News: 60% of workers plan to watch Olympics – with or without consent
More than half of employers plan to enable their staff to work more flexibly during the Olympics – which is just as well as nearly three out of five employees intend to watch Games, with or without consent. According to the initial findings of a joint survey undertaken by the Chartered Institute of Personnel and […]
A typical HRD: Part 3 – Small-to-medium enterprises
Is there such a thing as a typical career path for someone wanting to become an HR director in a small-to-medium enterprise – or even a typical HR director profile in this space? HR professionals generally seem to fall into three categories: those who spend their careers in corporate, blue chip environments; those who prefer […]
Blog: How Malmaison’s employee incentive scheme ‘Wow’-ed customers
I’ve long been a fan of the Malmaison brand having had the pleasure of spending considerable time at a number of their facilities during my travels. I’ve always found the employees to be great brand ambassadors and that this positive and empowered behavioural culture worked well with the physical brand trappings. I featured Malmaison […]
Legal Insight: Homeworking during the Olympics
So your company has decided that over the course of the Olympics period, it will allow staff to work from home. Great news – the business carries on as normal and employees don’t have to suffer the hassle of commuting. But it’s not just a simple case of plugging in a laptop. There are […]
Ask the Expert: What is the holiday situation for sick workers going through redundancy?
The question An employee of ours has been on long-term sick leave since May 2011 until the current time. We have just confirmed her redundancy. But she has now asked a holiday-related question about which I would like clarification. She did not take any holidays last year (the holiday year is from January […]
Case Study: Managing seasonal workers
For many UK businesses, the school summer holidays provide a welcome peak in customer traffic and so, in order to cope, they increase the number of temporary staff that they take on, before shedding them again as winter approaches. One organisation that follows this model is responsible for managing some of the country’s most famous […]
Video Interview: Top tips for dealing with a stressful work environment
Steve Smith, Olympic high jump medallist and co-founder of workplace performance improvement consultancy, Raise the Bar, along with head of training and development, Gayle Robling, share their insights into how best to minimise workplace stress, boost mental resilience and give employees the competitive edge.
Talent Spot: Stephanie Murphy, Interim HR manager
It took Stephanie Murphy a long time to discover HR, but she’s now very glad that she did. Until then, she had dabbled with a lot of things: working with animals, at Boots, Bradford & Bingley and as a cabin crew member for an airline. “I enjoyed those jobs, but never felt tied to something,” […]
How to deal with a hostage situation
“Get down on the ground or I’ll shoot.” Just imagine: one minute you’re making a cup of coffee in the office, the next you’re being gagged and bound and forced to the floor. Being held hostage is one of the most terrifying experiences that anyone could be faced with. Of course, most people think […]
Blog: What impact does office politics have on people’s work lives?
Ask most people in businesses today if they think that manipulation and office politics affect their working lives and they’ll say yes. But ask them to quantify the impact on the business and that’s a much more difficult question to answer. In 2011, Revelation Consulting Ltd set out to answer that question, and we […]
Blog: How to promote workplace safety
Engaging employees in workplace safety can be a formidable challenge. Many employees view training sessions as a distraction, and they won’t pay attention if they find the materials boring or largely repetitive. At the same time, creating a safe work environment can mean the difference between a productive and profitable business and one that […]
News: Calls for ‘competency card’ after employer convicted of manslaughter
Health and safety experts have called for a mandatory proof-of-competence card to be introduced for agriculture workers after a pig farm became among the first organisations to be convicted under the Corporate Manslaughter Act. JMW Farms was fined a record £187,000 plus £13,000 in costs at Belfast Crown Court last Tuesday, following the death of […]
Blog: Nine attitudes to help you become an emotionally intelligent leader
Emotionally Intelligent Leaders and Managers get the best results! Like learning to drive, leading and managing people is an experiential journey. My entrance onto the leadership stage was when I was promoted into the role, having stood in for the team leader from time to time. I don’t know about you, but although I […]
Five principles to ensure successful conflict resolution
The hidden cost of conflict is underestimated in many organisations. Indeed, one recent survey by the Centre for Effective Dispute Resolution put the cost of conflict at £40 billion each year. Grievance probes that are handled by inexperienced or poorly trained investigators can also lead to a spiral of appeals and reinvestigation, but the […]
News: Employers join with working mums to slam proposed maternity leave cuts
Employers and working mums have joined together in slamming coalition government proposals to cut default maternity leave from 26 to 18 weeks in order to share the remaining entitlement between both partners. Legislative changes to maternity and paternity leave, which are expected to be announced in the Queen’s Speech on Wednesday 9 May, were greeted […]
Ask the Expert: What is the legal status of union-appointed safety reps?
The question Under The Safety Representatives and Safety Committees Regulations 1977 and The Health and Safety (Consultation with Employees) Regulations 1996, only trades unions can appoint safety representatives – they can do this whether the employer wishes them to or not and indeed they can appoint as many safety representatives as they want. These […]
Legal Insight: Health matters part 3 – Tackling presenteeism
‘Presenteeism’ can have many meanings. On the one hand, the term can refer to employees who feel that they need to be at the office for longer than everyone else in order to show the boss how dedicated they are. On the other, it can apply to staff members who turn up for work […]
Blog: How to hold on to good employees – Part 2
In my last HRZone blog entry I set out the five main reasons why employees leave their companies. Today I’m going to describe some corresponding employee retention strategies: 1. Create and maintain a working environment that attracts, retains and nourishes good people The issues you need to attend to include developing a corporate […]
News: Kate Bleasdale v Healthcare Locums case turns dirty
The former chairman of Healthcare Locums, Alan Walker, has denied “sexual impropriety” with dismissed chief executive Kate Bleasdale amid allegations of accounting irregularities at the company. Bleasdale, who is representing herself at the London employment tribunal, is suing Walker – and HCL’s board members – for sexual discrimination and unfair dismissal. The medical staffing […]
Legal Insight: Health matters part 2 – Dealing with ‘problem absences’
In the first instalment of this three-part guide to managing sickness absence, we considered both the importance of developing a good policy and how to manage sickness absence on a day-to-day basis. And in this second article, it will become all too clear exactly how important these initial stages are when you are presented with […]