HR tip: New recruit fails to arrive
When a newly hired employee fails to appear for their first day, contact them immediately to determine if they’re ill or have decided not to join. While you can’t legally force them to start, understanding their reason helps you plan next steps and move forward with recruitment.
How to engage your managers
Effective manager engagement requires targeted training that combines formal courses with coaching and mentoring approaches. Middle managers are crucial to translating senior vision into actionable goals and directly influence employee engagement and business performance.
Fines for organisations that breach data protection
The Information Commissioner’s Office gained new powers to fine organisations for deliberately or recklessly breaching the Data Protection Act following a parliamentary amendment. The civil penalty regime, created through the Criminal Justice and Immigration Act, aims to deter serious data protection violations by UK organisations.
Demand for jobs at four-year low
Demand for new job candidates has fallen to a four-year low, though UK employers maintain steady hiring expectations and adopt a cautious “wait and see” approach rather than cutting jobs significantly. Pay rises remain modest with no indication that rising living costs will inflate wage deals.
Staff motivation: Am I bovvered?
Understanding what motivates your staff is crucial—nearly one in three employees are demotivated at work, risking costly absenteeism and turnover. Rather than one-size-fits-all reward schemes, managers should provide clear feedback, career development support, and genuine engagement to keep employees invested in the business.
The future of flexible working
Flexible working is reshaping the workplace as technology enables employees to work from home and satellite offices rather than traditional office spaces. This shift offers companies reduced overhead costs and employees better work-life balance, while addressing diverse workforce needs including childcare responsibilities and environmental concerns.
Source Tracking
Source tracking in recruitment identifies which advertising channels attract candidates by capturing how applicants heard about job openings. Proper implementation requires asking the question at the right time, keeping the source list concise, and leveraging data already available through website referrer information to improve recruitment ROI reporting.
Go compare – recruitment websites up for scrutiny
The UK’s first comparison site for recruitment services has launched, allowing employers to compare recruitment companies across eight regions and 20 sectors for an annual fee of £150 plus VAT.
Bosses admire workers’ commitment to learning
Employers increasingly value employees who pursue professional development and continuous learning, recognizing the positive impact on business performance. Research shows that studying for qualifications leads to career advancement, with 24% of managers receiving promotions and improved leadership skills benefiting 79% of learners.
Top performers pay 5% less
A global study of Fortune’s Most Admired Companies reveals top performers pay 5% less in wages while retaining talent better through effective reward strategies, better communication, and alignment with business priorities.
Changing employee behaviour: The key to successful change
Successful organizational change requires addressing the human element by understanding what drives employee behavior and shifting underlying mindsets, not just surface actions. Experts outline key steps including identifying needed changes, recognizing resistance sources, and engaging leaders at all levels to create lasting behavioral transformation.
Ask the expert: Must we provide a reference?
Employers are not legally required to provide a reference unless contractually obligated or their industry requires it. However, any reference given must be fair, factual, and honest—avoiding misleading omissions while protecting against legal liability.
Five million expected to work from home
Up to 5 million UK workers are expected to work from home on Thursday 15 May 2008 for National Work from Home Day. Currently, 3.5 million people regularly work from home, representing 12.2% of the workforce and reflecting growing acceptance of remote work benefits.
CIPD urges Brown to extend flexible working to all
The CIPD welcomes plans to extend flexible working rights to parents of children up to age 12 or 16, benefiting millions more families. However, the organization urges the government to go further and grant flexible working rights to all workers, not just parents, to prevent workplace divisions.
Caption competition: And the winner is….
Rob Falconer wins this month’s caption competition with a witty entry about the Prime Minister’s stumble, earning a bottle of Italian red wine. The post also shares several other clever runner-up captions submitted by readers.
Skills Academy is super-sized
The National Skills Academy expands to cover sport and leisure, creative industries, and hospitality, aiming to train over 20,000 learners in the first year and 400,000 over five years. These sector-specific academies partner employers and government to deliver targeted training addressing skills shortages across key UK industries.
HR fails to take advantage of ‘video snacking’
HR professionals are overlooking “video snacking”—brief online video consumption during commutes and breaks—as a training tool, despite 90% of employees engaging in the habit daily. A survey reveals most employers lack online communication tools, though three-quarters would consider using short training clip libraries to meet employee learning needs cost-effectively.
‘Talent drain’ as workers seek jobs abroad
UK professionals are increasingly working abroad, with two-thirds of the 200,000 Britons who left in 2006 doing so for employment. The typical expat is a 43-year-old professional earning £67,000, with 90% reporting better financial prospects overseas.
Follow the leader: Creating an engaging culture
Engaging leadership styles drive organisational success. HR plays a critical role in developing inspirational leaders who build trust, show authenticity, and empower their teams—creating a healthy workplace culture where employees feel valued and motivated.
Learning the business side of HR
HR professionals must develop genuine business mastery to become effective partners, beyond simply understanding soft skills. This requires deep knowledge of organizational finances, operations, products, and competitive dynamics—not just rhetorical commitment to being “business-linked.”
