Finance leader involves staff in a ‘taste-off’
The Funding Corporation, a financing firm are asking all 450 staff to take part in its selection for a canteen caterer.Staff will vote for their favourite top nosh provider in a ‘taste-off.’“It sounds trite, but there are four directors and 446 staff, so the staff get to choose the caterers. If we made the choice […]
Office politics is not a game of chance
Office politics is often portrayed as negative or damaging to an organisation generally thought of as the domain of backstabbers, gossip mongers or empire builders, but says a new report it can actually bring positive benefits.In a turnaround from Roffey Park’s original findings in 2002 which found that office politics can reduce organisational productivity, create […]
Incapacity Benefit claimants falling
In May 2004 official statistics showed that there were 2.7 million Incapacity Benefit claimants; of this group only 1.478 million actually receive payments a number which has fallen by nearly 400,000 since 1995.There are three Incapacity Benefit rates paid to people unable to work due to illness or disability. The payments range from £55.90 and […]
Insurance giant to axe 1,200 jobs
Royal & Sun Alliance (R&SA) today announces that it is to transfer 1,200 roles to India over the next two years; claims that the ‘offshoring’ trend will cost jobs are refuted by official statistics which show that call centre employment in the UK is rising. Transferring front line customer service and back office administration staff […]
Fitness First shapes up to meet targets
Gym chain, Fitness First has announced a restructure of its management to be headed by new front man, Peter Boddy; commentators say the move is part of a strategy to prepare the business for an early return to the stock market.Boddy takes over the role of Managing Director today. Mike Metcalf, Chief Executive of Fitness […]
Smoking ban backed by EU Commissioner
Commissioner Designate and former Cypriot minister, Markos Kyprianou vowed to protect Europe’s youth from the ‘scourges of tobacco’ saying he would go as far as to roll-out a total EU smoking ban; the comments have caused concern among some businesses.Speaking at a European Parliament confirmation hearing, Kyprianou answered a series of questions aimed to assess […]
CIPD calls time on classroom training
The classic model of classroom training is failing modern business needs, instead organisations need to promote a learning culture, according to a new report from the CIPD. ‘Helping People Learn: Strategies for moving from training to learning’ concludes that the dominance of the classroom-based training is no longer appropriate for a global economy where change […]
Employers vow to adopt holistic reward approach
Non-financial rewards including career development and flexibility, as well as pay have the greatest influence on employee behaviours; reveals a new report.The Watson Wyatt Total Reward Survey 2004 found that two out of five employees are considering moving on within the next year.Respondents’ reasons included a lack of career development, promotion prospects and a poor […]
CBI calls on government to address pension crisis
Employers’ group the CBI is due to unveil figures which highlights the level of pension commitment by employers and asks the government to correct the perception that UK Plc is the ‘villain’ of the pensions’ crisis.Digby Jones, Director-General of the CBI says that employer contributions rose by £19bn to £37bn between 1997 and 2003. He […]
Softworld feature: Selecting and implementing HR software
Paul Priddle, a SAKS Consulting Principal, is speaking at the forthcoming Softworld HR & Payroll event on ‘Selecting and implementing HR software for beneficial business change’. In a preview to the seminar, HR Zone quizzed Paul on planning processes, preparing a business case, key market trends and navigating the vendors. HR Zone: What is involved […]
Editor’s Comment: Can Royal Mail rise above the taunts?
By Annie Hayes, HRZone EditorRoyal Mail has been abused, criticised and cursed by the press for some time now – its high-profile attendance reward scheme has been ridiculed, it was laughed at for failing its own set of 15 performance targets and its deputy chairman’s severance package has been labelled as ‘obscene’; Editor’s Comment takes […]
Businesses unprepared for information and consultation regulations
The Information and Consultation of Employees Regulations will be implemented in six months time on 6 April 2005 but despite findings which show that HR and personnel professionals believe the new legislation will have either some or a lot of impact on their business nearly 90% of organisations are yet to address the issue.These are […]
Harsh new rules of procedure in Employment Tribunals
In a new series contributed by solicitors Bevans, James Taylor takes a look at the new procedural rules that are now in force at Employment Tribunals. New procedural rules are now in force at Employment Tribunals. Businesses facing claims, and those bringing them, will need to be aware of strict time limits. There will be […]
Review: Leadership the Sven-Goran Eriksson Way
Title: Leadership the Sven-Goran Eriksson Way Authors: Julian Birkinshaw and Stuart CrainerPublisher: John Wiley and Sons Ltd Capstone Publishing Ltd ISBN: 184112589X Price: £9.99Reviewer: Desiree Cox, Praeceptor ConsultingThis book is a real treat amongst business books and is inspirational reading material. The authors have skilfully examined Eriksson’s leadership style comparing the successful application to football […]
Three-quarters of charities face skills shortfall
Seventy-five per cent of charities see staffing and skills shortages as a risk, while just half invest in training to deal with shortfalls, according to a new report.According to the latest Charity Finance Directors’ Group (CFDG) report the skills shortage is seen as worst at senior management level, with half of charities feeling this is […]
Scottish website rolls-out service to blind jobseekers
In a recent report the Royal National Institute for the Blind (RNIB) found that 92% of employers believe it would be ‘difficult or impossible’ to employ someone with a sight problem.Official statistics show that this kind of discrimination prevents three-quarters of blind and partially-sighted people from gaining employment.In a move that will help blind and […]
HR outsourcing market set to expand
The global market for HR business process outsourcing (BPO) is set to grown at 21% a year, reaching $7 billion in four years, say BPO analysts NelsonHall.NelsonHall founder John Willmott commented: “Until now, most global HR outsourcing deals have been single-process engagements, such as localised payroll services; pensions and benefit administration; and recruitment. “Now we […]
Feature: Intelligent recruiting
By Tim Bradley, managing director, Pecaso UKIf businesses believe that people are the jewel in an organisation’s crown, why are so many HR departments poorly prepared when it comes to recruitment? Rather than having watertight, failsafe resourcing processes in place too many organisations expect their HR departments to don hard hats and fire fight the […]
Marks & Spencer accused of bullying staff
Retailer, Marks & Spencer is planning a shift in working patterns for its 55,000 strong store-staff in order to combat customer complaints about poor service; the Transport & General Workers’ Union, however, claim that the changes are unacceptable and have accused the retailer of adopting ‘bullying’ tactics.The union said it had been contacted by a […]
HR Tip: Bad language in the workplace
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: One of our employees uses bad language fairly regularly. He doesn’t do it to abuse people so it is not harassment, but nevertheless some employees have complained. We have spoken to the […]
