Talking Point: Do you know how to turn ‘big data’ into big insights?
Employers can now record pretty much everything that we do at work. These days, they can even find out about what we get up to when we’re not at work too. This is because HR has ‘big data’ – otherwise known as large, complex data sets that require very fast databases to process them. […]
Six suggestions for boosting how many women sit on the board
Although women make up 51% of the UK population and just under half of the workforce, only 19% of senior management and 9.6% of executive director positions are held by females. So it’s clear that the higher up the management hierarchy you go, the fewer women that there are. Is the same true of […]
Book Review: HR Strategy – Creating business strategy with human capital
‘HR Strategy’ takes a critical look at people management issues mainly in the UK and US. The author, Paul Kearns, starts with the premise that much of the work undertaken by HR departments is transactional and bureaucratic rather than strategic, adding that organisations “get the HR department they deserve”. The major theme is that […]
Case Study: Novo Nordisk revamps to enable proactive recruitment
Novo Nordisk has revamped its entire recruitment process in a bid to make its sourcing and pipelining activities more proactive, particularly in relation to hard-to-fill posts. The global healthcare company specialises in diabetes care, but also works in the fields of hemophilia, growth hormone therapy and hormone therapy for women. Headquartered in Denmark, the firm, […]
Analysis: Workday in a post-IPO world – The story so far
Workday was one of the most eagerly awaited Silicon Valley initial public offerings – and in the wake of the controversy following Facebook’s flotation, a lot of attention was paid to the fate of its stock on the first day of trading. In the event, the Software-as-a-Service provider of human capital management applications saw the […]
News: Boardroom divide over who owns people management
While ineffective people management is considered a key reason that organisations fail to hit financial targets, a worrying boardroom divide over who should take responsibility is wreaking havoc. According to a report entitled ‘Talent pipeline draining growth: Connecting human capital to the growth agenda’, although a huge 83% of HR directors believe that talent management […]
Blog: How ‘big data’ can help you maximise your people investment
Recognise This! – Your single greatest “expense” is your employees. Big Data can help you get the most out of that investment. Big data (the ability to analyse lots of complex data quickly) is coming into its own. The Harvard Business Review blog published this excerpt of an article on “Big Data’s Management Revolution” saying, […]
Blog: The future of HR – Statistics, analytics and marketing
“It is important for communities to educate our children for their future, not our past.” In a recent interview, Romain Dallemand, the superintendent of schools in Bibb County, Georgia, talked about how he came into the job last year with a bag of changes he calls “The Macon Miracle.” One of the tools in that tool kit […]
News: FTSE CEO pay rises ‘cool off’, but wage inequality continues to heat up
Although pay rises for FTSE 100 chief executives may be “cooling off”, wage inequalities between high and middle and low earners still appear to be heating up. According to research from the Incomes Data Service, earnings growth among the UK’s top bosses slowed over the last year to a median of 8.5% lower than it […]
Case Study: Welcome Break revamps workforce management to make big savings
Welcome Break Group is revamping the way that it manages its workforce in a bid to optimise performance and generate annual six figure savings. The aim of the motorway service station and hotel operator is to ensure that its 4,300 employees are aligned with corporate goals at every level of the organisation. A further […]
News: Aegis Media turns HQ entry gates into staff feedback system
Aegis Media has turned the security gates at its Regents Place headquarters in London into a voting system, with the aim of collecting employee feedback in real-time. As each of the digital marketing and communications agency’s 1,000 staff has entered the building over the last couple of weeks, they have been presented with screens asking […]
Blog: Training needs analysis – How to choose the right option
You’ve conducted a Training Needs Analysis (TNA) and the results are in: training is indeed required to make sure your organisation forges ahead successfully. It’s generally accepted these days that some degree of employee training is an important part of any successful organisation. Training can reduce the skills gaps identified in TNA and improve […]
Going for gold with former Olympians
In sport terms, 30 years of age is probably the equivalent of 50 for everyone else. By 35, most sports people are nudging retirement. But what do they do after that? For a significant number of ex-Olympians and other sporting legends, the next move is into training and consultancy, sharing the secrets of their […]
How business savvy are you – really?
Let’s face it, the phrase ‘HR needs to be commercial’ is nothing new. Yet it’s a theme that keeps recurring. Time and again we hear the argument that HR is not business focused enough and more HR directors need to be on the board. Ellie Rich, operations director at Michael Page Human Resources, comments: […]
Blog: Why it makes sense to upgrade your HR system
There are many good reasons to work in Human Resources. Perhaps you like helping people grow their careers, or it gives you a thrill to capture the latest talent for your firm. But the one thing you probably didn’t put in your “must have” dream job description was wading through a pile of administrative […]
News: Cautious hiring and low pay awards the “new normal”
A cautious approach to hiring and low pay awards are the “new normal”, with median wage rises across the economy expected to continue at around 2.8% over the coming quarter. According to a survey of 319 UK employers conducted by the CBI and recruitment consultancy, Harvey Nash, pay restraint appears to remain the norm, with […]
News: 120 public servants sacked after snooping for personal data
At least 120 public servants have reportedly been fired over the last couple of years for illegally accessing personal data held in a confidential Department for Work and Pensions‘ database while at work. This is the claim made by an IT news site that says the staff were sacked for “abusing their access rights to […]
The HRZone Interview: CIPD’s Stephanie Bird on the evolution of HR
About a quarter of HR directors these days come into the function from other areas, while the most successful act as “boundary-less leaders”, borrowing and reapplying ideas and techniques from other disciplines. According to Stephanie Bird, director of HR capability at the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development, an increasing number of HRDs have “zigzag […]
Six steps for succession planning success
The identification and development of future management candidates – otherwise known as succession planning or talent management – was recently identified as one of the top three immediate HR issues that needed to be dealt with (Bersin and Associates, 2011). Over 50% of the employers surveyed struggled to fill key positions and believed that their […]
Employers must now provide PAYE reference number for liability records
Employers’ tax reference numbers for PAYE will have to be supplied to a national Employers’ Liability Database as a result of an administrative rule change on 1 April 2012. Since last year, ELD has been collecting details of employers’ cover from brokers and insurers to make it easier for those making claims to […]
