Jive adds gamification to social intranet apps to boost staff engagement
Jive Software has added gamification to its social intranet applications, using Bunchball’s technology to boost employee engagement. The feature encourages staff participation through internal competitions, rewards, and customer advocacy programs, while offering collaboration tools and mobile access.
Saba’s social HR software includes controversial ‘People Quotient’ rankings
Saba’s People Cloud HR software integrates learning, talent management and social collaboration tools, featuring a controversial “People Quotient Score” that ranks employees based on peer engagement and content sharing activity.
Balfour Beatty warns its 12,000 staff of possible redundancies
Balfour Beatty has warned its 12,000 UK staff of possible redundancies as the construction firm restructures amid declining infrastructure projects post-Olympics. The move comes as the OECD forecasts the UK economy has slipped back into recession, with up to 4,000 jobs potentially at risk.
Blog: Four steps to take on finishing your staff engagement survey
Learn four key steps to maximize your staff engagement survey results: establish clear objectives for executive support, prioritize action over analysis, equip employees and managers to own engagement, and align practices with your culture goals. Strategic recognition proves critical for sustaining improvements.
TV Review: The Apprentice Week 2 – The art of listening
In week 2 of The Apprentice, both teams struggle with a household gadget design task after failing to listen to customer feedback. The girls abandon their tap cozy concept due to minor design challenges, while the boys push forward with an idea that focus groups explicitly rejected.
Footballing lessons: Is anyone bigger than the company they work for?
Explore how football players including Luis Suárez and John Terry have challenged their employers’ authority, revealing whether individual employees can outweigh their company’s reputation and brand values. These cases highlight employer accountability when managing workplace conduct and organizational integrity.
TrainingZoneLive: Booking now open
TrainingZone Live opens booking on May 15 at Dexter House for its third annual learning and development event. Delegates can now select personalized workshop sessions from expert speakers including Olympic medallist Steve Backley, L&D specialist Jim Kirkpatrick, and personal branding expert Jennifer Holloway, with attendance capped at 30 per workshop.
Case Study: Pernod Ricard standardises global talent management
Pernod Ricard is standardizing its global talent management processes across 70 subsidiaries using a Taleo Software-as-a-Service platform. The implementation will consolidate fragmented procedures into a unified system, starting with performance management, followed by compensation and learning management to support business growth and competitive advantage.
Blog: Using transparency as a tool to rebuild employee trust
Organizations rebuild employee trust through transparency in hiring, leadership communication, and business strategy. By openly sharing job opportunities with internal candidates first, communicating company direction, and ensuring leader accessibility, companies demonstrate they value their workforce and operate ethically.
Infographic: The 2012 HR applications landscape
Forrester’s 2012 HR applications landscape infographic reveals major market shifts, including SuccessFactors and Taleo acquisitions, based on their 69-criteria evaluation of human resource management system vendors.
Social media ‘shoulder surfing’ during interviews could lead to lawsuits
UK employers risk discrimination lawsuits by asking job candidates for social media passwords to scrutinize personal profiles, a practice known as “shoulder surfing.” Accessing applicants’ private information about disability, religion, or sexual orientation during interviews could expose companies to legal claims if candidates are rejected.
Blog: Are you wasting 35% of your payroll costs on disengaged staff?
Disengaged employees cost organizations 35% of payroll annually, or up to $17.5 million in a 1,000-person company. Building a culture of recognition, trust, and rewards is essential to boost engagement and transform payroll from wasted expense into productive investment.
Talent Spot, Andrew Mayo, professor of HCM at Middlesex University
Andrew Mayo, professor of human capital management at Middlesex University, brings decades of corporate HR experience to his academic teaching. Rather than focusing on abstract theory, he emphasizes real-life HR applications and helps organizations identify and maximize value from high-performing staff.
Employers and unions spat over extent of public-private sector pay gap
Official government figures show public sector workers earn 8% more than private sector employees on average, sparking a dispute between employers and unions. While the CBI cited the data to support local pay decisions, Unison argued the figures don’t account for the higher proportion of skilled workers in the public sector and the outsourcing of lower-paid jobs.
2,100 Game-rs lose their jobs following closure of half UK stores
Game is closing nearly half of its 609 UK stores, eliminating 2,104 jobs in the biggest retail collapse since Woolworths. Administrators have been appointed to explore saving the remaining 333 stores through a potential sale or lender-led rescue deal.
How to avoid penalties as income tax deadlines loom
As the May 19 deadline for Employer Annual Returns approaches, businesses must ensure compliance to avoid penalties for late filings, incorrect returns, and late PAYE payments. Employers must complete P14 and P35 forms for all employees and file online where mandatory, while maintaining proper records.
Talking Point: Do you really know how to get the best out of your older workers?
Older workers face identity challenges in today’s workplace due to age stereotypes, career plateaus, and rapid technological change. Understanding their unique perspectives and needs is essential for managers to unlock their experience and value.
Blog: Are you an inspirational leader?
Inspiring people through HR leadership involves tapping into their values to create emotional, intellectual, and physical engagement. Great HR professionals understand what motivates their people and how organizational dynamics influence performance and commitment.
Blog: Three tips for changing company culture
Changing company culture requires proactive management and effort. Learn three key lessons: culture and strategy both matter, healthy cultures have defined attributes that take time to develop, and leaders can deliberately shape organizational culture through communication and behavior.
CIPD to boost enforcement for HR code of conduct
The CIPD is strengthening its HR code of conduct and enforcement procedures, introducing a revised code effective July 1 that raises professional standards across four key areas: competence, ethics, representation, and stewardship. New complaints and disciplinary procedures separate investigatory and disciplinary functions, establishing modern self-regulation for the profession.
