Why we should embrace the six-hour working day

Gary Cattermole, Director, The Survey Initiative, discusses how some companies in Scandinavia are introducing a six-hour day to boost levels of employee engagement and how this could really benefit businesses in the UK too. No doubt if we held a referendum on who is fed-up with the 9-5 there would be a majority eager to embrace […]

Making sure your recruitment works in an uncertain environment

We are living through Volatile, Uncertain, Complex and Ambiguous (VUCA) times. Uncertainty affects almost every aspect of work, and recruitment is no exception. How can recruiters successfully navigate a VUCA environment? During times of uncertainty, where there is ambiguity and pressure, we know that decision-making becomes more instinctive. This has two implications for recruitment. Firstly, […]

Keeping diversity and inclusion on the agenda during uncertain times

During uncertain times, such as the recent fallout from the decision on the European referendum, leaders tend to opt for the ‘tried-and-tested’ policy, often to the detriment of their diversity and inclusion (D&I) work. But keeping D&I at the forefront of our minds is even more important for leaders when the future is looking unclear. People […]

Factors that influence employee engagement – your complete list

Factors that influence employee engagement are varied and very diverse. While there are some that depend on the prevailing culture within the organisation, there are also common threads for all individuals, and also individual factors that can significantly influence a person's relationship with colleagues and their organisation. Take a look through our list of factors […]

Politician analysis: Donald Trump

Donald John Trump, the man that Barack Obama has recently labelled “unfit” to be president of the US could potentially hold that very office on Tuesday November 8th 2016. We ask, how does a man who is widely reported to be brash, rude and more than a little economical with the truth, get to be […]

Getting to day 1: HR’s crucial role in the E.ON carve-out

Corporate transformations may be increasingly common, but that’s little consolation to those charged with executing them. E.ON’s recent split into two companies was about as complex a transformation as one can imagine, with an almost impossible timetable. The results speak volumes about the importance of good strategy, planning, and execution.  They also serve as an […]

Here’s why your digital transformation is failing

This article was co-written by Aoife Kilduff, European Insights Lead at YSC, and Nikita D’Souza, Research Consultant at YSC. The ‘digital age’ is not a new era. It is the world we have been living in for the past 20 years. However in recent years, the effect the ‘digital age’ has on the way we live […]

What are the causes & nature of employee disengagement?

According to Gallup, just 13% of employees are engaged at work. Increasing this number and finding out what makes people engagement at work is therefore high on HR's priority list. But the first step is really understanding workplace disengagement and the factors that causally contribute to poor perceptions and experiences in the workplace. These reports, articles, […]

Employee engagement research – the master list

Employee engagement research is now in abundance and allows you to better your employee engagement ideas and implementation. Whatever stage you're at in the engagement journey – from building a business case to measuring success or trying to identify new causes and drivers of staff engagement, our research library will help you identify key stats, […]

HR, it’s time for the tail to stop wagging the dog

Jane Sunley is a UK best-selling business author of  ‘The People Formula: 12 Steps to Productive, Profitable, Performing Business’ and Founder and Chairman of employee engagement expertise and tech provider, Purple Cubed. Few would argue that the delivery of business strategy is dependent on people; providing a set of circumstances whereby people can do this well […]

Now is the time to help ‘game changers’ to transform our future

If you think game changers are a different breed, then you are right. Our research, The DNA of a Game Changers, shows game changers are unlike others – they have the potential to transform our future. In our rapidly changing world, businesses are faced with challenges from technology and new market entrants who play by […]

Looking at leadership after Brexit

Whether you are a politician, leader of a big business, in charge of a small team or anything in between, there are some fundamentals of leadership that we must all act upon. As leaders we now have some important shared duties and collective responsibilities. Whichever way you voted in the referendum, the UK is a democracy […]

Training doesn’t work. There I’ve said it…

Training doesn’t work. There I’ve said it. I feel a whole lot better now! Of course I need to put some caveats around that. I’m referring to the traditional training course – off the job one or two day events existing in a bubble of presentations and meaningless activity. They don’t work.  I mean, that’s obvious isn’t […]

How to present a stronger business case to the board

Some HR teams struggle to justify HR and training investments and initiatives in a way that wins the board’s approval.  Often this happens because they find themselves in the dark about the long and short-term ambitions of the company they work for or because there’s a lack of clarity about the business strategy itself. Asking […]

Brexit: is your reward strategy in or out?

June is fast approaching and that can only mean one thing, the EU referendum. We are being asked a very big question: should the UK remain a member of the European Union or leave? Commentators are trying to inform us of the potential consequence of our decision with the possible impact ranging from expats becoming illegal […]

Tales from an HRM PhD – the starry beginnings

This is the first article in a four-part series from Ruth Sharpe, part-time lecturer and full-time PhD learner at the Institute for Development Policy and Management at Manchester University, on the trials and tribulations of undertaking a PhD in HRM. Pondering this? Let me help and offer a practical HR human insight into the ‘conquering Everest’ equivalent […]

Tales from an HRM PhD – the meltdown begins

This is the second article in a four-part series from Ruth Sharpe, part-time lecturer and full-time PhD learner at the Institute for Development Policy and Management at Manchester University, on the trials and tribulations of undertaking a PhD in HRM. The last time you heard from me I was glorious, excited, thrilled and honoured to be […]

Tales from an HRM PhD – it’s turnaround time

This is the third article in a four-part series from Ruth Sharpe, part-time lecturer and full-time PhD learner at the Institute for Development Policy and Management at Manchester University, on the trials and tribulations of undertaking a PhD in HRM. I left you last time, weeping and gnashing my teeth with this PhD. Facing research […]

Tales from an HRM PhD – the final lessons

This is the fourth article in a four-part series from Ruth Sharpe, part-time lecturer and full-time PhD learner at the Institute for Development Policy and Management at Manchester University, on the trials and tribulations of undertaking a PhD in HRM. My final PhD musings and thanks indeed to any sparse remnants of faithful legions that might have persisted with me […]

Take a look at the NY resolutions of senior UK HR professionals

Just what do the UK’s leading senior HR directors want to change in the year ahead? Find out below… Ann Pickering HR Director, O2 “My New Year’s resolution for 2016 is to encourage tech companies to do more to inspire young women to pursue a career in STEM. Whilst progress has undoubtedly been made, the reality […]