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 […]
Office conflicts: when to address the passive aggressive post its
Office conflicts often begin with small, passive-aggressive behaviours that can escalate if left unchecked. Here’s how to deal with the problem at its source before this happens. When faced with the post-it note on the office photocopier saying, ‘did you ever think to refill the paper?’ some might scoff and ignore it. Others may confront […]
The true value of financial wellbeing
When it comes to employee wellbeing, financial wellbeing is key. When talking about good ‘financial wellbeing’ we mean a state someone is in when they have control over their financial lives. As such, financial wellbeing is intrinsically linked to financial resilience and the ability to comfortably manage one’s finances. More specifically, being able to manage […]
People management: how modern business culture is killing leadership
By undermining traditional social structures, organisations are harming both company performance and individual wellbeing. It’s no secret that there is a genuine issue today with culture and productivity, with leadership (or lack of it), with talent acquisition and also with people development. These issues are all of course, closely interlinked as they stem from the […]
Employee engagement: the new rules for 21st century teams
Creating a happy, loyal workforce without the need for beer and beanbags. There are many studies that have shown the commercial benefit to an organisation of happy workers – they stay in the job longer, work more efficiently and better together and take less stuff from the stationary cupboard. Spend time nosing through Glassdoor or […]
Employee volunteering schemes: how and why to introduce one
Over the last few years, it has been made abundantly clear that consumers increasingly want (and often expect) the companies they buy from to practise business sustainably and ethically, with social media empowering noisy protest where this is found lacking — from the boycotting of tax-evading companies, to the public shaming of those whose abhorrent […]
How to take the grief out of grievance
Forward-looking organisations have recognised that traditional grievance procedures are not delivering the goods when it comes to resolving conflict speedily and effectively. The procedures are intrinsically adversarial, pitch people against each other from the outset and promote a victim/persecutor mentality that is beneficial to no-one. Alternative resolution approaches, which are person-centred and values-driven, are being […]
How HR can equip line managers to cope with conflict
Dealing with workplace conflict is the bane of many an HR manager’s working life. People accuse their manager of treating them unfairly. Power struggles emerge within teams. Colleagues fall out and refuse to co-operate with each other. Unfortunately, by the time the problem arrives at HR’s door, the conflict has often reached an advanced stage. Positions have become entrenched, […]
“That’s not fair!” When individual deals challenge the fairness in teams
There’s so much rich insight coming out of the academic sector that HR professionals need to know. At Academics’ Corner we feature the best HR researchers that tell you what they’ve found and what you need to do differently on the back of the research. Get connected to the academic sector through Academics’ Corner and […]
Leaders must take an interest in their people
I regularly facilitate McKinsey & Company’s Bower Forums – a program in which typically five company leaders spend two days together sharing their professional aspirations, the challenges they face, and coaching each other. I remember one discussion when a recently appointed CEO of a large healthcare firm shared his ambition to transform his organization into […]
Compassion – great at work, but for whom?
This article was written by Gail Kinman, Professor of Occupational Health Psychology at the University of Bedfordshire and is based on research conducted by Professor Kinman and Dr. Louise Grant, also of the University of Bedfordshire. Around three million people in the UK are employed in health and social care – one in ten of the […]
Employee perspectives: “I’m quietly hoping for a revolution.”
We wanted to take a look at how employees within the healthcare industry are coping with the NHS crisis – on top of what is already a very challenging sector to work in – and whether they feel HR is supporting them adequately in their role. In this anonymised interview, a registered NHS nurse and […]
How leaders are silencing their people
This article was co-authored by Megan Reitz and John Higgins of Ashridge Executive Education. How confident are you that your team are telling you the things you really need to hear? If there was serious malpractice going on in the business, would employees speak up or would they remain silent? Are people on the front […]
Speaking truth to power: the empowering culture
This is one of the key findings to come out of research from Ashridge Executive Education which looks at the dynamics of ‘speaking truth to power’ and provides practical advice on how leaders can improve dialogue in their organisation. Leaders’ ability to manage the subtle nuances that influence why people speak up – or choose […]
Speaking truth to power: the dialogic culture
This is one of the key findings to come out of research from Ashridge Executive Education which looks at the dynamics of ‘speaking truth to power’ and provides practical advice on how leaders can improve dialogue in their organisation. Leaders’ ability to manage the subtle nuances that influence why people speak up – or choose […]
Employment tribunal fees unlawful, says Supreme Court
The Supreme Court has ruled that employment tribunal fees are unlawful. This has been a real shock decision that not many people were expecting. In this article we look at the main findings of the court and the impact on employers. The judgement and key points in summary: Employment Tribunal fees are unlawful because of […]
How to navigate toxic behaviours during conflict
Consider this scenario. You’re negotiating a starting salary with a potential new employee, Jim. You tell him for the second time that despite his experience and background, you aren’t authorized go above the salary range set for his position. Jim begins to raise his voice, points his finger, and interrupts you as you try to […]
Greatest extension of workers’ rights or a great big headache for SMEs?
Theresa May’s announcement today is being heralded in some quarters as the great expansion of workers’ rights. So does this mean it is unfriendly to SME businesses? We don’t think so – the one thing businesses do not like is uncertainty and we now know that the EU-based employment laws that we currently have are […]
The sharing block: how restricting employees from sharing ideas is holding back business
Communication and collaboration have become much-used terms in the business world, highlighting the importance of interaction between colleagues and those outside of the business, including customers, partners and suppliers. But new research strongly suggests that employee collaboration and engagement with the rest of the business is severely lacking. Although technology has created numerous ways to […]
Is your dress code fit for 2017?
Recently the media has been full of reports about MPs calling for tougher laws on dress code discrimination. Gary Cattermole, Director of award-winning employee engagement and employee research provider, The Survey Initiative, discusses why the issue is so vital and provides advice on how to create an inclusive dress code in your organisation. I think […]
