NICE calls for workers to get physical
The National Institute for Clinical Excellence (NICE) has published new guidance designed to encourage greater levels of physical activities amongst employees.According to NICE, physical inactivity in England costs an estimated £8.2 billion each year – this includes the direct costs of treating diseases linked to lack of activity and the indirect costs caused through sickness […]
Bosses prepare for summer of discontent
This summer will see a rise in employee discontent and dismissals, predicts an employment expert.Jonathan Whittaker, employment partner at Cheshire law firm SAS Daniels, said that summer 2008 may well bring unprecedented unrest in the office.“We’re due a consistently hot summer, but we’re also a country yet to fully discover the workplace performance benefits of […]
In-house HR role lures half of recruiters
Over half of recruiters would move to an in-house HR role.This is according to a new survey of 1,200 respondents by Perriam & Everett, which recruits recruiters, headhunters and in house recruiters world-wide. Over a third felt that their current role and firm had not been accurately described; whilst 33% were not satisfied with the […]
The talent crunch
In times of economic turbulence, recruitment budgets can often be the first to go, so how can HR professionals ensure that their recruitment and retention strategies are up to scratch? Verity Gough reports. Much is being made in the media at the moment about the prospect of a recession in the UK. This concern is […]
Spotlight: Karen Gregory, HR & training director, Magnet
Karen Gregory talks to Lucie Benson about her diverse HR career, mainly in the retail sector, and how it is the enthusiasm and commitment of the people at Magnet that make her want to stay. Company: MagnetThe aim: ‘To be the UK’s kitchen experts’Number of staff: 2,500 Number of HR staff: 21Location: Head office in […]
People are our most important assets – really?!
Andrew Mayo challenges that well-known mantra by asking, ‘are people really our greatest asset’? Most HR people would assent to this much-used cliché without thinking. Indeed their chief executives probably would do so as well. There is an instinctive logic that without people we can do nothing – and therefore our heading must be true. […]
Workplace wellness: Healthy staff, healthy business
Ensuring your staff are healthy and well is key to employee morale and productivity, as well as helping to tackle absenteeism. Liggy Webb explains how to successfully implement workplace wellness strategies in your organisation. The vast majority of the population spends more conscious hours in the workplace than anywhere else. No wonder that there […]
Pin stripes fade as business suit is hung up
The business suit is on its way out with just over half of employers adopting a more casual attire.According to a survey by executive leadership and development consultancy The Aziz Corporation, 51% of bosses now allow staff to wear smart casual dress for every day office life, but still require employees to don a suit […]
Ask the expert: Employee AWOL
What options does an employer have when one of their employees is absent without leave and has made no contact at all? Esther Smith, partner at Thomas Eggar, and Martin Brewer, partner at Mills & Reeve, advise. The question:We have an employee who recently underwent disciplinary action, was issued with a final written warning, and […]
Bosses turn down two-thirds of home-working requests
More than two thirds of employers never or only occasionally accept employee requests to work from home. These are the findings of the latest quarterly Labour Market Outlook (LMO) survey from the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD) and KPMG. This is despite the fact that, of the employers who offer home working, only […]
Take control of business through training, managers urged
As National Learning at Work Day kicks off today (Thursday), the Learning and Skills Council (LSC) is urging managers across the country to take control of their business through training. According to the National Employer Skills Survey 2007, almost 163,000 managers in England alone experience a skills gap. Of these, almost three quarters lack management […]
Mediation: The ‘win-win’ of dispute resolution?
With the annual cost of dealing with an employment tribunal clocking in at an average £20k, businesses are increasingly turning to mediation to resolve their workplace disputes. So does it work and is it the best solution? Annie Hayes investigates. What is mediation?Fallings out at work are triggered by numerous reasons: behaviour, performance, sickness absence, […]
Cost-effective ways of motivating your workforce
We all want an engaged and motivated workforce. And we all want to ensure strategies are applied in the most cost-effective way possible. Here, James Brook shows you how. In the current uncertain economic environment, no concept is arguably more important than motivation. How can companies keep employees motivated while keeping salary, wage and other […]
KISS — Easy Rules for Online Applications
In life and in business the every-day activities should be easy and simple. People like simple. I keep hearing horror stories about poor candidate experiences which tend to make me cringe. A couple of months ago I attended a networking event presented by Dan from Broadbean. He gave a painful demo of a bank’s online […]
Career management: A strategic tool
Over the coming months, Donna Murphy will explore findings from the five components of the Adecco Institute’s ‘Demographic Fitness Survey’, starting with career management, and will discuss what HR practitioners can do to improve their demographic fitness and prepare for the changing demographics of the workforce. The Adecco Institute launched the first Demographic Fitness Survey […]
The virtual world of recruiting
It is becoming increasingly common to use virtual world technology as a recruitment tool, but is this really going to be the recruitment platform of tomorrow? Heidi Innes explains. The use of virtual worlds as a recruitment tool has been much hyped of late – TMP hosted the UK’s first ever ‘virtual world’ careers fair […]
HR tip: Calculating pay-in-lieu of notice
These questions are being answered by Learn HR, a market leader in the provision of HR and payroll training and nationally-recognised professional qualifications. Question:"How is pay-in-lieu calculated?" HR tip:There is no designated formula as such because pay-in-lieu is a sum of money agreed by employer and departing employee due to the fact the latter is not […]
Major recruitment companies have merged
International recruitment companies Randstad and Vedior have merged to form one group, which will create the world’s second largest recruitment and HR services organisation.The merge was effective from last Friday, 16 May and the new group will employ 34,000 people worldwide, with clients and candidates supported by a much larger geographical spread. It is estimated […]
Is your vendor in the running for the 2008 Software Satisfaction Awards?
Technology editor John Stokdyk sets the scene for the 2008 Business Software Satisfaction Awards. Is your supplier in the running? More than 20 training and HR software companies have asked to be considered for the 2008 Software Satisfaction Awards, and entries will be accepted up until Friday 23 […]
Flexible working will aid economic downturn
The Trades Union Congress (TUC) is urging bosses to implement flexible working to steer through the economic uncertainty.Speaking today (Wednesday) at the annual Work Wise UK summit, TUC general secretary Brendan Barber said that whilst flexible working practices had progressed, there are worrying signs that long hours are enjoying a cultural renaissance, along with unpaid […]