HR Practitioner’s Diary
Sue Kingston, an experienced HR consultant, shares insights on TUPE transfers during business acquisitions, workplace drug and alcohol policies, and her consulting experiences in this new diary column.
Colborn’s Corner: Employee engagement – realism or wishful thinking?
Employee engagement significantly impacts organizational success beyond HR initiatives—it affects recruitment, reputation, and customer perception. Research shows that engaged employees speak positively about their employer, influencing external market perception and bottom-line performance through effective communication and management practices.
Salary errors – the hidden debt
Millions of pounds are lost annually to salary overpayments caused by communication delays between HR and payroll departments. While employment law often protects ex-employees who spent money in good faith, recovery is typically possible if the overpayment is reported promptly and the employment contract permits it.
Case Study: Health and Safety training at Scottish Power
Scottish Power switched from traditional classroom training to e-learning to reduce costs and improve effectiveness. Their pilot showed e-learning users scored 10% higher on assessments and completed training in half the time, leading to 20+ courses including mandatory health and safety training for new employees.
HR Zone Members Newswire #99 – Drink and drugs – time for tough talking?
Alcohol and substance abuse costs UK business £6.4 billion annually through lost productivity. HR Zone members debate workplace drugs and alcohol policies, examining whether prevention strategies and lifestyle monitoring are the right approach for organizations.
HR Tip: Behaviour at work functions
Employees can face disciplinary action for misbehavior at official company functions held offsite or after hours. Employers should establish clear conduct expectations beforehand and designate a senior manager to oversee events and address misconduct promptly.
Case law: Agency worker status
The Court of Appeal’s decision in Postworth v. Bunce clarifies that agency workers are not automatically employees. The court found that detailed umbrella agreements between agencies and workers can preclude employee status, even when workers maintain regular assignments over extended periods.
How Did I Get Here? Paul Dowie, HR Director at ITN
Paul Dowie, HR Director at ITN, discusses his career path from Sainsbury’s Personnel Manager to leading HR at the news broadcaster, including managing major TUPE transfers when ITN won the London ITV news contract.
Feature: Training Evaluation Part 1 – What’s it all about?
Training evaluation can mean different things depending on perspective: organizations need to assess whether training solves problems and justifies investment, while trainers focus on whether training achieved its objectives. This first article explores Kirkpatrick’s framework and key evaluation questions to clarify the concept.
The Couch?! Big brother house
Imagine a fantasy Big Brother house filled with historical and cultural icons—from Sigmund Freud to Marilyn Monroe to Shakespeare. This entertaining thought experiment explores who would clash, romance, or annoy each other among history’s most famous figures.
Editor’s Comment: Under control?
Alcohol misuse costs UK businesses £6.4 billion annually in lost productivity, with surveys revealing 68% of workers drink during lunch hours. While employers increasingly consider drug and alcohol testing to address workplace substance abuse, experts argue lifestyle policing is impractical and raises ethical concerns.
Review: Strategy
Mark Daniell’s “Strategy” provides a practical step-by-step approach to developing and presenting world-class business strategy, drawing on insights from Porter, McKinsey, and other leading frameworks. The book includes downloadable PowerPoint templates and uses a Swiss watch company case study to illustrate diagnosis, design, and implementation stages at an exceptional value price.
HR Zone Briefing #245 – Equality in danger?
HR Zone Briefing #245 explores current employment law trends, including extended maternity leave proposals and their potential impact on women’s hiring. The issue examines payroll considerations, corporate social responsibility, employee satisfaction, and flexible working best practices for HR professionals.
How ‘FIT’ is your company?
FIT (Framework for Internal Transformation) is a psychology-based approach that determines organizational competitiveness through employee flexibility and adaptive behavior. Companies that embrace FIT principles operate effectively outside their comfort zones, outperforming rigid competitors through greater behavioral range and continuous development in real-world contexts.
Cut and run or stick with it?
Businesses face a key decision: embrace organizational change or maintain the status quo. HR consultant Sandra Beale explores when change drives growth versus when stability preserves efficiency, emphasizing that successful transformation requires consulting employees and clear communication.
Case Study: Tuning into e-learning
ntl, the UK’s largest cable operator, implemented Macromedia Breeze to enhance its e-learning strategy with rapid content delivery and virtual training capabilities. The solution enabled the company to connect subject matter experts with geographically dispersed staff while remaining user-friendly and compatible with their existing learning management system.
Strasbourg votes to end working time opt-out
The European Parliament voted to end the individual opt-out from the EU’s 48-hour maximum working week, with 345 MEPs voting in favor. The decision also counts on-call time as working hours. The European Council will make the final decision in June.
Employee satisfaction versus increased profitability: do you have to choose?
Employee satisfaction and profitability aren’t mutually exclusive in call centres. Intelligent workforce management software that balances staffing requirements with employee scheduling preferences can reduce turnover, improve retention, and boost productivity while maintaining service quality.
Member wire #98 – The top five HR issues
Member wire #98 explores top HR challenges including war for talent, HR faddism, performance management, age discrimination, and diversity initiatives. The newsletter highlights key issues affecting HR professionals across different sectors and invites readers to share their priority concerns.
CSR and beyond: Doing ‘good’ with HR
Corporate responsibility in HR starts with fair employment terms and clear disciplinary procedures consistently applied. Leading companies integrate responsible practices directly into HR operations rather than treating CSR as a separate function, with employee feedback revealing whether these policies are genuinely fair and well-understood.
