HR Zone talks to: Don Rhodes about HR life down under
Red-tape and its burden is a problem shared with our friends in New Zealand; Don Rhodes reveals the ups and downs of life in HR in his country. HR Zone Q1: What is your current job title and how long have you been working within the HR field?Don Rhodes: Currently I am a Consultant Advocate, […]
Life Coach at Large: HR gets loaded and happy
On the couch this week is Andrew a seasoned HR professional who has a fear of all things sales-associated; Emma Ranson Bellamy reveals her tips for addressing his concerns. Andrew has a dirty secret he has kept very close to his chest for 20 years. He can’t sell and he hates sales people selling to […]
The HR interview: Tips from Frazer Jones
Being in the interview seat rather than across the table can be a strange experience for some HR professionals so if you’re looking to make a New Year’s leap then don’t miss these great interview tips honed specifically for those in HR. Be PreparedEven though you might appear to be the best candidate on paper, […]
News in Brief: The Week in HR – Jobless count climbs
Catch up on the week in HR including more on: official statistics reveal employment levels are slipping, rose-tinted glasses skew HR’s own perception, a lack of testing undermines the PAYE filing standard and why board members are hampering coaching efforts. W/C 16/1/06Jobless count climbsThe unemployment rate has increased by 111,000 over the quarter, and by […]
The Couch?! Takes time out
As keen multi-taskers, the Couch?! team were interested to learn that more than a quarter of us are so short of time that we now eat breakfast at our desks.A survey of more than 2,000 workers, conducted by pollsters 72 Point on behalf of the Travelodge hotel chain, found that two-thirds of weekday breakfasts consumed […]
HR Practitioner’s Diary: The revival of Jurassic Park
HR Consultant Sue Kingston files her latest report from the HR front-line and reveals the tales of a sexual harasser brought to book together with a bogus sickness claim that has raised a few eyebrows; read on to see all this and a sneak preview of her latest stats – boyfriends, weight and chocolates consumed! […]
What’s the answer: Contacting absent employees
Rebecca Hewett gets legal guidance this week from Helen Badger, employment law expert at Browne Jacobson and Nicholas Snowden, senior solicitor at Clarkslegal LLP on the rules governing contact rights for the long-term sick. The question: We are currently dealing with an employee who is on long-term sick absence who does not have a permanent […]
Colborn’s Corner: Who remembers final salary pension schemes?
Closing final salary pension schemes is the emerging trend for many businesses; in some cases new entrants are the unlucky ones to dip out, in others the scheme as a whole is being wound down so what does HR have to say about all this and should they care? Of those companies reported about in […]
Opinion: Assessment centres the Sugar way
Last year, HR Zone’s, Editor’s Comment considered the merits of the TV reality show The Apprentice and picking up from hiring and firing the Sugar way is Kathy de Beer of the Centre for Team Excellence who has explored its application to graduate recruitment assessment centres. The key focus of a recent master class talk […]
Internet surfing: Kicking the habit
Addictive behaviour need not only belong to the realms of drugs, alcohol and smoking indeed internet surfing is becoming a very real problem for employers who should look out for the signs of this productivity brain-drain. The ICAS National Support Centre (NSC) in the UK is currently recording a sharp increase in the number of […]
Stone speaks: Balancing the scales
Glenda Stone CEO of Aurora, the international organisation working for the economic advancement of women, reports back on revelations by the Equal Opportunities Commission (EOC) that women must wait 200 years to gain equal power. Almost 80 years after women over 21 got the vote and 30 years after the introduction of the Sex Discrimination […]
Preparing for an avian flu pandemic
What should HR be doing to prepare for a potential avian flu pandemic? Dr Neil Nerwich, Group Medical Director – Assistance, EMEA and Americas, International SOS explains. But the failure of an outbreak to materialise immediately should not prompt complacency. For the corporate multi-national, it is a major issue. This very much relates to the […]
HR Tip: A live issue
These questions are being answered by Learn HR, a market leader in the provision of HR and payroll training and nationally-recognised professional qualifications. Q: An employee has started bringing his stick insects to work. Some employees have complained but the man says that his situation is no different from people who have potted plants on their […]
A quick guide to HR for your accountancy firm
As recent postings on sister site AccountingWEB suggest recruiting high calibre staff is a challenge for any business. Within the accountancy profession specifically, the need to find talented and loyal employees is more important then ever. This brief guide helps accountants get to grips with the basics. Recruiting outside the Big FourSmall and medium firms […]
Figuring things out: Why doesn’t HR get any respect?
<img src="/files/siftmedia-photolib/photo_joe.jpg" In far too many cases HR is sanctioned only to play the role of watchdog and police officer, making sure that policies and procedures are adhered to and that the business is keeping on the right side of employment legislation; and yet we know in our bones this approach isn’t about adding value. […]
HR Radar: How are you handling age discrimination laws?
Our new column, the HR Radar reports on how HR professionals are handling new and impending legislation and HR issues; this week three HR Directors reveal just how they are preparing for Age Discrimination Regulations due to come into force this October. Age Discrimination legislation comes into force on 1 October 2006. Following the introduction […]
Hard(y) Law Talk: What’s brewing in 2006?
Dr Stephen Hardy, senior lecturer in Law at the University of Manchester and a Barrister specialising in employment and EU labour law looks at the raft of employment law that lies in waiting for the year ahead. Now that we have all settled back into work after the excesses of the festive season, its time […]
The Couch?! Gets a pooch
The Couch?! team has recently acquired its own bundle of executive fun in the shape of Pumpkin the puppy but it’s not the first high-brow, award-winning team to go mad about those with four-legs.Reported in the Times, is Jilin Jiangshan Human Resources Development Company who allegedly upset Shanghai college graduates by advertising for dogs. That […]
News in Brief: The week in HR – Bird Flu puts flight to absence panic
Read on to find out more about the Bird Flu business panic, pension deficit rises again, why graduate recruitment is rosy and news on national stereotypes being played out in European boardrooms. W/C 9/1/06Bird Flu puts flight to absence panic The virus threatens to cause up to half of all workers to fall ill or […]
Tips: to boost motivation
When the festive break is a distant memory and spring a long way off, the result can mean long faces and heavy hearts. Performance development consultants Maximum Performance have put together the 10 motivating tips to cure that post-holiday malaise. 1) Do something just for you every single day.You can get caught up in doing […]
