Editor’s Comment: Reflections on the CIPD annual conference 2004
By Annie Hayes, HRZone EditorThe key messages at the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD) conference this year are clear; it is time for HR to pick up the baton of innovation by championing employee engagement and change management to ensure that every business is fit for success. The opening keynote was delivered by […]
Line managers hold the key to business success
The performance management process can make the difference between a good company and a great company according to the latest Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD) book by Angela Baron and Michael Armstrong.The book, Performance Management, shows how attitudes have changed since 1991. Performance management, according to the authors, is no longer simply a […]
Businesses back call for extra holidays
UK businesses are joining the campaign for more bank holidays, saying more time off could actually increase productivity, according to a survey by Croner Consulting.Eighty-two percent of HR professionals polled felt that standardising the number of bank holidays across the European Union would increase the performance of employees. Britons have eight bank holidays a year, […]
Harrogate: from spa town to conference centre
Harrogate is a wonderful mix of old and new; jammed between towns including Knaresborough and Nidderdale – names that only a broad northern accent could give true vocal justice to.The name is derived from Har-low-Gata meaning Grey-Hill-Road. Harrogate sprang to fame originally as a spa town after the discovery of the first medicinal spring was […]
Pension schemes face mandatory e-filing
Registered pension schemes will be required to send returns online and make electronic payments to the Inland Revenue from the start of the new tax regime on 6 April 2006.Stephen Timms, financial secretary to the Treasury, said in a ministerial statement yesterday that the requirement would be made in order to “achieve the levels of […]
Development key to staff retention
Employees value their career development over perks such as flexible working, according to research from the Recruitment Confidence Index (RCI).The RCI found that nearly half of employers regarded pay and rewards, career opportunities and a stimulating working environment as key to retaining good staff. Only 26% said flexible working had a high impact on keeping […]
CIPD keynote: Best practice is ‘not’ good enough
HR professionals must become ‘innovators’ if they are to survive the sea of change said the CIPD’s keynote speaker and strategy guru Gary Hamel.Delegates were told that the problem centres on the pace of this change. The challenge is for businesses to build the capacity to move forward before the case for change becomes desperately […]
Feature: The future is e-learning
By Lesley Garside, operations manager, Northgate HR The HR department is emerging from its ghetto of administration and paper-pushing to become a champion of change. Spearheading this change are HR directors who are embracing Information Technology (IT) in order to deliver quick wins of reduced recruitment costs and improved staff retention. Evidence shows, however, that […]
BBC reveal secrets of post-Hutton recovery at CIPD conference
Stephen Dando, Director of BBC People told delegates at the annual CIPD conference that the challenge following the Hutton crisis was to manage grief, continue output, re-establish the BBC’s journalistic credibility and get things back to normal.Journalist Andrew Gilligan started an unforseen chain of events that quickly snowballed into a major row between government and […]
Reward professionals cash in on top salary
Specialists in reward remain the highest paid within HR, according to latest findings.The research conducted by professional body the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD) and Croner shows that reward managers earn 32% above the average salary.Private sector workers earn more comparatively than those in the public sector. Personnel directors in the private sector […]
Employers fail to handle bullies
A report out today published to coincide with anti-bullying at work day (27 October) organised by Amicus reveals that employers are failing to embrace the root causes of bullying despite having impressive policies in place.With the costs of bullying on the increase, the problem cannot be ignored. The Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD) […]
New HR Charter: Part 11b – Auditing HR
Anyone interested in organisational management cannot fail to have noticed that the world of accounting standards and conventional auditing practices has been thrown into complete disarray by the Enron, WorldCom and Parmalat scandals. Auditing HR: The shift from cost to valueHR people who do not know what the implications of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 […]
Case Study: Leadership Training – The Blended Approach
Brooks Automation, a leading equipment supplier to global semiconductor manufacturers, is training its managers worldwide in facilitative leadership skills, using a blended learning programme.The programme comprises an online learning module, a complementary classroom workshop and post-event workplace activities. Called Leadership and Teamwork, it shows how leaders can use facilitation skills to improve teamwork and meet […]
Acas Launches Free Consultation Training Guide
A free, web based good practice advice and training package for organisations wanting to know more about new information and consultation (I&C) regulations is available from Acas.The material – available at the Acas website – aims to help employers, employees and their representatives reach agreements under the regulations coming into force on 6 April 2005. […]
Young Favour Vocational Training Over Academia
Nearly two-thirds of young people feel that learning work skills is more important than getting a degree, according to a new survey. The report by SkillCity, which promotes vocational teaching, found that 61% of 16 to 24-year-olds favoured work skills over a degree, while half of those interviewed felt that learning work-based skills was the […]
Candidate ‘gazumping’ rife as labour market tightens
A huge 70% of firms expect to be affected by employee ‘gazumping’ in the future if the trend for candidates to be poached by more agile competitors continues according to a new report, but despite these findings the CIPD say that the jobs market is at a virtual standstill.A report by Brooklands Executives reveals that […]
Gastrozone – Harrogate: Feeling peckish?
Racking your brains for a suitable restaurant venue in Harrogate? Need a food lovers guide to the best culinary delights in Yorkshire?HRZone is pleased to introduce Gastrozone. Intended to be the best ever dining guide for the UK’s HR community, Gastrozone is a forum where you can share news, views, reviews and recommendations with other […]
Member wire #71 – Campaigners fired up for UK smoking ban
================================================================ HR Zone Members Newswire Issue 71 26 October 2004 http://www.hrzone.co.uk ================================================================ SITE HIGHLIGHTS ***** SITE HIGHLIGHTS ***** SITE HIGHLIGHTS 1. Editor’s Comment: Campaigners fired up for UK smoking ban 2. Feature: Getting online with the Home Computing Initiative 3. HR Tip: Holiday pay 4. HR & Payroll free qualifications up for grabs! 5. Any […]
HR Tip: Holiday pay
HRD & Payroll Solutions continues to bring HR Zone members a range of HR tips. This week’s tip looks at recovering holiday pay on termination of contract. Q: Can pay be deducted from final wages if an employee has taken more days holiday then their entitlement allows at the point when their contract comes to […]
Feature: Disability Discrimination Act: The New Regime
By Annabel MackayOn 1 October 2004 the Government introduced a raft of legislative changes that will keep employers busy over the coming months; although the new statutory disciplinary, dismissal and grievance procedures received a lot of press coverage, significant amendments were also made to the Disability Discrimination Act 1995 (“the Act”). The small employer exemption […]
