What can HR learn from the X Factor?

As we settle into the winter routine of watching the X-Factor on a Saturday night, is there anything that HR professionals can learn from the hugely successful programme? After all, the purpose of the show is to find and nurture talent in a bid to discover the ‘next big thing’.  Some people seem destined to […]

Talent drain evident as ‘notice week’ ends

Almost half of UK workers intend to start looking for a new job by the end of the year, but more employees are likely to hand in their notice this week than at any other time during the previous 12 month period.  According to a survey undertaken among 7,500 staff in 10 of Europe’s leading […]

Solving the talent puzzle: identifying the talent of tomorrow

How to spot potential leaders of tomorrow? Try our guide and discover the people who will shape your organisation’s future.   Identifying talent is like completing the tough Suduko puzzle in the paper; we’ve all had a go; thought we had a chance but few of us ever get near cracking it. Performance indicators, appraisals […]

US and European brain drain on horizon

Companies in China, Taiwan and India are leading the world in their desire to expand their workforces, but with employers across the US and Europe remaining reluctant to do so, the situation raises the unpleasant prospect of a brain drain. According to the ‘Employment Outlook Report’, which is based on a survey of 61,000 companies […]

Has Britain’s public sector got talent?

Imminent pay freezes and job cuts in the public sector threaten to make the war for talent even harder to win. Faced with a gamut of challenges across the board, public sector employers need to take steps now to ensure they have the skills needed to achieve genuine reform, says Tom Marsden. In an effort […]

HR is going into the war for talent unarmed

Employers across both the public and private sector fear that they are no longer able to offer the pay and benefits packages required to attract and retain key skills, an HR body has warned.  Number two on the list of concerns relates to the ability of line managers to administer such rewards, while the number […]

Radical immigration cap will mean major skills problems

Because training workers to plug the UK skills gap is a lengthy task, the abrupt introduction of a “radical” immigration cap would generate major skills problems for employers and lead to more offshoring.  The Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD) issued the stark warning after the Office of National Statistics’ Migration Statistics Quarterly Report […]

HR campaigning hard for top talent

Looking for the X Factor: the number of HR departments employing specialist mangers to run brand-boosting initiatives in a bid to recruit top talent has jumped threefold over the last four years.  Research undertaken among 104 companies across the world by brand consultancy People in Business revealed that the number of brand and talent managers […]

UK may face technology skills gap

In advance of this week’s A-Level and next week’s GCSE results, the UK’s business organisation the CBI claims not enough British pupils in state education and engaging in the kinds of subjects that will lead to jobs in technology.  ‘Insufficient numbers’ are studying science, technology, engineering and maths  despite them leading to better job prospects […]

Making time for talent management

In the wake of the recession, the need for effective talent management is more important than ever for UK businesses. With a growing pool of emerging graduates year on year, businesses might assume that they are in a better position than ever to bag the best talent. However, the case isn’t quite so clear cut. […]

Adopt the Cloud or lose key talent

Increased demand for flexible and remote working will push employers to progressively adopt cloud-based IT service delivery models in order to retain staff, according to research.  The ‘Futurizon’ report, written by futurologist Ian Pearson and commissioned by high tech company Fujitsu, indicated that continuing huge advances in technology mean that it will become increasingly unnecessary […]

What does it feel like to be talent managed?

We’re looking at retention and what makes people ‘happy to be stuck with you’. Talent management programmes often play a big part in this retention strategy. But how does it feel to be part of it – or ignored by it? Claire McCartney, adviser for resourcing and talent planning, shares the CIPD’s latest findings drawing […]

Talent spotting and talent shopping

In 1997, strategy consultancy McKinsey coined the (perhaps controversial) phrase, "the war for talent" and while it’s a given that having great talent is business critical for any organisation, many companies have still taken a reactive rather than proactive approach to talent attraction. In a lot of cases, employers will only start to source talent […]

For talent, opportunity knocks

Talent management programmes contribute to staff engagement because personnel believe such schemes help prepare them for future roles and speed up career progression, according to a leading HR body. But employees that do not take part in such initiatives are no less happy with their organisation and take no more pride in it than the […]

Immigration cap: it’s happening

Even though business and Cabinet disquiet over a proposed immigration cap will lead to a wide-ranging consultation on the issue, the government is expected to implement the measures anyway. According to the Daily Telegraph, Home Secretary Theresa May is set to announce the consultation imminently, after members of the Cabinet privately expressed concern that a […]

Talent – you’ve got it: you just don’t know it yet

A survey exploring the value that businesses and HR departments place on talent information and its availability has found that a worrying number of companies do not have access to reliable information on crucial workforce issues. Although most companies measure time to hire, only 33% have access to reliable data on the quality of hire […]

1/4 of employees want to leave

The days of staff staying with their employer due to economic uncertainty are coming to an end, with about one in four workers currently disengaged and planning to leave.  According to a survey of more than 4,000 employees undertaken by market research company GfK NOP, about 13% of workers intend to leave their organisation as […]

Talent and innovation the key to Microsoft success

People are crucial to Microsoft’s ability to innovate, argues the firm’s CEO Steve Ballmer after the technology giant was named as the best place to work in Europe for the third year in a row. Microsoft won the Best Large Workplace in Europe 2010 award at a gala ceremony at the Great Place to Work […]

The new face of reward – grasp the opportunity

With reward and bonuses hitting headlines, now is the time to reconsider how your reward system works and make it more effective than ever. The recession has brought the issue of bonuses and salaries into sharp focus. Whilst the majority of the attention has been focused on the financial sector and bonuses being given to […]

Skills of workers aren’t ‘visible’ claim HR

Only a third of UK HR professionals are very confident that they could redeploy staff as necessary within the business to cope with likely political, economic and business change over the next 12-18 months.   Instead too many feel that they do not know what skills and experience are currently available within their workforces, a […]