Sabbaticals to combat workplace stress
Karen Charlesworth from the Chartered Management Institute argues that sabbaticals can reduce job stress, rejuvenate employees, and protect an organisation’s long-term investment in its people. Time out? Once the perogative of teachers and professors, the recent announcement that Tim Martin, chairman of the JD Wetherspoon pub chain is taking an unpaid sabbatical, may encourage others […]
How an individual can be affected by redundancy
Vanessa Westwell from The True Life Company looks at how an individual can be affected by redundancy, the qualities needed to survive such a difficult period, and how coaching can help provide support. Redundancy can seem like a punch in the stomach. Like there is suddenly no light at the end of the tunnel. However, […]
Capital Radio – restructuring case study
Louise Palmer, director of 7 days looks at the challenge Capital radio faced: turning the blue print for a new look business into a reality. An in-depth strategic review of the business produced a blueprint for a radical restructure where stations around the UK would be brought under the umbrella of one of four brands. […]
Differences between public and private sector needs
Mark Pegg and Andrew Ettinger Directors at Ashridge Business School look at the needs of public sector clients. Public sector clients have different needs to their commercial counterparts, but the differences are closing fast. Development programmes must be agile and responsive to meet the needs of the rising stars, the next generation of public service […]
HR Tip – References and employment tribunals
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: We usually provide references on ex-employees. However one man who recently left us, although a good worker, twice took us to an Employment Tribunal claiming sex discrimination, but each time he lost. Are […]
Europe changes working practices for staff ‘on call’
Employers with staff 'on call' will soon see major changes to their working practices after an important decision by the European Court of Justice on the interpretation of the Working Time Directive. That’s the verdict of Susan Mallalieu, head of employment at national law firm Shoosmiths. She is warning firms that they will need to […]
How Did I Get Here? Verity McVarish, Sift Media
Verity McVarish shares her experiences of working in HR to date, which includes working in the public sector in HR support roles to becoming HR Manager for a our very own SIft Media. What’s your current job role?HR Manager, Sift MediaWhat did you do before this job? HR support in a big public sector organisation […]
Britain – a nation of workaholics part 2
The CIPD questioned 1666 workers and found that the proportion of those who work more than forty eight hours a week has increased from one in 10 to one in four during the past five years. More than a quarter of long hours workers say that long hours have affected their sex lives and the […]
Career advice: Don’t ask your boss!
Key concerns raised at the Guidance Council annual meeting in London recently included lack of help from the boss and an absence of positive career progression within organisations.According to the gathering, most employees are unlikely to find their line managers much help when it comes to career progression. Employers are too frightened about losing key […]
Attracting the right people and keeping them
Colin Thompson, from CMTR takes a look at the process of recruiting. The ‘right’ People = Performance = Productivity = ProfitThe first step in the process is `Developing a System’. Staffing System: Few areas have more immediate and lasting impact on organisations than recruiting and selecting employees. If you do not get the right people […]
Coming soon to your office… random drug testing?
A recent survey carried out by Croner reveals that one in eight companies is already testing employees for drug abuse.Introducing random drug testing for staff has been investigated by almost half of all UK companies.Richard Smith, consultant for Croner says, “The general softening of society’s attitude towards consumption of certain illegal drugs has raised subsequent […]
Sven-Göran Eriksson to share his management secrets
England Manager Sven-Göran Eriksson will be sharing his management secrets at this year’s CIPD Annual Conference and Exhibition running from 22-24 October 2003 at the Harrogate International Exhibition Centre.Birmingham City Football Club managing director Karren Brady will also be at the conference to share her wisdom. Average gates have have almost quadrupled since Brady has […]
Restructuring for performance
When faced with a challenging economy, most organisations are tempted to downsize, consolidate, or focus on core markets in order to remain competitive and profitable. Despite the prevalence of restructuring across all industries, successful restructuring, that achieves what it sets out to do is rarely achieved. Louise Palmer, director of 7 days discusses the issues […]
Britain – a nation of workaholics
Croner Consulting, which questioned 13,679 HR professionals, found that employees are reluctant to take benefits fearing it may hinder their career prospects.Employees are spending more time commuting and the number of working parents is on the rise. However, respondents are worried about taking advantage of perks such as flexible working hours, duvet days and teleworking, […]
If London were hit by a terrorist attack, how would the SME cope?
Mark Reeve from Quattro Consulting discusses IT Disaster Recovery and Contingency Planning for all businesses With the massive increase in email use and companies’ reliance on electronic documents, forms and processes, even the smallest companies are now concerned about their vulnerability to a period without their IT Servers and infrastructure.Most small to medium businesses now […]
HR Tip – Translating rules
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: We have a large ethnic group in our workforce, some members of which have poor English and as a result fail to comply with rules such as sickness absence notification. Are we […]
How Did I Get Here? Rus Slater, Freelance
Rus Slater shares his experiences of working in HR to date, which includes working for a HR consultancy as a training consultant. What’s your current job role?Presently I am freelancing and working on a couple of contracts. My job was made redundant at the beginning of the year in a re think of strategy and […]
EOC demands new law to stamp out inequality in public services
Julie Mellor Chair of the Equal Opportunities Commission (EOC), recently highlighted to the government that the modernisation of the equality legislation must be addressed.The EOC’s vision for equality, published this month, sets out how a more equal society would improve everybody’s quality of life, increase prosperity, strengthen democracy, and improve public services. Ms Mellor, said: […]
Barriers to joined-up government can be overcome by training
Research by LogicaCMG has revealed that public sector professionals are now feeling positive about the move to joined-up government in terms of improved staff development and training. However, lack of communication between local and central government, fear of cultural differences and middle management bottlenecks are perceived to be inhibiting the successful roll out of this […]
Businesses must adapt premises under new Disability Discrimination Act laws
By October 2004 every business will need to be more user-friendly to Britain’s 8.6 million disabled people. New legislation introduced under the Disability Discrimination Act is estimated to affect over 2 million British businesses from the local shop to offices or public buildings. 70% of disabled people interviewed by the DRC are unhappy about the […]
