Colt saves £300,000 on recruitment costs by consolidating systems
Colt Technology Services has saved £300,000 on recruitment costs alone this year by replacing a hotchpotch of recruitment systems with a single Software-as-a-Service-based offering. Telecoms and IT services specialist Colt operates in 13 countries and is expanding rapidly. Because it is currently hiring about 600 new staff a year, the company was keen to apply […]
Virgin Media provides customer service-style Employee Services
Virgin Media has taken a leaf out of customer services’ book by centralising its HR, payroll and benefits units into a single Employee Services division in a bid to provide staff with a more consistent experience. The telecoms supplier brought the three previously separate teams together so that they could pool resources and share expertise […]
Almost half of student internships are still unpaid
Almost half of student internships are unpaid, a survey by Graduate Prospects has revealed. A survey published in the organisation’s annual report entitled ‘Real Prospects: Higher Education’ explored whether 22,000 graduates had gained work experience while studying for their undergraduate degree. More than 70% said they had done so, often by taking on casual paid […]
Outsourcing and shared services will get bobbies back on beat, claims report
A programme of shared services and outsourcing could help the British Police save millions of pounds by moving officers out of back offices and into frontline roles, according to a provocative report. The Home Office should provide incentives for police forces to move to outsourcing, according to the study by the Policy Exchange entitled ‘The […]
Blog: HR must not let uninspiring company cultures set in
Some news that shocked me last week was that which described how over 300,000 children live in homes where no-one had any experience of work. It seems strange to think that so many children could be living in an environment where work is so alien. When this type of culture becomes established it can be […]
Does performance-related pay provide value for money?
While the average new hire’s salary is 3% down on 18 months ago, pay packages for FTSE 350 bosses have soared 700% since 2002 – despite company share prices spectacularly failing to correspond. A report by The High Pay Commission revealed that most of the jump in directors’ renumeration came in the form of annual […]
Simple steps to help women reach the top
Gender equality remains a problem at the top of UK business. While there is a general consensus that Lord Davies’ call for more of it at board level is a good thing to aim at, many people believe the road to that particular promised land will be much longer and far more arduous than first […]
Female unemployment to jump again from 23-year high
Even as it became clear that Lord Davies’ boardroom gender targets were being ignored by most UK companies, the TUC warned that female unemployment rates were set to jump further from current 23-year highs. An analysis of official statistics undertaken by the union umbrella organisation revealed that, because the number of women employed in the […]
Legal Insight: The religious discrimination issue
The Church of England recently attempted to re-open the long-running debate over the issue of religion (and religious expression) in the workplace. But the legal position is far from straightforward. How far employers should go in accommodating the religious needs and requirements of staff is an issue that typically polarises opinion. The Church believes that […]
Ask the Expert: How sick is sick?
The Question A member of staff has been off sick for two weeks (one week self-certified, the other with a doctor’s note). While off sick, she has been posting on a social networking site that she has been to Bristol to have a new tattoo, has been out and about with friends and has also […]
Criminal convictions for tax evasion jump 38% in a year
The number of criminal convictions for tax evasion jumped by 38% over the past year as HMRC has taken a more focused approach to dealing with the problem. The number of convictions increased to 148 for the year to 31 March 2011, according to figures obtained from HMRC under the Freedom of Information Act, with […]
Enterprise social media collaboration is on the up
The growing use of social media by business is popular among employees who largely support the idea that becoming a “social enterprise” is a necessity in today’s business world. But business leaders are concerned about their ability to own and manage their brand as they start collaborating more at both an internal and external level, […]
Blog: Thank God it’s Monday – what it takes for true employee engagement
Thank God It’s Monday While waiting on the bus the other morning, one of the other gentlemen at the stop started complaining about the local bus that makes the same stop as the express bus which we both catch. The driver of the local bus stops when she wants to, regardless of the number of […]
Holcim cements behaviour metrics into leadership development scheme
Evidence suggests that HR-sponsored leadership development programmes that are deemed to be high quality are 20 times more likely to measure performance than those rated as ineffective. Despite this, however, only 5% of organisations are able to provide meaningful metrics that effectively demonstrate a correlation between HR and business performance. But if HR is […]
One out of 25 bosses ‘could be a psychopath’
Although one out of every 25 bosses is likely to be a psychopath, most people would not be able to tell, new research has revealed. Psychopaths are characterised as lacking in deep emotions, empathy or remorse and are often abusive in their treatment of others. But a recent study undertaken by New York psychologist […]
New boss hacks back on Everything Everywhere management team
The new boss of mobile phone company Everything Everywhere marked his first day in the job by wiping out half of his management team including two senior HR executives. Olaf Swantee, chief executive of the company, which was created out of the merger of Orange and T-Mobile last year, announced yesterday that he had hacked […]
Council decision to equip binmen with iPads causes stink
A decision by Bury Council to equip its binmen with Apple iPads to try and save money has aroused ratepayer and tabloid anger. Earlier this week, the Greater Manchester council, which has to make £18 million in savings over the next three years, voted to spend £9,000 on equipping its 22-strong fleet of refuse collection […]
Workday integrates with Salesforce.com for social collaboration purposes
HR Software-as-a-Service provider Workday has integrated its offerings into Salesforce.com‘s environment to enable employees to undertake social collaboration and application development activities more easily. The vendor has integrated its workforce data with Salesforce’s enterprise social media tool, Chatter, to enable users to share, collaborate and work with the information in real-time. Staff will be able […]
Blog: What are you bringing to the top table?
Recognise This! – If HR wants a seat at the table, then bring metrics the CEO cares about. Over and over again, I hear HR pros talking about “getting a seat at the table.” Laurie Ruettimann’s post last week reminded me again of this highly contentious topic. I’m always astounded that HR doesn’t have […]
Dress codes and uniforms: it’s all about presentation
I read an article about dress codes in the Times newspaper with great interest the other day. The Marylebone Cricket Club had received complaints from some members that its dress code was being ignored, which led to concern over falling standards. This snippet made me consider whether dress code standards were also slipping in UK […]