What does COP26 mean to HR professionals?
What does COP26 mean and how can you use the conference as a catalyst for your business to drive action?
Why ignoring social responsibility will put your company at risk of irrelevancy
Something happened in the UK’s December general election that we hadn’t seen before. For the first time, serious efforts to tackle climate change and protect the environment were at the forefront of every party manifesto. More than two thirds of voters now believe that the Government should be doing more to protect the environment. Even […]
Why sleepwalking through life is halting the rise of socially responsible workplaces
Many, if not all of us, within HR and people-related roles have come across the term corporate social responsibility (CSR). But from my personal experience, outside of role models such as Unilever and Patagonia, it has been difficult to visibly and physically appreciate how well, or not, an organisation does ‘give’ alongside generating profits. I […]
Ethics in the workplace: Our moral duty to combat climate change
If business have a moral duty to combat climate change, what measures must we take?
Reimagine culture: How to build a sustainable, low-carbon business
Man’s discovery of fossil fuels opened a bonanza of human development. We liberated energy from carbon to create surpluses of wealth and time. A cultural and economic system of growth erupted, allowing societies and individuals to advance into our present civilisation. Business may be our best chance to accelerate the transition to a low-carbon future. […]
Reimagine leadership: a new job for the CEO
Executives who want to thrive must steer their companies toward value beyond profit.
Reimagine excellence: manage performance to free sustainable value
Shareholder value has a long history as the yardstick of corporate performance. The underlying legal principle dates back to a 100-year-old ruling by the Michigan Supreme Court, in the case of Dodge v Ford. Henry Ford learned that the Dodge brothers, who were investors in Ford Motor Co., planned a rival firm. This prompted Ford […]
Reimagine business value: the world’s changing expectations of companies
For decades, society was content for business to drive economic growth and wealth creation. People looked to governments to keep their worlds secure, while ‘doing good’ was the job of charities. Companies were free to operate in a bubble of employees, products, customers and profits, as long as they made money for shareholders. Trade brought […]
How to take care of people, the planet and profits
Twenty-first century businesses need to prioritise more than the traditional bottom line – the new world order is about the social, environmental and the financial. Traditional businesses are set up with one aim and one aim only: to make as much profit for the shareholders as possible. In fact, in many states it has been illegal to have […]
Employee wellbeing: do you foster a culture of self-care in the workplace?
Employee wellbeing should be a priority for all businesses, as neglecting self-care could cost your organisation more in the long-run. The long standing ethos of market economics, ‘more, bigger, faster’ is based on a misguided assumption that our personal resources are infinite. Indeed, our personal resources are far from infinite (as we all know), and if we […]
What role do employees play in a brand’s customer experience?
While companies like to think they are in charge of their customer experience, its front-line employees who live and breathe it every day – and they’re the ones your customers are seeing. The brutal truth for any brand to face up to is that they all have a customer experience, whether they like it or […]
Getting back on the right track – the hidden benefits of training for a charity walk
Returning to work after time out from a serious illness is a huge challenge, not just physically, but also mentally and emotionally. While it can be a relief to finally have a diagnosis, it is daunting to have to come to terms with this and look ahead to living your life with a long-term. In my case, the condition […]
Companies must create social value – or lose stakeholders
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 […]
What will society believe about talent in 2020?
This is an interview with Geoffroy de Lestrange, Product Marketing Manager EMEA at Cornerstone OnDemand, on the future of talent and the steps organisations need to take to redefine their views on talent in order to keep pace with societal change. We discuss the current structure of the HR department, the need for new learning methods […]
Can we stop ignoring the 90% please?
Why are we ignoring the 90 percent? It’s a question we should ask ourselves when we think about the benefits of green buildings – and here’s why. 20 years ago, green buildings were seen as the sustainable solution for a rapidly urbanizing world. We know they conserve natural resources, minimize environmental impacts and improve the […]
Engagement causes high performance, or vice versa?
This is an interview with Alex Edmans, Professor of Finance at London Business School. Alex will be speaking at Engage or Bust! on November 24th, a one-day event run by government taskforce Engage for Success. The event will look at ways organisations can improve engagement and features senior HR directors alongside academics giving you practical […]
‘Running’ for charity – our 12 month challenge
The appetite for cake and bake sales has diminished and the shake of the collection tin makes everyone keep their heads down. It’s time to get running… ‘Going the extra mile’ may be an overused mantra for employee engagement but if your charity of the year campaign is stagnating, salvation can be found in people […]
Why a strong sense of purpose is good for business
Purpose has been defined as “a stable and generalised intention to accomplish something that is at once meaningful to the self and of consequence to the world beyond the self.”[1] For most of us, purpose in life has its own very personal significance but usually also involves a sense of our goals contributing something positive […]
Using engagement to rehabilitate young offenders
Employee engagement has so many benefits for both the individual and the company – the oft-repeated facts are out there: companies are more productive, employees more fulfilled; creativity and innovation soar. Customer service is better. Staff are less likely to take sick days. And so on. In a 2014 McKinsey article, Redefining Capitalism, Eric Beinhocker […]
“Purpose-driven organisations far outperform traditional for-profit businesses.”
Andrew Hewitt is the founder of GameChangers500, which profiles the world’s top For-Benefit businesses that focus on maximising benefit to people and planet rather than an all-encompassing focus on profit. Andrew was led to the creation of the GameChangers500 list when he asks himself the question, “Why is it that we define success in business through […]
