“The pursuit of excellence is relentless,” says former Red Arrows commanding officer
Former RAF Red Arrows commanding officer Jas Hawker reveals how elite display teams prioritize collective success over individual achievement. Drawing from his experience leading over 500 public displays across four continents, Hawker explains that aligning team goals with personal aspirations creates the foundation for sustained excellence.
Use mentoring to hold on to talent, employers told
Employers are losing talent by failing to offer mentoring opportunities, new research shows. A fifth of employees want to mentor or be mentored but lack access, while 40% have never had the chance. Implementing in-house mentoring schemes could improve retention and leadership development at minimal cost.
How should HR deal with mentoring arrangements?
HR should establish clear mentoring policies defining objectives, scope, and participant criteria before implementation. Key considerations include managing time commitments, selecting mentors and beneficiaries, and monitoring program effectiveness across internal, external, and professional mentoring arrangements.
Book review: The Trusted Advisor by David Maister, Charles Green and Robert Galford
The Trusted Advisor explores how trust is the foundation of successful business relationships and professional selling. Maister, Green, and Galford present practical frameworks including the Trust Equation, which balances credibility, reliability, and intimacy against self-orientation to build lasting client partnerships.
Blog: Seven career questions to ask yourself for 2013
As we enter a new year, consider seven critical career questions: Do you have a clear three-year plan? Have you developed new skills and knowledge? Do you have a mentor providing feedback? These reflections help ensure meaningful career progress and professional growth.
Talent management in a post-recession world
Employers face workforce instability as economic recovery strengthens, with a third of HR professionals concerned about talent retention. Effective talent management strategies, including training, development, and innovative reward packages, are essential to keep talented staff from leaving.
Christina’s Counsel: How do I get into HR?
A reader considering a career switch from business administration to HR learns 10 key tips for breaking into the profession, including gaining work experience, understanding different HR specializations, obtaining relevant qualifications, and finding a mentor to guide the transition.
Blog: Just what is an executive coach exactly?
An executive coach works with business leaders to improve performance, much like sports coaches do with athletes. Unlike mentors, executive coaches diagnose strengths and weaknesses, ask challenging questions, and hold clients accountable to help them find solutions to workplace challenges.
Maximising your emotional capital
Emotional intelligence and employee engagement are key drivers of business success. Research from Gallup’s study of 47,000 employees across 120 countries reveals that companies with high engagement outperform competitors by up to four times on productivity, profitability, and retention metrics.
Blog: What is…..mentoring?
Mentoring is supportive employee training where experienced professionals provide long-term guidance to less experienced colleagues outside traditional manager-employee relationships. It benefits both mentors and mentees by improving performance, building confidence, and fostering organizational development while increasing employee retention.
Blog: Are you serious about adopting a 70:20:10 development model?
The 70:20:10 development model allocates 70% of learning to on-the-job experience, 20% to coaching and mentoring, and 10% to formal training. However, many organizations enthusiastically adopt this framework without implementing the practical support structures needed for success, such as embedding learning into performance management and creating genuine action learning opportunities.
News: Budget cuts see public servants improvise to get training
Budget cuts have forced UK public sector workers to rely on colleagues and online research to develop essential skills, with 41% learning new competencies through informal means as external training provision shrinks.
How to manage a mixed age workforce
Managing a mixed age workforce requires addressing the diverse needs of older workers staying longer post-retirement-age abolition and younger Generation Y employees entering the workplace. Key strategies include flexible work arrangements, ongoing training, and recognizing that age diversity—from different learning styles to technology adoption—brings both challenges and proven business benefits like improved customer service and productivity.
CEO Insight: Sinead Hasson on Hasson Associates’ CSR programme
Hasson Associates launched a corporate social responsibility program with Dress for Success to boost employee engagement and motivation. The initiative has consultants volunteer interview coaching and career support to unemployed women, fostering staff pride and improving workplace morale.
Blog: Ten top tips for taking control of your career
Take control of your career by clarifying what matters to you, developing a clear vision of future success, and focusing on concrete short-term steps. Recognizing your progress and aligning your aspirations with organizational goals helps you advance without necessarily leaving your current organization.
HRD Insight: Leigh Lafever-Ayer on Enterprise Rent-A-Car’s women’s mentoring scheme
Enterprise Rent-A-Car has launched a women’s mentoring scheme to help female employees progress to senior roles, addressing a significant gap in boardroom representation. The company promotes exclusively from within and has achieved 40% female graduate hires, but faces retention challenges as women advance to middle management.
Blog: Charity needs to begin at home for third sector HR
The third sector faces disproportionately high employee grievances and disputes despite its reputation as an employer champion. Poor HR practices in smaller nonprofits, often due to lack of expertise and funding, contribute to this problem. Larger charities could address this by sharing HR knowledge and best practices with smaller counterparts.
Half of UK managers expect redundancies in 2012
Nearly half of UK managers surveyed expect their organizations to cut jobs in 2012, with over a third worried about their own employment security. The Chartered Management Institute study of 800 bosses found only 8% optimistic about the economy, citing public finances and eurozone instability as key concerns.
Are we ready for an older workforce?
An aging workforce presents both challenges and opportunities for UK employers and society. With baby boomers working longer due to pension pressures and changing retirement age policies, organizations must adapt through flexible work arrangements and knowledge transfer programs to retain skilled workers and address future skills shortages.
New investment for 10,000 more volunteer business mentors
The UK government is investing £1.2 million to recruit and train 10,000 new volunteer business mentors through the ‘Get Mentoring’ scheme. This initiative aims to provide affordable mentoring support to entrepreneurs and boost economic growth, bringing the total available mentors on the mentorsme.co.uk portal to approximately 26,000.
