HR must not fall for the ‘delusion of gender’
HR professionals need to be careful of indulging in ‘neurosexism’, after revelations that widely accepted differences between male and female abilities are not hard-wired into their brains from birth but are the result of cultural assumptions. Cordelia Fine, a researcher at Melbourne University, argues in her book entitled ‘Delusions of Gender’, which is due to […]
New learning centre for DHL Supply Chain
DHL Supply Chain has opened a learning centre in Leicestershire to provide its 200 staff with training ranging from basic skills to NVQs. The centre, located at Magna Park in Lutterworth, was developed in conjunction with the Union of Shop, Distributive and Allied Workers, North Warwickshire and Hinckley College and training provider EQV. Chris Sharp, managing […]
Social media still feared by graduate recruiters
While workers’ use of social media is costing UK business £14 billion a year in lost productivity, nearly two thirds of graduate recruiters are wary of using the channel because of fears over damage to reputation. According to a survey of 84 graduate recruiters undertaken by the Association of Graduate Recruiters and HR consultancy Penna […]
Union urges BT employees with damaged hearing to claim
Only days after the Communications Workers Union voted to accept BT’s pay deal worth 9.3% over three years, it is urging engineers suffering from tinnitus and deafness to seek compensation from the telco for potential negligence. Compensation claims are currently being looked at in Cardiff County Court, which has asked the solicitors involved to consider […]
Antisocial hours still need equal pay
A ruling that female workers at an NHS Trust in Merseyside are entitled to the same level of payment for working antisocial hours as men could open the way to similar claims elsewhere. The women, who were employed by St Helen’s and Knowsley NHS Trust in roles ranging from healthcare assistants, domestic supervisors and receptionists, […]
Unemployment set to get worse for young and old
Unemployment is disproportionately hitting young people and older workers but official jobless figures appear to indicate that the situation is only set to get worse. Figures from the Office for National Statistics released yesterday seemed to be encouraging on the surface, with the number of unemployed falling by 49,000 to 2.46 million in the three […]
Not much time for consultation on scrapping time off for training
Opinion appears to be divided over whether coalition government plans to scrap workers’ rights to request time off for training would be a positive move or not. Skills Minister John Hayes has launched an unusually short five-week consultation over the future of the legislation, which only came into force in April this year for employers […]
From the top to the tip – Undercover Boss with Colin Drummond, CEO of Viridor
Colin Drummond, CEO of Viridor, the recycling, renewable energy and waste management company went undercover to discover more about his business. Before the programme aired, we got a sneak peek at Colin’s Undercover Boss experience. Undercover Boss is one of those rare programmes which highlights relationships between bosses, employees and organisational culture to a mass […]
The HP Way: Sexual harrassment and the CEO
The fall from grace of a highly regarded CEO, sexual harassment accusations from a soft porn actress-turned reality TV contestant, some fiddled expenses and a breach of a 50 plus year old corporate ethical code: the events of the past week at Hewlett Packard, one of the founding fathers of Silicon Valley, reads more like […]
HR jargon buster: Assessment language demystified
Suzana Lopes presents a jargon buster that demystifies some of the terminology used in assessment. The world of assessment is a highly scientific one, and even the most traditional paper-based tests that have been delivered for decades are built on highly complex psychometric theory to ensure that they are the most accurate reflection […]
Profit sharing motivates employees
More than half of UK workers believe that profit-sharing or having an ownership stake in their employer’s business would motivate them to perform more effectively – although the idea is more popular among men than women. Moreover, 36% of staff that do not currently receive some form of performance-related pay think that doing so would […]
Bad press for young recruits undeserved
Although employers are becoming increasingly reluctant to hire young people, those that do generally find them well equipped for working life – despite the bad press that this demographic receives. According to a survey of 79,152 employers undertaken by IFF Research on behalf of the UK Commission for Skills and Employment (UK CES), a mere […]
Millennial training methods
Who are these ‘millennials’ and how can they be motivated when it comes to training? David Chan gives some insight into the new kids on the block. The millennial generation is broadly defined as those individuals born after 1985, who have grown up with the web and mobile communications. The impact of technology is not […]
Ask the expert: Poorly performing line manager
This week the experts, Martin Brewer and Esther Smith advise on how to handle a poorly performing manager. The question: I have inherited a poor performing line manager in my team, the issues are: There is no team motivation in his department He is not spending anytime training & developing his new team members […]
What’s the point of a training manager?
Judith Germain considers how training and HR can best work together – alone or in the same department? Function heads responsible for people are increasingly finding it necessary to justify their existence especially when companies are striving to achieve a substantial Return on Investment and generalists are looking like they will provide a better return. […]
Employees want counselling at work
More than half of UK staff would like their employer to provide a confidential counselling service to help them cope with recession-related stress. Moreover, according to a survey among 1,440 people undertaken by the British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy (BACP), a huge 78% now also believe that workplace stress is an acceptable reason to […]
CIPD predict 50% rise in redundancies
Redundancy levels are expected to jump by 50% over the next quarter dealing a blow to coalition government hopes that private sector employers will create enough jobs to offset swingeing public sector cuts. According to the latest quarterly Labour Market Outlook published by the Chartered Institute for Personnel and Development (CIPD) and management consultancy KPMG, […]
UK managers ‘deluded’
More than half of UK managers delude themselves as to their strengths and weaknesses due to a heady mix of inadequate training and development and being pushed into roles they had no desire to take. According to a survey undertaken among 2,158 bosses by the Chartered Management Institute (CMI), about 44% defined themselves as excellent […]
‘Nuclear options’ must be considered by Government to avoid strike action
The CIPD urges the government to consider ‘nuclear options’ to tackle unions if necessary but to realise that engagement and trust will win greatest advantages. The warning came only days after the RMT transport union tabled a motion to be heard at the TUC conference in September, calling for co-ordinated national strike action in protest […]
Life and work will continue to blur, predicts study
Work patterns will change drastically over the next 10 years as the boundaries between personal and professional life continue to blur, activity becomes less routine and more ad hoc and collaboration across enterprise boundaries becomes the norm. According to a report by Gartner entitled ‘Watchlist: Continuing Changes in the Nature of Work, 2010-2020’, organisations need […]