Why local government’s approach to temporary labour may be in trouble
Local government’s attempt to reduce spend on temporary labour is being hit by the Agency Worker Regulations. Our analysis shows that the use of temporary workers across 79 of our longest-term local authorities and public body customers – which collectively spend over £300 million a year on short-term help – has dropped by 15% over […]
News: Up to 33,000 City jobs axed already this year
Economic experts are estimating that up to 33,000 more City jobs have already been lost this year than was expected six months ago, while also predicting that UK unemployment will continue to rise until 2016. The Centre for Economics and Business Research has revised its estimate of the average number of extant City posts sharply […]
In a Nutshell: Five steps for managing workplace conflict
Workplace conflict can be caused by anything from differences in individuals’ personalities and style to disagreements over the direction of given ideas and activities. It can even be the result of an office romance. But unresolved conflict can lead to a loss of productivity, increased employee stress levels, less effective collaboration and team-problem solving as […]
Blog: What HR can learn from alien abductions
As an Investors In People assessor, I frequently ask staff what would happen if they were abducted by aliens tomorrow. Not because I’m interested in probes and things (although I’m sure that would be quite fascinating.) What I’m interested in is whether staff would be conspicuous by their absence. Would critical work not get […]
How to manage a mixed age workforce
Two years ago, the number of people who were over 65 outstripped those who were under 16 for the first time. Moreover, the abolition of the Default Retirement Age now means that older workers are likely to stay in the workplace for longer – either through choice or economic necessity. Meanwhile, Generation Y-ers […]
Blog: How to hold on to good employees – Part 3
You now know the reasons why employees leave your company, and last week I described two of the five top strategies that will help you keep them: creating and maintaining an attractive and nourishing working environment, and developing effective employee relationship strategies. To complete the picture, here are strategies 3, 4 and 5: 3. Employee […]
HRD Video Vox Pops: How to engage an increasingly diverse workforce
At the CIPD's HRD learning and development conference in London Olympia last week, we asked a number of experts what their top tip for engaging an increasingly diverse workforce was. And here's what they told us:
Talent Spot: Community blogger, Tara Daynes
As a freelance HR professional, employment law consultant and corporate trainer, Tara Daynes needs to be confident presenting to large groups as well as on a one-to-one basis. Luckily, she learned the art of presenting early on as she went to stage school. “I was all singing and dancing”, she remembers. Media success came […]
News: Temp hiring on the up as employers continue to shed permanent jobs
Despite the UK moving into double-dip recession, a report suggests that there has been a healthy upswing in temporary hiring among organisations in the financial services, commerce and industry and public sectors. The 33% jump in the first quarter of this year compared with the latter quarter of 2011 was caused by businesses shedding permanent staff […]
Blog: Four tips for handling a difficult boss
It’s a fact that the main reason why most people are unhappy with their job is poor management. At one point or another, chances are you will have to deal with a difficult, grumpy or (hopefully) unwittingly disparaging boss. You know the type: they get angry for no apparent reason, they completely ignore your questions […]
Blog: How to hold on to good employees – Part 2
In my last HRZone blog entry I set out the five main reasons why employees leave their companies. Today I’m going to describe some corresponding employee retention strategies: 1. Create and maintain a working environment that attracts, retains and nourishes good people The issues you need to attend to include developing a corporate […]
The value of flexible benefits
Recent figures have shown a considerable rise in the take-up of flexible benefits packages lately. In part, this situation can be attributed to factors such as the difficult economic climate and changing employee demographics. Add to these issues the HR community’s growing interest in the subject and it is likely that we will see flexible […]
Blog: Employee engagement taskforce – Impressions from the one-year-on conference
Warning! Long blog post alert, do yourself a favour and grab a cuppa first. Background As regular readers will know I’ve had an interest and involvement with the EE Taskforce since I (and of course many others) contributed to the original Engaging for Success report. This report got kicked into the long grass partly […]
Flexible benefits revealed: CIPP report
More than seven out of ten employees are offered salary sacrifice schemes by their employers, with the most popular options being either pension contributions or childcare vouchers. These are the key findings of a Chartered Institute of Payroll Professionals survey conducted among 213 people during December and early January to establish what type of flexible benefits […]
In a Nutshell: Six steps to becoming a goal-driven organisation
If you really want to ensure that your business performs, ensure that individual and corporate goals are managed effectively. Becoming a goal-driven organisation doesn’t have to be onerous. Start with these six simple steps: Establish clear goals for everyone: That means from the chief executive to the most junior person in your organisation. These goals […]
Blog: Making your employee benefits count – and not just the financial ones
Make your employee benefits count! I am not talking here about financial benefits. If you are a great employer you know the market levels of financial reward and presumably you are paying a fair salary in return for the work of your employees. Pensions are another financial reward which I know is subject to […]
Talent Spot: Donna Miller, European HR director at Enterprise Rent-A-Car
Ask Donna Miller, European HR director at car rental firm Enterprise Rent-A-Car, what she does for a living and you may get a rather surprising answer. “I’ve always been a very sales-oriented person and when people ask me what I do, depending on whether it’s in Enterprise or outside, I’ll often say I’m in sales,” […]
CEO Insight: Sinead Hasson on Hasson Associates’ CSR programme
The arrival of 2012 brought with it the news that there are still 2.65 million people out of work in the UK. Widespread redundancies, salary freezes or even cuts as well as the increasing loss of employee benefits are not only hitting employers hard, but also causing employees to question their job security. And […]
Blog: Why you should dump ’employee of the month’
Recognise This! – Employee of the Month programmes create competition and resentfulness, not appreciative work environments. Compensation pros – when you think of base pay in today’s organisation, do you think in terms of guaranteed annual increases or in some form of pay for performance? Most realise the former is the method a century […]
How to avoid 10 common employee communication pitfalls
Finding ways to manage employee communications effectively is essential as it helps shape the organisation’s culture and engage employees. It is also vital to ensure that staff understand and buy into organisational change or take up benefits, for instance. As long as communications are regular, open and tailored to the workforce, they can likewise […]
