The disease of unconscious bias
Unconscious bias is everywhere, malingering like a disease. I have the disease, and so do you. Even the most freethinking, open-minded people are at its mercy – and it’s the single biggest block to UK organisations increasing diversity. Traditional thinking has generally assumed that patterns of discriminatory behaviour in organisations are conscious. We assume that […]
Ask the expert: Can a company offer improved benefits to new starters but not to TUPE staff?
Is it legal that new starters are offered better benefits than those already employed? Esther Smith and Martin Brewer consider their verdicts. The question: Can a company offer improved benefits to new starters but not to existing staff? The company I work for has offered an improved benefits package to new starters […]
Now is not the time for employers to short-change staff over outplacement support
With its recent decision to take its outplacement support in-house, RBS is missing an opportunity, says Richard Alberg. Replacing the cost of external expertise in this way may appear more cost-effective but I fear they are in fact short changing ex-employees. It is difficult to criticise any employer that is making an effort to assist […]
94% will hack or axe final salary pension schemes
Although 87% of employers believe that staff are not saving enough for retirement, a huge 94% plan to reduce or axe their final salary pension schemes because they can no longer afford them. According to a survey of 179 large companies, which include 38 FTSE 100 players, by consultancy PricewaterhouseCoopers, the number of organisations that […]
Council tender advert ‘disturbing’, says rights and equality commission
A council may have opened itself up to costly legal action after issuing a tender for a ‘female, white and non-Muslim’ taxi driver as part of a wider contract. According to the Northampton Chronicle & Echo, Northamptonshire County Council has been forced to issue an unreserved apology following the incident. One of the elements of […]
World Cup fever: Keep calm and carry on, says CMI
A management body has moved to calm employer fears that the World Cup could cost them £1 billion in lost productivity, but staff themselves are showing mixed responses as to whether they intend to put football or their jobs first. According to research undertaken by the Chartered Management Institute, some 54% of UK bosses are […]
Wales gets WISE with sustainable training
Wales has had a good week in terms of training opportunities following the opening of an institute to deliver learning in new environmental technologies and the provision of funding to teach traditional conservation skills. Jane Davidson, Welsh Assembly Minister for the Environment, opened the Wales Institute for Sustainable Education (WISE) yesterday, which will specialise in […]
CIPD: unemployment to hit three million by the second half of 2012
Government plans to focus on spending cuts rather than tax increases will stall any recovery in the jobs market later this year and cause unemployment to hit three million by the second half of 2012. This is the stark warning that John Philpott, chief economic advisor for the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development will […]
Council ‘Quo’ recruitment campaign off target
In a warning to HR professionals everywhere of the perils of using humour in recruitment campaigns, a council has caused outrage by apparently banning Status Quo fans from applying for management jobs. Brighton & Hove Council has been forced to apologise to the rock band and its fans after spending £10,000 on a recruitment web […]
Metrics are the key to effective business strategy
How are the best HR functions using metrics to inform and execute business strategy? Will HR ever add value to the business strategy through its development and execution of people strategy? If so, how will it prove it, and what are the benefits of being able to provide such proof? We at Orion Partners decided […]
Barratt homes discover the ideal time to build their dream workforce
The current economic situation has led to a growing number of candidates on the market, which in turn has meant many organisations have seen an increase in the volume of applications received. Many organisations have struggled to cope with the increased workload as the recruitment process has buckled under the strain of applications. Recruitment activities […]
The future of recruitment: An uncertain world?
Where are we heading when it comes to recruitment? Richard Nott, the website director of CWJobs.co.uk, an IT specialist recruitment site, gives his view. Recruitment, like all elements of business, is very much affected by the constantly evolving economic and political landscape. The industry has been at the forefront of the rollercoaster of uncertainty and […]
Poor recruitment practices damaging brands
Poor recruitment practices are damaging employers’ brands, losing them customers and hitting the bottom line, but are nonetheless becoming increasingly common as organisations find themselves swamped with growing numbers of job applications. According to research undertaken among 1,600 UK adults by psychometric testing specialist SHL, negative recruitment experiences are all too frequent among jobseekers, with nearly […]
Bad communication real culprit of high staff turnover
Although many employers are blaming the recession for increased levels of staff turnover, in reality as many as a third should look to their own poor communication and unsupportive company culture as the main culprits. Nigel Watson, managing director of performance management specialists Q4 Solutions, claimed that many businesses were simply "burying their heads in […]
LV= launch recruitment campaign with a difference
An insurance and pensions firm has unveiled a quirky multi-channel recruitment campaign in which potential applicants take photos of staff on posters using their mobile phones and receive recorded messages about what it is like to work there. The campaign by insurance and pensions company LV=, formerly known as Liverpool Victoria, is based around five […]
Long term planning essential for business recovery
Even though the UK continues to be hit by a “jobless recovery” from recession, a prestigious HR body has warned employers that they must focus on long-term workforce planning to ensure sustained business performance. A survey of 2,100 UK firms by recruitment consultants Manpower showed only “mild optimism” about job prospects over the coming three […]
Ask the expert: Do we need to pay the extra salary?
Do we need to pay the acting up salary if the employee has resigned? Adam Partington and Esther Smith advise. The question: Do we need to pay the extra salary? A colleague has taken on additional responsibilities with the understanding that there will be a pay uplift at the end of a […]
Bonus backlash: Setting the record straight
With ‘bonuses’ out of fashion in the tabloids, how do you communicate and justify using bonuses as rewards in your organisation? Engagement has a part to play, says Dona Roche-Tarry. Whilst it may be some consolation to recession-struck workers that new research shows that overall boardroom pay across the FTSE 350 has fallen "significantly from […]
Is HR too helpful?
Is HR too helpful? HR’s service-led culture is hampering the department in the business and preventing HR making its life easier, claims HR director Ed Golitko. "HR people are very service-oriented and you have to break them of that." So says Ed Golitko, human resources director at technology firm EMC and the man currently […]
Sickies cost economy £2.5 billion
Of the 180 million days that workers took off last year due to illness, 27 million or 15% were ‘sickies’, costing the UK economy a huge £2.5 billion. These are the findings of a study among senior HR personnel at 241 public and private sector organisations undertaken by employer lobby group the CBI and pharmaceutical […]