Teens – an employer’s dream workforce?
Self-motivated and understanding the importance of hard-work – tomorrow’s workforce could be an employer’s dream if the findings of the latest poll by the Learning and Skills Council are to be believed.According to the LSC’s Success Report 2004, 93% of 14-19-year-olds believe happiness, not money, is the key to success, while two-thirds (62 per cent) […]
Feature: Effective succession planning
By Tim Bradley, managing director of Pecaso UKWe all know that management style can be the make or break of a company. The departure of a well-respected CEO can send shivers down the spine of many a shareholder. So how can companies begin to govern the succession of key roles within the organisation effectively? The […]
Feature: E-Learning Styles
Claudine McClean MCIPD of Structured Training looks at Kolb’s different learning styles and how these influence the way people approach e-learning. E-learning is a different way of learning from the traditional workshop approach. Many people, including training and learning managers, express concerns about how e-learning will meet the needs of their learners. Workshops can struggle […]
HR Tip: Racial balance
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: Are we obliged to have a ratio of black employees that reflects the make-up of the local community? Should we make a point of taking on more black people in preference to […]
Feature: Bridging the training gap – where e-learning went wrong
By Gary Perkins director of CRM reseller, marketing answers and solutionsWhat are the major concerns for IT sales directors today? In a fast-moving, competitive market, it’s unlikely that staff training tops the to-do list. Yet an effective training programme can dictate the success or failure of a sales team. It’s not that sales directors are […]
Softworld HR & Payroll highlights
Softworld HR & Payroll event takes place from 20-21 October 2004 at the NEC, Birmingham. The event features an exhibition of around 40 leading solutions suppliers, as well as an educational programme comprising vendor seminar, breakfast briefing and masterclass sessions. A major highlight this year will be the question and answer session with the Inland […]
CIPD says Tomlinson could bridge skills gap
The Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development believes the Tomlinson report has the potential to address skills shortages in the UK.The CIPD said the recommendations for the future of education for 14-19 year-olds could strengthen vocational skills. Victoria Gill, Learning, Training and Development Adviser at the CIPD, said: “The proposal to strengthen the vocational qualification […]
Colleague camaraderie keeps workers
Latest research shows that the workers are not quitting their jobs because they like their colleagues too much.Sixty-five per cent of respondents in the Sterry Communications survey said this was the reason they remained working for their current employer.Money was found to be an insignificant motivator for many with only 13% saying that pay rewards […]
Government asks GPs to help end ‘sick-note’ culture
Work and Pensions Secretary Alan Johnson has called upon doctors to encourage sick-employees to get back to work. Addressing the Royal Society of Medicine Johnson said the forthcoming White Paper on public health looks to push the benefits of rehabilitation through work. “While we must provide security for those who cannot work, increasingly doctors agree […]
TUC calls for workplace smoking ban
Commenting on the Scientific Committee on Tobacco and Health Report showing the dangers of passive smoking, Brendan Barber, TUC General Secretary, said:“Workplaces will be safer when they are smoke free. Half measures will not save the 700 employees who die every year due to passive smoking at work.”The call comes in the wake of Commissioner […]
Actuaries under attack for misleading pension schemes
According to a report due to be presented to the Institute and Faculty of Actuaries, actuaries have failed work pensions by routinely factoring in strong future investment growth, on calculating whether or not schemes will be able to afford to pay their members. The report, written by Mercer Human Resources and Hewitt Bacon & Woodrow, […]
Sainsbury’s pensions strategy risky, says analyst
Struggling retailer Sainsbury’s is risking a pensions shortfall if it adopts a new pensions strategy, according to leading pensions consultant John Ralfe. Ralfe, an independent pensions consultant and former manager of Boots’ pension fund, says that Sainsbury’s fund now invests 60% of its assets in shares and 40% in bonds. This marks a change in […]
Poor inductions trigger resignations
Employers are forgetting the importance of well executed and compiled inductions according to latest research by reed.co.uk which shows that one in 25 employees have walked out after starting new jobs because of poor attention to starter orientation.Almost all workers, 93% are reported to believe that a poor induction has a continual effect on their […]
Focus On: HR Specialists – Chris Burrows, E-HR
The E-HR revolution has software providers fighting it out for a share in this new market; it has changed the face of business not only in terms of processes and record-keeping but in every aspect of strategic HRM, the way we learn, capture and analyse data and even conduct employer/employee relations; Chris Burrows, E-HR Manager […]
Business leaders express doubts over exam reform
Business leaders say they are still to be convinced that reforming the exam system would raise standards of literacy and numeracy.The comments come as the report on the education of 14 to 19-year-olds by former schools inspector Mike Tomlinson is published. The report suggests replacing GCSEs and A-levels with a diploma.Under the plans, there would […]
Retail workers get Christmas holiday
The Union of Shop, Distributive and Allied Workers (Usdaw) has been successful in its campaign to ensure large stores do not open on Christmas Day.The Christmas Day (Trading) Bill passed its final Commons stage last Friday. The new regulations prevent shops of more than 280 square meters from opening on December 25.Currently stores only have […]
Workers are ‘faking it’
‘Faking it’ a survey published by HR consultancy DDI, says that workers are playing a part to fit into corporate expectations forcing them to hide their true personalities.Almost half (45%) admit to leaving part of their true selves at home when they leave for work in the morning while a third (31%) said they are […]
Rules baffle unemployment benefit claimants
The Trades Union Congress (TUC) has revealed that tens of thousands are missing out on unemployment benefit because they don’t understand the rules.Many claimants are not aware of government sanction rules says the TUC. If people leave work voluntarily, through misconduct, turn down a job offer or give up a place on a training scheme […]
Editor’s Comment: Beating the pension time bomb
By Annie Hayes, HRZone EditorBy 2050 if I have escaped accident, disease and terrorism I will be one of the predicted 48% of people over the age of 65, this may seem unremarkable in itself but when you compare it to today’s pool of retirees of which there are 28% in the population you can […]
Cantor Fitzgerald claimant award cut
Money brokers Cantor Fitzgerald International won a six-figure reduction to a £912,000 damages award to a former employee who claimed he was subjected to a vicious and premeditated campaign of bullying, harassment and intimidation by his immediate superior.Steven Horkulak, a £400,000 a year senior manager at the firm was employed on a fixed-term contract that […]
