Do you get commercial?
The Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development has been pushing the idea that HR professionals need to become more business-savvy for some time now. As a result, we interview Debbie Pask, founder of specialist HR recruitment consultancy, Paskpartnership, in order to find out why being able to demonstrate commercial nous is becoming vital for every […]
Blog: Are your staff proud of where they work?
The UK can be proud of its hosting efforts of the 2012 Olympics as our top athletes gathered a wealth of gold, silver and bronze medals, the best haul we’ve achieved in over a century. Our athletes take pride in their work and reap the benefits when they stand on top the podium listening to […]
Blog: Should we name and shame bad managers?
Recognise This! – We publicly praise the stars. Should we publicly highlight the truly poor performers as well? Regular readers know I’m a very strong proponent of frequent and public (when appropriate and preferred) recognition of star performers as well as employees who live the values day in and day out, making it possible for […]
News: HMRC to recruit 1000 call centre agents amid low staff morale
HM Revenue & Customs is to recruit up to 1,000 additional contact centre agents in a bid to answer a targeted 90% of calls, amid the publication of a report revealing extremely low levels of staff morale. The department’s chief executive, Lin Homer, said that she planned to invest £9 million this year and up […]
In a Nutshell: Five ways to make the most of your older workers
The UK’s working population is aging but attitudes towards older workers – despite legislation – are taking a long time to catch up with the change. Therefore, Dianne Bown-Wilson, who set up consultancy, in my prime, to help address just such issues, shares her top tips to help employers get the most out of their […]
Blog: Punk rock HR – Reasons to be cheerful, part 3: Good job design
This is the third extract of my new book “Punk Rock People Management – a no-nonsense guide to hiring, inspiring and firing staff”. Here’s an extract on the topic of motivation: In the words of honorary punk rockers, Rogers, Hammerstein and Captain Sensible, “Happy talk”. Yes, it’s nice to be happy at work, […]
News: UK workers put in £157.2bn of unpaid overtime each year
UK workers are now putting in around £157.2 billion per year in unpaid overtime every year, with two thirds experiencing soaring stress levels as a result. According to a survey conducted by hotel chain Travelodge, one in ten employees are now cramming in the equivalent of an entire week’s extra work on top of their […]
Blog: Lessons from Mars – How to prevent staff burn-out
As Curiosity touched down on Mars we all saw an elated NASA team jumping for joy that their lengthy mission had successfully reached a fundamental milestone. The passion of the engineers, scientists and astronauts involved in the project was obvious for all watched the news that day, but back down here on Earth there a […]
Case Study: LV= focuses on staff enagement to negotiate change
LV= (London Victoria) has nearly tripled its workforce from 2,000 employees in 2007 to 5,600 in 2012 and now insures one in 10 cars on the road. But its HR director, David Smith, recognises that such fast growth can foster uncertainty and anxiety as well as generate cultural change that is not always positive. […]
Blog: How to stop your talent from becoming tea leaves
A recent report from CIFAS has shown that the dire economic climate has had another impact – staff who may not normally stray from the straight and narrow are turning to fraud and various acts of ‘low level dishonesty’ against their employers, and justifying it to themselves through resentment of payfreezes, insecurity, unemployment and other […]
Blog: Lessons from Olympians – The danger of perverse incentives
Recognise This! – After-the-fact recognition delivers better results than if/then incentives, which can be easily gamed. I’ve written before about the difference between recognition and incentives. This is an important distinction to understand, as is the distinction between incentives and motivation. This was brought home to me in particular this week in two ways […]
Talent Spot: Caroline Waters, BT’s director of people and policy
Because Caroline Waters has only been at BT for 33 years, she classes herself as a bit of a newcomer in an organisation where two people are celebrating 50 years of service and 3,500 have clocked up 40 or more. Today, as director of people and policy, Waters has a long list of responsibilities outside […]
News: UK employers do little to tackle poor internal management skills
Even though the vast majority of UK businesses believe that their performance is at risk of being held back by a shortage of skilled managers, all too few are doing anything much about it. According to a survey conducted among 750 managers with responsibility for talent management by the Institute of Leadership & Management, the […]
News: Sainbury’s evaluates value of “micro-exercise” in cutting sickness rates
Sainsbury’s is currently evaluating whether encouraging its staff to become more active by taking “micro-exercise” breaks can help cut levels of sickness absence. The supermarket chain introduced a six-month pilot project at its Coventry satellite office earlier this year, which saw 85 workers perform a series of three-minute stretches using Power Plate‘s vibration training machine […]
Blog: Entertainment, media and tech are HR hiring hotspots
There is no doubt the economy is fragile. Last week it was reported that the UK recession has deepened as latest official figures show the national GDP fell by 0.7% between April and June. Despite this, sectors such as high-end retail, entertainment and media are still seeing growth, and in times of financial insecurity, […]
Blog: The secret of good networking
Most people know that networking is an important business skill but most people avoid and dislike it. That's because most people fail to understand what networking is all about and only network with people they like. Networking success depends on reciprocity – it works because you are willing and able to trade or […]
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: Clear link between HR effectiveness and financial growth – study
Organisations with an effective HR function generate revenues that are up to 3.5 times higher and profits that are about 2.1 times greater than rivals, according to research. These are the key findings of a survey among more than 4,200 HR and non-HR managers based in over 100 countries across the world conducted by The […]
Blog: Four considerations when learning to manage upwards
“I need to talk to you about an employee that I am having trouble with.” Like a lot of you, I get calls all the time with people that want to bounce things off of me. I also volunteer my HR services to non-profits. This statement came from a founding member of the non-profit […]
Blog: Danny Boyle’s secret to enabling creativity on an Olympic scale
Recognise This! – Creativity is not enough without delivery on the promise. I’ll hazard a guess that 100% of my readers watched the Olympics opening ceremony, at least in part, or read about it, or saw elements of it on news coverage. What did you think of it? Most feedback seems to range from “spectacular!” […]
