How blind recruitment can help employers avoid the ‘black hole’
Getting rid of recruitment bias is essential if companies are truly serious about creating a diverse workforce. Is blind recruitment the answer to this pervasive problem? It’s not too much of a stretch to say that men have traditionally dominated careers in science. Even now, women make up less than a quarter of those working […]
Leadership skills: the role of conflict in collaboration
Conflict doesn’t have to be a bad thing – indeed, some of the best innovations come from situations where there’s a divergence of opinion. Here, leadership strategists Mandy Flint and Elisabet Vinberg Hearn explain how leaders can approach conflict constructively, and encourage their teams to do the same. Conflict is often seen as something negative, […]
Ethics in the workplace: an introduction
Ethics is an increasingly critical talking point in the modern world. So is it time we placed greater importance on these conversations within our businesses? Introducing his upcoming nine-part series on ethics in the workplace, Luke Andreski sets the scene for why a robust moral code and set of values is essential for organisations – […]
Ethics in the workplace: what’s the point?
In the first article of this nine-part series on ethics in the workplace, Luke Andreski opens his discussion with a brief look at the nature of ethics and why ethics are important for businesses and organisations of all kinds. Ethics and morality are important. They are important whoever we are and whatever we do. This […]
Different people, different needs: mental health and older workers
Mental health may be less of a taboo subject in the workplace today, but for older workers the culture of suffering silently may be hard to move away from. How can you ensure that employees across all generations feel safe to speak up about their issues when needed? It’s hugely positive to have mental health supported […]
The human-focused workplace: how to redesign your organisation to achieve people-centricity
In part three of this three-part series on ‘Making HR truly strategic’, HR expert Jon Ingham outlines three requirements for redesigning an organisation with people at its heart. An increasing number of organisations are using a growing range of approaches to help build an environment in which people can do their best work. For example, […]
Flexible working: why organisations must stop ignoring working fathers
It is becoming clear that millennial fathers are more active parents and want to be more involved day to day across all parenting areas. This is borne out by our most recent research report looking at the Millennial Dad at Work and by previous research we conducted last year with over 1,200 dads across the […]
Owning your onboarding strategy: why you need a holistic approach
A holistic pre-boarding and onboarding strategy is key to increasing employee loyalty – and it’s a long-term project, not a quick fix. As an employee, there’s nothing more nerve-wracking than starting the first day at a new job. It’s wrought with anxiety. Will your fellow colleagues like you? Will you get a clear sense of […]
How employee recognition can support wellbeing
Online tools provide employees more opportunities than ever before to recognise the efforts of their peers, which in turn can have a positive effect on morale. Everywhere we go, processes are becoming automated and we are therefore more reliant on technology than we have ever been. The world of HR and employee engagement is no […]
The gig economy: preparing for the disruptive forces shaping work
Mike Hammer – aka ‘The Gig Doctor’ – outlines how ongoing economic and societal events are disrupting the workplace and shifting skills requirements. Is HR ready to respond and adjust accordingly? A recent publication from Deloitte, ‘Flipping the narrative toward a brighter future,’ is worth reading if you’ve not already. The article explores an alternative […]
Personal development: is passion a key ingredient for a successful career?
It’s a widely held myth that passion is essential when trying to forge a successful career, but it takes a little more than this for our brains to master new skills. One of the implicit assumptions about work is that we should be passionate about what we do. A lot of anxiety and dissatisfaction occurs […]
Why the human-focused workplace leads to competitive success
In part two of this three-part series on ‘Making HR truly strategic’, Jon Ingham explores how HR transitioned from being a support function of the business to being the key driver of business success. It is an exciting time in HR currently, as so many shifts towards a more human-focused workplace are all taking place at the […]
Workplace mental health: how to be caring, not just compliant
Providing meaningful mental health support does not have to be complicated or costly for employers. By taking a simple three-staged approach to wellbeing, businesses can reap the benefits of a healthier, happier and more productive workforce. The average person today is said to spend roughly a third of their life at work – so it’s […]
Dig deeper: how to take our humanity out of hiding
Our inability to re-humanise our workplaces stems from three detrimental behavioural traps. How can we release ourselves from these harmful habits and get back in touch with our humanity? We’re not making sustainable shifts towards human-focused workplaces because we’re staying superficial when we need to dig deeper. If you’ve been involved in personal development for […]
Celebrating individualism in the workplace
The whole may be greater than the sum of its parts, but that doesn’t mean we should view and treat our workers as one and the same. Allowing your employees’ idiosyncrasies to shine in the workplace is key to creating a thriving culture of creativity and entrepreneurialism. Workplace culture is on nearly every people professional’s […]
Mental health: why a digital detox is essential for both wellbeing and productivity
Our ‘always on’ digital culture is having a negative effect on our mental health. It’s time to switch off. Here are three top tips to help you detach from that smartphone and start living in the real world again. Most of us use technology every day at work, at home and on the move. Modern […]
Workplace culture: why it’s time to bust the myth of the ‘ideal worker’
Many company cultures require people to compartmentalise their lives and prioritise work over all else, but research has proven that this is detrimental not just to employee wellbeing, but to the bottom line as well. I just got off the phone from my daughter who is travelling for work. This week she flew overnight, had […]
Are you really awake? Why conscious leaders are key to unlocking wellbeing
Positive wellbeing in the workplace does not come from discounted gym memberships and free fruit. It comes from a healthy working culture spearheaded by conscious leaders who instill good habits and value people’s need to switch off. We’re facing increasing complexity and stress in the modern world of work. Everywhere we’re seeing headlines about increasing […]
It’s not JUST emotions: putting energy and feelings at the heart of your work
For centuries we’ve been in denial about our human nature when it comes to work. Some of the most basic norms of the workplace are incompatible with peak human performance. Sitting down for large portions of the day, lack of natural light and air, wearing restrictive clothes and shoes, and being separated from our families […]
GDPR and HR one year on: three things you need to know
HR professionals have, on the whole, successfully jumped the hurdle of GDPR, but just as one challenge has been overcome, the prospect of a no deal Brexit raises more potential barriers that need to be addressed. One year on from GDPR coming into effect, an impressive 95% of UK HR professionals feel confident in their […]