IT outsourcing cuts costs, but fails to improve quality, warn HRDs
The majority of public sector HR directors believe that, while outsourcing their IT could contribute to cutting costs, it will not help to deliver better quality services. According to a survey among 100 HRDs working in central government departments, local authorities, NHS Trusts and police forces by jobs website TotalJobs.com, almost two-thirds believed that outsourcing […]
Pay awards to increase only marginally in 2012
Private sector pay awards will increase only marginally in 2012 when compared to this year, with the most common influences on settlements likely to be company performance and simply the ability to finance them. Research on the intentions of 286 firms employing a total of 800,000 workers revealed that the median award for the year […]
Video Interview: How Oracle is creating a socially-connected workplace
In the video below, Jon Ingham, HR consultant, author and co-founder of the Connecting HR social community, interviews David Christopher, Oracle‘s social business and collaboration leader in Europe, the Middle East and Africa. The two discuss how Oracle is attempting to create a socially-connected environment in order to enable the software giant’s 22,000 employees in […]
CEO Insight: Company Shortcuts’ Lara Morgan on staff retention
Getting the staff on board is one thing, keeping them is another. Loyalty is important to me. I wanted to create an environment where people wanted to work, would thrive and progress. In the early days, we worked in an open plan office (my front room), we often ate lunch together (in my kitchen) and over these […]
Blog: On-boarding as a first step to cutting staff attrition rates
Companies work so hard at recruiting the best talent, rolling out the red carpet, increasing original offers, offering bonuses and other perks to attract the right candidates. But once you’ve signed on the dotted line kiss the best behaviors goodbye. The process is similar to dating where the early stages of the chase and initial […]
SAP appoints new head of HR for UK and Ireland
SAP UK and Ireland has appointed a new HR director in order to help the application software provider achieve its global aim of doubling the size of its business. Laura Burton replaces former head of HR, Terri Ellison, and has been brought in to manage a team that looks after recruitment, contracts, training, rewards and […]
Leadership development is top L&D priority over next 12 months
Leadership development will be the top priority for workplace learning professionals over the next 12 months. A survey conducted among 417 learning and development specialists by Video Arts revealed that 61% intended to provide leadership development training over the year ahead. Other priorities were people management, coaching, teamwork, customer service, time and change management. […]
Outlook improving but still uncertain for interim HR managers
If you’ve been an HR interim manager for more than three years, congratulations are in order. It’s been a tough period, but you’ve survived it. The good news is that there are credible indicators that the tough times could finally be over. At the macro level, the industry’s barometer is the annual Institute of […]
Software Satisfaction Awards 2011: The winners revealed
More than 300 people gathered at the Marriott in London’s Grosvenor Square on Tuesday to celebrate the Software Satisfaction Awards. Sift Media, our publisher, partnered with technology association Intellect to host the awards, which were presented by former Labour spin doctor Alastair Campbell. Entertaining the audience with his sentiments on the recent RIM/Blackberry crisis […]
Council censured for revealing personal details of 900 staff online
Dumfries and Galloway Council breached data protection laws by disclosing the names, salaries and dates of birth of nearly 900 staff, the Information Commissioner’s Office has ruled. The personal data, recorded in a spreadsheet, was mistakenly made available for two months on a Council web site following an enquiry under the Freedom of Information Act. […]
Mobile case management system saves the equivalent of 13 NHS staff
Cardiff and Vale University Health Board has equipped community health staff with notebooks to save time by enabling them to access and update patient information wherever they are. Some 370 district nurses and health visitors have been kitted out with machines running Civica‘s Paris case management software, saving them 8,300 hours over the last year. […]
Blog: Why do we tolerate jerks at work (and what to do about it)?
Recognise This! – Tolerating badly behaving high performers drives down productivity whilst increasing the level of aggression in the workplace. Do you work with a jerk? Are managers inclined to sweep the jerk’s poor behaviour under the rug saying, “That’s just his personality?” Tony Wilson reported on research showing why this is incredibly […]
Technical skills seen as key barrier in move to HR shared services
Technology and the skills required to implement and use it are key concerns when migrating to HR and payroll shared services. A survey of more than 100 public sector organisations undertaken by software supplier MidlandHR revealed that many of them were currently looking on the black side, overestimating the challenges associated with implementing shared services, […]
Top mandarin’s pay link to PM’s salary “crude” and “arbitrary”
The perceived link between senior public servant’s pay and the Prime Minister’s £142,500 salary has been criticised by an influential Commons Committee as "arbitrary" and "too crude" to be meaningful. In a report published today, the Public Administration Select Committee said that, while there was an acknowledged need for civil service pay restraint in the […]
Lessons from across the pond: could regional talent hubs create a ‘Big Society’?
The Government is missing out on a powerful online tool for regenerating communities. Since his famous ‘Big Society’ speech in July 2010, Prime Minister David Cameron and the Coalition government have both been looking for ways to deliver on the vision outlined. With the Cabinet Office tasked with transforming this relatively abstract idea into […]
Talent Spot: Denise Keating, head of the Employers’ Network for Equality and Inclusion
There isn’t much in either an HR or business setting that Denise Keating hasn’t tried and mastered. As well as systematically working to make herself an expert in every aspect of HR, along the way she has also picked up experience of areas such as IT and clinical governance. “I never lost jobs, just gained […]
Blog: Is social media a legal nightmare or a boon?
As an HR director, are you worried about what effect social media is having on the business, and in particular your employees’ use of it? Have you had problems with employees posting inappropriate or even damaging comments on social networking sites? Most businesses are aware of the positive benefits of social media in promoting their […]
Employers forced to cut pay rises to fund pensions, warns head of NEST
Employers will need to cut pay rises from next year in order to fund plans to automatically enrol the entire workforce in a workplace pension scheme, the head of NEST has warned. Tim Jones, chief executive of the Government’s new pension offering, the National Employment Savings Trust, told the Telegraph that the proposed changes would […]
White officers sue Metropolitan Police for racism
Six white officers are taking the Metropolitan Police to an employment tribunal, accusing the force of racial discrimination and ‘political correctness gone mad’. The men, all members of the Met’s Territorial Support Group, were acquitted two years ago in a trial relating to alleged race-related assaults, but claim that, since the court case took place, […]
Mediation: Part One – When to use it and why
Mediation is increasingly gaining prominence as an effective means of resolving workplace disputes. Yet for many organisations, it is still a relatively untested approach compared to more formal processes such as disciplinary and grievance procedures. In the first of a four part series on the subject, we provide guidance on how to ensure that […]