A business must manage stress or stress will manage the business
Unmanaged workplace stress spreads like a virus and can destroy a business, with leaders often unwittingly transmitting anxiety throughout the organization. Jo Ouston outlines a three-stage approach to control stress through understanding its causes, prevention, and building organizational resilience during economic uncertainty.
Add value through recruitment process outsourcing
Recruitment process outsourcing helps organizations reduce staff turnover costs, improve retention, and recruit effectively by leveraging specialized expertise. RPO partners identify causes of employee dissatisfaction through exit interviews and surveys, then develop tailored strategies to increase retention and reduce the substantial costs of replacing staff.
Brown creates new Department for Business, Innovation and Skills
The UK government has merged the Department for Innovation, Universities and Skills with the Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform to create a new Department for Business, Innovation and Skills, led by Lord Mandelson. The move consolidates business and education policy but has drawn concern from education unions about prioritizing commerce over academic expertise.
Exclusive video: Philippa Hird interview
Philippa Hird, former group HR director of ITV, discusses HR’s role during economic downturns, preparing for recovery, leadership’s impact on employee engagement, and the unique challenges of HR in television.
What do you think of your HR software solution?
The Software Satisfaction Awards 2009 voting closes June 30, giving HR professionals the chance to evaluate their software solutions across categories including Enterprise HR, SME HR, talent management, and web-hosted systems. Your feedback helps software providers improve their products and services.
Colborn’s Corner: Fraudulent expenses – it couldn’t happen here, could it?
The MPs expenses scandal raises important questions for HR professionals about organizational culture and ethics. Beyond tightening expense policies, Quentin Colborn explores whether businesses differ from politicians in prioritizing rules over personal responsibility and moral judgment.
Opinion: The recruitment industry must change
The UK recruitment industry, worth £25bn annually, is viewed by many companies as a necessary evil rather than a strategic partner. Neil Wilson argues that recruiters must shift from short-term transactional focus to long-term client relationships backed by expertise and professional service standards to rebuild trust and change industry perception.
Seven ways to recession-proof your HR department
Discover seven essential strategies to strengthen your HR department’s business impact and resilience during economic downturns. Learn how to measure HR’s return on investment, justify budgets to leadership, and maintain critical functions like training and performance management when finances tighten.
HR tip: Appeal problem
When employees appeal disciplinary decisions, UK managers have two options: find an external arbitrator acceptable to both parties, or handle the appeal yourself after a delay by reviewing whether procedures were followed fairly and objectively.
Office de-stressing exercises
Learn simple desk exercises to relieve work-related stress and tension in your shoulders, neck, and head. The Stress Management Society recommends these quick techniques you can perform while sitting, designed to release tension, reduce stress, and restore energy for productive work.
Patersons adds HR module for free, but at what cost?
Payroll provider Paterson is offering a free HR module with its payroll solution to shake up the market. The company’s CEO says the feature has already closed four significant contracts in three weeks and maintains the module is enterprise-grade, rivaling SAP and Oracle. Cloud adoption among businesses is accelerating due to cost pressures and data management needs.
Recruiters must understand online job searching trends, says Google
Recruiters must keep pace with evolving online job search trends and candidate behaviors to remain competitive, according to Google’s head of careers. Personal branding, diverse communication channels, and broader search patterns are reshaping recruitment, requiring organizations to build stronger employer brands and engage candidates more effectively.
Ask the expert: Alcohol policy and religion
Employers developing alcohol policies must balance workplace celebrations with religious and personal beliefs. Experts advise ensuring non-drinkers aren’t pressured or excluded, while treating all employees equally regardless of alcohol consumption choices.
Paternity leave plans put on hold
Parental leave sharing proposals have been suspended by Business Secretary Lord Mandelson due to economic concerns, despite support from the Equality Minister. Business leaders warned the plans to extend maternity leave and allow fathers to share parental time would increase costs and administrative burden during a recession.
The Equality Bill: HR and employment-related implications
The Equality Bill 2009 simplifies discrimination law and introduces new equality measures, including gender pay monitoring, public sector duties, and positive action requirements. Employers must understand key implications such as pay reporting obligations and strengthened employment tribunal powers, with most provisions taking effect in autumn 2010.
The impact of the recession on recruitment
During the recession, UK recruitment has declined significantly, with employers making more redundancies than hires and many implementing recruitment freezes. According to CIPD/KPMG data, all economic sectors face negative employment intentions for the first time since 2004, while organizations struggle to identify quality candidates from larger pools of redundant workers.
Agresso Salary Review heading to HRSS
Agresso is unveiling its new Salary Review module at the HR Software Show in London on June 17-18. The fully-integrated online solution streamlines salary negotiation and setting processes while ensuring fair, consistent employee treatment across organizations.
Preparing your organisation for the upturn
After redundancies, organisations must prepare for recovery by clearly defining job roles, rebuilding employee trust through open communication, and retaining top performers. Research shows many employees lack clarity on how their work supports business success.
HR tip: Termination arrangement for struggling employee
A compromise agreement is the legally secure way to settle an employee’s departure with a financial settlement. This document, signed by an independent solicitor, prevents the employee from pursuing unfair dismissal claims against the employer.
The consequences of failing in health and safety
Employers must comply with strict health and safety laws under the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974, facing significant fines and imprisonment for failures. Key obligations include risk assessments, written policies for organizations with over five employees, employee training, and appointing competent persons to implement safety measures.
