Blog: It’s time for HR and recruiting to kiss and make up
Recently I read a great book called In the Heart of the Sea: The Tragedy of the whaleship Essex. It tells the true life story of a whaling ship from Nantucket in the 1820’s which was sunk by a rogue sperm whale. Herman Melville based his famed novel Moby Dick on this tragedy. The […]
Temps entitled to tips under Agency Worker Regs, warns lawyer
The hospitality industry must pay temps their fair share of customer tips or risk legal action under the new Agency Worker Regulations, a lawyer has warned. Although many of the UK’s largest leisure chains have in the past failed to share gratuities with agency staff, individuals with 12 weeks’ service will now be entitled to […]
Gloucester Council’s shared service centre to save local jobs
Gloucester City Council’s move to a shared services model for revenues, benefits and welfare rights-based services will safeguard local jobs and should even create more as other authorities sign up to the arrangement, it has claimed. The Council has outsourced the delivery of the services to outsourcing company Civica in a bid to make annual […]
Talent Spot: Jez Langhorn, McDonalds’ VP of people for Northern Europe
Although ‘persistence’ and ‘staying the course’ may not be the sexiest of qualities, they are important ingredients to business and HR success and should not be underestimated, says Jez Langhorn, McDonalds’ vice president of people for the UK and Northern Europe. And in fact, such doughty terms could also be applied to his own working […]
Blog: Agency worker regulations and how legitimately to avoid them
As an HR type, I’ve used agency temps plenty of times. The main attraction of agency workers is the flexibility for employers, particularly in the current economic climate. They form a key part of the ‘flexible workforce’ which means that employers don’t have to commit to employing anyone, just in case the business goes […]
HRD Insight: M&S’ Tanith Dodge on boosting customer service via staff engagement
Employee engagement and good customer service are integrally linked, believes Tanith Dodge, HR director of Marks & Spencer. The idea is that if staff are demotivated and unhappy, they will not be inclined to go the extra mile or care about the impact of their behaviour either on individual customers or the brand image of […]
Blog: Dumb things managers say and what to do about it
Recognise This! – Improving manager capabilities is critical to increasing employee engagement. Bnet recently published a list of “The 32 Dumbest Things That Real-Life Managers Said.” There is a lesson to be learned in all of them, but these three particularly struck home with me: 1. “Don’t worry, give it a try. You have […]
HRD Insight: McDonalds’ head of people on staff engagement
McDonalds’ decision to make its people strategy part of its business strategy has not only polished up a previously tarnished employer brand but also seen staff engagement levels leap. The rationale behind integrating rather than aligning the two policies was a simple one, however, said Jez Langhorn, vice president of people for the UK and […]
Does management by metrics work?
On the frame of my kitchen door are marks of the heights of my children, and now grandchildren, with names and dates written down over the course of years. They were all proud to stand there from time-to-time in order to check how much they had grown. We did not, of course, manage their height, […]
Blog: Engagement taskforce update – part two
Hello again – a couple of weeks ago, a bunch of us met with David MacLeod, Nita Clarke et al to continue encouraging the engagement taskforce. What follows is part two of a transcript of the conversations that I heard. If you haven’t already read it, part one is here. Here goes anyway: Part two […]
Blog: Engagement taskforce update – part one
Hi folks – a couple of weeks ago, a bunch of us met with David MacLeod, Nita Clarke et al to continue encouraging the engagement taskforce. What follows is a transcript of the conversations I heard. I’ll issue part one now and part two tomorrow. Here goes: Part one In groups we were asked […]
Customer service staff paid 34% below national average
The number of people working in the UK’s customer service sector has increased threefold in the last eight years, but pay remains 34% below the UK average. A new study by the Institute of Customer Service, published to coincide with the launch of National Customer Service Week (3 – 9 October), shows that the industry […]
Navigating the choppy waters of cultural difference
What is considered polite in one culture may be considered impolite in another. But as travel and communications become ever easier, HR directors working in multi-national companies would be well advised to acquaint themselves with at least some of these cultural differences and to understand how they can affect the way that employees conduct business. […]
Creating a sustainable people strategy
When it comes to creating an environmental or sustainable policy, it seems that businesses are making the same mistakes that they did when the internet first arrived. At that time, everyone rushed to create a web site and packed it full of information. But they failed to either develop a suitable strategy or appreciate that […]
Case Study: LV= focuses on feedback to become destination employer
LV= has introduced a survey process for new joiners and leavers with the aim of gathering staff feedback as part of its bid to become a destination employer. The organisation, which sells mutual insurance, retirement and investment schemes, is investing heavily in trying to increase the engagement and retention of its 4,500 staff. David […]
How to avert a ‘micro maternity’ trend
Current employment legislation enables women to take up to year off after they have had a baby. But a recent Daily Mail report suggested that there was a growing number of women taking so-called ‘micro maternity’ leave and returning to the office just a few months after the child was born. The trend is apparently […]
Blog: Company success entirely depends on your culture
Recognise This! – Company culture is ignored to the peril of the organisation as a whole. Yesterday I wrote about my passion for employee recognition in the workplace. Another topic I’m passionate about is company culture. Too many leaders think company culture is something that “just happens” and is beyond their control. Or perhaps a […]
US White House launches Fellowship scheme to woo top IT talent
The White House is trying to tempt top computer science post-grads away from high-paid jobs in the private sector by creating the special new job role of Technology Fellow. The aim of creating the fresh category of positions that are due to last for two years is to increase the US government's pool of “qualified […]
Case Study: Speedy Services has ‘Big Ideas’ for boosting staff engagement
A ‘Big Ideas’ initiative combined with a complementary scheme to reward innovation has resulted in staff engagement and productivity leaping at Speedy Services. The Merseyside-based company, which provides equipment and support services to the construction, manufacturing, industrial, rail and other related industries, introduced its ‘Big Ideas’ programme towards the end of 2008. The move […]
Blog: IT can be HR’s best friend
The IT organization and HR have always had a mostly adversarial relationship as IT rarely sees HR as a true IT consumer, more as a clueless and demanding relative. Most HR departments for their part are usually very under informed when it comes to HR and IT’s role in supporting the business. But listen up it’s time […]