Why reward is so important for ‘Best Companies’
As the Sunday Times publishes the 2014 showcase of ‘best companies to work for’, there is no doubt that engagement is good for employees, good for business and good for the economy. A read of the rigorous research outlined in ‘The Evidence’ [PDF, 1.1mb] paper from the Employee Engagement Task Force will confirm the link […]
Interview: Adrian Furnham, Professor of Psychology, UCL
Q: Can you outline what staff go through during times of upheaval and turbulence? Those made redundant or even moved to a new position often experience a well known shock cycle. There are many version of this stage-wise or cycle theory based on the death and dying literature. There are different, but related concepts or […]
Emotional Intelligence – the dark side is in the detail, not the concept
In response to the very interesting article by Adam Grant entitled ‘The Dark Side of Emotional Intelligence.’ It’s true when people get to know their emotional capacity and understand their own emotions they can use them more effectively for both good or bad. However… Emotional intelligence (EI) is a tool used to build communication skills […]
Emotional Quotient – the key to balanced leadership
The recession may finally be on the way out, according to recent quarter-on-quarter figures from the Office of National Statistics. What does the future hold for business, in this new economic phase and how can HR professionals recognise, nurture and develop business leaders? There’s no doubting that we are in need of strong business leaders […]
Were psychometric tests to blame for the appointment of Co-op Chairman Paul Flowers?
Last autumn, you may recall, the former Chairman of the Co-operative Bank, Reverend Paul Flowers, was revealed to be neither as financially literate nor as clean-living as a senior role in an ethical bank might demand. As the “Crystal Methodist” and “Cocaine and rent boys” headlines piled up, questions were asked about how he was […]
How to effectively interview introverts
Some hiring managers may see interviews as an opportunity to test candidates’ ability to “think on their feet” and demonstrate their expertise, whereas others simply see interviews as an opportunity to interact with candidates to determine if their personalities are a fit for the Organisation. In both of these situations, applicants who are able to […]
Are you employing a corporate psychopath?
This article was written by Clive Boddy and Derek Miles. Clive and Derek are, respectively, Professors in Leadership and Human Resource Development at Middlesex University Business School. You can email them at c.boddy@mdx.ac.uk or d.miles@mdx.ac.uk. Psychologists report that 1% of the general population are psychopaths and lucky for most of us the violent ones tend to […]
Finding the X Factor – the neuroscience of presence
You will have experienced the feeling of a person, maybe a leader, shop assistant or friend who is completely focused on you and your needs. Their level of connection is palatable. For me it is best summed up in the words of a West African greeting, ‘Sawa bona,’ which translates to ‘I see you.’ The […]
Book Review: The Fulfilling Workplace: Psychological and Behavioural Aspects of Risk
Title: The Fulfilling Workplace: Psychological and Behavioural Aspects of RiskAuthors: Edited by Cary Cooper and Ronald BurkeISBN: 978-1409427766 This book review was written by David Evans of Burn Bridge Associates. The sub-title to this weighty tome is “The organisation’s role in achieving individual and organisational health” and the editors – Burke and Cooper – have enlisted a serious […]
Exploring the link between emotional control and success
One of the underlying assumptions about success in business is that we have to control ourselves and our emotions. For most of the last century emotions have been a ‘dirty’ word in business. The British stiff upper lip is seen as the pinnacle of control. Emotional Intelligence (for more on EI, read my previous article, […]
Using personality profiling to exploit maximum value out of events
The HR department is often the first to extoll the virtues of a conference or out-of-office event in helping to motivate employees and encourage career development and learning. In fact, many of us within the industry have referred to conferences for years as a ‘third place’, a space between the desk and the meeting rooms […]
How to use storytelling to influence people
"A man found a cocoon for a butterfly. One day a small opening appeared, he sat and watched the butterfly for several hours as it struggled to force its body through the little hole. Then it seemed to stop making any progress. It appeared stuck. The man decided to help the butterfly and with a […]
How understanding neuroscience can increase the ROI on your training investment
Mark Twain said ‘training is everything’ but maybe what he meant is applying training is everything! Training and development is still a major focus for companies despite the recession. Learning and Development practitioners say they are being more commercial and business focused yet we are still told that programmes are not producing the behavioural change […]
Want to get your HR initiative agreed? How understanding the brain can help you
‘The goal of a presentation to your boss is not to get him to think you're smart, but to get him to think he's smart to support your idea’. This is a tweet (the new form of quote) from Tom Peters. It struck me as perfect for this article on how understanding the brain can […]
Five scientific discoveries that will save your change programme from failure
What factors influence the success of change? Every client I talk to is struggling with a major change project and most have pretty low expectations of what they can achieve. This is not surprising given around 70 percent of change initiatives fail or only partially succeed. People issues contributed to nearly 60 percent of the […]
Five social phenomena that HR should be aware of
This article explores five social phenomena and gives examples of how they may occur in a business setting. If you're interested in this area, you may wish to read the following articles: Twenty emotions and feelings that drive motivation Twenty ways your brain helps you make terrible decisions Decision-bias in HR – are you making […]
Decision-bias in HR – are you really making fair decisions?
Read Jan's other articles: What should HR professionals know about neuroscience? How understanding neuroscience can increase the ROI on your training investment What is decision bias? Decision bias is a combination of economics and psychology. Behavioural economics looks at understanding how humans make decisions in reality rather than, as traditional economic theory would assume, completely […]
Twenty emotions and feelings that drive motivation
Sense of autonomy – that the job you’re doing is yours and yours alone, and that while others may have ultimate control over the bigger picture you are the master of your own world Desire for mastery – a feeling that everything you do, learn and see increases your capabilities, worth and skills as a […]
What should HR professionals know about neuroscience?
It's Neuroscience Learning Month on HRZone. You're reading one of the pieces that has been written to help you develop a sound understanding of why neuroscience principles are important to business, and a basic understanding of how you can apply them effectively. There's loads more content going live over the month to help you on […]
Taming the raging bull
Can the Power of Emotional Intelligence be used to deal with a ‘classic’ type of boss? Philip Gimmack, Director Certified EQ & NLP Coach at eqworks says yes. What is Emotional Intelligence and EQ? Someone’s Emotional Intelligence is the balance of their personal, social and coping skills. These are based around their awareness and management of […]
