Over 2/3 of organisations fail to evaluate training
In order to boost the performance of their coaching initiatives, organisations need to introduce well-thought through programmes and evaluation processes that are aligned with business strategy. According to the ‘2010 Learning and Development’ survey undertaken by the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD), however, more than two thirds of organisations currently fail to evaluate […]
Ask the experts: we’re asking you
As we approach 10 years, we’re looking for your ideas on how to improve the site to deliver what you see as the future of HRzone. HRzone.co.uk will be 10 years old this year, and we’ve seen a lot of changes to human resources, the HR community and even the site itself over the decade. […]
Ask the expert: Restrictive covenants
This week the experts, Martin Brewer and Esther Smith, advise on whether restrictive covenants can be enforced. The question: Restrictive covenants I have a three-month notice period in my contract and the usual restrictive covenants that you would expect of a middle manager, however after six months into my 1.5 years with the company […]
Overseas labour still in demand to fill skills gap despite jobless Britons
Despite high levels of domestic unemployment, organisations are turning to both migrant workers and offshore outsourcers in a bid to plug UK skills gaps as the economy starts to recover. According to the quarterly ‘Labour Market Outlook’ survey published by the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD) and management consultancy KPMG, some 45% of […]
NHS needs funding to ‘even out’ training
Sufficient funding must be put in place if the NHS is to redress current imbalances in the number of specialist medical trainees working in different areas of England, according to the Royal College of Physicians. Dr Andrew Goddard, director of the Medical Workforce Unit at the Royal College broadly welcomed the findings of a new […]
BBC HR exec quits over move north
The head of HR at BBC North who was hired to sell the case to 1,500 staff about relocating from London to Manchester has quit his job because he did not wish to live there himself. Paul Gaskin took on his £190,000 a year post with the broadcaster less than two months ago after leaving […]
Undercover Boss: Will new Crown Relocations FD Narin Ganesh pack it up – or in?
Undercover Boss is coming to an end tonight but it’s going out with a bang – or hopefully not actually, as we go undercover with Narin Ganesh, the FD charged with the financial workings of international relocations company, Crown Worldwide Group. The company literally packs up the belongings of people and moves them anywhere – […]
Financial education in the workplace – the real employer/employee benefit
Money talks and people walk – how employers can tackle the financial education deficit by teaching basic principles of money management and receive the benefits of a less stressed, better focused workforce in return. Coping with the rising cost of living coupled with cross-the-board pay freezes is proving difficult for almost all employees in these […]
Equal pay for women in HR 107 years away
The average female manager in the UK faces a wait of 57 years for their salary to be on a par with male counterparts, while equal pay for women HR bosses is a mind-blowing 107 years away. These are the findings of the ‘2010 National Management Salary Survey’ undertaken among 43,000 managers in 200 organisations […]
Apprenticeships for ‘other people’s children’
Apprenticeships are widely considered second best to a university education and as something for “other people’s children”. On the day that A-levels are announced across the UK, it was revealed that just over half of parents still view studying at university as the most valuable career path for their child – despite the fact that […]
Recruiting? There’s an app for that
There are now ‘apps’ – applications – which enable people to register with recruitment companies on their iPhone, then search and apply for jobs ‘on-the-go’. A sign of the times, says Michael Moran of Fairplace. Job seekers are being more creative in their hunt for work. In the current economic climate that’s not surprising. Candidates […]
Employees exposed to contract and pay issues
Too many personnel are potentially leaving themselves exposed, with just under a third not reading their employment contracts adequately and one in 10 failing to understand the details of their payslips. The Institute of Payroll Professionals (IPP) also warned that the increasing number of e-payslips currently being introduced by employers could lead to even more […]
NHS to roll out ‘competency passport’ scheme
The NHS is set to roll out a national ‘Skills Passport for Health’ scheme in order to improve talent management and reduce admin costs, following the success of a year-long pilot project. The proof-of-concept trial was undertaken among nursing staff at seven English NHS Trusts during the financial year 2009-2010. Workers created a verified […]
UK may face technology skills gap
In advance of this week’s A-Level and next week’s GCSE results, the UK’s business organisation the CBI claims not enough British pupils in state education and engaging in the kinds of subjects that will lead to jobs in technology. ‘Insufficient numbers’ are studying science, technology, engineering and maths despite them leading to better job prospects […]
BT may expand apprenticeship scheme
High levels of youth unemployment that led to BT receiving more than 100 applications for each of its apprenticeship places mean that the telecoms provider is now considering whether to expand the scheme. The company had nearly 24,000 applications for the 221 positions that were available this year – more than the total number of […]
Pay offer halts proposed BAA strike
Money talks: the Unite union has called off proposed industrial action by thousands of airport workers that would have crippled six UK airports, after operator BAA agreed to a “much improved” pay offer. The agreement was reached last night after hours of fraught negotiations mediated by the conciliation service, Acas. Unite intends to recommend that […]
Undercover Boss – Narin Ganesh’s filming diary
Narin Ganesh is the FD of Crown Relocations, a company which offers packing and moving services worldwide. The new FD took his chance to go undercover in the organisation with Channel 4’s Undercover Boss in this week’s episode on Thursday at 9pm. In a preview to the episode, we get to see his filming diary […]
Influencing engagement: the role of the line manager
John Pope offers advice on how managers can work with their teams to maximise engagement, supported by the HR function. I thought that the subject of engagement had had enough debate; we have read about its importance and its measurement by engagement surveys; we have heard about the importance of bringing new staff into an […]
Ask the expert: Successive fixed term contracts
This week the experts, Adam Partington and Esther Smith, advise on whether you can justify fixed term contracts. The question: Justifying fixed term contracts What is deemed to be an objectively justified reason for using successive Fixed Term Contracts? We have several staff on Fixed Term Contracts. I know that employees on fixed-term contracts […]
Outsourcing risk not managed effectively
More than half of organisations admit that they require better training and support to improve the effectiveness of outsourcing initiatives in order to boost bottom line performance. These are the findings of a survey undertaken among 615 contractor managers, sub-contractor buyers, project managers and senior decision-makers from organisations from across the world by Informa’s ESI […]