HR tip: Can we withdraw notice?
We gave a worker his notice, but would now like to continue his employment. Can we take back the notice? Withdrawing notice Because our order book has dried up a bit, we recently gave notice to three of our short-serving employees but we now find that we want to keep one of them after all. […]
Beat stress on National Stress Awareness Day
National Stress Awareness day is a chance for HR to show they care by helping their employees manage their stress. This year why not help your managers spot and deal with stress? Stress has become a major factor in many people's lives as the recession has increased employment and financial worries. It is reported that […]
Ask the expert: Paternity leave starts…now
If a worker is a birthing partner at a prolonged labour, where do the employers stand? Martin Brewer and Esther Smith advise on when and how paternity leave comes into effect. The question: When a woman goes into labour but does not have the baby until the following day can an […]
When opposites frustrate – don’t give up!
Diversity can bring huge benefits to an organisation, but are you getting the most from it? Matthew Hill gives advice and guidance on managing diverse teams. When the pressure is on within a team, the cracks will begin to show. This is often evidenced by escalating displays of emotion and tension. Sometimes a negative spiral […]
How talent development drives a high-performance culture
A united, high-performance workforce is not just a pipe dream, says Erik Finch, who examines the recommended steps of unified talent development to help achieve this goal. The pinnacle of any talent development initiative is, or at least should be, the creation of a high-performance culture. All businesses should aspire to this ‘utopia’. In […]
Caption competition: And the winner is…
City bonuses have dominated the headlines this year, and a recent inquiry by the Equality and Human Rights Commission has pushed the topic into the spotlight once more. It has found that women working in the UK’s financial sector receive around 80% less in performance-related pay than men – a shocking statistic. We have now […]
Achieving value-add performance management
For performance management to add value to an organisation, it must become a part of our day-to-day working lives, says Lisette Howlett, who explains how to inspire high performance in your people. Few organisations these days do not put time, effort and money into performance management in some form or another, and many operate highly […]
How to celebrate success when there isn’t any
It’s always easy to celebrate the good times, but what happens when the results aren’t so great? Claire Logan outlines some of the options available to reward and recognise in challenging times. It has been accepted wisdom for many years that the culture of an organisation can affect its performance. Throughout the late 80s […]
Opinion: Let’s undermine HR
John Pope shares his opinion and thoughts on the dangers of senior management undermining HR policies and procedures, to the detriment of employee morale. Do organisations deliberately try to undermine the basis of HR? I had always thought that they wanted happy, engaged staff who were committed, to a reasonable extent, to the success […]
HR in the future: The impact of technology
Joanne Christie examines how technology will shape the way HR departments operate over the next decade, and exactly what impact technology will have over the years to come. Like it or not, technology is advancing at an unstoppable rate, especially when it comes to information technology. While HR professionals can undoubtedly benefit from new software developments, […]
What is the cost of employee under-performance?
What’s an employee worth? Can we measure it? Dr Nikos Bozionelos explains how to assess performance and what methods to implement to ensure employers recruit ‘high performers’. Managers need to know both the price and the value of their employees. In fact given the huge financial losses or gains that depend upon employee performance, […]
Ask the expert: Compromise agreements
An employer is managing out some poor-performing employees. However it is proving to be a time-consuming exercise, and would like to offer them a compromise agreement instead. Adam Partington and Esther Smith advise. The question We have a situation whereby three managers in the business are failing to deliver in a number of areas. We have […]
Managing performance in a recession
Alyson Pellowe explains how HR professionals can ensure the performance of those employees left behind after a redundancy is managed effectively, and what measures can be put in place to help staff perform well. So what is performance management? It is actually quite straightforward. It’s about using a range of methods to manage individuals’ work […]
Even thin cats need calories: Making the recession work
The recession is an excellent opportunity to look at the performance of your staff and cut the metaphorical fat by losing those who are not performing to their full potential, says Anton Franckeiss. What does a recession give you? For company owner, director, manager or employee alike, it will undoubtedly bring stress and anxiety, but – at […]
Undercover boss: It’s worth investing in your people
In a new two-part series on Channel 4, Undercover Boss features a senior executive who goes undercover in their own company to find out what is happening at the coalface and what employees really think about the business. Penny de Valk shares her thoughts on last night’s episode. Channel 4’s new series Undercover Boss, […]
HR in a recession: A change of focus
John Pope examines how HR professionals’ roles have changed since the downturn and how they must now adapt to the current climate. Business is a bit like gardening. To get good roses in summer, you have to prune in winter, root out diseased old stock, get rid of those which flower poorly or are no […]
HR tip: Dealing with a poor performer
These questions are being answered by Learn HR, a market leader in the provision of HR and payroll training and nationally-recognised professional qualifications. Question: "We have an employee whose performance is well below par. What can we do with him?" HR tip: You should talk to him, explain the performance required, point out the performance he […]
Damage limitation: Managing poor performers
Best Employment Law Feature 2008 Poor performers are a danger not only to themselves but to their colleagues and the organisation as a whole. Annie Hayes finds out whether 'tough love' is the only solution. A lot of fuss about nothing? The capability process – points for consideration: Identify exactly what standards the employee should […]
Punishment – any suggestions?
This week, I have been thinking about how I can punish people. It would seem that there are only a small number of people in my office that keep refusing to act like normal people, as they consider themselves to be either too important or too busy to do what everyone else does in the […]
The perfect manager
Matthew Jennings offers some invaluable advice on how to strive towards becoming the best manager you can possibly be. “Ultimately, the truly great managers are the ones who stop to think where they want to go and then have the shameless audacity to set out.” Gerard Blair. If we went to the shops and bought […]