Flexible working for all – fantasy or reality?
A recent study by the Equity and Human Rights Commission has shown that some 20% of men in the UK were worried about asking their employer for flexible working because they felt it would harm their career. While many firms claim to be ‘flexible’, are the practices they introduce sufficient to enable a truly […]
Female workers should use their ‘negotiator potential’ to close the gender pay gap
Female workers will struggle to close the current gender pay gap of 20.2% unless they become more proactive in negotiating salary increases with their bosses, claims an expert. But the problem, according to Corinne Mills, managing director of consultancy Personal Career Management, is that too many women undervalue their contribution to the business and are […]
Staff distrustful of line managers’ instincts
Almost half of staff actively distrust their line managers' decision-making instincts in relation to both their own and colleagues’ futures, while three quarters of managers admit that they would change their verdicts if given their time again. These are the findings of a survey undertaken among 553 UK line managers and 1,002 workers by occupational […]
Employers in the dark about the scope of new anti-bribery legislation
Despite the risk of substantial fines and corporate directors ending up in jail, most UK employers are in the dark about the scope of new anti-bribery legislation, which is due to come into force later this year. According to a survey undertaken by law firm Eversheds among 694 managers and directors working in companies of […]
Rotherham local govt joint venture aims for improved workforce management
RBT (Rotherham Brought Together), the seven year old joint venture local government services partnership between Rotherham Borough Council and BT that delivers council services in the South Yorkshire town, has turned to HR software to help support better workforce management and organisational planning. “Managers will be able to use this to pull off key […]
Legal briefing: Right to train
On 6 April 2010 the new Employee Study and Training Regulations come into force. The regulations implement a new right for employees to request time off from work for training or to study. These regulations, like the regulations applicable to the right to request flexible working, set out how employers should respond to such requests. […]
Technology – HR’s best friend?
Taleo’s Judy Sweeney explains how technology is helping to boost HR’s status at board level by demonstrating the value investment in people strategies have on the bottom line. There’s been an evolution in the role of HR leaders and the technology that supports them. For years HR wanted to gain recognition at board level but […]
Businesses petition against NIC increase
A raft of business groups have started a petition against the government’s planned 1% increase in National Insurance contributions, which they claim will force employers to recruit fewer staff and even lead to job cuts. The petition, which was launched yesterday, was backed up with a letter to the Daily Telegraph, calling on the government […]
A possible 25,000 jobs to go in public sector
Employers should prepare themselves for slow economic recovery and the potential for “social disharmony” should predictions about the possible loss of 25,000 jobs at local councils in England over the next three to five years come to pass. According to a survey from business lobbyists the CBI, the growth picture in the UK’s vital […]
Brain drain – 1/3 of grads plan to leave UK
A lack of suitable job opportunities in this country is driving a third of recent UK graduates and final year students to consider moving abroad for work, warns a new report. The survey undertaken among 1,085 current and former university students by student and employer matchmaking web site Studentgems.com, indicated that most respondents had applied […]
Workforce planning: Do you have the right people and skills?
In the first of the series, we explored where to look for wasted effort in your organisation and the importance of left-field thinking in re-designing processes. In this article, George Blair, President of the HR Society looks at how the right people with the right skills can make a difference, and how targeted recruitment and […]
2010 opens new opportunities to align HR strategy with business objectives
A study designed and carried out for the European Club for human resources (EChr) by Hewitt Associates has revealed that HR leaders foresee a better but still challenging outlook for 2010. On the upside, HR plans to take the opportunity to measure and leverage HR’s value to the business more effectively. On the downside however, […]
Stop wasting training
According to a study which found that a quarter of all training fails to yield a significant performance improvement, UK organisations could be wasting an estimated £9.5bn on training each year. Kevin Lovell outlines why this is the case and, more importantly, what you can do about it. The best training course in the world […]
Retain talent and avoid the brain drain
Organisations must steel themselves for the looming talent drain as their employees grow secure enough to look outside of their current job role – bear in mind all the organisations that will soon be in a position to begin poaching talent again from their competitors. Our global engagement research found that employees are 1.5 times […]
Does your organisation need some Saas?
Vincent Belliveau, EMEA general manager for Cornerstone OnDemand, examines why more companies are turning to software-as-a-service (SaaS) solutions for learning management, employee performance management, succession planning and more. It is recognised that information technology (IT) can help organisations manage their processes and information more efficiently and cost effectively, but HR managers are not IT specialists. […]
Happy employees, happy customers – engage and grow
Doug Shaw recently met with Kate Davies, the CEO of Notting Hill Housing, to find out how she is leading and encouraging engagement as a way of improving service. Kate started by observing a key difference between west and east whereby the east seemed to get the concept of sacrifice for the greater or community […]
Re-engagement – now is the time
Strong internal relationships are central to building productive and profitable workforces and the role of HR in helping to create and maintain environments that are conducive to keeping your crucial players is key, says Clive Hyland. However, a recent study shows there may be some challenges for HR professionals to address – research conducted […]
Workplace bullying – not only at Number 10
Recent headlines have hit the Labour party with a book claiming Gordon Brown is a bully – an allegation seemingly backed up by a national hotline claiming they have received calls from ‘several’ members of Number 10 staff. However, this has now been hit with a backlash of its own as this has been perceived […]
Ask the expert: Can we demote rather than dismiss?
If an employee is struggling, can we demote rather than dismiss, and should we give them notice? Martin Brewer and Esther Smith advise. The question: We want to demote rather than dismiss – but how? We have an employee who has ended up on a final written warning follow two separate conduct […]
New Balance HRD going the extra mile for flood victims
Corporate social responsibility isn’t dead, as Paul Kennedy, HR Director of New Balance, and his team are proving as they walk 140 miles to raise money for those still suffering from the Cumbrian floods. Charity, they say, starts at home. And when you find your local area devastated like New Balance did last year, it’s […]