Blog: A recruiter’s response to HMRC’s £390m industry probe
The tax office has turned the tables, and the headlines, on recruiters. It would seem that they have come out swinging after being attacked for an estimated £390m in tax avoidance and will now bring those that are running these multi-million pound schemes to book. HMRC has queried where the figure of £390m has […]
Talent Spot: Community blogger, Dianne Bown-Wilson
People are living longer, the overall population is aging and people are going to be working for longer. Everyone knows these facts and yet employers and workers alike are struggling to deal with them. But Dianne Bown-Wilson set up a consultancy, in my prime, to address these very issues, providing advice, strategic guidance and […]
Blog: Do you have an employee value proposition?
I wanted to share some thinking from a recent article in our SCM Journal on a topic that I know sits close to the heart of many HR executives, as well as Internal Communicators. The Employee Value Proposition (EVP). If EVP feels too much like yet another piece of management jargon, I’m with you. But […]
Blog: More cost for employers – Sick workers and annual leave
Workers’ entitlement to holiday pay whilst off sick continues to prove problematic for businesses. In a decision just issued by the Court of Appeal, NHS Leeds v Janet Larner, the Court has confirmed that workers are entitled to annual leave which accrues while they are off sick, even where they have not made any request […]
Is it worth bothering with a CIPD qualification?
Although a CIPD qualification isn’t always requested by employers, there are always some hiring managers who include it as a prerequisite on their job specs and adverts. If you already have an HR-related degree or extensive industry experience, the CIPD may be less of a necessity – but it’s a well-respected qualification that could open […]
In a Nutshell: Five ways to ensure a positive relationship with the unions
Philippe Ferrie, worldwide employee relations coordinator at Vallourec, which makes specialist tubes for the oil and gas industry, has a long history of dealing with the unions. Here he offers his advice on the best way to ensure that you have a smooth and productive relationship with them too: 1. Show respect I’ve […]
Blog: Lessons from Olympians – How to compete and cooperate at the same time
Recognise This! – The Olympics offer us lessons to apply in the workplace on how to achieve both individual and organisation success. How competitive is your workplace? Is it a good type of competition or one that breeds dissension, disharmony and, ultimately, disengagement? A recent survey reported by NBC shows 96% of senior managers […]
The HRZone Interview: Dr Cary Cooper on well-being at work
Dr Cary Cooper is professor of organisational psychology and health at Lancaster University Management School and author of more than 150 books on topics ranging from occupational stress and women at work to organisational psychology. He is also a regular contributor to TV, radio and the press and, in 2001, was awarded a CBE for […]
Ask the Expert: What to do with someone whose role has mostly been offshored?
The question We are a company with five permanent staff. One role has ‘lost’ much of its workload after the work was moved offshore. The person fulfilling that role is now left trying to find enough things to do much of the time. What are my options here? Can I legally redefine the role […]
Blog: The crucial role of line managers in beating employee stress
Stress is a big problem within the workplace in the UK and it is not being tackled effectively. Many people are concerned about their jobs and many organisations have to take measures to reduce costs; stress needs to be tackled from the boardroom to ensure that it is a priority. So often it is […]
Blog: The 10 most effective ways to lose your team’s respect
Sometimes the best way to eliminate bad habits in leadership is to see them parodied. So in that spirit, here are the ten quickest ways to ensure your team are demotivated and your leadership is always in question: 1. Always over react, rather than not react So something has gone wrong and you’re not […]
Blog: Lessons from Olympians – Boosting staff productivity
It’s the start of the Olympic Games. The world’s finest athletes are set to do battle. They will train hard. Competition will be intense. Extra effort is required to get over the line. Athletes need to be at the top of their game to succeed. Those that aren’t will falter. There are a number […]
Blog: Four survival tips for when the company loses its CEO
Recognise This! – Build a strong culture based on core values that mean something to individual employees. We’ve all read the stories of the new CEO stepping into a strong company culture. The good CEOs express various concerns around wanting to preserve what is strong in the culture and company, etc. Now think how […]
Blog: Babies in the office – Will it work?
The BBC series ‘Babies in the Office’ has been an interesting insight into the prospect of parents bringing their babies and toddlers right into their workspace. As an experiment the program is brilliant, but for me the long term potential of this concept seems limited. I suppose that they chose a call centre […]
News: Govt launches 3-step mental health plan to save employers £10bn
Ministers have called on employers to take three steps to boost the mental health of their workers in a bid to save the UK economy £30 billion per year in lost productivity. Mental ill health such as depression and anxiety costs UK business more than £1,000 per employee each year, mainly in lost production as […]
Blog: The power of story-telling
“Once upon a time …” You say those words to any child and they visually go into a trance. These were the words that were always used to tell a story. When my children were small, my wife would give them their bath and I was the story teller. I would come into the […]
Talking Point: Is it better to outsource training or offer it in-house?
Although employee performance may have improved over the last two years, individuals are still not working to their full potential, a recent poll of HR directors revealed. With the economic climate as it is, however, it is clear that employers must ensure that they get the most out of the talent they already have. […]
Blog: Are employers offering fathers enough support?
Research shows many fathers are dissatisfied with the amount of time they spend at work and the amount of time they spend with their children. Some 54% of fathers with children under one feel they are not devoting enough time to them, while 42% of fathers feel they are not able to spend enough time […]
Blog: Three ideas for retaining young talent when career paths are scarce
Recognise This! – Boomers are about to surpass Gen Y in the workplace. Steve Boese (another go-to blogger of mine for anything relevant and important in the moment in HR) recently pointed out this alarming statistic: For the first time since these things started being tracked (1950), we are on the cusp of the number […]
How to tackle your first 100 days as HR director – Part 1
We live in a rapidly changing world in which the political and economic outlook for the next 12 months is very unclear. In this unstable commercial environment, uncertainty about the future feeds a growing sense of urgency in the here and now. As a result, judgments are made much more quickly. This means that […]
