Review: Gower Handbook of Call and Contact Centre Management
Title: Gower Handbook of Call and Contact Centre ManagementAuthor: Edited by Natalie CalvertPublisher: Gower Publishing LtdISBN: 0-566-08510-0Price: £75.00Reviewer: Sarah Kellett, Services Development Director, Institute of Customer Service.The Institute of Customer Service can recommend this handbook as a very readable guide to managers either managing an existing call centre or involved in setting one up. Customers […]
Does a break from work mean my career is over?
Member Pat Lomas has been tasked with introducing a career break policy with the power to bring about a huge cultural change in the manufacturing business she works in; read on to see the responses from Eilidh Wiseman and Gemma Paterson of Dundas & Wilson’s employment law team in reaction to this particular challenge. The […]
Opinion: The cost of apathy, resentment and distrust
Engaged employees tend to be more content in their work, and therefore tend to provide better service to colleagues and customers. The service profit chain is now well established, and the links between leadership, employee engagement, customer service, loyalty and performance improvement are robust. Why is employee re-engagement important?When employees are disengaged or in some […]
Why is it so hard to manage Emma?
Ever since ‘Emma’ was promoted to section manager, Alex has been increasingly worried about how to manage her performance; David Barnard of the HayGroup looks at the challenges. Emma is the kind of person you want to have working for you. She wants to do a good job. She likes working in a team, and […]
Payroll Tip: Missing NI numbers
HRD & Payroll Solutions continues to bring HR Zone members a range of HR and payroll tips in 2005. A market leader in the provision of HR and Payroll training and nationally recognised professional qualifications, HRD & Payroll Solutions are highly experienced in teaching about common HR and payroll problems. A wide selection of tips, […]
Pre-Budget: Live report
Live Report as the Chancellor of the Exchequer, Gordon Brown, delivers his Budget statement.* * *# UK has been tested by both domestic and global pressures.# On course to meeting inflation target of 2%. # House prices moderated to 3%.# Inflation lower than the US and the EU and on course to meet inflation target […]
Extracts of a Life Coach: You’ve got to be ‘in it to win it’
Emma Ranson Bellamy opens her eyes to innate behaviours and starts gambling away her fortune. I’ve had a most fascinating weekend. I attended a workshop hosted by Coaching and Mentoring International (who I have trained with) about achieving your true wealth. To be honest I was expecting an Anthony Robbins type of presentation, lots of […]
How Did I Get Here? Heather Angus, HR Director 3663
Heather Angus explains the special HR blend that is required to drive the people focus forward within the highly entrepreneurial and creative business that is 3663, a leading foodservice company delivering ingredients, finished products and equipment to the catering industry. 1. How strategic is your current role and what does it involve?I am currently Director […]
Bite-size learning: Age discrimination – ‘Junior Consultant’
In the second part of this five-part, bite-sized series, Lucy Lewis, associate in the employment and incentives department of Lewis Silkin spells out just what employers can and cannot say in recruitment advertisements. Age Discrimination legislation comes into force on 1 October 2006. Following the introduction of the legislation it will be unlawful to discriminate […]
Happy HR Hogmanay!
New Year’s Resolutions can be quickly forgotten so to help you onto the path of righteousness we asked Ceri Durham, an employment lawyer with Clarkslegal to do the hardwork for you; read on to see her top three HR resolutions for 2006. 1. Release the lawyer in you! Get up to speed with the Age […]
News in Brief: The week in HR – HR reaction to Turner report
We bring you the latest HR reaction to the recommendations of Lord Turner on pensions out this week in The week in HR together with news on how much to expect in your new year pay package. W/C 28/11/05Reaction to the Turner Report:What the report said:For the Turner report at a glance see: The Guardian*****CIPD […]
The Couch?! Rocks around the Christmas tree
You won’t find the Couch?! in the Scrooge camp when it comes to a bit of festive frivolity, but news of the latest novelty Christmas song hoping to get us flocking to record shops provoked a spontaneous “Bah Humbug!”It seems that a flock of singing sheep are hoping for pop glory with their version of […]
HR Practitioner’s Diary: Food fights and Southfork power struggles
Sue Kingston our HR Practitioner reports from the field including dodging a pastry fight at a food processing plant and managing a power struggle between a green-eyed MD and her ‘wannabe’. What a month of variety and pace. I can’t believe there are only four weeks until Christmas and then the nights start to get […]
Employed or self-employed?
Queries on the subject of whether someone is employed or self-employed occur frequently. Part of the reason for this is that employment and self-employment are not defined in tax law, and case law on the subject which includes employment law cases has tended to create further confusion rather than solve problems. Some principles have emerged, […]
What’s the answer? Innocent until proven guilty?
Keith Stuart gets advice this week on how to manage relations between an employee who has admitted liability for an accident causing the deaths of three people and the witnesses in the office who refuse to work with him. The question:We have an employee who was involved in an accident outside of work, to which […]
Review: Partnership Works
Title: Partnership WorksAuthor: David WilliamsPublisher: David Williams GNP Ltd 2004Type: Interactive CD-ROMReviewer: Nick TurnerThis is an excellent use of the CD-ROM format, offering interactive resources arranged as coherent steps within a single model of successful partnership. The model allows facilitators and managers to focus on partnership intentions, progress and planning through group meetings.The simple and […]
Training: A poor investment?
Is the transfer of learning into the workplace the ultimate training goal? Or should a grip of the financials and a focus on the return on investment be the centre of attention? Martin Schmalenbach a training and development expert investigates. “Trainers should stop worrying about whether courses bring a return on investment and simply focus […]
The third way: Older workers
Sainsbury’s, HBOS, B&Q and BT are amongst the high-street names that have jumped aboard the older workers bandwagon and found that at the end of the rainbow there are significant cost savings to be found. The Office of National Statistics predict that there will soon be three million more people aged 50-65 while the number […]
HR Zone Members Newswire #127 Cancelling Time Off for Religious Attendance
================================================================ HR Zone Members Newswire Issue 127 29 November 2005 http://www.hrzone.co.uk ================================================================ SITE HIGHLIGHTS **** SITE HIGHLIGHTS **** SITE HIGHLIGHTS **** 1. News in Brief: The week in HR – It’s s’no’w fun for workers 2. The Couch?! Takes a shower 3. What’s the answer? Seasonal excesses 4. Any Answers answered: Repatriation payments, illness & […]
Gold, Frankincense and Myrrh: The hazards of seasonal giving
Unintended consequences are an occupational hazard for anyone managing reward at the best of times, but all the more so in the season of goodwill as the employer who presented wine as a performance award to a Muslim worker found out when he ended up being sued. This story, reported by the Times last week […]
