Managers wellbeing; the way we are working now is simply not working

jay-wennington-2250

A recent report produced by the Chartered Institute of Managers (CIM) has revealed that managers are working an extra 44 days per year above their contracted hours. This is leading us towards a concerning management crisis.

In days where it is the normal expectation to never be “off duty” managers have a tendency to work unpaid overtime, and with continued advances in technological ways of communicating, there is an increasing culture of always being available. The report highlights that 59 per cent of managers admitted they check their emails outside working hours. The increased presenteeism combined with technology is having a detrimental impact upon managers’ health and wellbeing.

In short; the way we are working now, is simply not working at all.

Continue reading “Managers wellbeing; the way we are working now is simply not working”

It’s time to make recruitment more human

rawpixel-com-351765

We hear the term “making the workplace more human” so when we are putting this into practice, why do we insist on using the same old recruitment processes?

After Thursday’s thought provoking HR Hour on Twitter, I thought it would be appropriate to highlight the HR world’s thoughts on how we can improve the process and really make it relevant to the changing world of work.

Every manager dreads asking competency based interview questions “Tell me about a time when…” these questions are rigid, artificial and if candidates googled the ideal answers to these standard questions, they’ll be able to get well-structured answers to put them in the best light and the hiring manager will be none the wiser, thinking that they’d found the ideal candidate.

Continue reading “It’s time to make recruitment more human”

Back to work blues? Blame the bosses…

anna-dziubinska-348

 “A bad boss can take a great workforce and destroy it, causing the best employees to flee and the remainder to lose all motivation”

After all the festivities, it’s time to head back to the office and it’s no surprise that January is notoriously known for being the most depressing month of the year (yikes, tough crowd you’ve got here January!).

However, despite the dark days, dark nights and miserable weather, January is a month of opportunity and a perfect time for organisations to review their working practices to make improvements for the future.

Continue reading “Back to work blues? Blame the bosses…”

2018… Bring it on!

nordwood-themes-467442

Happy new year to you all!

As the Prosecco starts to wear off and the parties end; the New Year is the perfect time to realign our focus onto what is important.

Reflecting on 2017, we saw plenty of employment changes in the workplace. A responsive Human Resources department should be able to fulfil the needs of their organisations. In the past year alone, we have seen the introduction of the Apprenticeship Levy, the removal of Employment Tribunal fees, experienced the impact of impending Brexit, and we are now preparing our clients for the challenges that come with the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) in May 2018.

Continue reading “2018… Bring it on!”

Business experts share their lessons from the last year: Feature with Gazprom Energy

cristian-escobar-297114

Early last month, I was approached by a Marketing Executive from Gazprom Energy to provide them with the thoughts of HR as we reflect upon 2017 and prepare for the business year in 2018. I was delighted to represent our profession and feature in their thought provoking piece.

The article features a review of business practices over the past 12 months, and explores the anticipated challenges faced by businesses as we lead into 2018. The article features the following topics:

  • Promote a happy workforce
  • Understand the importance of digital marketing
  • Don’t be afraid of change
  • Focus on your customers
  • Don’t forget your brand
  • The value of human resources
  • Ensure your team are on the same page

The feature has been published on Gazprom’s website, and I am proud to represent the value of HR within businesses. There are lots of other business experts that are included, so I hope you enjoy the article which can be found here.