News: Budget cuts see public servants improvise to get training
Public sector workers are being forced to turn to colleagues and the web to boost the skills that they require to take on new responsibilities, after budget cuts have led to workplace training provision being slashed. According to a survey among 1,100 UK public sector workers undertaken by recruitment consultancy, Badenoch & Clark, about 14.5% are […]
News: Whitehall contractor status crackdown mauled for ‘missing the point’
Plans outlined by the chief secretary to the Treasury to crack down on 2,000 senior civil servants who are being paid as if they were contractors rather than staff have been criticised by industry experts. The coalition government started to investigate the issue, which has been branded in some quarters as tax evasion, in February […]
Blog: Why you should beware of video CVs
Following attendance at a recent recruitment industry event, it seems that the idea of using video CVs as a recruitment tool may be coming back into ‘vogue’ – certainly if the number of companies extolling the benefits and trying to sell their systems and software to me are anything to go by. I first encountered video CVs as a concept […]
Blog: What makes a good mayor?
Today, as votes are being cast in London to elect the city’s mayor, and a further 10 English cities vote on whether they wish to have a mayor at all, it’s a good time to contemplate the value and role of a leader and what lessons our business leaders can take from this week’s mayoral elections. […]
How to manage a mixed age workforce
Two years ago, the number of people who were over 65 outstripped those who were under 16 for the first time. Moreover, the abolition of the Default Retirement Age now means that older workers are likely to stay in the workplace for longer – either through choice or economic necessity. Meanwhile, Generation Y-ers […]
Legal Insight: Health matters part 3 – Tackling presenteeism
‘Presenteeism’ can have many meanings. On the one hand, the term can refer to employees who feel that they need to be at the office for longer than everyone else in order to show the boss how dedicated they are. On the other, it can apply to staff members who turn up for work […]
TV Review: The Apprentice Week 7 – Know, and listen to, your team
This programme contained plastic bugs, beard trimmers and extreme overuse of the word ‘strategy’. The tans we saw were definitely fake, but the people were all real, although most of the task was set up purely for Lord Sugar’s entertainment. Week 7 of ‘The Apprentice’ and the remaining ten hopefuls met Lord Sugar at […]
News: ‘Dress down Friday’ becomes the new norm for workplace attire
It appears that workplace dress codes are starting to become casual, with ‘dress down Fridays’ becoming the new norm – all week. According to a survey undertaken among 2,000 UK adults by researcher Canadean Consumer, it is no longer just workers in the creative and media industries who are wearing more informal attire for work […]
Legal Insight: Age discrimination – What you can and can’t do
The abolition of the default retirement age in 2011 has meant that age discrimination has now become a major issue for many employers. The good news is that, unlike other grounds for discrimination, both direct and indirect age discrimination can be objectively justified. The bad news is that there has, to date, been very little […]
Blog: The value in encouraging staff to raise their public profile
Encouraging your key employees to actively take steps to manage and raise their profile in the world at large can only be good. It is good for them in that it raises their own confidence, supports their long term career plans and is the perfect acknowledgment of the hard word and effort they have put […]
Blog: How to hold on to good employees – Part 3
You now know the reasons why employees leave your company, and last week I described two of the five top strategies that will help you keep them: creating and maintaining an attractive and nourishing working environment, and developing effective employee relationship strategies. To complete the picture, here are strategies 3, 4 and 5: 3. Employee […]
Six steps for succession planning success
The identification and development of future management candidates – otherwise known as succession planning or talent management – was recently identified as one of the top three immediate HR issues that needed to be dealt with (Bersin and Associates, 2011). Over 50% of the employers surveyed struggled to fill key positions and believed that their […]
Talking Point: Would you want to live in an ‘anywhere working’ city?
A study last year by the TUC found that employees in the UK spend almost 200 hours a year travelling to and from work. While an average of approximately four hours a week may not sound like a huge amount, it is the equivalent of around five weeks extra work per year. I remember […]
HRD Video Vox Pops: How to engage an increasingly diverse workforce
At the CIPD's HRD learning and development conference in London Olympia last week, we asked a number of experts what their top tip for engaging an increasingly diverse workforce was. And here's what they told us:
Talent Spot: Community blogger, Tara Daynes
As a freelance HR professional, employment law consultant and corporate trainer, Tara Daynes needs to be confident presenting to large groups as well as on a one-to-one basis. Luckily, she learned the art of presenting early on as she went to stage school. “I was all singing and dancing”, she remembers. Media success came […]
News: Temp hiring on the up as employers continue to shed permanent jobs
Despite the UK moving into double-dip recession, a report suggests that there has been a healthy upswing in temporary hiring among organisations in the financial services, commerce and industry and public sectors. The 33% jump in the first quarter of this year compared with the latter quarter of 2011 was caused by businesses shedding permanent staff […]
News: UK’s long-term unemployment levels could ‘trigger social unrest’
The UK’s high levels of long-term unemployment could lead to widespread social unrest as people become progressively alienated from society, according to a study. Therefore, the research entitled ‘World of Work Report 2012’, which was undertaken by the United Nation’s International Labour Organisation, warned that the coalition government should prepare for a repeat of scenes […]
Blog: Four tips for handling a difficult boss
It’s a fact that the main reason why most people are unhappy with their job is poor management. At one point or another, chances are you will have to deal with a difficult, grumpy or (hopefully) unwittingly disparaging boss. You know the type: they get angry for no apparent reason, they completely ignore your questions […]
Blog: Cultivating your personal brand
It maybe unjust to judge a book by its cover, but its still what we do – nearly all of the time. Today it is much easier to be confused about what to wear in the workplace. There seems to be much advice on the internet about what you can and cannot wear in […]
Analysis: Oracle’s future product roadmap for Taleo
In part one of this two-part news analysis, Oracle’s senior executives explained the shifting nature of the human capital management applications marketplace and the vendor’s rationale for acquiring Software-as-a-Service-based recruitment and talent management systems supplier, Taleo. In part two, Jason Blessing, the man in charge of Taleo’s product line, explains what the merger is likely […]
