Dragon advocates softer management approach
Alan Sugar’s famous style of leadership is in the firing line of recent research which claims the economic downturn has had a dramatic effect on how bosses manage their staff. The research found that people respond far better to a more ‘touchy-feely’, empathetic manager at the helm of their company rather than an intimidating, authoritarian […]
Making the leap into the Cloud: one HRD’s story
Stepping into the world of ‘cloud computing’ sounds strange and scary to many but actually it’s not that big a leap. All ‘cloud’ means, essentially, is ‘web-based’. So if you’ve used Facebook, Hotmail, GMail or perhaps an online jobs board, you are already operating in ‘the Cloud’ – maybe without even knowing it. So where […]
Making time for talent management
In the wake of the recession, the need for effective talent management is more important than ever for UK businesses. With a growing pool of emerging graduates year on year, businesses might assume that they are in a better position than ever to bag the best talent. However, the case isn’t quite so clear cut. […]
Working mums ‘resented’ in workplace
A huge nine out of 10 working women believe that female colleagues with children receive better treatment than them and resent the flexible hours and time off mothers have, indicating that HR professionals need to do more to level the playing field. Moreover, a third of working women without offspring think that working mothers use […]
Out of date policies putting businesses at risk
Too many companies are failing to revise internal procedures in order to comply with new equality and anti-bribery legislation, leaving them open to potential prosecution, lawyers have warned. According to a survey of more than 100 HR directors undertaken by law firm Pannone, just under two thirds of respondents still routinely use pre-employment health questionnaires […]
Business leaders offer advice to England football team
The most important learning from Fabio Capello’s failure to bring the England football team to victory during the World Cup was the value to be gained from creating strategies and tactics that played to the strengths of both individuals and the team. According to a survey of business managers, coaches, HR and learning and development […]
James Reed: The three Rs – recruitment, retention and relationships
James Reed is chairman of Reed specialist recruitment, who are celebrating 50 years of recruiting. Here he talks Charlie Duff through what has changed in the industry, from recruitment through to talent and retention. How did Reed start? Reed was set up by my father, Alec Reed and 2010 is a particularly special year […]
Ask the expert: Default retirement age
This week the experts, Adam Partington and Esther Smith advise on how to deal with retiring workers. The question: Default retirement age We have a default retirement age of 65 and follow the usual procedures of writing to staff approaching retirement. The organisation has to date accepted every request for staff to remain […]
Book review: ‘The Why of Work’ by Dave and Wendy Ulrich
Following our interview last week with Dave and Wendy Ulrich, management consultant John Pope gives his review of ‘The Why of Work’. Title: The Why of Work Authors: Dave Ulrich and Wendy Ulrich Published by: McGraw-Hill ISBN 978-0-07-173935-1 281 Pages USD $27.95 This is an important book – organisations and senior managers who take up […]
Recession over but pay still low
Employers are having to find new ways to retain staff as more than three quarters have failed to reinstate pay cuts that were introduced to avoid redundancies during the recession. According to research undertaken among 1,000 workers by recruitment consultants Badenoch & Clark, a huge 77% of the 8.7 million employees that took a pay […]
Apprenticeship academy for young people at Co-op
The Co-operative Group has set up an Apprenticeship Academy to provide 2,000 young people with transferrable skills and qualifications at a cost of £9 million over the next two years. The move is part of a wider £21 million ‘Inspiring Young People’ campaign, which is aimed at changing the negative perceptions of youth and supporting […]
Mobile support aids learning and security
Four colleges in South East England are undertaking a 12-week pilot to study how the use of mobile learning applications among students influences behaviour. The news came as research revealed that it was more effective to make people the first line of defence against data breaches rather than rely solely on technology to safeguard corporate […]
Apprenticeships appreciated at awards
Sellafield won the top accolade at last night’s Apprenticeship Awards ceremony in London for making the most effective use of its trainees in order to meet the needs of both its business and the local community. The nuclear power provider, which was awarded the title of Macro Employer of the Year, has taken on apprentices […]
Social media ‘critical’ to success but security is lacking
A third of UK personnel currently access social media in the workplace and more than half of managers now sanction such activity for motivational and productivity reasons, according to research. A survey undertaken among 1,600 staff in the UK, US, Japan and Germany by security software provider Trend Micro revealed that the percentage using social […]
Adopt the Cloud or lose key talent
Increased demand for flexible and remote working will push employers to progressively adopt cloud-based IT service delivery models in order to retain staff, according to research. The ‘Futurizon’ report, written by futurologist Ian Pearson and commissioned by high tech company Fujitsu, indicated that continuing huge advances in technology mean that it will become increasingly unnecessary […]
Meaning in abundance: Dave and Wendy Ulrich on The Why of Work
Dave Ulrich needs little introduction to human resource practitioners: the Ulrich model is a famous standard of HR used by many within their organisations. In his current venture, Dave has partnered with his wife, Wendy, as they use common themes from his work as a human resource thought leader and Wendy’s 20+ years of experience […]
Avoiding ‘December syndrome’
It’s the height of summer and the UK’s workforce is working flat out. With concerns over public sector spending cuts and pay freezes to the fore and ‘knock-on’ effects expected across the private sector, employees are striving to hit targets and perform to the best of their ability. But towards the end of the year, […]
Be prepared with our guide to the Agency Workers Regulations
The Agency Workers’ Regulations (AWR), due to come into force in 2011, will be one of the most significant and highly-debated pieces of employment legislation in the last decade. Be prepared with this guide and stay up to date with any changes on HRzone.co.uk. The new legislation will mean businesses will have to make […]
Employers fear backlash of bonus cuts
The coalition government is considering whether to introduce a second tax on bankers’ remuneration and profits and proposes to start a consultation on whether to make employers disclose their pay rates. The news came as research undertaken by recruitment agency Badenock & Clark revealed that, while nearly half of financial services organisations had committed to […]
Job deficit to last five years
Although unemployment fell slightly last quarter due to a record increase in the number of part-time workers, a leading HR body has warned that the UK faces five long years of a serious jobs deficit. According to the Office for National Statistics, the number of people in employment fell by 34,000 to 2.47 million in […]