All in! Diversity and inclusion programmes aren’t just for big businesses

A Diversity Matters report produced by McKinsey & Company states that companies with racial, ethnic and gender diversity are at least 15% or more likely to have above average returns. The same study says that companies in the top quartile for racial, ethnic and gender diversity are 35% more likely to have higher financial returns than national […]

Winning the war for global talent: how to improve your employee value proposition

A recent survey of global mobility (GM) professionals around the world has revealed that most multinationals are struggling to attract the right candidates. For all sorts of reasons, employees are unwilling to relocate, which can cause skills shortages and other problems for organisations. The RES Forum’s latest report, Working Towards Top Class Global Mobility explains […]

Employment law: how to comply with immigration laws when recruiting staff

With the laws on acquiring and reapplying for UK visas becoming stricter, businesses should be aware that it is a criminal offence to knowingly employ a person who requires, but lacks, immigration permission. This carries a maximum prison sentence of two years and an unlimited fine for employers who fail to comply with the law. […]

How to make it easier for people to speak up

Encouraging people to speak up in organisations is a complex balancing act.  Leaders need a sophisticated understanding of the impact power differences have on what can be spoken and what is heard.  They need to know what will encourage people to put their heads above the parapet – and what will make them feel it […]

Reimagine excellence: manage performance to free sustainable value

Shareholder value has a long history as the yardstick of corporate performance. The underlying legal principle dates back to a 100-year-old ruling by the Michigan Supreme Court, in the case of Dodge v Ford. Henry Ford learned that the Dodge brothers, who were investors in Ford Motor Co., planned a rival firm. This prompted Ford […]

World Mental Health Day: achieving equality between mental and physical health in the workplace

This World Mental Health Day (October 10th 2019) is an opportunity for us all to improve our own education on mental health, raise awareness and advocate against social stigma. With the World Health Organisation stating that 1 in 4 people will experience a mental health issue each year, and other sources suggesting an even higher […]

Employee wellbeing: how to look after a multigenerational workforce

It’s no secret that employers, who prioritise employee wellbeing and look after their staff well, are more likely to reap rewards. Not only do their employees benefit from a better work experience and healthier lives, but the business also benefits from attracting better talent, building employee loyalty and improving employee motivation and performance.  Today’s multigenerational […]

HR for small business: why everyone needs a mentor

In my line of work, I support heads of HR, HR directors, and L&D managers in both large corporations and SMEs, and I’ve noticed a remarkable difference between them. The HR job description can cover an incredibly diverse spectrum. Is this down to the role or the type of person in it? Are they naturally […]

Wellbeing at work: managing the £37 billion sleep epidemic

The modern workplace is changing, with the standard 9-5 becoming less common in favour of greater flexibility. While traditional, office-based schedules have their limitations, they do still enable employees to work within their natural sleep/wake cycles. Employees work during the day, enjoy free time in the evenings and sleep at night. Research shows that nearly […]

Financial wellbeing: the high cost of falling ill

Most of the focus when it comes to workplace financial wellbeing is unfortunately at point of crisis. Very little is being done to educate employees and help them build resilience to the knocks they will inevitably face in life. This is especially important when the three main areas of wellbeing collide. The cyclical relationship between […]

Employee experience: has a ‘job for life’ become a thing of the past?

Sir Bradley Wiggins recently announced that he’s swapping sport for social work, as he looks to carve out a new career at age 39. While not many of us can claim to have won an Olympic gold medal, that feeling of wondering what it would be like to try something new is one we can […]

How HR can champion diversity and inclusion within a small business

SMEs have more opportunity than their larger competitors to lead diverse and inclusive organisations, because every employee focused decision that they make has a huge impact on their organisation right away. Indeed, a vibrant workforce is actually very important for small businesses, who can struggle to attract staff. They have the ability, therefore, to broaden […]

Recruitment: four hiring challenges for small businesses

Being the first HR person in a small and growing business can mean many things – excitement, for sure, as there will many things to put your stamp on. It can, however, be daunting and challenging too, particularly if recruitment is part of your brief. Here’s a snapshot of some of the key challenges you’ll […]

HR for SMEs: why small business can’t ignore employee wellbeing anymore

Workplace wellbeing has never been higher on the business agenda in the UK. For the third year in a row REBA’s annual state of wellbeing research showed the rise continuing, with two thirds of businesses now having a wellbeing strategy in place, and the number without one expected to fall to under 20% by 2020. […]

Achieving the mindshift to tackle failure demand in HR

Failure demand is everywhere, clogging up your team’s schedule, getting in the way of value-driving activity and impacting user experience whenever your people interact with HR. It’s not people who create failure demand, but the system. To learn how to identify and tackle failure demand, we need to start thinking differently. We need systems thinking. […]

HR for small business: how to write HR policies for SMEs

Generally speaking, SMEs are an exhilarating whirlwind of start-up or scale-up businesses providing so much learning, excitement, pace, change – everything you can relish. It’s like every sort of fairground ride – waltzers, dodgems, log flumes – you name it. The temptation is to see your job as bringing order to the wild ride, to […]

Six steps to better learning and development for small businesses

Are you an HR professional within a small business? Do you support small businesses with HR consultancy? If so, how often do you have conversations about learning and development? I know that you are busy. If you work in an organisation, I know that you are called upon to wear many hats: HR manager, health […]

Employee engagement: why small businesses need to do it too

Years ago, I did a talk on employee engagement for small businesses. At the end, one of the participants came to speak with me. He ran a small business, and he wanted to engage his staff, but it seemed like more work on top of running the business itself. How would he find the extra […]

Workforce analytics: data storytelling and why you should know your audience

I had a debate recently with someone who believed that, when working with complicated analytics, it was important to explain the process and statistical methodology to add credibility to the storyteller and the message. His view was that this was important to all audiences, since credibility was the most important facet to portray in storytelling. […]

Workforce analytics: demystifying HR analytics – it’s not what you think

Perhaps the biggest misdirection or mystery surrounding HR analytics is what it is, and what it is not. HR analytics is not a discipline that is only focused on the functions, challenges and required solutions for HR itself. Also, it is not just complicated statistics and mathematics that nobody understands unless they have a PhD. […]