Olympics minister fails to raise the skills game
Tessa Jowell, the Olympics minister has been criticised for missing the mark on skills shortages.Jowell’s calls for a recruitment revolution will not bring about social change, or help transform the position of women in the construction industry in the build up to the 2012 Olympics, a leading supplier of talent to the construction industry has […]
Redundancy: Getting it right
When organisational change can lead to redundancy, how can HR best support employers? Denise Taylor has some answers. The most important step in the redundancy process is communication, keeping people informed right from the start. Rumours will spread so best to provide as much information as you can. Keep people informed through regular briefings and […]
Resigned or dismissed? How the law sees it
When there is confusion as to whether an employee has resigned or been dismissed, how is it seen in the eyes of the law? Barrister Charles Price explains. It is often not clear whether an employee has resigned or was dismissed, and it has been held in law that where an employee is told […]
Ask the expert: Flexible working requests
Can an employer refuse a request for flexible working if it is likely to cause disgruntlement amongst other employees? Esther Smith, partner at Thomas Eggar, and Martin Brewer, partner at Mills & Reeve, advise. The question:I have an employee who’s come up with a quite creative way of solving some of his childcare problems. He […]
Caption competition
This picture was taken on Westminster Bridge, London, in 1968, and the man in the photo is certainly implementing a novel way of commuting to work. One to suggest to your employees, maybe?The winner of this caption competition was Rebecca Hewett, an HR officer at Comic Relief. Congratulations Rebecca, a bottle of Beaujolais Red (Chiroubles […]
Credit crunch doom ignored by jobseekers
Candidates are positive about job prospects despite the reports of a labour market slowdown.This is according to a new quarterly survey, by The Hotonline Network, which found that 84% of the 1,685 candidates questioned feel that they are more likely, or just as likely to, find a job in 2008 as they were in 2007. […]
Sleepless Sunday fuelled by work worries
A tired 84% of people have trouble sleeping on Sundays because they are worried about the week ahead.This is according to a new poll by online recruiters, Monster. Of that number, over half experience this every week. Globally the UK, Hungary and the US are topping the charts for sleepless nights triggered by stress at […]
Diversity programmes ‘super-sized’ in reaction to globalisation
The impact of globalisation has broadened diversity efforts, according to 2,500 HR and training executives in the US and Canada.The survey by Novations Group, a consulting firm based in Boston, showed that over 40% of organisations have already expanded the scope of their diversity and inclusion programming, up from just 15% in 2005, the last […]
From sick to fit: Can we create a ‘well note’ culture?
With ill health costing the country £100 billion a year, the government has proposed the current sick note is replaced with ‘fit notes’ in an attempt to get people back to work as soon as possible. Lucie Benson finds out whether this plan will help solve the absence problem. Last month, the national director for […]
How to reduce information overload
With emails, reports and phone calls to deal with on a daily basis for many employees, Gail Franks outlines the communicator's role in reducing information overload. With so many office staff today spending hours on a daily basis sifting through emails, letters, reports and fielding numerous phone calls, it is hardly surprising that many […]
Female talent: Do we need different strategies?
How do we help manage female talent through the pipeline to executive level? Michelle Brailsford and Mary Ann Rettig-Zucchi discuss what strategies need to be implemented. 'The Pipeline to the Top', a study published in the Academy of Management Perspectives, found an acute shortage of female talent in the leadership pipeline of FORTUNE 1000 […]
HR tip: Return after redundancy – unbroken service?
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:"We made a man redundant three months ago but have since re-employed him. Has he broken his service?" HR tip:Yes. His unbroken service now counts from the date you re-employed him. View all […]
Colborn’s Corner: Safe and secure?
Apart from the credit crunch, one topic that increasingly seems to crop up on business pages is that of data security. We are all concerned about customer data being lost but, as HR staff, how do we view the loss of employee-related data, asks Quentin Colborn. The first question I would ask is whether this […]
COA buys HR software satisfaction award winner ASR
COA Solutions has added the 2007 Software Satisfaction Award winner ASR to its expanding HR and payroll software portfolio, which also includes OpenPeople (formerly Grampian), Goldenhill and Strata. John Stokdyk reports.Like most previous COA acquisitions, ASR will operate as a separate business unit and will continue to operate from its existing headquarters in Harpenden. The […]
HR not satisfied with quality of its leadership
A survey that aimed to discover the most important qualities for HR leaders to display has found that 42% of HR professionals believe the quality of leadership in HR is poor or satisfactory.The survey, conducted by HR with Guts and Orion Partners, also found that over 40% of HR heads think that ‘taking a stand […]
TUC welcomes staff voice
The Trades Union Congress (TUC) has given its official welcome to the new information and consultation rights.The new laws went live on 6 April 2008 and are designed to give staff a voice at work. The regulations apply to companies employing over 50 staff. According to the rules, these organisations now need to have systems […]
Half of employers would sign up to the skills pledge
Nearly half of employers report that they are considering or would consider signing up to the skills pledge or the Train to Gain initiative, a survey has revealed.The Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development’s (CIPD) annual learning and development survey also revealed, however, that 53% say their learning and development work has not been influenced […]
Men exposed as CV liars
One in 10 men lie on their CVs, according to latest research.BackgroundChecking.com quizzed almost 1,500 respondents and found that whilst 12% of men admitted to lying about their job title on their CV, just 7% of women did the same.Likewise, more males were willing to exaggerate their educational qualifications, with 14% of men questioned admitting […]
Employee recognition: Keeping them sweet
The issue of staff retention has never been hotter. So how can companies ensure their employees stay motivated – and stay put? Verity Gough reports. Encouraging employees to go that extra mile is no mean feat. Increasingly, companies are turning to incentive schemes in a bid to make staff feel valued and appreciated but does […]
Let’s dehumanise management
Management consultant John Pope comments on the present trend to dehumanise the management of people within organisations and warns against the lack of human contact at work. We all know that managers can make mistakes in selecting, managing and promoting staff. We know that HR has to bail them out of trouble for their behaviour […]
