New Year goals for HR
With everyone settling back into work after the New Year, now is a great time for HR folk to think about how they can support the business better by working more effectively in the months ahead. This isn’t about setting […]
What HR can do to move the dial on inclusion
How inclusive is your workplace? Do people genuinely feel valued, accepted and supported at work, regardless of their background, identity or circumstances? Or are people hiding behind a ‘work’ persona, worried that being their true selves will hinder their […]
How HR can help solve the productivity problem
UK productivity has dropped yet again, with the latest Office for National Statistics (ONS) report showing output per hour has gone down a further 0.5 per cent. Given the amount of turbulence going on in the wider political and economic […]
Tackling mental health at work
For the last few days, the Internet has been groaning under the weight of research around the issue of mental health at work. Only 32 per cent of organisations train their line managers to support staff with poor mental health […]
Tackling accountability at work – the challenge for HR
Earlier this week, as I was driving to a meeting, I pulled over to help an elderly gentleman on a mobility scooter who was struggling to get past a fallen tree that was blocking the pavement. With the assistance of […]
HR v Line Managers: How to build a productive relationship
The relationship between HR and line managers in an organisation can be complicated. Both have high expectations of one another, there’s friction when demands aren’t met, and sparks can fly when tension boils over. It’s easy to see why this […]
Three ways to avoid toxic behaviour and create a healthy culture in your team
In a fascinating article in Harvard Business Review, author Celia Swanson describes how she fired a valuable and high performing employee, after discovering the individual in question was causing negativity and upset in her team. It’s a situation that will […]
Performance check-ins – why they matter and how to get it right
There’s a real buzz in the world of performance management right now around the use of regular ‘check-ins’ between managers and their teams. A growing number of companies (Adobe, IBM and Deloitte to name a few) have switched on to […]
Why measuring employee well-being matters
Bean bags, ping pong tables and lunchtime sushi are not going to improve employee well-being alone. Organisations should be conducting well-being audits every year so that they can get to the root of what’s really causing stress in the business […]
Flexible working – what’s getting in the way?
The thorny subject of flexible working was high on the agenda at the CIPD’s Festival of Work last week, with new research showing 60 per cent of staff felt long working hours were having a negative effect on their health […]