Competition to find Britain’s best business speakers
The College of Public Speaking is launching a competition to find the UK’s top corporate orators, to encourage communication excellence in the business world.Speakers will be expected to demonstrate skills in terms of gestures, speech construction, speaking with conviction, use of voice, vocabulary and word pictures, humour and audience rapport. The college also stipulates that […]
Bosses confess cultural mismanagement
Businesses have confessed to making the wrong choices in building company culture, admitting that activities deemed important are not being carried out effectively.Penna, the human capital management consultancy, quizzed a sample of HR directors to find that 94 per cent feel their culture is distinct, with 64 per cent agreeing that this is a factor […]
Going green begins at home not work, firms confess
Although the vast majority of UK company directors are making efforts to reduce their carbon footprint at home, most are not applying the same principles to the environmental impact of their business, new research reveals.Despite the publicity surrounding businesses’ role in combating climate change, the study by Citrix Online showed that while 93 per cent […]
Cash versus non-cash rewards
Which approach is best in your organisation – a pay-based or gift-based reward system? Mike Morgan, MD of Peoplevalue, champions the case for a non-cash rewards scheme due to its "psychological and motivational value". Is it possible for an employee to demonstrate pride and achievement with a pay-based reward? Have you ever seen money displayed […]
TUC makes fresh call for October holiday
The Trades Union Congress (TUC) is renewing its campaign for an additional bank holiday in October.Together with a number of volunteering groups, the TUC suggests the extra holiday would encourage workers to participate in community activities.TUC general secretary Brendan Barber said: “The UK has fewer bank holidays than nearly every other country in Europe, so […]
Commute to work reaches all time high
The number of commuters spending an hour or more travelling to work has increased dramatically over the last decade, fuelling new demands for flexible working.According to the Trades Union Congress (TUC) Londoners are faring particularly badly with over 1.3 million workers now travelling for longer than an hour each day. However, it’s not just those […]
Workers waste 40 minutes every day ‘social not-working’
Employees fritter away more than 40 minutes each day in non-work related activities including gossiping, emailing and texting friends, according to new research.This equates to more than 14 hours every month or around an average five and a half days of the working year.According to AXA, the research authors, it’s not just socialising that is […]
HR must help to design new diplomas
Learning and development and HR professionals need to play an active role in the development of new diplomas, the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD) has said.According to the CIPD, employers are “crying out” for work based diplomas, such as the proposed qualification in engineering – but will only embrace them if they’ve been […]
Crisis point: Dealing with compassionate leave
No firm wants to be seen as one which does not support its staff in times of crisis. On the other hand, long-term staff absences can be crippling. If one of your team loses a loved one, how should you handle it? Matt Henkes investigates. People under extreme stress can be highly volatile and unpredictable, […]
Is HR failing call centre workforces?
In the 90s, call centres were being described as 20th century workhouses. Ten years on, and the latest research shows that British call centres still have an average churn rate of 25 per cent. Rob Lewis considers whether HR is doing enough to rid the world of these dark satanic mills. As recently as 2005, […]
HR tip: Modest pay increase
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:"An employee, along with several others, received only a modest pay increase this year because his section performed badly. He complained at the time but was given a clear and full explanation. Now, […]
Disability qualification launched
The first qualification in disability awareness has been launched to help employers comply with disability legislation.The level 1 ‘Award in Disability Awareness’, from awarding body Education Development International (EDI), was created due to requests from many organisations who were anxious to ensure they fully complied with current legislation.Until this point, no occupational standards for disability […]
Intuition as a business tool
HR consultant Jan Hills discusses how HR business partners are now in the perfect position to develop and use their intuition when making complex and strategic decisions. Many people may feel that intuition has little or no place in business, that decisions should be made on cold hard fact rather than on trusting your gut. […]
Getting the most out of recruitment technology
Nicholas Thomson, solutions development director at Ceridian, presents his top 10 tips for getting the most out of your recruitment technology. Recruitment is the lifeblood of any organisation, providing either raw or established talent that will ultimately be responsible for driving business performance. An effective recruitment strategy is therefore firstly about implementing an attraction policy, […]
CIPD calls on employers to manage ‘external’ parties
Managing suppliers and consultants can boost business performance, according to the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD).The professional body says external partners have valuable knowledge which is strategic to the organisation and often essential to the delivery of products and services.The new case-study based report from the CIPD investigates ways of managing these third […]
Blue ‘skills’ card proposal for immigrants
The European Commission has presented a proposal designed to address legal immigration issues in the EU.It is suggested that a ‘blue card’ be given to skilled workers with a restriction on mobility within the EU.UK Green and immigration spokesperson Jean Lambert, criticising the limitations imposed on the movement of labour, said:“This blue card is supposed […]
BT launches cancer campaign for staff
Telecoms giant BT has launched a campaign to help its employees protect themselves from cancer by making changes to their lifestyle.The firm’s Work Fit: Cancer and You campaign, which will run for six weeks and include worldwide roadshows, articles and interactive displays, aims to help its 104,000 current employees from across the globe, as well […]
Agency workers/contractors v employees
In our call centre, IT and some other areas, we bring in agency workers or contractors before offering a permanent role or use contractors. In some instances individuals have elected to stay as agency temps or contractors. I am currently reviewing how we treat our agency workers/ contractors with regards to such matters as appraisals, […]
Moving on up
Promotion is an exciting time but also a daunting one as everyone adjusts to the new role. Louise Druce finds out how HR can manage the transition smoothly and tackle any green-eyed monsters lurking in the team left behind. Promotion comes with a mixed bag of feelings. There is excitement and enthusiasm, a keenness to […]
How healthy is your workplace?
Simon Jones, acting CEO of Investors in People (UK), looks at the issue of wellbeing in the workplace and questions what a ‘healthy working environment’ really means and whether it is the employer’s or employee’s responsibility. In workplaces across the country, the question of how to manage and develop employees more effectively is a serious […]