Recruitment procurement framework for local authorities sees 11 companies triumph

Eleven recruitment agencies have been appointed to supply temps to local authorities under a newly-let Managed Services for Temporary Agency Resources procurement framework in a bid to cut costs and reduce the time spent on tendering.  The national framework agreement is operational now, but the first wave of early adopters is not expected to go […]

Chancellor Osborne – payroll’s hero, comp & ben’s villain?

The Chancellor of the Exchequer took the brave first steps to simplify Britain’s complicated tax and National Insurance (NI) payment systems in the recent Budget. Lengthy consultations follow, but with crystal ball in hand, Matt Duffy of Aon Hewitt considers the pros and the cons. From where we sit, we can see obstacles aplenty, but […]

HR department pays price of false accusations at Renault

Heads have rolled at Renault following an HR failure that led to three employees being sacked after being falsely accused of industrial espionage.  Patrick Pelata, the French carmaker’s chief operating officer, has stepped down, although he will remain with the firm, while Jean-Yves Coudreau, the HR manager responsible for senior executives, legal director Christian Husson […]

Finding new roles for existing staff within your organisation

In spite of many economies being under pressure to grow and the problem of high unemployment levels, acquiring and retaining good people is a constant challenge. Simon North explains. Why is the issue of finding new roles for individuals who are already within your organisation worth discussing? Clearly the issue of keeping what we typically […]

Ask the expert: HR reviews – do we need to consult?

This time the experts, Esther Smith and Adam Partington advise on whether a consultation period is required before an HR review. The question: HR reviews – do we need to consult? We are an organisation that has grown quite organically. It started with one staff member in 2002 and we now have eight currently employed […]

HR can do complicance but struggles with strategy, says survey

Although HR professionals are performing well in dealing with tactical statutory compliance issues, they are failing miserably in more strategic areas such as mapping and managing staff competencies.  These are the key findings of a survey among HR directors and board members in 53 organisations across Europe undertaken by HR services provider Aon Hewitt. The […]

Social media – the new learning diet pill?

With any area of dissatisfaction there’s a natural human desire for the one stop cure – the silver bullet. Take the slimming pill. Now, intellectually and rationally we all know that losing weight is tricky but there’s only one sure way of achieving success – eat less, do more. It’s not a secret which is […]

Sustainability: Megatrend? Mega-opportunity for HR…

A crisis changes everything. Before the financial upheavals and corporate collapses of the past three years, the word ‘sustainability’ was probably linked in most business minds to well-meaning campaigns by environmental charity groups. With the sudden demise of Lehman Brothers, and the recognition that dozens of other huge banking names would have disappeared without state […]

Risk in the workplace – the role of HR in helping to manage incidents

The number of costly injury claims against business has risen sharply but human resources can play a role in helping the organisation avoid risk of injury at work and associated fines, says expert laywer, Fiona Gill.  In the past few years, the number of high value injury claims contested in the High Court has jumped […]

Chris Last appointed head of Government HR Operations

The implementation of a single civil service HR policy across all Whitehall agencies has moved a step closer following the appointment of the first head of Government HR Operations.  According to the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development’s in-house publication People Management, Chris Last, HR director general of the Department for Work and Pensions, has […]

Half of bankers set to leave over 2011 bonus

With half of frontline banking staff threatening to leave if next year’s bonus again fails to meet their expectations, financial services organisations may need to find new ways of retaining top talent.  According to a survey of more than 1,000 banking personnel undertaken by recruitment consultancy Hays Financial Markets, almost two thirds said they were […]

How to recruit higher quality candidates: a key lesson from consumer marketing

By thinking like a marketer, recruiters can create a targeted sourcing strategy that can deliver a higher quality of hire, says Tim Geisert of Kenexa.  In 2004, Dove, one of Unilever’s biggest beauty brands, sponsored a global research study that asked 3,200 women for their views on female beauty and well-being. Among the results was […]

Staff sharing scheme to help public sector retain talent

About 30 local authorities are to start piloting an online staff secondment service as an alternative to making redundancies following deep cuts to their budgets.  The pilot scheme was jointly developed by online skills exchange StaffShare and Local Government Employers, a body that represents employers when negotiating on pay, pensions and workforce-related issues.  The idea […]

Sealing the black hole in HR and careers advice

There is a looming black hole in HR, careers advice and skills development that could blight a generation. HR professionals, in particular, will be facing some of the most challenging conditions seen in the UK since the 1930s.   The UK government wants to help but funds are limited. It wants people to embrace the […]

Happy workers have a sense of shared purpose

Business strategy must be based on a shared sense of purpose between employers and workers in order to boost staff engagement, job satisfaction and organisational performance.  According to a survey undertaken among more than 2,000 employees by YouGov on behalf of the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD), 84% of those working in organisations […]

Aligning HR with the business

In a tough economic climate, uncertainty around job cuts looks set to dominate HR over the next few years. Cost saving, improved efficiency and streamlining are recurrent themes in media headlines. They are also terms increasingly being used by organisations fighting to safeguard their future.  Whilst HR is naturally expected to take a pivotal role […]

The five myths of outsourcing

All HR directors should consider their sourcing options; how they should secure the capabilities required to deliver an effective an efficient HR service, and particularly whether or not they should use outsourcing to deliver key HR services. It is not credible to argue that the HR function should be excluded from the attention given to […]

Risky business: Balancing the risk types in teams and organisations

One man’s risk taker is another one’s high performer, but you need to balance teams to create effective, sustainable success, says Geoff Trickey.  The City was divided about Bob Diamond, the new CEO at Barclays, and so were the politicians and the media. For some he is the apotheosis of the dangerously reckless bankers who […]

Staff retention failures costing businesses £42bn a year

British business is losing £42bn a year through its failure to retain key staff, according to reseach from accountancy firm PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) PwC found nearly a quarter of UK employees are either actively looking or planning to look for a new job because of unhappiness about expected pay and conditions in the coming year. Around […]

Leadership matters: A general manager problem

The general manager of our organisation seems to have completely changed her personality. Judith Germain advises on how to cope with this strange situation. The dilemma  The General Manager of our organisation has five senior managers and over the last year this general manager seems to have completely changed her personality to the point where […]