Change is dead… long live inspiration
Jim Lawless explains how, when it comes to encouraging changes in people’s behaviour and attitude, thinking in terms of ‘change management’ is a fatal flaw and a leading reason for failure. Change in business is inevitable, but one thing business leaders could actually benefit from changing is, in fact, ‘change management’.Change fails for a number […]
Illegal workers: Your questions answered
Audrey Elliott, employment law partner at Eversheds law firm, provides answers to some of the questions that have been thrown up by the Immigration, Asylum and Nationality Act 2006 that came into force in February. Q. Have the changes to the Immigration, Asylum and Nationality Act 2006 (‘the Act’) resulted in more employers being prosecuted?Around […]
Flexible working: Summer holiday planning
The increasing adoption of flexible working within organisations can add to the annual conundrum of smoothing out staffing peaks and troughs created by those on holiday. Sally Livermore explains how to deal with all those requests. The demand for flexible working arrangements inevitably rises during traditional holiday periods, as members of staff try to cope […]
HR tip: Pets at work
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:"Our employees seem to be watching too much David Attenborough because some have started to bring pets to work. So far we have a tortoise, a jar of stick insects and a gerbil, […]
Workers in the capital more likely to pull a sickie
Workers in Greater London take twice as many ‘fake’ sick days as the national average, according to a new survey.The Britain at work study, by market researcher TNS, surveyed 1,000 people and found that 33% of Londoners regularly phone in sick, when they are not actually ill, with 12% admitting to pulling a ‘sickie’ at […]
Europe’s best places to work revealed
Microsoft and Google top the list for this year’s best places to work in Europe, with Google also being named the best workplace in the UK.Compiled by the Great Place to Work Institute and published by the Financial Times, the list defines a great place to work as: “A place where the employees trust the […]
Skills boost promise for NHS
Bosses have pledged to support and encourage healthcare staff working across the east Midlands to gain skills and qualifications.The pledge was signed on 3 April at the Skills for Health East Midlands Sector Skills Agreement consultation event, along with four other NHS organisations, and has been driven by a Joint Investment Framework (JIF) between the […]
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 […]
