How to… break the sickness cycle
‘Tis the season to be sniffly – if the number of people who’ve been ‘off sick’ when I’ve tried to contact them this week is anything to go by. Now of course it’s not uncommon for employees to succumb to […]
Productivity
How telling stories can help your business grow
Story-telling is probably not a technique that immediately springs to mind when it comes to managing a growing SME. But it was the ability to capture compelling stories that helped propel Fittleworth Medical to success in the recent People Management […]
How to drive performance and productivity in your SME
The important role that SMEs have to play in driving economic growth is increasingly being recognised – and as a result there’s been a noticeable rise in HR circles of efforts to help small businesses manage their people more effectively.
As the employers of over 14 million people in the UK, it is important that SMEs get their HR management right.
Have great conversations with your team
In a small business, having a ‘happy ship’ is vital. There simply isn’t time for the minor spats, grudges and resentment that can so easily arise simply because someone has been misunderstood or hasn’t got their message across clearly.
Indeed research has shown that a negative interaction with someone has a real impact on productivity – it can take someone several hours to recover not just their good spirits but also their concentration after a difficult or unpleasant exchange with a colleague or their manager.
Five ways to create a happy team
How happy are your people at work today? Are you surrounded by a team of smiling faces or is there a bit of a black cloud hanging overhead? A recent article in BizNews lists the ‘happiest companies’ in Silicon Valley […]
“Compassionate” leadership linked to improved profitability and productivity
A question for you to ponder on over the coming weekend. Just how compassionate a manager are you? Now I know that the word compassion generally doesn’t have much of a place in the business world. But recent research from […]
100 days and counting until the London Olympics
In case you missed the endless alerts earlier this week – there’s only 100 days to go before the London Olympics (well 97 days actually at the time of writing). If the latest press reports are to be believed, there […]
Pulling a rabbit out the Hat: Curing chronic boredom at work
This might sound like a bit of an odd question – but how many of your colleagues have you seen eating chocolate today? Is there a stash of Green and Black’s in your PA’s desk drawer? Or is the person […]
Employee engagement: how to keep it going year-round
Valentine’s Day is upon us and what I’d like to know: is your employee engagement strategy really working and your employees feeling the love? Now this isn’t a blog about the do’s and don’ts of office romances – but rather […]
Employee rewards: is it better to give than to receive?
The whole issue of pay, performance and employee rewards is very much in the news this week with RBS chief Stephen Hester bowing to public and political pressure and agreeing to waive his £1 million bonus. Now most of us […]
The HR Forecast for 2012
So, what’s the HR forecast for the coming year? What are the key competencies HR people need to help steer their businesses through the challenges of the year ahead? How can HR professionals make their voices heard and improve their […]
Back to the grind: improving employee engagement after Christmas
An email popped into my in-box yesterday afternoon, just as I was slowly cranking my brain into gear and trying to summon up some enthusiasm for work after the festive season.