Case Study: Staff wellbeing measures cut sickness absence at Julia’s House

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Julia's House is Dorset’s only hospice for children with life-threatening illnesses. It opened in 2006 and staff numbers have since grown from an initial 40-odd to 125 today. Despite the harrowing nature of the work, its employees are highly-engaged and, last year, it was awarded top slot in the charity and public sector category of […]

Fit for Work: Tackling sickness absence by early intervention

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The successful management of sickness absence in the workplace can contribute significantly to overall business productivity. But a balance must be struck between dissuading people who are tempted to ‘play the system’ and providing the best possible support for those with genuine health difficulties who are struggling to avoid being off work long-term.   Long-term […]

Blog: Shared parenting leave – Is it really a win-win?

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The latest government proposals in respect to encouraging a ‘family-friendly’ workplace seem to have met with general approval both from business and employee groups. Under the proposals, unveiled last week by the Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg, from 2015, after the first two weeks of a mother’s maternity leave, the remaining 50 weeks can be […]

Talking Point: Do you know how best to help an employee through divorce?

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Unlike death, people experience divorce as a failure.  But the level of compassion and understanding given to someone who is going through the process isn’t always as apparent as it is for someone who is in mourning.   Nonetheless, divorce is one of those ‘crises’ that can completely knock an employee down. Colleagues may try […]

Blog: How to deal with the pregnancy issue – legally

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I have recently been contacted by several women who feel they have been unfairly treated by their employers because of pregnancy and maternity issues.  It seems that this is an area of employment law that many employers fall foul of, possibly unintentionally.    Pregnant employees or those on maternity leave have many key rights in […]

So you want to be…an interim HR manager?

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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 […]

Blog: Segmentation as a tool for employee engagement

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 As we work towards the end of the year, one of Melcrum’s research team’s key priorities is to connect with our Strategic Communication Research Forum members to agree on the themes we should focus our research efforts on next year. One of the topics we’ve been discussing year on year is the constant changes around […]

Blog: How to get employee recognition programmes right

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Recognize This! – Culture management continues to rise in importance to HR leaders as the ability to measure and analyze culture also improves through strategic employee recognition. A couple of weeks ago, in a broader post on how to get more value out of your core values, I alluded to the SHRM/Globoforce Fall 2012 Report. […]

Three considerations for effective succession planning

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In the wake of the crisis that engulfed the BBC following the Jimmy Savile scandal, the broadcaster’s director general, George Entwistle, was forced to resign after only 54 days in the job. But less than a fortnight later, the BBC Trust was able to announce his replacement.   Lord Tony Hall of Birkenhead, chief executive […]

Ask the Expert: What benefits are included under a TUPE transfer?

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The question  I am currently working on a TUPE project and need some help on issues relating to terms and conditions of employment.   Under TUPE law, I understand that an employee transfers under the terms and conditions of their employment. But my question is how do you determine what is contractual or not if, […]

Blog: Making recruitment pinteresting

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With the rise of social media, a 2-page formulaic CV is quickly becoming an old fashioned way of understanding what personality and talents a candidate has. Today, it’s all about their Twitter feeds, LinkedIn profile, Facebook, and increasingly, Pinterest.   In June this year, Pinterest recorded a staggering 10.4 million users, and 400% month-on-month growth, […]

News: HR pros among most impatient when job-seeking

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HR professionals are an impatient bunch when going for a job, expecting employers to make a hiring decision after two job interviews and for the whole process to take no more than a month. According to a survey undertaken by recruitment consultancy, Robert Walters, some 72% of HR practitioners anticipate that the entire job application […]

Quiz: How people-centred is your organisation?

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Adopting a people-oriented approach to your organisational culture can help to transform it by making it more efficient and, ultimately, more successful. Helen Sanderson, who has co-authored a book entitled “Creating person-centred organisations” with Stephen Stirk, believes that going down this route gives staff more control over their lives as it means that they are […]

All you need to know about hiring a former drug or alcohol user

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I’ve spent much of the last 17 years working with current and former drug users, homeless people and ex-offenders in London and Sheffield. Much of that time has been taken up helping them to access services, which include housing, treatment and mental health support, so that people have the necessary assistance to try and turn […]

Blog: Five ways to ‘master the moment’

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In an instant, you can change your mind. You change the impression you had of someone, or you decide something is not a good idea after all. Politics is full of these moments. General David Patraeus had to resign after being caught in an extra-marital affair. In a moment, questions arose about his military judgment. If […]

Blog: What we can learn from Hitler’s dark charisma

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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 […]

Blog: The HR lessons to be learned from the BBC crisis

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After the recent scandals at the BBC, director-general George Entwistle was forced to resign last week, after only 54 days in the role. As a result, trustees of The BBC’s governing body met on Saturday to finalise plans to appoint a new director-general.   Not only does this highlight the importance of having a succession […]

Blog: Why a JJB Sports’ director lost his unfair dismissal claim

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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

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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 […]

How important is industry background when taking on a new HR hire?

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“Every star has that certain something that stands out and compels us to notice them.”  Maureen O’Hara When Maureen O’Hara was originally quoted, she was doubtlessly referring to the dazzling world of Hollywood’s Golden Age, but it applies to all of us, in all of our professional lives.   When you are recruiting, you are […]