Blog: Integrating people strategies into business plans
Recognise This! – Too often, critical people management strategies – for risk and for reward – are ignored in overall business plans. How strong is your company’s risk management plan? How strong is your human capital risk management plan? Recent research out of The Conference Board found companies do not incorporate human capital risk management […]
Going for gold – the role of HR in Olympic tenders
With less than a year to go until the Olympics, much is being written about the expected impact on the workforce, including an increase in sickness absence and requests for flexible working. But another much less discussed issue is the stringent tender process that companies are having to go through to be considered ‘fit to […]
Blog: Is more home-working the Olympics’ legacy for employers?
‘Olympic legacy’ is a phrase mentioned on a daily basis at present. But what effect will London 2012 have on businesses in the capital? For starters, a meltdown of public transport according to Olympic Games organisers and Transport for London. There’ll be three million more journeys a day including one million more Tube passengers during […]
Line managers lack skills for people tasks, fears HR
Although just under two thirds of HR professionals have devolved tactical activities to at least some line managers, three out of five are not convinced that they have the necessary skills and know-how to cope. According to a survey of 139 senior HR managers working in firms with more than 100 employees undertaken by YouGov, […]
Blog: Fancy contributing to a book on corporate politics, anyone?
We’re working on a new book, which we are planning to launch later this year, on the subject of corporate politics, hidden agendas and manipulation in business. It’s a thorny topic, we know, and we believe that HR professionals are best placed to observe and comment on these activities. In the book, we cover three important […]
Career visioning as an antidote to corporate rioting
There are very few people who would give those involved in this month’s rioting the time of day, let alone the chance to explain why they sought to bring disruption, violence and chaos to the streets of the UK. But as anyone working in HR will know, communication, whatever the circumstances, is always critical. So […]
Sponsoring A level leavers – finders, keepers?
The latest round of A-level results last week highlighted a growing trend. Employers are progressively not only ‘acquiring’ talent among A-level students, but also influencing the content of some degree courses. So what can they do to ensure that they are in the best position to attract – and retain – this talent that has […]
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 […]
Blog: From riot to clean-up – a reminder for HR
If the past couple of weeks have taught us, as a society, anything at all, it is this: underestimate the power of the people at your peril. The rioting that enveloped public interest last week started off on a north London street, and spread like wild fire throughout the entire country, threatening at times to […]
Blog: What to do about bullies in the workplace
Recognise This! – Fire bullies. That is the only reasonable course of action. News about bullies in the workplace seems to come up fairly regularly. In his “Business Performance” blog, Leslie Allen recently reported on a CareerBuilder.com survey on bullies: “The survey carried out by CareerBuilder.com between February and March of 2011, which involved […]
UK riots: Rallying staff round in an emergency
As the events of the last week show, while many companies have good contingency policies for things such as data back-up, very few have robust policies for what staff should do when they either can’t get into work or it is dangerous for them to travel. Most companies have simple polices around who employees need […]
HR to play vital role in managing public service change
Public sector employers must ensure that they have the right HR capabilities in place to ensure staff engagement and manage industrial relations during a period of unprecedented change, an Acas report has warned. A discussion paper commissioned by the conciliation service entitled ‘A new era of public service employment relations? The challenges ahead’ pointed out […]
NAO warns public sector HR is not delivering
Changes in the nature of the HR role across government is contributing to a lack of value for taxpayer money spent on training civil servants. While the government estimates it spent £275m (or £547 for each civil servant) on training in 2009/10, spending watchdog the National Audit Office (NAO) reckons that this is "significant underestimate". […]
Nissan offshores HR shared services to India
An Indian offshore outsourcing provider has acquired Nissan’s HR shared services centre for an undisclosed sum and bagged a seven-year contract to provide the Japanese car manufacturer’s 54,000 staff with transactional HR services. Genpact, which has provided Nissan with a range of other business process outsourcing services for the last six years, has purchased the […]
Call centre jobs league: Burnley 1: Bombay 0
A telecoms company has transferred its call centre operations from Bombay to Burnley because costs are now at “absolute parity”, but it considers UK employees to be more loyal and efficient. New Call Telecom, which provides home telephone services, broadband and low-cost international calls, is opening the contact centre in Lancashire after being attracted by […]
Coming full circle – the four levels of performance appraisal
Despite widespread usage of annual staff appraisals within all sizes and types of organisations, in the vast majority of cases the process is time-consuming and unpopular because in most people’s experience appraisals deliver little value, to the employee or the organisation itself. Peter McHugh, CEO of Covalent Software suggests that the employee performance review processes […]
Ask the expert: Am I really redundant?
This week the experts, Adam Partington and Esther Smith advise on whether this HR practitioner is being made redundant fairly. The question: Am I really redundant? I have worked for my current employer for 19 years as their HR/Payroll & Benefits Manager. Four weeks ago I was called into a meeting with the […]
What your CEO is thinking and may not be telling you
How well do you know your customers? How well do you know the competition? The answers to those questions can have a significant impact on how your CEO perceives you and your department and how much stock he/she puts into your recommendations. According to a recent CareerBuilder.co.uk survey of 194 UK business leaders, 30% of […]
Creating calm after the storm: employee engagement best practice following major organisational change
A disenfranchised workforce poses a significant problem to an organisation. In the HR industry it has been widely recognised that employees who are no longer engaged in an organisation are less likely to be flexible, work overtime or take on additional work or responsibilities. This can then have a knock-on effect on an organisation’s overall […]
Agility – fit for purpose
Many people believe that ‘agility’ is about reacting quickly. Not so! We can actually look to athletes to learn about agility. A high-jumper is agile in that they are able, at precisely the right time, to produce an explosion of energy toleap over a bar. However, faced with a marathon, they would fail. Likewise, the […]
