Author: Natalie Ellis

HR blogger
Business, Career, Career Woman, CIPD, HR, Human Resources, People Management, Uncategorized, women in business

Stepping Up

by Natalie EllisLeave a Comment on Stepping Up

Hello!

It’s been a while since I’ve blogged about Steps Ahead so I wanted to give a bit of an update on my progress as SA Ambassador.

I’m taking my role really seriously and want all young people to have the opportunity to experience this programme.

Recently the CIPD released a Steps Ahead Video describing how the programme works as well as the relationship between mentor and mentee. The video is live on You Tube so do check it out in the link above.

Last week whilst I was on annual leave (work never stops for me and I wouldn’t have it any other way!) I visited the Job Centre Plus at Daventry, Northamptonshire to promote Steps Ahead. The team there were very welcoming and were pleased that we could bring the programme to their local community. The team also asked if I was able to host a workshop with the young people to encourage more onto the scheme as at the moment we have more mentors than mentees!

As a result of my involvement with Steps Ahead, I will be a guest speaker at the SA Mentoring summit in London on 7th June which is really exciting and I’m looking forward to speaking with other mentors to find out what experiences they have had with the programme.

There are a lot more things going on with the CIPD over the coming months so I am really looking forward to sharing it with you as soon as I am able to.

I hope you’re all having a fantastic week and as always feel free to share (sharing is caring!) and if you would like me to blog about any particular topics or ask me a question please add a comment and I will happily respond.

 

 

 

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Are P45’s heading for performance reviews?

by Natalie EllisLeave a Comment on Are P45’s heading for performance reviews?

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Love them or hate them, the annual review season is on it’s way!

HR love them (most of the time), employees dread them and middle management see them as an unnecessary process. With a damaged reputation, what will happen to our performance reviews and are they overdue their P45’s?

As a HR Manager I think that when used in addition to one to one’s; appraisals/performance reviews/PDR’s can work really well, the manager knows the capabilities of the team and identifies the development areas to keep the employee motivated, engaged and focussed.

With increasing operational performance pressure, is it feasible to accommodate these processes especially for those on the frontline of the business and more importantly can you achieve the right balance?

When conducted properly, these processes can prevent miscommunications, strengthen a workforce and identify development areas. All crucial to the smooth running of any business, so why are more choosing to make the performance appraisal redundant?

Employees and line manager’s alike say that the process can be inaccurate, with manager’s favouring some employees, some choosing to avoid them altogether through fear of receiving feedback.

There are many pro’s and con’s to any process and this one certainly divides opinion, I agree with Peter Cheese’s statement at a recent CIPD event “the working world is changing” and it’s important that workplaces continue to evolve in order to keep up with the increased importance of customer loyalty and competitive markets.

The key is to increase regular communications by introducing one to one meetings on a monthly basis, they don’t need to be lengthy, they can just be short checks in’s. This simple step can help make the employee feel more comfortable to demonstrate honesty resulting in a more productive meeting in a less formal manner. Regular, constructive feedback is proven to be highly effective so give it a try!

Another contributing factor is the feeling of being labelled by means of performance ratings, these should be eliminated as they only demoralise and demotivate employees so recently my department introduced new forms to the business which focusses on team work and is designed to strengthen relationships.

Last but not least I would consider short term goals; whilst we all like to focus on the bigger picture, smaller, short term goals can be more accurate and effectively contribute to the business objectives as opposed to having to go back and re-do work which could have been perfected the first time around.

 

Business, Career, Career Woman, CIPD, Gender pay gap, HR, Human Resources, People Management, Uncategorized, women in business

Are we at risk of the discriminated becoming the discriminators?

by Natalie EllisLeave a Comment on Are we at risk of the discriminated becoming the discriminators?

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It has been a while since I have blogged as it has been an incredibly busy few weeks with employment law updates and various CIPD branch events so I do apologise for the lateness of my post, hopefully it is worth waiting for!

Whilst I have been attending these various events, there has been one trend at each one; money! Changes to the National Living Wage, Apprenticeship Levy, Zero hour contracts and the long awaited outcome of Lock v British Gas all aim to make an impact on employers over the coming months but there has been one topic that has drawn the crowds and has opinions divided; the gender pay gap.

 In the aftermath of International Women’s Day 2016, some say it is a big step for equality (wait for it…), others say it could damage reputations of businesses within industries where the majority employed are men, for example in my industry of manufacturing. Whatever your opinion, these changes are taking effect but businesses will not be required to publicly produce this information until 2018, that is if they choose to do it at all; whilst many may like to see this information, it will not be a legal requirement. Furthermore, given the legal enforcement of the data protection act, there will not be the sufficient evidence available to the public view in order to back up the statistics that employers produce.

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The guidelines state that employers will be required to produce an annual report detailing the levels of pay for it’s male and female employers, they will then need to identify the mean and median numbers in hourly pay and any bonuses. They will also have to disclose the proportion of men to women who receive bonus payments. Whilst this is the main bulk of the report, there are many other elements that need to be included and considered such as sick pay, maternity pay and allowances.

With all of these changes happening, is it too much too soon, too little too late or is it that we are now at risk of highlighting the gaps so much that the discriminated are becoming the discriminators?

So, is this all a load of hot air or just an attempt to appease women with a tick box exercise, or do you think this is beneficial? I’d love to hear your thoughts so do leave me a comment or feel free to ask me any questions, thank you for reading!

 

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Get into HR!

by Natalie EllisLeave a Comment on Get into HR!

Hello everyone!

Just a quick update whilst I’m on the go, I will be hosting a HR workshop alongside other HR professionals at the University of Northampton on Saturday 5th March, places are selling out quickly so if you are looking for that step into HR and are unsure of how to make that move, click on the link to find out more and to book your place. 

Looking forward to meeting some of you there!

https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/northampton-student-event-the-changing-world-of-hr-how-you-fit-in-tickets-21382727313

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Shoot for the moon!

by Natalie EllisLeave a Comment on Shoot for the moon!

Shoot for the moonHello everyone, I hope you’re having a successful start to 2016 so far!

Recently I applied to become an ambassador for the CIPD Steps Ahead mentoring programme and I am so proud to say that I was successful! I am so happy at this achievement I could actually burst, so what better time to talk celebrating your achievements than now? Perfect timing springs to mind!

My aim as ambassador is to get as many people involved in the scheme as possible both mentors and mentees so I am speaking with a lot of contacts in the press to try and get some increased coverage so watch this space!

When we sit down and set our goals, we always keep the focus on the end result, that is what helps us achieve them, but when you get there, you simply cannot beat that feeling. The goal doesn’t have to be huge, it can be something small but it is what it means to you that is the key thing.

One of my biggest achievements was being a finalist at the 2012 CIPD awards when I was nominated for the Michael Kelly Student of the year award. I was a highly commended runner up at the event and the only person who didn’t win an award who was mentioned in the winners book which is great as I made some wonderful contacts as a result. I had a great support network around me too, my CEO at Circle Express nominated me for the award and my tutors at Acacia Learning were over the moon at having a student nominated so it just goes to show if you push hard enough, anything is possible.

I have achieved so much in my career and all working from scratch from the bottom up so when people say they can’t do something, I am living proof that you can!

Thank you for all your pictures of your post it notes over the past few weeks, I’d love to see more of your goals and ambitions on your post it notes, and if you need any advice from me, feel free to use my contact details in the contact tab.

2016 is our year so let’s get those goals set and shoot for the moon!