Living Leader Learnings: How can I get my team to trust me?
The challenge A general manager at the distribution division of a national manufacturer says: “We have just completed our annual staff survey and it seems that the basic message coming from HR is that we need to find ways to increase the levels of engagement in our teams. As a manager, of course I […]
News: Female solicitor warned off having relationship or babies, tribunal hears
A female solicitor has accused a former “bullying” boss of sacking her unfairly due to her gender after she began a relationship against his wishes. Kate Baker, who qualified as a solicitor in 2004 and had been earning £45,000 per year, attested that she had been warned both against having a relationship or having babies. […]
Blog: Four simple ways to improve how senior leaders communicate
Happy New Year to you all! Some of the great blogs and articles I’ve read on HRZone across 2012 were about HR’s role in supporting leaders. They led me to think back to a number of recent conversations I’ve had with our Strategic Communication Research Forum members about the overall issue of leadership comms across […]
News: Low income NHS staff “not paid properly” since transfer to outsourcer
Low income, non-medical staff at a hospital in Brighton have not been paid properly since they were transferred to a private outsourcing company, according to a union. The GMB told the BBC that the workers who include cleaners, porters and caterers at the Royal Sussex County Hospital have experienced payment problems since being taken on […]
Blog: 2013 – A new HR business model emerges
“HR must have the knowledge of the organization’s P&L, but more importantly, they should develop a people P&L.” This was a statement by Cynthia Trudell, Executive Vice President Human Resources & Chief Human Resources Officer of Pepsico. Before Christmas in New York there was an event called the HR Leadership Summit (built “by HR Execs, for […]
Blog: Getting your champagne stories ready for Christmas
December is a time of celebration, thanks and appreciation for many people in business. For others it’s also the end of a financial year and so appraisals are happening too. One leader I am working with described the appraisal season as the most remarkable time where she’s been reminded of what her team […]
Vox Pops: How can you best build a business case for buying HR software?
What's the secret to coming up with a sound business case when purchasing HR applications? Attendees at the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development's HRD learning and development conference earlier this year share their insights:
Blog: Nine questions to ask yourself for a healthy 2013
New Year Wellness Resolutions: Don't reinvent the wheel. Many people we work with claim they'd like more energy and a better balance in their life. But are their actions and approaches consistent with these desires? Take for example how much time they devote to planning success in different areas of life. Do they give enough […]
News: 1/3 of workers sleep with colleagues at the Xmas party
Even though just under a third of employees admitted to having had sex with a co-worker at the Christmas party, nearly three quarters don’t want to go this year. According to a poll of 1,000 UK staff undertaken by married dating website IllicitEncounters.com, three out of five also acknowledged having kissed someone that they work […]
Case Study: How Norfolk Council maintains staff morale despite tough times
During the last few years, Norfolk County Council has experienced a squeeze on resources common to many public sector organisations. It’s been forced to make savings of £135 million over three years and is now halfway there, but hundreds of staff have been axed as a result. The cuts have arrived in conjunction with […]
So you want to be…an interim HR manager?
Professional women are increasingly opting to work as interim managers these days. In fact, the latest research from the Interim Management Association revealed that females were now undertaking 31% of all available assignments, up from only 24% in 2008. So while the industry may still be a male-dominated one, it is clear that growing […]
Have you got what it takes to be an HR director?
Securing an HR director job is tough. If you apply for an HRD role, you’ll be faced with strong competition from both inside and outside the organisation. There are some common factors that employers look for when hiring. Ideally, you’ll be someone who is currently a senior HR business partner or a head of HR, […]
Blog: What we can learn from Hitler’s dark charisma
It has been a tough week in the media for charisma. Last Monday night historical writer and documentary maker Laurence Rees’ new 3 part series The Dark Charisma of Adolf Hitler started on BBC 2. This series, about an awkward, dysfunctional man who developed “a level of charismatic attraction almost without parallel in history”, is unlikely to […]
Talent Spot: Carol Carson, HR director at Autoglass
After nearly three decades of working in the health and beauty sector, Carol Carson took the plunge two years ago and moved to Autoglass as its HR director. Windscreen repair/replacement and cosmetics may sound like industries that are chalk and cheese, but Carson has found a surprising amount of commonality between the two. “On […]
Blog: Why a JJB Sports’ director lost his unfair dismissal claim
The case A Manchester employment tribunal’s decision to reject a claim of unfair dismissal in a case involving a former company secretary at JJB Sports Plc has been upheld. Jonathan Ashby maintained that he’d been made redundant without warning or consultation. But an appeal tribunal sitting in London at the end of last […]
How to work effectively with the CEO
HR directors are in a unique position to provide credible, strategic advice to the chief executive and have a direct influence over the effectiveness of decision-making and direction-setting. As the organisation’s ‘people experts’, HR directors bring a perspective and expertise that are critical to ensure executive teams do justice to the direction that is set […]
Living Leader Learnings: How can I stay true to myself at work?
The challenge A sales executive at a telecommunications company says: "I’m doing well in my job, achieving and exceeding my targets regularly, which should leave me feeling good. But lately, I’m becoming more and more troubled by the fact that I seem to be two different people – one at home and one at […]
Lembit Opik: How to navigate office politics
I’ll let you into a bit of a secret, off the record, as they say: office politics exists. In fact, it’s everywhere. I once asked my friend and former boss at Procter & Gamble, Graham Cowley, what the smallest organisation to be influenced by politics was. He replied without a moment’s hesitation: ‘A marriage.’ Was […]
News: Employers unaware of fitness-to-drive responsibilities
A worrying number of employers are unaware that they have a shared responsibility to ensure that employees are fit to drive if doing so in the course of their work. According to a survey conducted among more than 200 employers by Specsavers Corporate Eyecare, however, 57% believe that responsibility for ensuring that their eyesight is […]
US presidential election – The power of empathy
It’s official (again) that being able to show empathy is a critical quality desirable in any leader. For instance, in an exit poll during the recent US presidential election published by the Washington Post on Tuesday 6 November, ‘caring about people like me’ was shown to be the most important leadership trait among 20% of […]
