HRD Insight: William Hill’s David Russell on an African adventure
It’s just two months since we announced our employee project in Kenya – a major building and development project at the Ol Maisor Primary School. Our aim was to create an experience where a group of people from William Hill were able to help a rural community in Africa and by doing so learn more […]
News: One in 5 UK workers fail to earn Living Wage
A huge one in five UK workers fail to earn a Living Wage, with people in Northern Ireland and Wales particularly badly hit, according to research. A study undertaken by financial information services company, Markit, on behalf of management consultancy, KPMG, revealed that some 4.82 million employees across the country do not receive the £7.20 […]
Blog: How to stop a lacklustre induction process creating an induction crisis
A recent survey has apparently shown that 2 out of 5 new starters at senior level seriously consider jacking in the new job within 3 months, due to rubbish onboarding processes by HR – in other words, ‘induction crisis’. It’s no revelation that the first few months in any job are critical – if you get […]
Working prisons: A new source of affordable labour?
Even though only 20% of employers have knowingly recruited an ex-prisoner, most bosses report that they work as hard, if not harder, than those with no convictions. But employing offenders and ex-offenders isn’t just good for business. It also contributes to creating a safer society. So rather than offshore their operations, we’re calling on […]
Blog: Working Families Conference – How to achieve true flexible working
Matt Dean facilitated a very interesting discussion at the Working Families Conference on 25 September. We posed the following four questions: “Can we honestly say that we have created ‘flexible career paths’ (and what is stopping us)?” “Why do jobs have to take 60 hours (particularly in the current economic climate)?” “How can business alter its […]
Talking Point: Does HR have a role in CSR programmes?
The role of HR in corporate social responsibility programmes is not dissimilar to that in any other company initiative. But given widespread confusion as to what CSR actually comprises, HR personnel could be forgiven for wondering exactly how they fit into the broader picture. A common definition of CSR is a corporate programme that […]
Blog: National Work-Life Week: Getting women on the board
Everywhere I turn the debate about getting more women into British boardrooms continues. Last week we learnt the government is building a team of allies to fight the EU’s proposed introduction of mandatory quotas. The week before, BBC2 aired the second part of Dragons’ Den entrepreneur Hilary Devey’s investigation into why so few women […]
Blog: Organisational values – Actions speak louder than words
“For us this lawsuit has always been about something much more important than patents or money. It’s about values. We value originality and innovation and pour our lives into making the best products on Earth. And we do this to delight our customers, not for competitors to flagrantly copy.” This was part of the missive […]
News: Google’s 10-year “death benefits” have legal implications, warns lawyer
Employers thinking of following in Google’s footsteps and offering staff so-called “death benefits” must protect themselves against a range of potential pitfalls including possible discrimination claims, a legal expert has warned. Laszlo Bock, the search engine giant’s chief people officer, told Forbes magazine last week that it had introduced a policy last year whereby, if […]
Blog: Kite Foundation encourages learning transfer through charitable donations
It is widely accepted that the biggest challenge facing trainers is not so much what goes on in the classroom but what doesn’t go on in the workplace. For a myriad of entirely understandable reasons, learners struggle to find the time, opportunity and motivation to use their nascent capabilities in the crucial first few days […]
News: FTSE 100 firms to be ranked on staff wellness and engagement
FTSE 100 firms will soon be ranked on how well they report on staff engagement and wellbeing after research revealed a “critical link” between effective HR management and organisational performance. Charity Business in the Community intends to launch its Workwell pilot project this autumn, following a study that found FTSE 100 companies with robust processes […]
News: Pressure mounts on Adidas over alleged worker exploitation
Pressure is mounting on Adidas after stores across the country were targeted on Saturday by protesters angry about claims over how little the Olympic sponsor pays its workers in the developing world. The move came as the London Organising Committee for the Games also launched an investigation into practices at the sportwear brand’s Shen Zhou […]
Let the Games commence – But make sure you plan for them
Love them or loathe them, with the Olympics bang on our doorstep, the Games can’t be ignored. Travel disruption and staffing issues will all play havoc with normal working days, particularly for those organisations and workers in and around the capital and other Olympic venues. Demand for holiday leave and increased absenteeism will affect […]
HRD Insight: BP Exploration’s Jane Burt on being a charity trustee
Becoming the trustee of a charity is the kind of volunteering work that can complement your career and help you to develop new personal and professional skills. Being a trustee is not only a valuable way of contributing to the third sector, it can also be an interesting and rewarding experience, helping to broaden your […]
News: Government attempts to inspire UK’s future workforce
The government has launched a scheme to encourage employees to go into state schools on a volunteer basis and talk about their careers in order to inspire the next generation. The Inspiring the Future initiative was unveiled by the deputy prime minister and such famous faces as entrepreneur Karren Brady, actress Joanna Lumley, radio presenter Margherita Taylor […]
The HRZone Interview: The CMI’s CEO Ann Francke on management
Ann Francke only started her new job as chief executive at the Chartered Management Institute on 12 June, but she is already on a mission. As you’d expect, she not only wants to encourage more managers to gain professional qualifications, but she also wants them – and their employers – to recognise the power of […]
Blog: 5 ways to get creative with fundraising in the workplace
If you think fundraising means suffering through yet another temptation-filled bake sale, think again. There are a number of ways to get creative with fundraising in the workplace. Doing so will benefit not just the charity but your company as well, building morale and injecting a bit of fun into the everyday routine. We’ve […]
Blog: Charity partnerships – Benefitting from philanthropy
Corporate Social Responsibility isn’t a new thing. But certainly it has a new face these days (usually a pink, puffy, sweaty one from running sponsored marathons). Now that we’re all credit-crunched, coughing up charity cash donations is happening less – but actually that is no bad thing. Why? Well, for many reasons, not least […]
Give & Gain Day: Lloyds’ talent director Richard Buxton on volunteering
Thousands of employees from across the UK – and throughout the world – are donating time to the communities in which they live or work today by taking part in the world’s only national day for employee volunteering – Give & Gain Day 2012. Now in its fifth year, Give & Gain Day is run […]
Green Office Week: How to promote workplace change
This week sees the start of the fourth ‘Green Office Week’, which is intended to encourage workers across the country to implement simple, practical, step-by-step changes in order to help make their workplaces more environmentally-friendly. Our aim in launching the event was to champion a ‘bottom-up’ approach to encouraging behavioural change by using it as […]
