Organisational development in 2008
Consultant Mike Morrison looks ahead to how organisational development will be perceived in the coming year, and asks whether it will lay the groundwork for a true path towards strategic development? In the past, organisational development (OD) was mainly concerned with the three S’s of an organisation – structures, staff and skills. Specialists and consultants […]
The impact of HRM on Company Performance
Dear All,I am studying a Masters in Organisational Behaviour and have chosen to study the impact of HRM on company performance and competitive advantage as my dissertation topic.I would be really interested to canvass opinions and perceptions specifically from within the HR field. My own experiences have been from running my own recruitment business.My research […]
Christmas cheer
Paul Avis takes a seasonal meander around the festive period by looking at alcohol consumption, and questions whether it’s a good time of year for employee health management, morale and motivation. I do like a beer. Well, a few actually. Sometimes more. Although, increasingly, it’s wine these days. Should I be admitting this to HR […]
‘Negative’ management styles most common in UK organisations
The ‘command and control’ approach to work is hindering UK productivity, according to research. Performance levels in workplaces are suffering as overbearing and dogmatic management practices top the list of management styles. The report into the quality of working life, which questioned 1,511 managers, also found a high rate of sickness and absence levels in […]
Ask the expert: Notification of fixed-term contracts
Esther Smith, partner at Thomas Eggar, and Martin Brewer, partner at Mills & Reeve, advise on how to correctly handle the issuing and termination of a fixed-term contract. The question:I would be grateful if someone could advise me how we should be handling fixed-term contract end dates, in terms of giving notice / sending written […]
TUC takes public sector pay campaign to Westminster
The Trades Union Congress (TUC) and its member unions representing public sector workers are calling on the government to bring public sector pay above inflation.The campaign, Speak Up for Public Services dubbed as ‘major’, is being launched today at Westminster. According to the union body, the Government’s target of 2 per cent pay rises across […]
CBI makes employment prediction u-turn
Unemployment, previously forecast to fall in 2008, is now predicted to rise to 1.70 million in 2009, according to the Confederation of British Industry (CBI).The revised prediction is due to slower economic growth, said the CBI, which has downgraded its forecast for UK growth in 2008 for the third quarter running, due to the credit […]
Fifth of workers ‘moonlight’ to plug earnings hole
Twenty per cent of British workers boost their income with money earned from a hobby or interest.This is according to the latest National Savings and Investments (NS&I) quarterly savings survey.Just over half the respondents are doing this for fun, yet in a warning to bosses, many confess to using work-time to generate extra income.Hobby earners, […]
Dyson lands top HR job at Bank of London
The Bank of London and The Middle East (BLME), the Sharia’a compliant London-based wholesale bank, has appointed Beverley Dyson as its head of HR.Dyson joins BLME from the London branch of Banca Nazionale del Lavoro (part of BNP Paribas Group) where she was also head of HR. Past posts include head of HR and administration […]
City bonus bonanza shamed by charity
Multi-million pound bonuses shared by workers in the City this Christmas are under fire from the anti-poverty charity War on Want.According to the charity, many of the world’s poorest countries are being denied the tax owed by British companies amidst reports that dozens of London bankers at Goldman Sachs have been awarded bonuses of at […]
Alcohol ban solves office party worry
Businesses are throwing alcohol-free office parties in an attempt to mitigate the drunken antics of party-goers this year.According to Steven Meyerhoff, head of employment at Backhouse Jones Solicitors, around 80 per cent of British bosses did not organise an office party last year because of their concern that things may get out of hand.And almost […]
‘Virtual’ training in Second Life
A UK law firm has launched a ‘virtual office’ in Second Life, to offer interactive online training to its employees. Second Life is an online 3D virtual world, created entirely by its residents. It houses a growing number of businesses worldwide, and now, law firm Simpson Millar will be holding training sessions for its employees […]
IT skills not valued by business leaders
Business decision makers do not rate IT skills as highly as other softer skills, a Microsoft survey has found. Released to coincide with the first anniversary of the publication of the Leitch Review of Skills, the survey quizzed over 500 top UK business leaders, 61 per cent of whom believed interpersonal and team working skills […]
Staff Handbook / Induction Pack
HiI am looking for a template for a staff handbook and an induction pack.I don’t suppose anyone still has one?ThanksChloe Chloe Bristow
Is your net rep on form?
With the rise in social networking sites comes greater temptation for recruiters to find out about candidates online before considering their profile on paper. Louise Druce asks whether you should base applications on hype rather than type? It goes without saying that you want to knock the socks off your potential employer at a job […]
HR consultancy offers human capital value calculator
A London-based HR consultancy claims to have devised the first software calculator to measure the value of a company’s human capital.Known as Catalyst, the software is a “total people cost of ownership and effectiveness calculator”, written by PEO People, to link financial and commercial data to workforce productivity figures and correlate them to the company’s […]
What’s in a name?
The HR name debate has been a hot topic of late. Jan Hills, from HR with Guts, discusses the impact of this identity crisis and asks if a name really matters. The HR profession seems to be going through a personality crisis. It can’t seem to settle on a name, leaping through HR to personnel […]
Why choose on-demand HR solutions?
Information technology solutions for HR have changed rapidly in recent years as technology has evolved. On-demand solutions are the way forward, where users pay for what they want, when they want them, says David Woodward. Software-as-a-service (SaaS) is where software is hosted and delivered to users via the web. Yet what has made web-based SaaS […]
HR tip: Flexible working requests
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 are beginning to get requests for flexible working. Can we refuse? If so, how?" HR Tip:Certain employees have a right to request, though not demand, flexible working; for example, to work […]
On the couch: Counselling at work
Evidence suggests that providing a ‘counselling at work’ service can help to reduce absence due to stress, increase productivity and reduce litigation. Rick Hughes and Andrew Kinder discuss the options available. Stress at work is increasingly being cited as a major cause of sickness absence within organisations, even as high as 50 per cent of […]