New boss hacks back on Everything Everywhere management team
The new boss of mobile phone company Everything Everywhere marked his first day in the job by wiping out half of his management team including two senior HR executives. Olaf Swantee, chief executive of the company, which was created out of the merger of Orange and T-Mobile last year, announced yesterday that he had hacked […]
Leadership development programmes not up to snuff in too many organisations
Just under a quarter of HR professionals believe that their leadership development programmes are ‘highly effective’, while about one in five admit that they are useless. But according to research from the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development and talent management consultancy, DDI, about a third of UK leaders rate the quality of leadership in […]
Female bosses to wait a century for equal pay, says CMI
Female bosses in the UK will need to wait nearly a century to be paid the same as their male counterparts, although women are already earning more than men in the most junior management positions. These are the key findings of a poll undertaken among 34,158 executives by XpertHR on behalf of the Chartered Management […]
Tate trustees take action to stop bullying
Complaints of bullying by managers has led the Tate galleries to issue a directive pointing out that staff have a right to work in a safe place “free from harassment or discrimination of any kind”. According to the Independent, the problem was considered so serious that the organisation’s trustees, who are appointed by the Prime […]
Blog: Apple loses Jobs – so what does it mean for the people?
When one of the world’s most celebrated business leaders announces plans to make a move, the focus is all too often on shares and customer impact, but little is mentioned about the impact it will have on the people within the organisation. When Steve Jobs announced he is standing down as chief executive at Apple, […]
Blog: Workplace relationships – just like in personal life, you want a good match
“You were too aggressive and I do not like aggressive.” My wife and I laughed so hard that I almost had to pull over on the side of the road with laughter. On Friday, my wife Janetta and I celebrated 39 years of marriage. The line above was referring to when we first met […]
Horrible bosses: how to spot them and handle them
The difference between an authentic leader and a horrible boss would appear obvious. But it’s not correct to say it all boils down to behaviour because some of the most authentic leaders I know are capable of behaving ‘poorly’ at times, says Gareth Chick, a director at Spring Partnerships. The fundamental difference for me is […]
Bonuses and allowances compensate council bosses for pay cuts
Local authority bosses were compensated for promised pay cuts last year by having their bonuses and allowances boosted instead. The move came despite calls by Eric Pickles, the Communities and Local Government Secretary, for town hall chiefs to take a 10% wage reduction. An analysis of accounts published by 128 of the largest council’s […]
Workers uninspired by business leaders, finds study
Although good communication skills, demonstrating integrity and having the ability to motivate are the top three most desirable leadership attributes, few UK workers believe that their boss displays them. Instead a survey among 1,047 employees undertaken by ICM Research on behalf of executive search and leadership consultancy Korn/Ferry Whitehead Mann revealed that just under one […]
The secret to staff satisfaction
The current climate is not only affecting business profitability but also staff morale, with employee satisfaction rates at their lowest since 2009, according to a recent survey by the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development. Further research carried out by mental health charity, Mind, revealed that 41% of people are stressed by their jobs, with […]
No ‘time to train’ in SMEs, say Government
The coalition government has ruled out extending the right to request time for training to employees in small to medium businesses until at least 2015. Under proposals made by the last government, staff in companies with less than 250 personnel would have been entitled to the same rights as those in larger organisations by April […]
Difference in earnings between public and private sector widens in poor job market
Although public sector workers are now paid an average of 7.8% more than their private sector counterparts, the number of people finding work in either area has slowed to a 22-month low. According to the Office for National Statistics, by April 2010 the difference in average earnings between public and private sector staff has widened […]
Employees have too much holiday, say 25% of SMEs
Around a quarter of small-to-medium employers believe that workers get too much holiday and would like to prune their entitlement by about four days in a bid to cut costs. According to a survey among 403 SMEs undertaken by BDRC Continental Research on behalf of insurance company MetLife, some 27% believe they are too generous […]
Wanted: HR mentors to support SMEs
The coalition government is hoping to create an “informal” nationwide network of 40,000 business mentors over the year ahead to support small-to-medium enterprises in areas such as HR, marketing and finance. The initial plank of the scheme, launched by the British Banking Association yesterday, is expected to see 1,000 current and retired employees from Barclays, […]
Leadership forecast gloomy – development needed
Employers must employ a mix of development techniques if they are to improve leadership quality levels that have changed little over the last six years despite an estimated £14 billion in annual investment worldwide. According to a survey among 12,000 leaders and 1,800 HR professionals working in 2,600 organisations across 74 countries undertaken by talent […]
Coalition to spend £60 million on private sector apprenticeships
In a bid to deflect criticism over scrapping a £1 billion fund aimed at tackling youth unemployment, the coalition government has pledged to spend £60 million on creating apprenticeships and work placements in private companies. The ‘Supporting Youth Employment’ scheme is intended to fund 250,000 apprenticeship places for 16- to 24-year olds over the next […]
Recruitment ROI in the ‘new normal’
When I talk to HR leaders across the private and public sectors, and even in the not for profit space, it’s quite clear that attitudes towards recruitment have changed significantly in the wake of the Global Financial Crisis. In my opinion, the change is entirely positive for the recruitment industry, which has been greedy and […]
Financial Times to offer first non-exec director post grad course
The Financial Times will start offering the UK’s first formally accredited post-graduate qualification for non-executives directors from 1 September this year. The six-month-long Non-Executive Director Certificate is based on the UK Corporate Governance Code and will be accredited by Edexcel in a bid to support the professionalisation of the sector. Lesley Stephenson, a Financial Times publisher […]
Organisations could use social tools to aid ROI and engagement
Enterprise social media and collaboration tools could help employers to obtain a better return on investment from their knowledge workers and improve engagement, a study has found. A survey among 150 managers and knowledge workers undertaken by Forrester Research on behalf of project and portfolio management software provider AtTask revealed that, despite often high levels […]
New study highlights decision-making differences between genders
Men are prone to make black-or-white judgements when making decisions, while women are more inclined to see shades of grey, according to a study from Warwick University. This means that the former gender appear more suited to work environments that require decisive action, while the latter are likely to be more effective in occupations where […]
