Employees still dogged by money worries
Although fewer employees are likely to be subject to pay freezes next year, six out of 10 are worried that they will not be able to make ends meet financially. According to a study entitled ‘Employee Attitudes to Pay’ published by the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD), even though the economy has remained […]
Employee engagement: the pursuit of workplace happiness
When an employee’s own self-interest is aligned with the interests of the organisation, that employee is engaged. So your workforce is engaged if a critical mass pro-actively furthers the interests of the business while simultaneously furthering their own interests. That’s a working definition of employee engagement and while it won’t resonate with everyone, it is […]
Take the pain out of training seasonal staff
The customers that pack your stores during the festive period don’t know – or care – whether a member of staff is seasonal or permanent. They just know that the employee represents your business. And that means, as well as compelling product range and product availability, customers expect prompt answers to any queries they have […]
Happy workers have a sense of shared purpose
Business strategy must be based on a shared sense of purpose between employers and workers in order to boost staff engagement, job satisfaction and organisational performance. According to a survey undertaken among more than 2,000 employees by YouGov on behalf of the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD), 84% of those working in organisations […]
Employees exit – and take confidential data
A huge seven out of 10 workers intend to take confidential company data away with them when they resign or are given the push because they believe that it belongs to them, according to research. A survey undertaken among 1,000 UK employees by security software company Imperva revealed that the most likely information to be […]
3/5 workers overestimate their value to employers
Although nearly four out of five UK workers would like to change employer, three fifths overestimate their financial value. According to a survey undertaken by vocational distance learning provider the Home Learning College, while some 78% of staff would like a new job, just over a third are actively looking. Some 27% have chosen not […]
Engaging customer-facing employees to improve performance
Educating and engaging staff within the workplace is key to improving performance. Ian Luxford offers tips to help improve performance, ensure better service for customers: what better way of aligning your strategy with the business plans? If outstanding customer service is a must for successful businesses today, it’s also one of the biggest challenges they […]
Agency worker directive ‘not for review’
The coalition government has lost its standoff with the CBI and the TUC over attempts to water down legislation giving 1.3 million agency workers the same employment rights as permanent staff. Employment relations minster Ed Davey said that the government would not proceed with any amendments to the regulations, which come into force in October […]
Career management for retention and engagement
It might seem a bit out of place for an employer to get involved in career managing its employees – after all, isn’t a career a personal thing? However that’s no longer the case. Despite economic pessimism, there is still demand for talent and the skills gap means there will always be demand for those […]
Employers need to get real about what motivates employees
Employers’ failure to understand what motivates staff to stay with them means that almost a quarter of personnel would be willing to move elsewhere if a more interesting opportunity came up. While employers believe that the key factors behind employee retention relate to the company’s brand, culture and benefits package, in fact, workers are more […]
Mission possible: Employee engagement in the public sector
In May of this year, David Cameron and Nick Clegg joined forces to form a coalition government charged with the unenviable task of taking the reins of a country in crisis. At possibly the lowest ebb of a global recession which had gained momentum since the latter half of 2007, the United Kingdom faced high […]
HR taking action but management not owning engagement
Although just over half of HR professionals are concerned about staff motivation levels, the majority of organisations are failing to put practices in place to ensure managers own the issue. According to a survey among HR managers undertaken by law firm Davies Arnold Cooper, some 55% are worried about staff engagement are and are, therefore, […]
Employees win over lack of redundancy consultation
About 60 workers made redundant in January after their employer went into liquidation have been awarded 90 days’ back pay due to inadequate consultation over the situation. Electrical contractors J&G Engineering had debts of around £2.3 million when it went into liquidation just after Christmas. But Unite brought a case against it because staff were […]
Employees exposed to contract and pay issues
Too many personnel are potentially leaving themselves exposed, with just under a third not reading their employment contracts adequately and one in 10 failing to understand the details of their payslips. The Institute of Payroll Professionals (IPP) also warned that the increasing number of e-payslips currently being introduced by employers could lead to even more […]
Influencing engagement: the role of the line manager
John Pope offers advice on how managers can work with their teams to maximise engagement, supported by the HR function. I thought that the subject of engagement had had enough debate; we have read about its importance and its measurement by engagement surveys; we have heard about the importance of bringing new staff into an […]
Ask the expert: Poorly performing line manager
This week the experts, Martin Brewer and Esther Smith advise on how to handle a poorly performing manager. The question: I have inherited a poor performing line manager in my team, the issues are: There is no team motivation in his department He is not spending anytime training & developing his new team members […]
Employees want counselling at work
More than half of UK staff would like their employer to provide a confidential counselling service to help them cope with recession-related stress. Moreover, according to a survey among 1,440 people undertaken by the British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy (BACP), a huge 78% now also believe that workplace stress is an acceptable reason to […]
Ask the expert: Change to rate of bank holiday pay
This week the experts, Adam Partington and Esther Smith advise on how to change a rate of pay. The question: Change to rate of bank holiday pay I am thinking of reducing the premium we pay to staff for working on a bank holiday from double time to time and a half. We have […]
Workplace morale at all time low
Workplace morale has hit an all-time low, with record falls in job satisfaction and two out of five personnel saying they would leave their current employer if they could find a better job. According to a survey among 2,000 staff undertaken by the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD), job satisfaction has dropped to […]
Recession over but pay still low
Employers are having to find new ways to retain staff as more than three quarters have failed to reinstate pay cuts that were introduced to avoid redundancies during the recession. According to research undertaken among 1,000 workers by recruitment consultants Badenoch & Clark, a huge 77% of the 8.7 million employees that took a pay […]
