahead as planned because talks to avert it ended yesterday without agreement, according to the conciliation service Acas. The […]
Blog: Company culture according to GE’s Jack Welch
Recognise This! — Jack Welch puts company culture ahead of results. Do you? When you hear the name “Jack Welch,” what do you think of first? “Neutron Jack,” famous for an (often misunderstood) employee differentiation method that resulted in the bottom 10% of performers being let go annually? A powerhouse industry captain who helmed […]
How to avoid 10 common employee communication pitfalls
Finding ways to manage employee communications effectively is essential as it helps shape the organisation’s culture and engage employees. It is also vital to ensure that staff understand and buy into organisational change or take up benefits, for instance. As long as communications are regular, open and tailored to the workforce, they can likewise […]
Ask the Expert: Should car allowances be included in sick pay?
The question I have a case of someone who is taking long-term sickness absence (eight months). They were paid a combination of statutory sick pay and company sick pay for the first six months, which included their monthly car allowance in full. Their manager has now decided to stop paying the car allowance, saying […]
Case Study: Kent Fire and Rescue optimises staffing with time and attendance system
As one of the busiest in the country, Kent Fire and Rescue Service was keen to maximise the number of operational fire crews that it had available to attend incidents, especially during key holiday periods. The Service has 66 fire stations and 120 fire engines as well as 1,700 operational members of staff, who deal […]
Mental ill-health issues cost employers £30 billion per year
Mental ill-health issues cost the UK economy £30 billion each year in lost productivity, half of which results from people taking a total of 91 million days off work, according to a charity. The Centre for Mental Health indicated that the other £15 billion was accounted for by employees turning up for work when they […]
News: Would you sack someone for blogging about your job offer?
A graduate in the US had his first journalism job offer rescinded after posting the good news on a blog. Kristopher Brooks, who had just completed a graduate journalism course at New York University, was reportedly thrilled to receive a job offer from the News Journal in Wilmington, Delaware. As a result, he published […]