L&D pay and job satisfaction on the up

For the first time in 10 years, learning, training and development professionals are earning higher than the average HR salary, according to a survey by Croner Reward and the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD).Managers in the learning and development (L&D) field earn an average of £45,000, compared to £37,739 last year. They have […]
BBC to cut thousands of jobs

Around 1,800 BBC staff will be made redundant as part of a £2 billion cost-saving plan, it was announced on Thursday.The cuts will primarily affect those working in news and factual production. The BBC expects to close an estimated 2,500 positions between now and 2012/2013, whilst at the same time creating around 700 new jobs.According […]
Employer branding: PR for HR. By Matt Henkes

HR often talks about the need to fill a more strategic role, and building a successful employer brand might be the key. But, as Matt Henkes discovers, to sell the dream you must first make your own people believe in it. In today’s talent desert where good people are increasingly harder to find, a strategy […]
Interview: Dave Duffield, founder of PeopleSoft

In an exclusive interview with HR Zone, Stuart Lauchlan talks to Dave Duffield, CEO of SaaS start-up Workday and founder of leading HCM solution provider PeopleSoft, about his impressive career to date and how a successful business is all about hiring people with the same “corporate DNA”. There are only a handful of people in […]
Managing maternity six months on

In April 2007, the main provisions of the Work and Families Act 2006 came into force. Six months on, Liz McCaw from ICAS and Anna Hayward from Managing Maternity Ltd look at current experience of maternity within organisations. The Work and Families Act has been the prompt for many organisations to re-evaluate whether they are […]
HR business partnering 2.0: Delivering on the original promise

Simon Constance and Chris O'Brien, from Orion Partners, discuss how HR has missed the real point of Ulrich's work and look at the future for HR business partnering. Research, anecdotal evidence and first hand experience suggests that despite the introduction of the HR business partnering (HRBP) role, HR is still seen as not making […]
HR tip: Enforcing rest breaks and holidays

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:"Many of my employees, especially managers, do not take their rest breaks and holidays. I do not force them to do so. Should I?" HR Tip:If you do not, you may well be […]
Poor IT frustrates employees

One in five British employees do not have the basic IT facilities they need to carry out their jobs, new research has revealed. A survey of UK employees, conducted by Samsung, found that one in ten rated their firm’s IT system as poor, with over a third believing it to be average.However, many respondents also […]
Nine in ten office workers are stressed

New research has shown that 92 per cent of the UK’s office-based workers are stressed.The study, by recruitment consultants Badenoch & Clark, also found that HR professionals are the most stressed of those surveyed, with 65 per cent stating they were either often or always stressed at work, compared to 31 per cent of lawyers. […]
Sir Menzies – a victim of ageism?

Ex-Liberal Democrat leader Sir Menzies Campbell was a victim of “endemic ageism”, experts have said.John Peel, a consultant with employment law experts Employersafe, said that, according to the law, people should be judged on their performance, not their age.“I think it is pretty clear to most people that Sir Menzies has been impeded because of […]
Swearing at work can help relieve stress

Allowing employees to swear at work can help them to release stress, new research has revealed.A study carried out by academics at the University of East Anglia (UEA), which looked into the positive impact of non-conventional and uncivil language at work, found that regular use of expletives in the office can reinforce solidarity amongst staff, […]
Minister blames employers for gender gap

Skills minister David Lammy has blamed British employers for the failure of government schemes to better women’s employment prospects. The London Level 3 pilot project, for example, designed to provide working women with A-level equivalent training, has attracted only 750 attendees. The £20 million project has a target of 12,000. “Some of these pilots have […]
Firms tested during recruitment

It’s not just candidates who come under scrutiny during the hiring process. Recruiting employers risk alienating future employees, losing customers and harming their PR, a recruitment specialist has warned. Potential employees need to be treated well throughout the recruitment process, even if an applicant proves not to be suitable for the first position they apply […]
Is your performance management performing? By Rob Lewis

Performance management is supposed to empower your staff, release their potential and propel your organisation into the big time – which is funny, because half the time it just seems to lead to recriminations and arguments about salary. Rob Lewis wonders if HR can help manage performance management. Ah, the annual performance management review: […]
Employee retention – does it matter?

Bettina Pickering and Tom Marks, of PA Consulting Group, question whether high employee retention really is the key objective to ensuring the overall performance and growth of an organisation. Many of us will have recently experienced an increased focus on improving staff retention within our organisations. HR magazines and internet sites are full of articles […]
Did that hurt? A new, painless way of using recruiters

Isobel Rimmer, managing director of Masterclass Recruitment, discusses a new approach to using recruiters. Recruiting the best people is probably one of the most difficult tasks managers face in their daily work. Whether at new hire, entry level, senior appointments or to the board, we know that success depends on attracting, recruiting and retaining the […]
Ask the expert: Maternity suspension

A pregnant employee’s current role places her and her unborn baby at risk of harm. Esther Smith, partner at Thomas Eggar, and Martin Brewer, partner and employment law specialist at Mills & Reeve, advise on whether to suspend this employee, with or without pay, because she refuses to accept an alternative, less risky role within […]
Going green: The new pressure facing HR

The pressure is on for HR directors to toe the line and place green policies at the heart of their business, says Gareth Chick, HR director of Spring Partnerships. There is no escaping it, companies are under great pressure at the moment to go green; to prove they are socially responsible, environmentally friendly and are […]
Financial services employers miss the mark on benefits

There is a huge disparity between financial services employees’ benefits priorities and the packages on offer from their employers, according to new research.In a survey of almost 250 UK financial services employees and employers, by recruitment consultancy Badenoch & Clark, it found that flexible working hours was one of the top incentives for employees, yet […]
Cities hit by ‘brain drain’

Major UK cities are likely to be affected by a 'brain drain' as over half a million graduates flock to London, Jobsite has warned. The approaching exodus of qualified individuals to the capital was revealed in a survey that showed one in three current students was planning a move to London in search of employment. […]