Work/life balance: why checking emails on holiday is bad for business
Our latest research revealed that 65% of respondents admitted to checking work emails while on holiday, with various degrees of frequency, and 75% said they have taken or made a work call while on leave. The higher up the organisation you are the more likely you are to be ‘checking-in’, with only 19% of senior […]
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 […]
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 […]
The seven pillars of building a successful company culture
Building an organisational culture is like making a house of cards. It’s both simple and complex. If you have all the elements in place and you reinforce them, nurturing culture is easy. If you don’t, the house collapses into its many parts. So business leaders, ask yourselves: how sturdy is your company’s cultural foundation? I use […]
Have we got authenticity wrong?
What do successful leaders need more than anything? Well according to the Harvard Business Review in January 2015, “Authenticity has emerged as the gold standard for leadership.” Most leading companies provide programmes or coaching to develop “authentic leaders”. And reams of paper and internet columns have been devoted to describing what authenticity is and how you achieve […]
Appraisals: why employees should assess their manager’s performance
The traditional top-down assessment method is on its way out – today’s workplace needs a more nuanced approach to appraisals. The debate on annual appraisals is ongoing and for good reason; HR and managers are realising the benefit of continuous mutual dialogue throughout the year, and not just once at the end of it. HR […]
Diversity at work: the business case for an inclusive culture
Exclusion can seriously damage your business, which is why inclusion needs to be a consistent and deliberate part of your HR strategy. Head Heart + Brian recently conducted research with companies about their diversity and inclusion initiatives to learn how these successful ‘lighthouse’ organisations are moving the dial on creating an inclusive culture, with particular […]
Crying at work: new research reveals insight
There’s so much rich insight coming out of the academic sector that HR professionals need to know. At Academics’ Corner we feature the best HR researchers that tell you what they’ve found and what you need to do differently on the back of the research. Get connected to the academic sector through Academics’ Corner and […]
Employee behaviour: the real secret behind engagement
Employers are ramping up the range of benefits on offer to employees in a mad scramble to find that elusive engagement silver bullet. As Facebook announces its latest offering, up to £15,000 for female employees to freeze their eggs, we’ve surely reached peak perk – and the moment to say, enough! A recent global report […]
Anti-bullying week 2017: stopping the timer on workplace bullying
What constitutes workplace bullying? The most likely things that come to mind are threatening, abusive or patronising behaviours at work. Increasingly, these behaviours are reinforced by email or online work forums, and may even continue outside of work on social media sites. This all constitutes workplace bullying, but what is less spoken of is the workplace […]
How to decide when to make a technology decision and what level to invest in seven simple steps
Artificial intelligence, blockchain and other technologies poking their heads out of the ground are impacting HR departments across the globe. Technology companies are coming for your budgets, but how do you know which ones are going to help you do what you’ve got to do? What should you invest your time and money in? I […]
How to harness the power of critical thinking
While most business leaders are willing to acknowledge publicly that their staff are their most important asset and resource, as we know in practice it’s often something they pay lip service to, preferring instead the comfort of the boardroom, the bottom line and dealing with shareholders. That’s not to say that progress hasn’t been made […]
How being selfish, prejudiced and narrow-minded improves emotional intelligence
Combining thinking with feelings to make quality decisions and build authentic relationships underpins your emotional intelligence. And self-awareness is a key component of this. Beyond the obvious awareness of your strengths and liabilities (along with how they play out and the impact that they have) is an awareness of how your attitude can impact upon […]
“What are the top skills headteachers need to create a good culture?”
This question was answered by Andy Buck, a former geography teacher turned headteacher turned leadership expert who has written multiple leadership books and now works with senior headteachers across the UK to improve schools and the school system. Jamie Lawrence, Managing Editor, HRZone: What are the top skills headteachers need to create a good culture? Andy […]
Unconscious bias in action: four of the most common bias-related issues in people decisions
A while ago, I spoke to an investment banker who believed that he was far too clever to have unconscious biases. His argument was that he was so intelligent, everything passed through his conscious mind in order to get into his unconscious mind. He therefore believed it was impossible for him to have any unconscious […]
Is ‘fit’ the new bias?
We go out of our way to recruit candidates who suit the particular culture of our workplace. But is this another form of discrimination, and could it be holding your company back? You’ve probably heard these sorts of comments before: “They’re good, but I’m not sure they fit in with the team” or “They have […]
Six HR archetypes driving digital change
Virtually every conversation today about business growth and change points to technology, with few jobs left untouched by it. From General Electric to Lego, entire systems have been overhauled to make way for faster services. But where does this leave workers? Over the next five years, global banking giant ING predicts it will lay off […]
“I believe we need to be ensuring learning is practical and real for those in the workplace.”
We’re always curious to hear how our members and contributors tackle the challenges that the ever-changing world of L&D throws at them. We’ve got a wealth of experience and knowledge across the site, and what better way to showcase the diversity of our community than to get them to walk us through an average day? Want […]
Priming teams: to do it or not?
There’s so much rich insight coming out of the academic sector that HR professionals need to know. At Academics’ Corner we feature the best HR researchers that tell you what they’ve found and what you need to do differently on the back of the research. Get connected to the academic sector through Academics’ Corner and make sure […]
Millennials aren’t from Mars; employers aren’t from Venus
Justin Hughes is Managing Director of Mission Excellence, a consultancy which accelerates organisational effectiveness. Justin previously spent 12 years as an RAF fighter pilot and served for 3 years on the Red Arrows. He is a renowned speaker on performance and risk and the author of The Business of Excellence, published by Bloomsbury. He can be found on […]