Blog: Cultivating a success culture
Culture is a complex concept for managers and leaders to understand. It’s hardly surprising, even ‘experts’ have different views about just what it is. Here are just a few of the definitions I found in a few minutes online: The way things are done around here The specific collection of values and norms that […]
HRD Summit: The art of becoming a ‘leader’ rather than a ‘manager’
To become effective leaders, HR directors must look at how they think as well as understand both the nature of responsibility and the impact of their communications. But, according to Penny Ferguson, managing partner at The Living Leader, during her keynote speech at the HR Directors’ Summit in Birmingham today, the majority of HR bosses […]
HRD Summit: ‘HR must hive off strategic activities to be truly effective’
To effectively take that much coveted seat at the top table, HR must follow the example of other functions and separate out strategic activities from transaction-based, operational tasks. But while departments such as IT, marketing and finance have already made the move, it is politically still not considered the right thing to say in the […]
Blog: Managing change during an office move
Moving office doesn’t happen every day. In fact, it’s a big milestone in the life of a business and a change in working environment can bring about many benefits. It presents an ideal opportunity to embrace a new corporate image, implement new processes and team restructuring; all of which can have a positive impact on staff […]
Blog: Global recognition stereotyping – don’t believe the lie
Recognise This! – The power of employee recognition and appreciation knows no geographic or cultural boundaries. I hear time and again that “it’s different over there.” Or “They do things differently. They don’t have the same expectations our employees here have.” I hear this most often about the Asia/Pacific region and usually specifically about […]
Understanding ‘what good looks like’ when hiring
As discussed in part one of this two-part series of articles, it is important to understand ‘what good looks like’ in your organisation, not least because there is a cost involved in not doing so. But what exactly can do we do in practical terms to make sure that we are on top of the […]
Talent Spot: Andrew Powell, COO of Colt Technology Services
Andrew Powell landed a six-week consultancy contract at Colt Technology Services in 2006 and has been there ever since. Despite falling into employment with the telecoms and IT services firm “completely by accident”, he is now chief operating officer after having held five other senior positions at the company within five years – which includes […]
Blog: Four tips to help staff keep calm in the face of change
Change is inevitable and necessary, but it is also a major cause of stress and anxiety. As many organisations face up to big cultural and financial changes, it is important to have some simple techniques up your sleeve to help people handle the uncertainty. Even the smallest of changes can have a big impact, […]
Blog: A new role for HR?
Every year we bring together key thinkers in the HR Profession for the Ochre House HR Directors Annual Symposium and this year, they certainly didn’t fail to impress. The subject for the day was Redefining Business Value Through a Talent Centric Approach and it wasn’t long before the room was buzzing with conversation. One […]
CIPD Conference Blog: Sir Terry Leahy on how Tesco pulled ahead of the pack
The other morning at the CIPD 2011 conference I listened to the speech given by Sir Terry Leahy, former CEO of Tesco. Tesco’s dominance concerns me, and when he showed us the 2010 market capitalisation comparison between Tesco (about 6 times bigger than both), Sainsbury’s and M&S I winced a little. Terry spoke sincerely and […]
CIPD Conference: People management key to Tesco’s success, says Leahy
Tesco’s success has been based on good people management and the simple act of giving workers what they want, believes Sir Terry Leahy, former chief executive of the supermarket chain. In his keynote speech at the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development in Manchester this week, he said that employees fundamentally desired four key things: […]
CIPD Conference: “HR must become business leaders and strategists”
If HR professionals are to take up their rightful mantle as agents of change, they must become “first and foremost business leaders and strategists driving performance and change through people”. Gill Rider, president of the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development, warned in her keynote speech to open the organisation’s annual conference in Manchester today […]
Book Review: The why of work by Ulrich & Ulrich
The initial response many people will have to the Ulrichs’ book title will be to focus on the ‘why’ and ‘work’ words. They will then contrast them with the increasing pressure they probably feel at the moment to simply keep the show on the road, before reaching for the ‘Ten Minute Manager’ or some […]
Blog: Committing to a compassionate culture within the NHS
Compliance to compassion was a phrase that has resonated with me this week, since another damning report was released on the state of the national health service’s approach to eldercare. A lady on the radio yesterday (Thursday) urged officials to shift thinking across the organisation, and actually change the way that individuals approach their day-to-day […]
Legal Insight: M&A rule changes – an HRD guide to getting it right
New merger and acquisition rules introduced on 19 September mean that companies involved in such activity will have to bring HR into the picture at a much earlier stage of the due diligence process than was previously the case. The changes were introduced by the Panel on Takeovers and Mergers, an independent body that is […]
Creating a sustainable people strategy
When it comes to creating an environmental or sustainable policy, it seems that businesses are making the same mistakes that they did when the internet first arrived. At that time, everyone rushed to create a web site and packed it full of information. But they failed to either develop a suitable strategy or appreciate that […]
Talent Spot: Dean Hunter – HRD turned MD at Hunter Adams
Becoming a bobby on the beat may not be the most obvious first step on the career ladder to becoming an HR director, but for Dean Hunter, it was all part of the master plan. After university, he joined the police with the specific aim of specialising in HR and recruitment for the force. Full […]
From good to great: how to effect positive workplace change
Most people come to work with a set view of themselves and then proceed to work within those pre-defined boundaries. This behaviour is generally perfectly acceptable and there is even value in its consistency. The problem is, however, that it also betrays a certain mentality and state of being in which employees have ceased to […]
Three tips for managing risky employee behaviour
Risk is back on the agenda, not just from the perspective of how organisations operate, but also in terms of how individual employees behave. High profile events at News International and at Swiss banking giant UBS, following the arrest of suspected rogue trader Kweku Adoboli amid accusations of perpetrating a £1.5 billion banking fraud, are […]
Whitehall needs skills revamp or reform will fail, warns report
Whitehall must build up its specialist expertise in outsourcing, contract management and procurement or the coalition Government's hopes of ambitious civil service reform will founder, according to MPs. The recommendation is contained in a new Commons Public Administration Select Committee report entitled 'Change in Government: the agenda for leadership', which accuses the Government of lacking both […]
