Talent Spot: Emma Blaney, group HR director at Informa
Emma Blaney may have fallen into HR by chance, but it is no accident that she has risen to group HR director at Informa. It’s taken dedication and hard work. Today, Blaney works in Switzerland at the international publishing and conferencing company’s head office, reporting directly to the group chief executive and having responsibility for […]
Blog: 12 tips for stress-free Christmas shopping
This can be a very stressful time for all of us – managers, employees, our relatives and friends. The main aim is to ensure that you are well organised and plan in plenty of time for a Stress free Christmas. Here are some suggestions to help or to think about: Make a list of all […]
Call for employers to offer ex-forces training and work placements
Organisations representing the interests of ex-service personnel have called on the Coalition Government to encourage civilian employers to offer practical support in the form of training programmes and work placements. A report submitted to the House of Commons today by former Chief of the General Staff, General Sir Mike Jackson, who is head trustee of […]
Blog: Beware the seven most common justifications for bullying
“You are fired, Get out! I am not going to pay you for two weeks! Leave now and I mean right this minute.” Yes, that is the way that it ended. OK, I gave you the ending. Now I will back up and give you the full story. A friend who had been passively looking […]
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 […]
Talent Spot: Ann Pickering, HR director at O2
Ann Pickering, HR director at mobile phone operator, O2, is very clear about her role. “I am a business person first and an HR person second,” she says. It’s a message that she makes sure her almost 100-strong UK HR team understands. Commercial acumen is a vital ingredient to being a top-level HR professional, she […]
Blog: A two-minute guide to employer branding
So, you’re an employer. You have a Staff Handbook and have made sure that you are complying with basic employment law. You think that you’re an OK employer, and provide an OK place to work. But is OK enough? Why not be a great employer? If you’ve got the basics in place, don’t stop there […]
Blog: Top tips for presenting with panache
Many of us are called upon to present in the modern workplace, whether it’s a formal presentation to hundreds, a business briefing to your department or simply at a small meeting around a table. Presenting and presentations can take many forms. Being a good presenter in front of your staff builds your status and garners […]
Talent Spot: Damian Hughes, HR author, speaker and consultant
HR practitioners know the value of having a varied CV. But in the case of Damian Hughes, now running his own consultancy Liquid Thinker, varied doesn’t appear to do justice to the eclectic mix of careers and experiences that he’s amassed – and all before turning 40. Hughes has been a footballer and Manchester United […]
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, […]
Regional Health Authority goes social to support new NHS commissioning groups
South East Coast Strategic Health Authority has set up a virtual learning environment to help new ‘clinical commissioning groups’ share their experiences and tap into the expertise of other workers in Primary Care Trusts and local authorities. The Learning Network is a collaborative web site that is intended to provide support to those members of […]
Blog: How to turn volunteering into team-building
My daughter decided to volunteer through a program at her job. Each employee has the opportunity to volunteer their services and receive a day off in return. She was up early on a Saturday morning and headed into New York City to work at a soup kitchen in the Bowery. To her surprise, basically […]
CIPD Conference: Developing business savvy
Because HR’s fundamental role is to support sustainable organisational performance, being able to demonstrate business, contextual and organisational savvy is vital – and becoming more so as companies become increasingly complex. This is the key finding of a panel discussion entitled ‘Giving HR the Business Edge: how HR can drive impact and influence’, which took […]
Security certification introduced to help public sector hire right skills
The British Computer Society has introduced a pilot certification scheme for government information assurance professionals in order to help public sector employers choose the right specialist with the right skills and expertise for the job. The full Information Assurance Specialist Certification scheme, developed for the Communications Electronics Security Group, GCHQ‘s information assurance agency, will be […]
CIPD Conference: Creating a culture of innovation
Innovation does not simply happen of its own accord. It is instead born out of a corporate culture that allows individuals to challenge what is possible, but also to make mistakes without being afraid of the possible repercussions. These were the key findings of a keynote panel discussion entitled ‘Creating a Culture of Innovation […]
CIPD Conference Blog: Social media and knowing what not to fear
I and many others attended Neil Morrison‘s social media session at #cipd11. Loads of good stuff being shared and a healthy dash of British toilet humour thrown in for good measure. Here’s a summary of what I heard and learned: Numbers: Neil started showing us some huge numbers, in the hour to follow 5,000 blogs would be written, […]
CIPD Conference Blog: Eight steps to enhance resilience at work
Recent reports that Lloyds Banking Group’s Chief Executive has been signed off with stress and ‘extreme fatigue’ re-enforce the need for a resilient workforce to face the challenges in the changing economic climate. At the CIPD Annual Conference and Exhibition this week resilience was a hot topic and two of our experts, Dan Hughes and […]
The future of work: what the world will look like in 2025
Even with three decades of research into work under my belt, I still find the future of work incredibly difficult to predict. That’s why I created a research consortium designed to tap into ideas and knowledge from across the world. Each year, my research team and I begin by identifying the five forces that will […]
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: […]
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 […]
