How visual communications could transform your business
There is a growing body of evidence that suggests employees respond better to visual forms of communication, such as videos and imagery. Improving the way you communicate with staff could also benefit your business. Employees are faced with a constant barrage of email content both internally and from external customers and suppliers, and this can be pretty overwhelming […]
How digital assistants are reimagining employee engagement
Digital assistants have the capacity to transform people’s working lives. But how can this AI-powered technology help improve employee engagement? The general public has become increasingly comfortable with using digital assistants such as Siri, Alexa or Google Assistant – and with good reason. These AI-powered interfaces allow people to interact with their phones, smart speakers or […]
Do your managers want to manage?
Do your managers love managing people or have they been promoted for their technical skills despite lacking people skills? With many businesses today tightening the purse strings on L&D, it’s important that you invest in the right people for the job. When was the last time you asked your managers if they want to manage? Have […]
Why HR teams should recognise and reward a ‘mission-centric’ work ethic
Academic research highlights the need for HR departments to focus on the positive impact individuals can have on an organisation when they are genuinely motivated by its central mission. My co-author Professor Howard H. Yu (IMD) and I have taken a fresh look at research previously undertaken between the 1970s and 1990s by Joseph Bower (Harvard), Henry Mintzberg (McGill) […]
Embracing the shadow side of organisational life
Corridor conversations, power struggles and personality clashes are realities of organisation life. Often referred to as the shadow side, these behaviours are perceived as wholly negative and unhelpful to organisation effectiveness. I challenge this ‘always bad’ perspective. In the shadow lies the real work of getting along with each other. It is where human beings […]
Organisational culture: why the charity sector must invest in purpose and values to save itself
The charity sector is struggling to attract and retain talent because of a lack of connection among employees with their organisation’s purpose and values. It’s time for everyone to start investing in organisational culture to turn this around. The charity sector has found itself under serious scrutiny in recent times, with both external and internal […]
How can HR teams remain relevant when millennials rule the workplace?
Intuitive, user-friendly applications pervade almost every aspect of our lives, yet for high numbers of HR professionals, the tech they use in the office often bears little resemblance to what they’re familiar with at home. This means that businesses are not only missing out on engaging the workforce with HR processes, they are also lacking […]
Four reasons why you should consider the needs of your employees with family and caring commitments
With an increasing number of people juggling work and caring responsibilities, employers should pay more attention to the detrimental impact this can have on both individuals and businesses. To help more employers understand the challenges faced by their employees with family and caring commitments, how this can impact their business, and what they can do to better support […]
Office pets: the best first impression you can make?
An office pet not only boosts morale and helps reduce stress – it can also be good for a company’s bottom line, too. Time is a precious commodity and one that few of us would ever say we have enough of. It is estimated that we spend as much as 70% of our waking hours […]
Why financial wellness is a crucial part of your employee wellbeing strategy
Poor financial wellbeing can negatively impact employees’ ability to be productive at work, so employers need to up their game when it comes to supporting their staff in this area. Financial wellness encompasses a range of elements and these vary from individual to individual and will change over time as their circumstances and needs change. […]
Recruitment: why ‘cultural fit’ is an essential requirement for assessing candidates
While a candidate might be technically qualified to do a job, if they’re not a good ‘cultural fit’ for the organisation and the team, it can lead to problems further down the line. Here’s how companies can reflect their unique culture in their hiring process. If recent statistics are to be believed, it appears that […]
Book review – Too Fast to Think: How to Reclaim your Creativity in a Hyper-connected Culture
HRZone has a range of books available for review. If you would like to receive one of our business books, free of charge, please contact the editor on editor at hrzone dot com and we can send you a list of what’s available. In return, we ask for a 400-700 word review of the book, […]
Employee benefits: the changing face of company perks
The millennial workforce has different priorities and concerns to previous generations, so it stands to reason that the perks companies offer to engage and retain them should change too. Many would agree that company perks and benefits can make all the difference to employees today, especially creative or valuable ones. Whether it is the opportunity […]
Employee experience: not just an HR rebranding exercise
Employee experience (EX) is the new buzzword, concentrating on key touch-points in employee journeys. Without a change in mindset though, it is in danger of just being a re-branding exercise with little value. In order for employee experience to add value, it must be integrated with the customer experience (CX) and become a strategy that […]
Employee engagement: why the UK has an employee apathy problem and how this can be solved
When it comes to the war for talent, UK businesses are falling behind because of employee apathy. Here’s how companies can empower line managers to help solve this problem. As part of a project to see how Britain’s employers are approaching employee development, Bridge decided to explore whether UK employees understood the contribution they make […]
Employee wellbeing: what do you do when an employee raises a grievance?
When an employee raises a grievance at work, it’s essential that it’s taken seriously and that the right process is followed. Here are some suggestions to help navigate that process. All employers should be prepared for dealing with a grievance from one of their employees. It is not uncommon for employees to raise grievances when […]
Employee engagement: why it’s time for HR to step up and deliver on ‘purpose’
Organisations today aren’t just about making money – they’re about delivering on a ‘purpose’, and HR has a crucial role to play in this. There seems to be a ‘purpose revolution’ going on right now. Organisations, very often through their brands, are seeking to engage us through the difference they want to make to the […]
Flexible working: a vital differentiator in a challenging labour market
Economic pressure and political instability are impacting British businesses’ ability to attract and retain talent. Instead of battening down the hatches, organisations should embrace flexible working as a way of securing the future of their workforce. There’s no doubt that UK businesses are facing more challenges now than ever before. The rise of the […]
Employee engagement pitfalls: how can we make it more human?
All too often organisations treat employee engagement as a box ticking exercise, but true engagement is about fostering an ongoing two-way dialogue with your team members. Lately, I’ve been thinking about how to make employee engagement more human. By this I mean that engagement is our attempt to replicate in the workplace something we do in our […]
“If financial wellbeing becomes a handcuff, you haven’t solved an engagement problem, you’ve just given it a different shape.”
Employers are becoming increasingly aware of the the impact poor financial health can have on both people and businesses – and of the urgent need to address this pervasive issue. But what does an effective financial wellbeing strategy look like? Paul Bartlett, Independent Reward and Benefits Development Consultant of Hawk Incentives, provides insight on how to […]