Engineering and science skills priced at a premium
A huge 43% of employers are now finding it difficult to recruit workers with science, technology, engineering and maths skills and so are increasingly paying premium rates for such expertise, according to the CBI. But the employer lobby group’s ‘Education and Skills’ survey of 566 organisations undertaken with the national UK qualifications awarding body EDI […]
US tech giants sued for wage fixing and anti-poaching agreements
A raft of US tech and film giants, including Apple, Google and Pixar, have been sued for anti-competitive behaviour after allegedly undertaking employee wage-fixing and agreeing not to poach each other’s staff. The move follows a probe by the US Department of Justice last year, which resulted in the firms, which also include Lucasfilm, Intel […]
What’s holding back women in business?
Marion Stewart considers the challenges women have faced and continue to face in business and whether quotas will help create more diversity in sectors such as her own – IT. The government review – challenging the status quoThe subject of getting more women in executive positions in British businesses following Lord Davies’ report, Women on […]
SuccessFactors purchases Plateau for $290m
SuccessFactors has purchased Software-as-a-Service-based learning management system provider Plateau for $290 million in cash and stock in a bid to build out its talent management system and compete more effectively with on-premise vendors. The acquisition will be integrated with Jambok’s SaaS-based social video learning system, which SuccessFactors acquired in March, as well as its own […]
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 […]
‘Private cloud’ provides best of both worlds for recruitment firm
Putting sensitive data ‘into the cloud’ is a step too far for many organisations. However a ‘private cloud’ can provide a solution which fits, like this example. A Scottish recruitment consultancy chose to migrate its IT infrastructure to a private rather than public cloud environment because the level of control and accessibility that the model […]
IT workers preferring contracts over permanent roles
Employers are facing increasingly stiff competition in hiring IT professionals over the year ahead as many are opting to leave permanent employment and move to better paid contracting roles. According to a survey undertaken by recruitment consultancy Hays IT, skills shortages will be particularly marked in areas such as information security, business intelligence and […]
IBM settles out of court for bribery campaign
IBM has agreed to pay $10 million to US regulators in order to settle accusations of a decade-long campaign of bribery in China and South Korea out-of-court. The Securities and Exchange Commission alleged that the world’s largest computer company had given cash and gifts, which included travel and entertainment, to Chinese and South Korean officials […]
Global talent management in action: Siemens – success through business execution
Creating a global talent management system used by 400,000 users across 80 countries working in 20 different languages in a period of 18 months; it’s a daunting challenge but one achieved by electronics giant Siemens working in partnership with SuccessFactors. Using Cloud Computing and Business Execution principles, the German firm has brought about global transformational […]
Teams and leadership: Patrick Lencioni talks to HRzone.co.uk
For Patrick Lencioni life could be simple – if only we stopped looking for the harder answers. From being a good parent and a great spouse, to fitness and work, life is simple. It’s hard, he admits, but there’s no hard and fast answers – we look for scientific answers but there are none needed. […]
Long service soldiers sacked by email in personnel blunder
The Ministry of Defence has apologised for any distress caused after sacking 38 soldiers – including one on the front line in Afghanistan – by email. According to the Sun newspaper, the warrant officers, who had each put in more than 20 years of service, received a round-robin email from career manager Major Andy Simpson […]
Catching stars – talent management and technology
Talent management is a thorny issue which touches everything from recruitment, to retention, through to succession planning. Many are utilising technology to help them plan for and manage their talent needs, but what difference can it make to HR? 1 What are the main challenges you find HR is facing today?As companies begin to emerge […]
Workday show the lean way to do HR tech
HR is responding to the new lean way of working in their organisations: and this extends to the way human resources is using technology, finds Stuart Lauchlan. “The Cloud has emerged as a great post-recession platform,” argues Aneel Bhusri, co-CEO of Cloud HCM firm Workday as he looks back at a year that saw […]
#ConnectingHR Tweet up: Doug Shaw goes for a song…
At the #ConnectingHR Tweet up on 31 January a whole load of HR folk got together to chat and meet each other face to face. Doug even went for a song… Doug has referenced a few people from the #ConnectingHR community, a social media based community of human resource professionals which seeks to connect HR […]
Video: Avoiding serial litigants
Jenny Wilson, employment lawyer at Pinsent Masons, explains the dangers presented by serial litigants to companies advertising positions without taking advice.In this second video Jenny explains what employers can do to avoid this issue. You can find out more by visiting Pinset Mansons online.
Dealing with strikes: Manager advice on video
This is a sneak peek at a new learning resource from Video Arts, highlighting issues relating to behaviour, communication, support, consultation and disciplinary action. "Any manager who is caught in the middle of a strike will find the experience incredibly challenging," said Martin Addison, managing director of Video Arts. "It's vital that you know […]
The People Cloud: HR needs to get smarter
HR needs to “get smarter” with technology if it is to succeed in adopting a more strategic role within the business, according to a panel of experts at the Business Cloud Summit in London on 30 November. But when introducing new technology, HR also needs to give higher priority to the wider goals of the […]
From personnel management to business execution: the role of technology in the evolution of human resources
Steven Hunt examines the four ages of human resources and considers the change technology could bring to today’s HR department and business. The field of human resources can be divided into two basic areas: Personnel Management focusing on administrative and legal processes associated with employment of people. This includes things such as managing payroll, […]
Why not ‘out-of-the-box’ integrated solutions?
At first glance, integrated Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) or ‘out-of-the-box’ solutions might appear to have high appeal offering rapid implementation, low cost and tried-and-tested functionality. What could be better? And yes, such standard all-singing, all-dancing solutions can initially offer implementation speed, sometimes lower cost, and tested functionality. However, they also come at a cost with downsides that […]
HR uses hot tech to transform performance
Human resources and technology are not always bosom buddies, but the reality is that today many organisations want to achieve a sleek, integrated HR department which literally can use data for business critical elements like succession planning and managing the talent pipeline. It’s undeniable that technology plays a huge part in enabling this. However, it’s […]
