How can flexible working help your business?

“Women are working more, men are understanding their value as caregivers, women are primary breadwinners—I mean, we could go on and on and on. Things are different. So we can’t keep operating like everything is the same, and that’s what many of us have done. And I think it’s up to us to change the conversation.”

Michelle Obama

As an HR Consultant, if I had £1 for every time a client said to me that “flexible working is only for parents” I would be a very wealthy lady!

The most common question my clients ask is “how can flexible working help my business?” so if you are thinking just that, then read on!

Whilst flexible working is traditionally associated with working parents, we must acknowledge that the world of work is changing and with that, we are seeing a shift in the demographic in society (a third of workers will be over 50 by the end of 2020) therefore the myth around flexible working being just for parents, is simply that, just a myth! Now everyone has the right to request their employer to work more flexibly, which means that change for businesses is inevitable.

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How to create a positive workplace culture

“Positive culture comes from being mindful, respecting your colleagues and being empathetic.”

As the world of work and business continues to evolve, attracting, retaining and developing the right employees has always been an important factor for business success, but why has it become the latest “trend” in the HR world?

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How can HR put the Human back into Human Resources?

“We are not perfect human beings, nor do we have to pretend to be, but it is necessary for us to be the best versions of ourselves that we can be.”

With the world of work evolving at a rapid speed; the introduction of new technologies, increased emphasis on diversity and inclusion, as well as a more modern approach to leadership to name but a few. They all present new challenges to organisations, but if businesses are turning to new ways of working, then how can we make better use of our people?

Many HR departments and professionals are debating this very subject. When I first started in HR, my first role was as an HR Administrator, creating contracts of employment and printing off employee handbooks. One of my concerns with increased automation is the lack of entry level HR roles that may be available in the future, how can we attract people into our profession when the roles simply don’t exist? Could HR possibly be facing its own skills shortage in the future?

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Simple ways to boost employee productivity

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Productivity has always been a big talking point whether it is an intention to boost it, identify is causes or if enough is being done to improve it by organisations. At the moment, the subject is pretty much overshadowed by GDPR, Brexit and the gender pay gap, but we shouldn’t forget about how important it is to ensure employees productivity doesn’t suffer in such uncertain times.

I think can all agree that being productive in today’s working environment is harder now than what it has ever been and with the conflicting information regarding how many hours a week we should work verses presenteeism, and not forgetting achieving that desirable work life balance, it’s no wonder that productivity is easily lost in translation.

There is an increasing pressure upon organisations to improve their workplace experiences, and whilst this is not a bad thing, it needs to be considered that smaller organisations may not be able to be as accommodating as larger ones.

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