What the heck is wrong with meetings? [PART 2]
We spend 1/3 of our working week in meetings and at least 50% of that time is wasted. That’s about a day a week per employee. Multiply that by the number of employees in your business and you can calculate the cost just in terms of salary. And that doesn’t include the lost opportunity cost. […]
What the heck is wrong with meetings? [PART 1]
We spend approximately 1/3 of our week in meetings and about 50% of that time is wasted. That’s about a day a week per employee. Multiply that by the number of employees in your business and you can calculate the cost just in terms of salary. And that doesn’t include the lost opportunity cost. But […]
Internal comms: lessons from the ad industry
Muse is a new online service from Woodreed designed to solve the business challenges HR, engagement and internal communications professionals tell us they face. Accessed online via PC, mobile or tablet, it’s a combination of three services designed to improve the quality and effectiveness of internal communication. Click here to find out more. Would you let your […]
Three examples of organisational failure to give up the illusion of control
Just like every year on Christmas Eve, a portly, white-bearded and red-garmented man delivered gifts to all the good children in the world, with only the help of some reindeer and a few elves. Even if the reindeer could actually fly and if you corrected for all the different time zones, admittedly, it sounds incredible. […]
Are your employees seen but not heard?
The nature and scope of employee voice is becoming increasingly complex, with drivers such as technology, new employment models and workforce diversity fundamentally changing the way we work. But are organisations flexing to accommodate these shifts in the way we express our voice in the workplace? This article was co-authored by Louisa Baczor (Research Associate) and […]
How to break down persistent silos and connect your organisation – does training help or hinder?
A recent study of over 500 HR managers showed that silo working continues to hold organisations back and that our approach to talent development is perpetuating, rather than solving, the issue. Silos are nothing new, and an understanding of their impact on organisational performance is widely recognised. So why do we continue to experience them, […]
“Use their language, not language from an HR text book.”
Taking on a new role is as challenging as it is exciting. In this series we will be talking to HR professionals who are getting to grips with a new job and finding out what attracted them to the role, as well as what their key priorities are for the months ahead. Want to tell […]
It’s sales & marketing, not sales versus marketing – creating more collaborative teams’
When it comes to preparing for presentations, there are major differences between the opinions of the marketing and sales teams. I’ve lost track of the number of marketing teams I’ve talked to who have discussed at length the growing gap they are seeing between their own work and the work of their sales teams when […]
5 viewpoints on anonymous employee feedback + 2 tools you can use
The business case for feedback is supported by lots of evidence (see here, for example), but there's uncertainty around whether anonymous feedback is the right way to go or whether you should encourage people to provide open and honest feedback. Five viewpoints on anonymous feedback Viewpoint 1: A mixed kettle of fish – but leader […]
“As a manager of flexible workers, it is important to put trust in your team.”
Tim Stone is Vice President Marketing EMEA at Polycom and will be speaking at the Agile Working Event to be held on March 29th in London. Jamie Lawrence, Editor, HRZone: Lots of companies would love a 'no holds barred' flexible working policy but are terrified of giving up control. How did you guys overcome this? Tim […]
Mission impossible: how to ensure that no employee suggestion is left behind
Lord Kitchener’s famous pointing finger once pushed people towards the battlefields of World War One. One hundred years later, he’s pointing at you, me and every other employee to turn ideas into reality to make employee suggestion schemes a success. The moustachioed field marshal adorns office walls across the UK, using the ‘your company needs […]
Evidence-based agony aunt: starting difficult conversations
Our evidence-based agony aunt, Jan Hills, uses findings from neuroscience and psychology to tell you how to solve your organisational problems in brain-savvy ways, that work with the mind's natural tendecies and not against it. Got a problem you want her to look at it? Drop us a line at editor@hrzone.com. We'll get back quickly. Question: […]
Evidence-based agony aunt: “I want to give more responsibility to people. How do I get them to step up?”
Our evidence-based agony aunt, Jan Hills, uses findings from neuroscience and psychology to tell you how to solve your organisational problems in brain-savvy ways, that work with the mind's natural tendecies and not against it. Got a problem you want her to look at it? Drop us a line at editor@hrzone.com. We'll get back quickly. Question: […]
It’s National Storytelling Week! But has corporate storytelling lost the plot?
This week is National Storytelling Week but with so much emphasis on ‘corporate narrative and the ’customer story’, HR professionals could be forgiven for thinking these terms define the natural limits for storytelling in the corporate world. In corporate life, the business story and storytelling capabilities are often lumped together as one idea and the […]
Return to work interviews: making them work better
Records indicate that the greater completion of Return to Work Interviews (RTWIs), the lower overall absence rates are. But many organisations fail to achieve a high RTWI compliance because their line managers are either: A) poor at the process or B) lack the confidence to talk to their staff about sensitive health issues. You could […]
8 winning tactics for creating gold medal teamwork
This article was written by Mandy Flint & Elisabet Vinberg Hearn, authors of ”The Team Formula”. The Olympics are now in our rear view mirror. This is a good time to review and learn from the teamwork that goes into making an Olympian successful. Team GB had magnificent success at the Olympics. That kind of success […]
International recruitment: how to help new employees adjust
We recently undertook a survey of HRs in the international recruitment sector. The study found that nearly half of HR managers included in the research struggled to onboard candidates. Surprisingly, the biggest problems HRs faced wasn’t in talent acquisition itself, but the adjustment phase that follows. The most commonly cited problems were with settling in (46%), […]
Promoting a quality-driven business culture – a six-step guide
Forming a quality-driven culture at work should be a priority for all business leaders, not only those working in the service sector. Employing a workforce that is motivated and empowered to deliver high-quality customer service is critical for any business looking to achieve long-term goals and secure a position of lasting value in its chosen […]
Business app usage: UK companies trail European counterparts
UK businesses are using more IT tools and apps than a year ago, but usage is lacking compared to counterparts in France and Germany. Just under half of UK workers (46%) saw an increase in tools used, compared to 71% and 60% in France and Germany respectively. This is according to the Wrike Digital Work Report 2016, […]
Internal communications: what is the campaign approach, core metrics, segmentation and more
Tim Vaughan is Head of Content and Corporate Communications at internal communications platform Newsweaver, whose clients include Vodafone, Barclays, Marks & Spencer and Shell. In this interview Tim discusses the ‘campaign’ approach to internal communication, what metrics organisations should be using to measure the success of IC programmes, and the importance of segmentation in effective internal communication campaigns. […]
