Blog: The emerging discipline of strategic workforce planning
The most recent Ochre House HR Network meeting – a think tank of over 650 senior HR figures from employers including BT, Fujitsu and Vodafone – held in Munich in December, brought to light some very interesting issues. We discovered that while practically all large companies now believe that a strategic approach to workforce planning […]
Corporate karma: ‘Being good is good business’
The ethics of businesses are increasingly under the microscope. We only need to think back to the recent banking crisis and the phone hacking scandal to realise the damage that can be done to organisations that are deemed to be acting in an unethical manner. More and more, HR directors are being asked to […]
Update: Redknapp and Mandaric cleared of tax evasion
Both Harry Redknapp and Milan Mandaric have been found not guilty on all charges in the high-profile tax evasion trial at Southwark Crown Court. Redknapp and Mandaric hugged as the jury cleared them of all counts. After a two-week trial jurors accepted Redknapp’s denials that he avoided tax on any payments over £189,000 found in […]
London 2012: 02 staff pilot flexible working options
O2 has asked a quarter of its staff to work remotely today in order to test whether contingency plans intended to manage expected travel disruption during the Olympic Games will work. The mobile telephone operator has closed its Slough headquarters and provided 3,000 employees with access to the necessary technology and support to do their […]
Minister promises private sector pensions overhaul
The coalition government plans to launch a consultation later this year in a bid to find a “third option” between expensive final salary pensions and far less generous defined contribution workplace schemes. According to the Daily Telegraph, Pensions Minister Steve Webb said at a dinner last night that, as more and more final salary pension […]
Blog: Why learning should never end
I will be glad when this is over. I will never have to study again". That was a statement from my daughter during finals week in her senior year of college at Penn State. She sounded worn out. As I listened on the other end of the phone, I looked at my watch and […]
Talent Spot: Adrian Furnham, professor of psychology at University College London
For Adrian Furnham, professor of psychology at University College London, work is much more than a necessary evil to pay the bills. “Noel Coward said ‘work is more fun than fun’ and he’s right,” he says. A self-professed “well-adjusted workaholic”, Furnham is ready to start grafting by 5am. Alongside his role at the university, […]
Book Review: Age discrimination – Ageism in employment and service provision by Malcolm Sargeant
Malcolm Sargeant is professor of labour law at Middlesex University and could be considered an authority on the subject of employment and discrimination legislation. He has published four books as well as many papers on the topic, has been a speaker at international conferences and also worked on a broad range of international projects to […]
Leadership training mandated for senior Whitehall project managers
Civil servants are to receive mandatory training in leadership and project management skills thanks to the creation of a new £7 million Major Projects Leadership Academy. But the initiative, which will be delivered in partnership with Oxford’s Saïd Business School and consultants, Deloitte, is targeted to save the government £10 billion per year once it […]
P45s will not get a pink slip
The traditional P45 form that summarises the amount of tax paid at the end of an employment contract will not be scrapped after a change of heart at HM Revenue & Customs. The form had been due to be replaced by a ‘leaver statement’ as part of the move to the Real Time Information system […]
Youth unemployment “time bomb” to cost economy £9.2bn per year
Employers must be given more incentives to hire young people in order to avert a youth unemployment “time-bomb” that will cost the country £9.2 billion per year from 2013, a report has warned. The study undertaken by the Association of Chief Executives of Voluntary Organisations predicted that, from next year, some £2.9 billion per annum […]
Blog: The benefits of coaching
In this tough economy, many organizations are cutting back and expect the remaining employees to do more with less. Top performers are feeling the heat and hitting the wall. How do business owners and managers raise the bar in this environment? A recent survey by the Institute of Leadership and Management (ILM) provides an […]
Management book of the year unveiled
‘The Cult of the Leader’ written by Christopher Bones won the Chartered Management Institute’s ‘Book of the Year’ at an awards ceremony hosted at the British Library in London last night. The work was unanimously assigned the top slot by five judges, including Professor Cary Cooper, Sir Anthony Cleaver and former chief executive of the […]
National Apprenticeship Week: How to get started
As we enter another year of economic uncertainty, recruiting fresh faces may not be at the top of the corporate agenda for all companies in 2012. Organisations ranging from large firms through to small and medium-sized enterprises are increasingly being asked to balance up diminishing budgets with a need to boost productivity and continue providing […]
National Apprenticeship Week: Training the Baker Tilly way
We first introduced our five-year apprenticeship scheme about six years ago as a way to get a variety of talent through the door. Since then, we have had between 70 and 100 school leavers with good A-level grades studying with us to gain an Association of Accounting Technicians qualification, 17 of which were taken on […]
International Coaching Week: Profile of average coach revealed
Just over two thirds of coaches in the UK are female, more than 45 years old and educated to second degree-level, a study has revealed. The majority have also been coaching for more than five years, with two thirds at it for more than 10, with the topic of ‘leadership’ being the biggest money-spinner. Moreover, […]
National Apprenticeship Week: Who’s doing what and where
The coalition government is attempting to use ‘National Apprenticeship Week’ as a means of drumming up more interest among employers in offering taxpayer-backed apprenticeship schemes. At the official launch event at Channel 4’s offices in London today, Business Secretary Vince Cable kicked off more than 500 events across the country, which are intended to celebrate […]
Minister for disabled: Unemployment result of unwillingness to work
Unemployment in the UK is down to people’s unwillingness to work because there is “no shortage of jobs”, the minister for disabled people has said. Maria Miller, who works for the Department for Work and Pensions, said on BBC Radio 5’s ‘Pienaar’s Politics’ programme yesterday that the current employment situation was the result of a […]
Legal Insight: How not to slip up in the snow
Forecasters are warning that adverse weather conditions in the UK could last until the end of the month, giving employers potential headaches as staff struggle to make it into work. Three inches of snow led to 600 flights being grounded at Heathrow over the weekend, disrupting the plans of up to 18,000 travellers. The […]
Blog: Using Google+ for recruitment
Google+ is becoming an increasingly popular social networking site, but what opportunities does it present to HR and the recruitment process? Circles What sets Google+ apart is its circles. You can use them to separate your social circles and target your posts at the right people. For example, you wouldn’t talk about looking for […]