Employee wellbeing: what do you do when an employee raises a grievance?

When an employee raises a grievance at work, it’s essential that it’s taken seriously and that the right process is followed. Here are some suggestions to help navigate that process. All employers should be prepared for dealing with a grievance from one of their employees. It is not uncommon for employees to raise grievances when […]
Office conflicts: when to address the passive aggressive post its

Office conflicts often begin with small, passive-aggressive behaviours that can escalate if left unchecked. Here’s how to deal with the problem at its source before this happens. When faced with the post-it note on the office photocopier saying, ‘did you ever think to refill the paper?’ some might scoff and ignore it. Others may confront […]
Book review – The Business of Excellence: Building High-performance Teams and Organisations

HRZone has a range of books available for review. If you would like to receive one of our business books, free of charge, please contact the editor on editor at hrzone dot com and we can send you a list of what’s available. In return, we ask for a 400-700 word review of the book, its […]
Maternity discrimination: why do we continue to stereotype returning mothers?

While progress is being made to combat maternity discrimination, the problem of returning mothers being stereotyped and misrepresented remains – and this needs to stop if employers want to hang onto these valuable employees. Despite pregnancy and maternity being a protected characteristic under The Equality Act 2010, three in four mothers (77%) said they had […]
Employee engagement: why it’s time for HR to step up and deliver on ‘purpose’

Organisations today aren’t just about making money – they’re about delivering on a ‘purpose’, and HR has a crucial role to play in this. There seems to be a ‘purpose revolution’ going on right now. Organisations, very often through their brands, are seeking to engage us through the difference they want to make to the […]
Flexible working: a vital differentiator in a challenging labour market

Economic pressure and political instability are impacting British businesses’ ability to attract and retain talent. Instead of battening down the hatches, organisations should embrace flexible working as a way of securing the future of their workforce. There’s no doubt that UK businesses are facing more challenges now than ever before. The rise of the […]
Working parents: shared parental leave has the potential to positively impact gender equality

With the uptake of new fathers taking up shared parental leave remaining stubbornly low, it seems a change in workplace culture and perception is needed in order for employees to truly feel the benefits. One professional dad shares his personal experience of the scheme and how it has positively impacted both his personal and working […]
Recruitment: are first impressions unfairly influencing your hiring process?

Studies have shown that interviewers often make up their minds about candidates within the first few minutes of meeting them – sometimes regardless of how well they perform later on in the interview. It seems that first impressions are indeed powerful – but they don’t tell the whole story. Here’s how to assess whether inaccurate […]
GDPR: who is responsible for protecting business data?

GDPR came into force in May but many businesses remain unclear about what the risks of non-compliance are and who is responsible for protecting their data. In order to ensure full compliance, a change in our data culture is required. It may be tempting to invest in training that promises to tackle GDPR head on, […]
Setting a clear direction on your workplace learning analytics journey

In the second of a six-part series on the components of a workplace learning analytics strategy, Trish Uhl looks at how to map your course and make sure that you’re delivering on all your essential priorities when creating your strategy. I’ve spent the past seven months traveling the world meeting with learning practitioners in cities spanning […]
The impact of organisational change on the brain

This is the first in a series of four articles by Hilary Scarlett, speaker, consultant and author on Better Organisational Change through Neuroscience. They draw from her book, Neuroscience for Organizational Change – an evidence-based, practical guide to managing change. The articles explore how the brain responds to organisational change and, equipped with a better understanding […]
Why are some people more resilient when facing change?

In the first of this series of articles on Better Organisational Change Through Neuroscience, we looked at why our brains find organisational change difficult. Change that is unpredictable and uncontrollable is particularly stressful to the brain. But as anyone who has been through organisational change will know, it can be difficult to foresee how people will […]
We have hugely underestimated people’s need for social connection at work

This is the third in a series of four articles on Better Organisational Change through Neuroscience by Hilary Scarlett, speaker, consultant and author of Neuroscience for Organizational Change – an evidence-based practical guide to managing change. We have hugely underestimated people’s need for social connection at work. We understand the importance of relationships in our personal […]
How to stay calm during organisational change

This is the last in a series of four articles on Better Organisational Change through Neuroscience by Hilary Scarlett, speaker, consultant and author of Neuroscience for Organizational Change – an evidence-based practical guide to managing change. Wouldn’t we get through the world of work more easily if we were logical and unemotional? In his book, Descartes’ […]
Employee engagement: why flow is the key to boosting productivity and performance

According to psychology experts, the best way to motivate employees and inspire them to do their best work is to encourage them to reach a state of ‘flow’. In the relatively new field of positive psychology, the concept of ‘flow’ stands out as a practical way for organisations to boost productivity, performance, creativity and satisfaction […]
Wellbeing at work: future-proofing your business in a shifting economic landscape

Economic and technological developments are creating a faster-moving and more volatile business environment. Business leaders must pay close attention to employee wellbeing and act now to future-proof their workforce against the challenges this brings. “Airbus threatens to leave the UK over Brexit” screamed newspaper headlines in the UK, capturing the unprecedented levels of volatility […]
Stuck in first gear: how can HR make more of people data?

People analytics has been the ‘next big thing’ for HR for well over twenty years, but the profession is still struggling to make the most of the people data it collects. Is a crisis of confidence holding the profession back? And what does HR need to do to make people analytics ‘business as usual’ and […]
Employee engagement pitfalls: how can we make it more human?

All too often organisations treat employee engagement as a box ticking exercise, but true engagement is about fostering an ongoing two-way dialogue with your team members. Lately, I’ve been thinking about how to make employee engagement more human. By this I mean that engagement is our attempt to replicate in the workplace something we do in our […]
Productivity: why businesses need to look at more than just output per hour

As productivity in the UK continues to lag, companies need to look at more than just labour output per hour. Over the past decade, productivity in the UK has fallen across the board. Compared to our neighbours across the Channel, the UK has a lot of catching up to do. With the UK’s labour output […]
Will you be joining us at UNLEASH World Conference & Expo 2018?

UNLEASH (formerly HR Tech World) returns to the RAI Amsterdam on 23-24 October 2018. Will we see you there? UNLEASH World Conference & Expo 2018 will bring together over 5,000 leaders, solution providers, next-gen innovators and influencers to explore themes around the future of work, digital transformation and cutting-edge HR practice. Will we see you there? If […]