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 […]
3m jobs rely on UK being at Europe’s heart, warn businessmen
More than three million jobs will be put at risk unless the UK maintains its place at the heart of Europe, a group of 20 British businessmen have warned. In a letter to the Daily Telegraph that was co-ordinated by lobby group Business for New Europe, the businessmen argued that the European Union was vital […]
Only a third of employers handle staff mental health issues well
Although about a quarter of employees have experienced mental health problems while in employment, only just over a third believe that their employer is supportive of such issues. An online poll of 2,068 UK workers undertaken by YouGov on behalf of the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development revealed that a worrying one in five […]
Gamification: How to play ball with staff engagement
Engaged employees are more effective and innovative because they are showing their true selves at work. Involvement is key to engagement and games have always epitomised that. So it stands to reason that an effective route to employee engagement is to encourage people to play games. In our recent international executive survey, which explored […]
Blog: Doing the festive season on a shoestring
With the recession still in force, many organisations this year will be cost-saving by cutting back on the Christmas celebrations. Asking people to pay for the staff party, or even cancelling it altogether; not putting up a decorated tree; cutting back on Christmas bonuses; these are all difficult decisions facing cash-strapped companies at the moment. […]
Blog: New Year memo to self – boost employee health and wellbeing
Christmas is coming fast and with it that annual angel/demon where you are already forgiving yourself for indulging two sizes in the wrong direction with the promise that starting Jan 1st you really honestly will do something about your health. Of course, businesses do this too. They get to the end of the year, worked […]
Health and wellbeing programmes: Engagement is key
Many organisations are beginning to understand that employee wellbeing plays an important role in personal happiness and productivity which, in turn, has a positive impact on corporate performance. But one of the biggest challenges is simply engaging staff sufficiently to actually take part in the wellbeing programmes intended for their benefit. High levels of such […]
The secrets to HR outsourcing success
Outsourcing can work and be good for the business. But, time and time again, we hear reports of dissatisfaction and things going wrong. So what are the secrets to success and what do HR directors need to consider here? A good starting place is to ask yourself why you want to outsource at all. […]
CIPD Event Blog: Getting more social
I was a participant and speaker at the CIPD Social Media in HR conference last week. My overall impression of the event was *thumbs up*. I met some interesting people, heard some interesting speakers and as a speaker, everything I needed to deliver to the best of my abilities was taken care of. It’s been said before […]
Talking Point: The wimpish manager problem
A recent survey that I saw looked at employees’ views on their managers. One of the horrifying findings of the study, which was published by ‘HR Directors Business Support’, was that 86% of workers believed that their managers had no integrity. And, unfortunately, I feel their views were soundly based. The workforce is, collectively, […]
Blog: Some strategic HR predictions for 2012
Recognise This! – Bersin’s predictions for 2012 are already beginning to come true. Are you ready? What can you expect in 2011 in Strategic HR and Talent Management? Bersin’s 14 predictions for the year seem largely on target to me. John Hollon, editor of TLNT, provides an excellent summary of all 14 predictions, but here […]
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 […]
Finding and keeping disabled workers
Organisations facing cost pressures in today’s challenging economic environment would do well to explore the business case for employing disabled people. Exceptional characters such as Stephen Hawking, David Blunkett and Richard Branson would appear to prove the point that it doesn’t make sense to simply exclude them in the mistaken notion that they have nothing […]
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 […]
Negative attitudes towards disabled workers “more damaging than disability itself”
Just under two thirds of workers avoid people with disabilities because they are unsure of how to act around them, while a third view them in an actively negative light. These are the key findings of a survey undertaken among 3,000 UK adults by BT. The study also revealed that among those who had […]
News Analysis: ‘Glimmers of hope’ for jobs market as incomes set to drop
While there are “glimmers of hope” that the jobs market may revive somewhat over the next year, real household incomes are in contrast expected to fall by 7.4% over the next 36 months. The Recruitment & Employment Confederation’s JobsOutlook report for November, which is based on a survey of 600 employers, revealed that, although employers […]
HRD Insight: Dan Grant on Dell’s ‘Connected Workplace’ scheme
As job roles become increasingly global and Generation Y progressively enters the workforce, Dell’s aim in introducing its ‘Connected Workplace’ initiative was to continue being able to attract and retain staff. The initiative, which was initially piloted in the UK from November 2009 into early 2010, was rolled out across Europe, the Middle East and […]
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 […]
Staff engagement: Systems versus the human factor
It is only natural that HR professionals are interested in better ways of managing the workforce. As a result, scarcely a week goes by without an advertisement or article on the topic of retention, engagement, motivation and/or talent management appearing somewhere. Systems are recommended to HR departments to help them understand, measure and generate […]
Blog: A key engagement question: Would you recommend a friend to work here?
One of the most important questions when it comes to employee engagement is, “Would you recommend a friend to work here?” One of my Gen Y mentee’s called me last week. The problem was I was in Boston on business and she knew that. So when she called I knew there was a problem. […]
