HP boss wins breathing space over sexual harrassment letter
A letter detailing sexual harassment allegations against former Hewlett-Packard boss Mark Hurd will not be unsealed until September as revealing its contents before he has a chance to plead his case could cause him “irreparable harm”. The letter, written by celebrity lawyer Gloria Allred on behalf of former HP contractor Jodie Fisher, triggered a chain […]
Coaching ‘vital’ to laid off managers
Coaching can play a “vital” role in helping older managers cope with finding themselves unexpectedly on the job market again after being laid off, research has found. The two-year study undertaken jointly by academics at the Universities of Surrey and Bath among senior managers aged 49 to 62, who lost their jobs in acrimonious circumstances, […]
Engagement matters – HR and L&D can work together when they get engaged
At the Plateau Insights user conference – which took place in the ancient city of Rome – learning experts took on an age-old issue. Is the LMS dead? Plateau CEO, Paul Sparta, quizzed the panel of Clive Shepherd, Donald Taylor and Nigel Paine for their expert knowledge. One of the themes they picked up […]
HR at a crossroads: can we collaborate to improve business execution?
Successful organisations need strategic HR people working with IT people to create systems that empower the alignment of workforces through a combination of goals, targets, pay for performance, reviews and effective communication of strategy. That’s the theory anyway. The reality – as exposed by a new study from Cloud Computing firm SuccessFactors and services giant […]
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 […]