SAP’s $3.4bn SuccessFactors’ takeover to change HCM cloud market forever
Two years ago electronics giant Siemens surprised the world by electing to replace fellow German firm SAP as its HCM and talent management software provider with Cloud HCM firm SuccessFactors. It was a massive propaganda victory for the Cloud firm and resulted in what remains the largest Cloud Computing applications deployment in the world – […]
Finding and keeping disabled workers
Organisations facing cost pressures in today’s challenging economic environment would do well to explore the business case for employing disabled people. Exceptional characters such as Stephen Hawking, David Blunkett and Richard Branson would appear to prove the point that it doesn’t make sense to simply exclude them in the mistaken notion that they have nothing […]
Blog: Facebook will never replace face-time
So-called social media, the much abused misnomer for the relatively new technological, almost virtual, communication gathering points fed largely by constantly evolving gadgets, is literally fantastic. What had latterly been the stuff of fantasy has led to social and business revolutions, has liberated many-a-Dilbert from their cubicle and has clearly added a whole new dimension […]
HMRC slammed for lack of strategy on £96m skills spend
The National Audit Office has slammed HM Revenue & Customs for lacking in skills and having no idea of either how much it spends on skills development or where the money goes. Evidence from a customer survey and external stakeholders, which was cited in the auditor’s report, suggested that the government department did not have […]
High Court rules in Government’s favour on pension change
The High Court has ruled in favour of the Coalition Government’s decision to link public sector pensions to a lower inflation measure than used to be the case up until April. Trade unions had brought a judicial review into the legality of the Government’s switch from using the Consumer Prices Index rather than the faster-growing […]
Live blog: Business Cloud Summit 2011 #BCS11
Replay live coverage from the Business Cloud Summit, the UK’s most established Cloud Computing event, from 9am on Monday 5 December. See below for a live blog of the business stream. The Twitter hashtag is #BCS11. Business stream: cover://v/fdcb4f2a88
Asset-based pension contribution crackdown could put off large employers
Changes introduced in Tuesday’s Autumn Statement to restrict tax relief on asset-backed contributions to pension schemes are likely to make them less attractive to large companies. The new limits on tax relief for asset-backed pension contributions were set out in draft clauses of the Finance Bill 2012, but came into effect from the date of […]
Negative attitudes towards disabled workers “more damaging than disability itself”
Just under two thirds of workers avoid people with disabilities because they are unsure of how to act around them, while a third view them in an actively negative light. These are the key findings of a survey undertaken among 3,000 UK adults by BT. The study also revealed that among those who had […]
Blog: Why there should be an end to end-of-year bonuses
Recognise This! – Bonuses are too often confused with compensation. In my reader just yesterday, I had several articles pop up on bonus compensation plans for the end of the year. At first, I was hopeful. Have organisations finally figured out that lump-sum end-of-year cash bonuses fail on multiple levels and so are turning […]
250 employers win funding bid to offer degree-level apprenticeships
Unilever, Legal & General and Burberry are among the 250 employers that are to start offering degree-level apprenticeship schemes for the first time after being awarded Government funding. The winning bids were unveiled today by Business Secretary Vince Cable when he visited TNT UK, in Bodmin, Cornwall. The parcel delivery company is to work with […]
News Analysis: ‘Glimmers of hope’ for jobs market as incomes set to drop
While there are “glimmers of hope” that the jobs market may revive somewhat over the next year, real household incomes are in contrast expected to fall by 7.4% over the next 36 months. The Recruitment & Employment Confederation’s JobsOutlook report for November, which is based on a survey of 600 employers, revealed that, although employers […]
Update: PM dismisses national day of action as “damp squib”
The Prime Minister dismissed the biggest national walk-out since the 1970s as a “damp squib”, even though the majority of schools across the UK were shut, services were disrupted and demonstrations took place across the country. His statement at Prime Minister’s Questions on Wednesday came only hours before Top Gear presenter Jeremy Clarkson, appearing on […]
HRD Insight: Dan Grant on Dell’s ‘Connected Workplace’ scheme
As job roles become increasingly global and Generation Y progressively enters the workforce, Dell’s aim in introducing its ‘Connected Workplace’ initiative was to continue being able to attract and retain staff. The initiative, which was initially piloted in the UK from November 2009 into early 2010, was rolled out across Europe, the Middle East and […]
Blog: Are your hiring managers trained in how to interview?
When you interview people for a job you are asked to make a judgment call on whether the people you interview are good enough and suitable for your company. But what makes you think you are good enough to do the interview and represent your company? Are you suitably trained to conduct a proper interview […]
Appeal Court ruling on equal pay claims could open floodgates
A landmark Court of Appeal decision could now pave the way for a raft of equal pay claims by both private and public sector workers seeking to pursue compensation. Three appeal judges ruled yesterday that claims made by 174 former female employees of Birmingham City Council could be heard in the High Court as well […]
Talent Spot: Ann Pickering, HR director at O2
Ann Pickering, HR director at mobile phone operator, O2, is very clear about her role. “I am a business person first and an HR person second,” she says. It’s a message that she makes sure her almost 100-strong UK HR team understands. Commercial acumen is a vital ingredient to being a top-level HR professional, she […]
What role does HR play in social media usage?
Sift Media’s analyst and research arm, K2 Advisory, has unveiled a significant new survey in order to understand the role that HR plays in shaping the use of social networking tools in today’s workplace. The world of work is changing at a very rapid pace and many of the drivers of this change are technology-based: […]
Staff engagement: Systems versus the human factor
It is only natural that HR professionals are interested in better ways of managing the workforce. As a result, scarcely a week goes by without an advertisement or article on the topic of retention, engagement, motivation and/or talent management appearing somewhere. Systems are recommended to HR departments to help them understand, measure and generate […]
Round-up of Chancellor’s key Autumn Statement pronouncements
Public sector pay rises are to be capped at 1% for two years, the Chancellor announced today in his Autumn Statement. The cap will follow straight on from a two-year-long pay freeze for public sector workers and is only likely to inflame anger over the Coalition Government’s proposed changes to pensions. Among other things, the […]
Social media to revolutionise HR, says study
The introduction of social technologies to the world of business can revolutionise HR, customer service and product development activities by transforming the way that people communicate and collaborate, a study has found. HR departments can enjoy a significant return on investment by both reducing the amount of time that employees need to spend travelling and […]