Is it time to get out of HR?
The route to the top in HR is fairly standard – you work your way up from HR adviser, spend some time in an HR specialism like comp and bens, acquire line management experience and impress the big bosses while doing it all. The shortage of HR representation at board level is well documented. But […]
Blog: Seeing eye-to-eye
How do you feel when someone doesn’t look you in the eye? It’s amazing what people read into poor eye contact. Peoples’ perceptions may differ but they all have one thing in common – they’re all negative … they’re all bad. Here are some of the comments I get on my confidence building courses […]
Blog: Stories from the HR journey
I don’t know about you but I love hearing about the different journeys people have through HR. Some have been clear about their path all the way through. Others have joined the HR community part way through their working life. Some specialise and some like the variety of a more generalist role. The twists […]
CEO Insight: Stinkyink’s John Sollars on staff motivation and development
Across the office and warehouse, I have a team of about 16 people. And I think the thing that I am most proud of is the way that I have been able to help them develop and ‘improve’. Small businesses can find it hard to set concrete goals for employees’ performance because they need to […]
Blog: Punk rock HR – Top 10 HR tips from music
Whilst we were preparing for a leadership event the other week, the media asked me to offer them some punchy (and short of course) punk rock tips for business. Here’s the ones that got through the press filter on the BBC One News piece with Dolly Parton introducing: BBC NEWS. And here’s 10 […]
News: Pay and promotion not based on merit, believe UK staff
A huge two thirds of UK employees do not believe that pay rises and promotion at their workplace are based on merit or that their employer provides decent opportunities for career advancement. These are the key findings of a survey among 2,628 workers conducted by professional services company, Towers Watson. The study revealed that […]
Talent Spot: Stephen Kelly, chief people officer at Logica
In the opinion of Stephen Kelly, chief people officer at Logica, HR has a huge influence on whether a business is successful or not, which makes it a great field to be involved in. “People build brands and brands build people,” he asserts. And Kelly has been lucky enough to put his stamp on some […]
Talking Point: What’s happened to business ethics?
It seems that every time you open a newspaper at the moment, there’s a new business scandal. The fall-out from Barclays Libor-rigging fine continues to be an ongoing story. The scandal has already claimed the scalps of the bank’s chairman and chief executive – and who knows how many more may follow? Barclay’s leadership […]
HRD Insight: BP Exploration’s Jane Burt on being a charity trustee
Becoming the trustee of a charity is the kind of volunteering work that can complement your career and help you to develop new personal and professional skills. Being a trustee is not only a valuable way of contributing to the third sector, it can also be an interesting and rewarding experience, helping to broaden your […]
Blog: Five ways to make your office a comfortable place to work
What makes an office a great place to work? This article reveals the secrets behind great office design and what you need to consider to retain and attract new talent to your workplace. Business owners and HR Managers all have a vision for their company, and part of this vision should include creating the right working environment. […]
Film Review: Water for Elephants
The plot “Water for Elephants” is a 2011 US romantic drama directed by Francis Lawrence. The screenplay by Richard LaGravenese was based on the historical novel of the same name by Sara Gruen. The plot revolves around Jacob Jankowski (Robert Pattinson), a student of veterinary science at Cornell University. He is on the […]
Case Study: Medtronic introduces global well-being scheme to cut absenteeism
Medtronic introduced a global well-being programme last year in a bid to help its employees deal with damaging health issues ranging from obesity and stress to smoking. As a manufacturer of pacemakers, defibrillators and other medical equipment, the vendor knows the value of good health and has long been committed to improving the wellbeing of […]
Talent Spot: Gill Crowther, HR director at Nominet
By the time Gill Crowther, director of HR at Nominet, had finished university, she already knew that she wanted to work in HR. She had studied engineering, but the fact that she seemed to be very good at getting people to help her with her studies gave her a “moment of revelation” that management […]
News: Government attempts to inspire UK’s future workforce
The government has launched a scheme to encourage employees to go into state schools on a volunteer basis and talk about their careers in order to inspire the next generation. The Inspiring the Future initiative was unveiled by the deputy prime minister and such famous faces as entrepreneur Karren Brady, actress Joanna Lumley, radio presenter Margherita Taylor […]
How business savvy are you – really?
Let’s face it, the phrase ‘HR needs to be commercial’ is nothing new. Yet it’s a theme that keeps recurring. Time and again we hear the argument that HR is not business focused enough and more HR directors need to be on the board. Ellie Rich, operations director at Michael Page Human Resources, comments: […]
HRD Insight: Fujitsu UK’s Ella Bennett on HR’s role in supporting change
The rate of change that organisations face appears to be increasing on a daily basis. At the end of 2011, Mervyn King, governor of the Bank of England, pronounced: “Who knows what’s going to happen tomorrow, let alone next month?” And just to confirm the situation, Harvard Business School professor, John Kotter also wrote: […]
The HRZone Interview: The CMI’s CEO Ann Francke on management
Ann Francke only started her new job as chief executive at the Chartered Management Institute on 12 June, but she is already on a mission. As you’d expect, she not only wants to encourage more managers to gain professional qualifications, but she also wants them – and their employers – to recognise the power of […]
News: Employers in jobless blackspots to get ‘speeded up’ youth subsidies
Employers in 20 areas of high unemployment across the UK are to be given wage subsidies in order to encourage them to hire 18-to-24 year olds who have been out-of-work for six months. The initiative is part of the government’s £1 billion Youth Contract announced in November in a bid to tackle record levels of […]
Are you being paid what you’re worth?
Most people have a reasonable feel for what they should be paid, though for some it’s not the most important thing keeping them in their role. For many others, however, falling disposable incomes make salary a question of increasing significance. In most organisations, prospects for pay rises look bleak and even if you’re lucky […]
In a Nutshell: Five considerations when creating a welcome pack for new hires
When lastminute.com moved its group headquarters to a swanky new Farringdon office in April, it seemed like a good chance to revamp its welcome pack for new joiners. As a result, it turned to us, the same language consultancy that had worked on the ‘tone of voice’ of its marketing collateral a few years before, […]
