Legal Insight: How to guard against constructive dismissal claims
Lord Sugar is as famous for his business success as he is for his “You’re Fired” catchphrase on ‘The Apprentice’. Seven series of the popular BBC television show have produced seven winners, but only one still works for him. However, viewers of the last series will know that the winner no longer takes it […]
Blog: How to make the most of an international labour pool
The world is a much smaller place with communication being virtually instant and video conferencing becoming more common than long distance business travel due to its efficiency and cost benefits. So it makes sense that local candidates for jobs that have limited-to-no need for them to be physically present might not always be the best […]
Change programmes: Asking the awkward questions
As difficult economic circumstances continue, it seems likely that organisations of all types are going to have to find new ways of cutting costs, improving productivity and just generally fighting harder to get business. This will mean scrutinising activities that do not clearly help them meet their goals in the short-term and potentially terminating them. […]
Seven secrets to managing change effectively
Since the start of the recession, organisations have made cuts where they can, but there now appears to be precious little slack left to prune. As a result, over the year ahead, many employers are likely to start refocusing activities and the introduction of change seems to be a certainty. But while change tends […]
Blog: The link between culture, brand and PR
WASP males don’t tend to get too many invitations to be involved in the promotion of diversity management; which is a shame really. I’m a firm believer in the notion that the promotion of diversity should embrace the full range of stakeholders and should truly practice inclusiveness in the way stakeholders are engaged with the […]
Blog: How to embed a learning culture
I guess many companies have survived over many years without what we’ve started to call a Learning Culture, but without doubt it’s going to be a major help. When Kaplan & Norton first published their balanced score card method in the mid 1990’s it was interesting to note their attention to learning: Customer goals, Finance […]
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: Social media and the workforce – Can you hear me now?
Can you hear me now? That ubiquitous phrase made famous by Verizon became quite apropos at the end of 2011. After the most embarrassing debacle in history of marketing/pricing, Verizon was forced to backtrack, put their tail between their legs, and somberly walk away from what they thought would be another revenue steam. Netflix […]
Blog: Do employee benefits really improve recruitment and retention?
A good deal of businesses see their benefits packages as tools to enhance their retention and recruitment strategies, and employees don’t disagree with them; according to a 2010 survey by MetLife, 43% of employees state that their benefits package has kept them in their current role. Staff turnover costs businesses money, there’s no escaping that, […]
Blog: The art of communication in tough economic times
We all felt it. The incredible desire to get 2012 off to a great start, this Olympic year that’s full of hope, only to be confronted with headlines indicating that the next 12 months could in fact be far worse in terms of the economy and employment market than the ones that have passed. Not […]
Capita plans to offshore TV Licensing jobs branded as “callous”
Hundreds of TV Licensing jobs are at risk of redundancy under plans by outsourcer Capita to relocate – and partly offshore – work from Bristol. Capita is proposing to move 350 jobs from its office in the city to alternative sites in Lancashire and India. The Communication Workers Union branded the move as […]
Communication key to morale in face of ongoing pay restraint, advises CIPD
With 2012 set to be marked by constrained and frozen pay, employers must find more effective ways to communicate the rationale behind their decisions to staff in order to keep them motivated, an HR body has warned. According to a survey among 3,056 working adults across all sectors undertaken by the Chartered Institute of Personnel […]
Update: Royal Mail Christmas temps threaten walk-out
Seasonal temp staff at a Royal Mail sorting office in Birmingham are threatening a second walk-out after delays in paying their wages. According to the BBC, thirty four workers at the postal service’s Newtown depot already walked out on Monday over unpaid or incorrect wage payments as did personnel in Essex. Similar action was taken […]
Police officers left “directionless” during riots due to equipment failure
Equipment shortages together with failings in the Airwave digital radio network led to police officers being left "directionless" during this summer’s riots, a highly-critical leaked report has said. The Police Federation review, which was leaked to the Observer, revealed that the Police National Information Co-ordination Centre, the body set up to co-ordinate the response to […]
HRD Insight: Jack Morton’s Fiona Lawlor on sustainable engagement
If there’s one thing that’s needed to help business survive recession, it’s an engaged workforce. Yet all around, there are signs that such engagement is sadly lacking in British industry today. The majority of UK workers have had much to contend with over recent years, including pay freezes and soaring inflation. Add to this […]
Blog: Facebook will never replace face-time
So-called social media, the much abused misnomer for the relatively new technological, almost virtual, communication gathering points fed largely by constantly evolving gadgets, is literally fantastic. What had latterly been the stuff of fantasy has led to social and business revolutions, has liberated many-a-Dilbert from their cubicle and has clearly added a whole new dimension […]
Social media to revolutionise HR, says study
The introduction of social technologies to the world of business can revolutionise HR, customer service and product development activities by transforming the way that people communicate and collaborate, a study has found. HR departments can enjoy a significant return on investment by both reducing the amount of time that employees need to spend travelling and […]
‘Protected conversations’ will create business “nightmare”
Coalition Government proposals to introduce ‘protected conversations’ risk “creating a field day for employment lawyers and a nightmare for businesses”, experts have warned. Among a raft of proposed changes to UK employment law mooted by Business Secretary Vince Cable this morning, one of the most controversial was enabling employers to hold ‘protected conversations’ with staff […]
Communication: the secret to recruitment success
Does your hiring process actually lose you candidates? How do you manage something that is effectively intangible and immeasurable? From an executive recruitment consultant’s perspective, how organisations deal with those quiet times while waiting for an internal decision or response about a prospective hire can be just as important to the relationship as how the […]
Talent Spot: David Smith, HR director at LV=
When David Smith, HR and communications director at LV=, first joined the UK’s largest friendly society he was faced with the ultimate challenge: a blank sheet of paper. At that point, in 2008, the company had outsourced its entire HR function. Smith’s first job was to bring HR back in-house. It was a time of […]