Blog: Employee performance ratings – the good, the bad and the ugly
Numbers say a lot about your organization, such as how much money it earns or loses, the strength of sales, and the size of the work force. I’ve made no secret recently about one area where numbers do no good: Employee performance appraisals. With very few exceptions, attaching a numerical rating to an individual’s performance […]
Horrible bosses: how to spot them and handle them
The difference between an authentic leader and a horrible boss would appear obvious. But it’s not correct to say it all boils down to behaviour because some of the most authentic leaders I know are capable of behaving ‘poorly’ at times, says Gareth Chick, a director at Spring Partnerships. The fundamental difference for me is […]
Bonuses and allowances compensate council bosses for pay cuts
Local authority bosses were compensated for promised pay cuts last year by having their bonuses and allowances boosted instead. The move came despite calls by Eric Pickles, the Communities and Local Government Secretary, for town hall chiefs to take a 10% wage reduction. An analysis of accounts published by 128 of the largest council’s […]
Coulson paid by NotW while working for Prime Minister
Allegations that former News of the World editor Andy Coulson received two years’ contractual pay from News International while working as the Prime Minister’s communications chief have led to calls for a probe of Conservative election funding. Coulson resigned from the editorship of News of the World in 2007 after the Sunday tabloid’s royal correspondent […]
BA cabin crew trial iPads to improve customer service
Cabin crew at British Airways are to trial the use of Apple iPads in the air as the UK’s flag carrier airline looks to the technology to try and improve customer service. The iPads will allow cabin crew to have prior awareness of customer preferences and a greater understanding of each customer’s previous travel arrangements, […]
Blog: “But what if they cry…?” How to handle interviewees from hell
You may be a great interviewer, but what if the other person isn’t a great interviewee – in fact they’re an interviewer’s worst nightmare! How you deal with difficult interviewees will depend on the circumstances of the interview – e.g. whether it is a recruitment interview, a disciplinary, grievance or investigation interview etc. – but […]
Legal Insight: Where does long-term sick leave end and annual leave begin?
The boundaries between annual leave and sick leave and where they lie has been a growing issue in both the courts and employment tribunals over the last couple of years, points out Harriet Broughton, a solicitor at Bevans. The problem arises because the Working Time Regulations 1998 state that annual leave “may only be taken […]
Ask the Expert: How to stop a one-off lease car perk becoming a given?
The Question We have a lease car sitting in the car park as the employee left after only six month’s service and will not be replaced. I suggested using it as a pool car till the lease comes to an end but the MD wants to give it to one particular member of staff. […]
Workers uninspired by business leaders, finds study
Although good communication skills, demonstrating integrity and having the ability to motivate are the top three most desirable leadership attributes, few UK workers believe that their boss displays them. Instead a survey among 1,047 employees undertaken by ICM Research on behalf of executive search and leadership consultancy Korn/Ferry Whitehead Mann revealed that just under one […]
Cycling staff saved employers £128 million last year
The cycling industry is worth £2.9 billion a year to the UK economy and employs about 23,000 workers, a report by the London School of Economics has found. The figure includes the contribution made by bicycle manufacturing, retail and cycle-related employment, which contributed more than £600 million to the economy in wages and taxes last […]
Blog: Got sick while on holiday?
After months of hard work you finally booked a few days off to enjoy the gorgeous (?) British summer weather. But, a day before taking your long awaited break you got really ill and had to spend all of your holiday in bed. Ouch! The good news is that you are entitled to take sickness […]
Tackling the engineering skills shortage
The engineering and technology industries have the potential to contribute substantially towards sustained economic growth in the UK. But like a number of other sectors, they are experiencing damaging skills shortages, which are negatively affecting the economy and hampering future growth prospects. Up-skilling is required to plug the gap, but also to ensure […]
Pay awards to remain flat until end of year
High unemployment and the high cost of commodities such as oil mean that pay rates will stay at current levels until the end of the year. According to an analysis of 99 awards by pay specialists XpertHR, the median pay increase across the economy was only 2% in the three months to the end of […]
Employers must “challenge status quo” for women to reach the top
Employers need to challenge the status quo and revamp out-moded working patterns if they are to give women as much chance as men of getting to the top, according to experts. A report published by the Equality and Human Rights Commission entitled ‘Sex & Power 2011’ earlier this week revealed that, at current rates of […]
Empowering call centre workers boosts morale – and the bottom line
If call centre workers are given the power to provide customers with a personalised service rather being subject to scripts or call time targets not only does staff morale rise, but the bottom line improves too, a new study has found. Researchers from Loughborough University studied operations at the Velux Company Ltd contact centre in […]
Blog: From riot to clean-up – a reminder for HR
If the past couple of weeks have taught us, as a society, anything at all, it is this: underestimate the power of the people at your peril. The rioting that enveloped public interest last week started off on a north London street, and spread like wild fire throughout the entire country, threatening at times to […]
Identifying the leaders of tomorrow
It’s that time of year again. The process of graduate recruitment begins and, once again, we find ourselves with mountains of CVs from the would-be leaders of tomorrow, professing great interest in a career in…oh the virtues of the Find & Replace function! With more graduates on the market than ever before, all with a […]
Tribunal hears first UK caste-based discrimination claim
In the first case of its kind in the UK, an Indian couple is claiming unfair constructive dismissal from their legal jobs due to caste-based discrimination. Because of the precedent-setting nature of the lawsuit, Home Secretary Theresa May is believed to be watching the case carefully and considering whether to add a section covering caste […]
School leavers lack necessary workplace skills
Whether school leavers obtain the A-Level results they hope for today or not, almost half of employers do not believe that they have the necessary skills to work in a business environment. A survey of 2,000 micro-companies undertaken by the British Chambers of Commerce revealed that 47% would be ‘fairly’ or ‘very nervous’ of hiring […]
Too much fire-fighting stops L&D teams being strategic
Seven out of ten learning and development teams are too busy fire-fighting and dealing with day-to-day challenges to focus on strategic talent and learning issues, our sister site www.trainingzone.co.uk reports. The survey of 104 L&D managers, carried out by managed learning company KnowledgePool, asked respondents about their perceptions of training in their organisations. Key findings […]