CIPD Event Blog: Getting more social
I was a participant and speaker at the CIPD Social Media in HR conference last week. My overall impression of the event was *thumbs up*. I met some interesting people, heard some interesting speakers and as a speaker, everything I needed to deliver to the best of my abilities was taken care of. It’s been said before […]
Case Study: Rentokil Initial introduces “cohesion” by integrating HR processes
Rentokil Initial has automated and integrated its HR processes in a bid to make them more cohesive as part of a broader company-wide initiative to standardise administrative and operational procedures. The pest control and cleaning specialist is a £2.5 billion global organisation that employs an international workforce of 66,000. But, according to group HR operations […]
Cloud TV: SuccessFactors’ Paul Roberts on HCM and the cloud
At this year’s Business Cloud Summit, Neil Davey, editor of HRZone’s sister site, myCustomer.com, sat down to mull over cloud computing, HCM and business execution with Paul Roberts, Software-as-a-Service vendor SuccessFactors’ country manager for the UK and Ireland.
Four-year central government HR framework deal goes to Logica
Responsibility for providing transactional HR, payroll and finance services to central government has been handed to Logica under a four-year framework contract valued at between £50m and £500m. Marie-Helene Durif, head of sourcing and category management at the Government Procurement Service, said: "The award of this contract is another milestone in the government’s strategy to […]
Talking Point: The wimpish manager problem
A recent survey that I saw looked at employees’ views on their managers. One of the horrifying findings of the study, which was published by ‘HR Directors Business Support’, was that 86% of workers believed that their managers had no integrity. And, unfortunately, I feel their views were soundly based. The workforce is, collectively, […]
Fashion houses face intern probes from next year
HM Revenue & Customs has warned fashion houses and designer labels against failing to pay the National Minimum Wage to interns. The government department wrote to London Fashion Week’s 102 exhibitors cautioning against using interns as employees as unpaid labour and cautioned that it would start compliance visits at the beginning of the New Year. […]
Lowering organisational stress levels
Pressure appears to be endemic in today’s society – and nowhere more so than in the workplace. Indeed, in many companies, it seems to be almost an ethos. As a result, pressure to meet targets, make money and even push for promotion is simply part of day-to-day life for hundreds of thousands of employees up […]
Blog: 12 tips for stress-free Christmas shopping
This can be a very stressful time for all of us – managers, employees, our relatives and friends. The main aim is to ensure that you are well organised and plan in plenty of time for a Stress free Christmas. Here are some suggestions to help or to think about: Make a list of all […]
Government must give gangmasters’ enforcement agency more teeth
The Gangmasters Licensing Authority risks becoming “emasculated” unless the Coalition Government provides it with enough teeth and funding to protect temp workers in the food industry properly, a recruitment consultancy has warned. Media reports in October had suggested that the enforcement agency was under threat of abolition as part of the Government’s Red Tape Challenge. […]
Ask the Expert: What rights do staff have during performance reviews?
The question I am a standalone HR Manager in medium-sized company and took over this year, after the previous HR Manager left. A few months after I started, I was informed by senior management that a member of staff, who has been with us for six years, was to be performance-managed out of the […]
Avoiding the hidden cost of Christmas perks
When it comes to indulging in the Christmas spirit, Her Majesty’s Revenue & Customs is not generally known for its generosity. Indeed, since the 2010 Bribery Act came into force, there have been strict rules and regulations on gift giving, which could see overly-magnanimous companies landed with a hefty tax bill. This means that, […]
Blog: Some strategic HR predictions for 2012
Recognise This! – Bersin’s predictions for 2012 are already beginning to come true. Are you ready? What can you expect in 2011 in Strategic HR and Talent Management? Bersin’s 14 predictions for the year seem largely on target to me. John Hollon, editor of TLNT, provides an excellent summary of all 14 predictions, but here […]
EU final salary pension proposals could cost employers £100bn
Proposed new European rules for final salary pension schemes would land employers with such a “huge bill” that they would be forced to close them for good, the Pensions Minister has warned. The European Commission is considering whether to introduce so-called ‘Solvency II’ regulations that would mean the 6,850 UK companies still operating such pension […]
Unilever branded “spiteful” for cancelling strikers’ Christmas perks
Unions have accused Unilever of being “spiteful” and a “modern day scrooge” after the firm cancelled workers’ Christmas parties, hampers and bonuses in retaliation over their 36-hour strike. More than 2,500 employees out of a total UK workforce of 7,000 are involved in the first ever industrial action involving the manufacturer of Marmite, Dove shampoo […]
Social media policy: Can your business afford to be without one?
2011 saw the use of social media rocket, with an inevitable impact on the workplace. Employers’ attitudes to it vary: some impose a strict ban on the use of social media at work, while others actively encourage it as part of a new way of working. Whatever their approach, employers need to understand the potential […]
Plan in advance to cope with winter weather, warns ACAS
With the weather expected to turn increasingly wintry over the weekend, HR departments must prepare themselves by ensuring that suitable staff policies in place, ACAS has advised. According to the mediation service, advance planning is key to ensuring that everyone and everything keeps working smoothly when circumstances turn unpredictable. Adrian Wakeling, the organisation’s guidance […]
2011 – The year of social learning: Five keys to realise true ROI
Why care about social learning? "The interaction between learning and forgetting is like racing down an upward-moving escalator. Just like people, companies can forget the know-how they gained, due to labour turnover, periods of inactivity, or failure to institutionalise knowledge that is being taken for granted. An analogy is tennis. I used to play it […]
Call for employers to offer ex-forces training and work placements
Organisations representing the interests of ex-service personnel have called on the Coalition Government to encourage civilian employers to offer practical support in the form of training programmes and work placements. A report submitted to the House of Commons today by former Chief of the General Staff, General Sir Mike Jackson, who is head trustee of […]
The growth of learning and development in 2011 – and what lies ahead in 2012
It has been a difficult year for British businesses. Rising unemployment and the growing skills shortage have gripped the nation, once again raising learning and development to the top of boardroom agendas around the country. But the future of the UK workforce lies in having skilled people, ready and able to take jobs in fields […]
Blog: Beware the seven most common justifications for bullying
“You are fired, Get out! I am not going to pay you for two weeks! Leave now and I mean right this minute.” Yes, that is the way that it ended. OK, I gave you the ending. Now I will back up and give you the full story. A friend who had been passively looking […]