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How remote working is challenging redundancy as the main reason to turn off the lights. A new discipline for HR?
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issue eight
Work rules Britannia
Remotely possible?
Only the lonely
How the world of work has transformed in the last 60 years
Five ways to plug home workers into your business strategy
Why loneliness at work has become an issue asking for help
reedglobal.com/hr 3773 Inside HR 8.indd 1
17/05/2012 17:36
2
Follow us on twitter @ Reed_HR
Join us on Linked In at Reed Human Resources
3
INSIDEHR 2.0 in the spotlight
Looking
back.
Looking
Work rules Britannia
forward. Why is HR always on its toes? Perhaps it’s because the world of work never stands still. Wouldn’t it be nice if yesterday’s problems became today’s solutions? Not so, which is why this issue is all about providing some context on how working lives have developed in recent years and what we should anticipate in the years to come. First up on page three is a lesson on how working conditions and lifestyle have changed over the last 60 years under the reign of our Queen. Interestingly, despite frugal post-war conditions, in 1952 HR managers actually had it easier because we really all were in it together. For the history buffs, also see how workers under King Henry VIII were more concerned about scythes and falling haystacks than access to TV and technology! Looking forward, Alison Maitland, co-author of Future Work, says the way we work today is ready for an overhaul (page four). Her argument is that work needs to become more flexible, partly due to a younger workforce demanding complete autonomy from the office. But here’s the problem: many organisations still cling to a rigid model of fixed working time better suited to the Industrial Age than the Digital Age. Staying with the present, turn to page six to find out why working mothers are less likely to suffer from depression. Somewhat paradoxically, also see how workplace loneliness has become an important discussion point for HR. There’s a lot to think about in this issue. But if you want to cut to the chase, start with HR 2.0 on this page. Michael Silverman reviews organisational network analysis which he says is the new thing for HR. You never know - it could revolutionise the way we use social media at work.
We hope you enjoy insideHR issue eight.
Matt Castle Editor, insideHR
insideHR 3773 Inside HR 8.indd 2-3
Making the connection Author: Michael Silverman How HR can use “Organisational Network Analysis” to harness and track informal relationships for the benefit of their organisation.
Most people would agree that the neat organisational charts that are so pervasive in organisations rarely reflect the way that people actually interact to get things done. So although HR practitioners acknowledge the impact that the “invisible” web of informal relationships has on organisational effectiveness, few actually put any effort into assessing and supporting connections amongst their workforce. It would appear that HR practitioners have been taught in their professional certification, or have learned from experience, that they can’t do much about social networks. After all, how can you support something that’s invisible? When HR practitioners do attempt to foster collaboration, many wrongly assume that supporting connections between people is simply a matter of enhancing communications between them. The last thing people want in today’s world of information overload is more information. The idea of social networks and social network analysis is nothing new. It was in the 1930s that sociologists first started to draw diagrams (called sociograms) of nodes connected to each other by lines. Yet, it is only due to recent advances in data analysis capabilities and, of course, social media that network analysis is starting to capture the attention of the HR community. In addition to a lack of awareness, one of the main sticking points that HR needs to start recognising is the distinction
As the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee celebrations come to a head this month, the CIPD has issued a special report which tracks the changes in our work habits – and benefits – over the last 60 years. From the amount of work we do, to who actually does the work, Britain at work in the reign of Queen Elizabeth II paints a picture of smarter working practices since 1952, greater sexual equality, and a widening chasm between the highest and lowest paid employees.
A sociogram of my Linkedin connections
In recent years, workforce analytics have become commonplace in helping organisations to make better business decisions based on evidence as opposed to gut feeling. However, there is still one huge area of organisational practice where instinct still reigns supreme – supporting social networks of informal relationships.
Why changes in work and personal fortunes could be the most significant historical event in the reign of Elizabeth II
between two specific types of data. The vast majority of data that HR captures is attribute data – these relate to the properties or characteristics of employees (e.g. attitudes, behaviours or their demographic characteristics). In contrast, relational data are the ties that connect employees to each other – they cannot be reduced to the properties of employees themselves. In its simplest form this can just be whether people know each other (e.g. think of your friends on Facebook). But any type of relationship can be assessed depending on which questions are asked (e.g. How much do you communicate with this person? How much influence does this person have? How often do you turn to this person for advice on important decisions?) The list is endless. When network analysis is conducted in an organisational setting, it is often referred to as Organisational Network Analysis (ONA). ONA can be an effective tool to look at a variety of issues such as: dealing with bottlenecks, improving the ability to identify opportunities, supporting important connectors or promoting innovation. In addition to visually inspecting the resulting sociograms, there are also several network statistics that can be calculated to provide insight into the various roles and groupings in a network. With the relentless advance of social media in organisations, relational data will be increasingly available to organisations that wish to bolster their workforce analytic capabilities through the use of ONA. But before this can happen, there needs to be a concerted effort by the HR community to raise the awareness of network analysis and its application to organisational effectiveness.
For instance, there are some 29 million people in employment waving their flags for the Queen today, which is six million more than in the 1950s. But the number of hours we work as a nation has remained the same, which means we are all sharing the load much more. Go back to the 1950s and only 4% of people worked part time: 60 years later the proportion is nearly one in four (6.5 million employees). The good news is that the value of our endeavours has quadrupled since 1952, enabling society to enjoy a much higher standard of living for the same amount of work. The share of people in managerial, professional and technical jobs – so called knowledge workers - has risen from 25% to 44%. The number of people employed in personal services and sales and customer services has also risen from 6% to 16%. By contrast, the number of manufacturing jobs has plunged from 8.7 million in 1952 to 2.5 million today. Skilled manual workers are also down from 18% to 10%. HR managers have also seen massive growth in their own profession since the young Queen’s coronation. Back then, the UK employed only 20,000 people
in personnel roles. Today the figure is around 400,000 - a twentyfold increase. But while today’s workers are much more prosperous, there is also much greater inequality. When Elizabeth II came to the throne, the distribution of weekly earnings was almost identical to prevailing rates when Queen Victoria celebrated her Diamond Jubilee. In the second half of Elizabeth II’s reign the pay gap has widened markedly. Whereas 60 years ago well over two-thirds of people in paid work were men - and virtually all men of working age had a job - the male share of employment has fallen to 53%. While many will welcome this as a necessary rebalancing act to offer women equal opportunities, another underlying trend is worrying today’s forecasters. Dr John Philpott, Chief Economic Adviser at the CIPD, said overall improvements in living standards have still led to new workplace issues: “In the six decades of Queen Elizabeth’s reign, work has continued to be the warp and weft of everyday life. “But in today’s unequal society, people do not seem much happier about their working lives. Whatever the future of work, the lesson of the past six decades is that increased productivity and prosperity isn’t enough to enhance the common good in the workplace or society in general.” Long may the reign of Queen Elizabeth II last. But how will the world of work continue to change in the eras of Charles III and William V? A copy of Britain at work in the reign of Queen Elizabeth II is available on request from the CIPD.
2012
Only one in five households had a washing
British workers are plugged into iPads,
machine, one in ten a telephone and one in
web cams and flat-screen TVs, but…
twenty a fridge. Almost nobody had central heating. Fewer than half of all households had
Whereas 60 years ago there were three jobs for every
a television and most people crowded around a
candidate, today the situation is reversed (and more).
shared set to watch the Queen’s coronation.
The economy is geared around “knowledge” rather than manufacturing and the gap between the haves and the
In 1958, Harold MacMillan declared that Britain “had never had
have-nots is much wider.
it so good”, but the average material standard of living was very meagre compared with today’s ‘austerity Britain’. Then again, households enjoyed greater material equality.
If you think workers in 1952 had it hard, spare a thought for employees in the 16th century. A historical study of around 9,000 reports on accidental deaths in the National Archives has opened a new window on the nature of employment in the reign of Henry VIII. Top of the list is agriculture which explains why the majority of all accidents occurred between June and September when farming work was at its height.
1952 v 2012 1952
The grim reality of work in Tudor England
Work in the reign of Queen Elizabeth II has become more prosperous… but a lot more stressful!
Transport was also a health and safety nightmare: it was slower than trains or cars but more unpredictable with livestock turning awkward. In fact, whereas only 1% of fatal workplace injuries today are caused by animals, in the 16th century horses and cattle – even sheep and pigs – were considerable threats to workers. Dr Steven Gunn, co-researcher with Dr Tomasz Gromelski , said employees are still exposed to risks in the 21st century, but nothing like the grim reality workers endured 500 years ago: “Work loomed large in people’s lives and its dangers were more powerful than those we face every day.”
reedglobal.com/hr 17/05/2012 17:36
2
Follow us on twitter @ Reed_HR
Join us on Linked In at Reed Human Resources
3
INSIDEHR 2.0 in the spotlight
Looking
back.
Looking
Work rules Britannia
forward. Why is HR always on its toes? Perhaps it’s because the world of work never stands still. Wouldn’t it be nice if yesterday’s problems became today’s solutions? Not so, which is why this issue is all about providing some context on how working lives have developed in recent years and what we should anticipate in the years to come. First up on page three is a lesson on how working conditions and lifestyle have changed over the last 60 years under the reign of our Queen. Interestingly, despite frugal post-war conditions, in 1952 HR managers actually had it easier because we really all were in it together. For the history buffs, also see how workers under King Henry VIII were more concerned about scythes and falling haystacks than access to TV and technology! Looking forward, Alison Maitland, co-author of Future Work, says the way we work today is ready for an overhaul (page four). Her argument is that work needs to become more flexible, partly due to a younger workforce demanding complete autonomy from the office. But here’s the problem: many organisations still cling to a rigid model of fixed working time better suited to the Industrial Age than the Digital Age. Staying with the present, turn to page six to find out why working mothers are less likely to suffer from depression. Somewhat paradoxically, also see how workplace loneliness has become an important discussion point for HR. There’s a lot to think about in this issue. But if you want to cut to the chase, start with HR 2.0 on this page. Michael Silverman reviews organisational network analysis which he says is the new thing for HR. You never know - it could revolutionise the way we use social media at work.
We hope you enjoy insideHR issue eight.
Matt Castle Editor, insideHR
insideHR 3773 Inside HR 8.indd 2-3
Making the connection Author: Michael Silverman How HR can use “Organisational Network Analysis” to harness and track informal relationships for the benefit of their organisation.
Most people would agree that the neat organisational charts that are so pervasive in organisations rarely reflect the way that people actually interact to get things done. So although HR practitioners acknowledge the impact that the “invisible” web of informal relationships has on organisational effectiveness, few actually put any effort into assessing and supporting connections amongst their workforce. It would appear that HR practitioners have been taught in their professional certification, or have learned from experience, that they can’t do much about social networks. After all, how can you support something that’s invisible? When HR practitioners do attempt to foster collaboration, many wrongly assume that supporting connections between people is simply a matter of enhancing communications between them. The last thing people want in today’s world of information overload is more information. The idea of social networks and social network analysis is nothing new. It was in the 1930s that sociologists first started to draw diagrams (called sociograms) of nodes connected to each other by lines. Yet, it is only due to recent advances in data analysis capabilities and, of course, social media that network analysis is starting to capture the attention of the HR community. In addition to a lack of awareness, one of the main sticking points that HR needs to start recognising is the distinction
As the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee celebrations come to a head this month, the CIPD has issued a special report which tracks the changes in our work habits – and benefits – over the last 60 years. From the amount of work we do, to who actually does the work, Britain at work in the reign of Queen Elizabeth II paints a picture of smarter working practices since 1952, greater sexual equality, and a widening chasm between the highest and lowest paid employees.
A sociogram of my Linkedin connections
In recent years, workforce analytics have become commonplace in helping organisations to make better business decisions based on evidence as opposed to gut feeling. However, there is still one huge area of organisational practice where instinct still reigns supreme – supporting social networks of informal relationships.
Why changes in work and personal fortunes could be the most significant historical event in the reign of Elizabeth II
between two specific types of data. The vast majority of data that HR captures is attribute data – these relate to the properties or characteristics of employees (e.g. attitudes, behaviours or their demographic characteristics). In contrast, relational data are the ties that connect employees to each other – they cannot be reduced to the properties of employees themselves. In its simplest form this can just be whether people know each other (e.g. think of your friends on Facebook). But any type of relationship can be assessed depending on which questions are asked (e.g. How much do you communicate with this person? How much influence does this person have? How often do you turn to this person for advice on important decisions?) The list is endless. When network analysis is conducted in an organisational setting, it is often referred to as Organisational Network Analysis (ONA). ONA can be an effective tool to look at a variety of issues such as: dealing with bottlenecks, improving the ability to identify opportunities, supporting important connectors or promoting innovation. In addition to visually inspecting the resulting sociograms, there are also several network statistics that can be calculated to provide insight into the various roles and groupings in a network. With the relentless advance of social media in organisations, relational data will be increasingly available to organisations that wish to bolster their workforce analytic capabilities through the use of ONA. But before this can happen, there needs to be a concerted effort by the HR community to raise the awareness of network analysis and its application to organisational effectiveness.
For instance, there are some 29 million people in employment waving their flags for the Queen today, which is six million more than in the 1950s. But the number of hours we work as a nation has remained the same, which means we are all sharing the load much more. Go back to the 1950s and only 4% of people worked part time: 60 years later the proportion is nearly one in four (6.5 million employees). The good news is that the value of our endeavours has quadrupled since 1952, enabling society to enjoy a much higher standard of living for the same amount of work. The share of people in managerial, professional and technical jobs – so called knowledge workers - has risen from 25% to 44%. The number of people employed in personal services and sales and customer services has also risen from 6% to 16%. By contrast, the number of manufacturing jobs has plunged from 8.7 million in 1952 to 2.5 million today. Skilled manual workers are also down from 18% to 10%. HR managers have also seen massive growth in their own profession since the young Queen’s coronation. Back then, the UK employed only 20,000 people
in personnel roles. Today the figure is around 400,000 - a twentyfold increase. But while today’s workers are much more prosperous, there is also much greater inequality. When Elizabeth II came to the throne, the distribution of weekly earnings was almost identical to prevailing rates when Queen Victoria celebrated her Diamond Jubilee. In the second half of Elizabeth II’s reign the pay gap has widened markedly. Whereas 60 years ago well over two-thirds of people in paid work were men - and virtually all men of working age had a job - the male share of employment has fallen to 53%. While many will welcome this as a necessary rebalancing act to offer women equal opportunities, another underlying trend is worrying today’s forecasters. Dr John Philpott, Chief Economic Adviser at the CIPD, said overall improvements in living standards have still led to new workplace issues: “In the six decades of Queen Elizabeth’s reign, work has continued to be the warp and weft of everyday life. “But in today’s unequal society, people do not seem much happier about their working lives. Whatever the future of work, the lesson of the past six decades is that increased productivity and prosperity isn’t enough to enhance the common good in the workplace or society in general.” Long may the reign of Queen Elizabeth II last. But how will the world of work continue to change in the eras of Charles III and William V? A copy of Britain at work in the reign of Queen Elizabeth II is available on request from the CIPD.
2012
Only one in five households had a washing
British workers are plugged into iPads,
machine, one in ten a telephone and one in
web cams and flat-screen TVs, but…
twenty a fridge. Almost nobody had central heating. Fewer than half of all households had
Whereas 60 years ago there were three jobs for every
a television and most people crowded around a
candidate, today the situation is reversed (and more).
shared set to watch the Queen’s coronation.
The economy is geared around “knowledge” rather than manufacturing and the gap between the haves and the
In 1958, Harold MacMillan declared that Britain “had never had
have-nots is much wider.
it so good”, but the average material standard of living was very meagre compared with today’s ‘austerity Britain’. Then again, households enjoyed greater material equality.
If you think workers in 1952 had it hard, spare a thought for employees in the 16th century. A historical study of around 9,000 reports on accidental deaths in the National Archives has opened a new window on the nature of employment in the reign of Henry VIII. Top of the list is agriculture which explains why the majority of all accidents occurred between June and September when farming work was at its height.
1952 v 2012 1952
The grim reality of work in Tudor England
Work in the reign of Queen Elizabeth II has become more prosperous… but a lot more stressful!
Transport was also a health and safety nightmare: it was slower than trains or cars but more unpredictable with livestock turning awkward. In fact, whereas only 1% of fatal workplace injuries today are caused by animals, in the 16th century horses and cattle – even sheep and pigs – were considerable threats to workers. Dr Steven Gunn, co-researcher with Dr Tomasz Gromelski , said employees are still exposed to risks in the 21st century, but nothing like the grim reality workers endured 500 years ago: “Work loomed large in people’s lives and its dangers were more powerful than those we face every day.”
reedglobal.com/hr 17/05/2012 17:36
4
Follow us on twitter @ Reed_HR
Join us on Linked In at Reed Human Resources
Remotely possible?
in FOCUS: ON THE JOB
out of office At Google, its engineers are judged on what they create not where or when they do it. “Our engineers can work whatever hours they like,” explains Matt Brittin, Google’s European managing director, “assuming they co-ordinate with colleagues and deliver what they’ve agreed. They can be nocturnal.” This is just one example of a major transformation taking place in the way we work. In our research, two-thirds of the international managers we surveyed said they expect nothing less than a revolution in working practices in the next decade, with huge implications for the management and leadership of people. There are powerful forces driving this technology-enabled transformation: the rise of women in the workforce; men’s changing attitudes to family and work; the extension of working lives; a new “connected” generation able to work remotely and in virtual teams. For this workforce, the common theme is a demand for greater autonomy over where and when work gets done.
Back in 5 s e t u n mi
What is striking is that organisations that are making this transition report broad business benefits, not just HR benefits: higher productivity, big cost savings, better customer service, faster access to new markets, as well as more motivated workers willing to go the extra mile.
This is an excellent opportunity for HR leaders to play a strategic role in business innovation. So, why are some organisations reluctant to make the shift to what we call “future work”? One reason is that corporate culture and management attitudes are often slow to respond to the opportunities offered by fast-paced technological change. There is also still a strong assumption that “manager knows best” and a lack of trust in employees. Just look at how some companies ban social media instead of enabling employees to use
Five “TRUST principles” Organisations can make a successful transition to future work when they:
Trust their people 2. Reward output 3. Understand the business case 4. Start at the top 5. Treat people as individuals 1.
insideHR 3773 Inside HR 8.indd 4-5
Over the next ten years there will be a seismic shift in working patterns, argues Alison Maitland. Will the last person to leave turn off the lights?
them to innovate and connect with each other and customers. In resisting change they are clinging to a model of work that was suited to the Industrial Age but is out of date in the global, mobile, knowledge economy. Change can and does take place quickly when senior leaders are committed and thoroughly understand the business case. But even in this scenario, they need to know what “future work” really means. It goes way beyond conventional flexible work arrangements that are often viewed purely as a cost to the organisation. It’s a business strategy, led from the top, that rewards people based on output not time, gives them the tools and objectives to do their job and trusts them to get on with it in the way that works best. Take Gap, for instance. When the US clothes retailer faced high turnover in its production and technical design team, it tried offering standard flexible arrangements to stem the outflow. This had little effect. It then adopted a radically different approach by ending fixed hours and instead measuring staff on how well they achieved their objectives. Within six months the attrition rate had halved. Employees still come to work, but not at the same rigid hours or every single day of the week. In other words, in the organisations that we see leading change the relationship between employer and employee is one of mutual trust and accountability. It assumes that people are self-motivated and expects them to take responsibility for meeting their goals in the best way possible. It treats them as adults. This is how successful organisations of the future will operate. It is also an excellent opportunity for HR leaders to play a strategic role in business innovation. Alison Maitland is co-author with Peter Thomson of Future Work: How Businesses Can Adapt and Thrive in the New World of Work (Palgrave Macmillan)
Find out more at: www.futureworkbook.com
It pays to send your staff home Organisations large and small are adopting increasingly flexible methods of operation. This isn’t simply a staff perk; it’s a key strategy for performance improvement. Unilever
Word Association
Unilever launched its “agile working” strategy in 2009, has since cut office space and is making 30% of roles location-free by 2015. The company wants to double the size of its business without increasing its carbon footprint, to attract and retain Generation Y talent, and to get more women into senior management.
Ten years ago Mark Thomas took a sabbatical and kept in touch with his staff in Leicester by phone and email during his travels. Realising he could run the business from hundreds of miles away he closed the office on his return and asked staff to work from home.
Its principles for agile work include: all employees may work at any time and anywhere as long as business needs are met; performance is determined by results; and managers are assessed annually on how well they support agile workers.
A decade later, the business is flourishing with everyone working remotely, apart from weekly get-togethers. “We have high levels of productivity and staff satisfaction and very low levels of absenteeism,” he says. Overheads are low “enabling us to offer our clients more for less.”
Mix it up Successful businesses of the future will embrace difference and become what Microsoft calls “hybrid organisations” Last year, Microsoft launched the concept of the ‘hybrid organisation’. Bringing together experts from the fields of social change, workplace design, technology, public sector development and economics, the project identified several characteristics of businesses and organisations that are best placed to thrive in uncertain times. Scott Dodds, General Manager of Marketing & Operations for Microsoft UK explains the thinking:
and lose market share as more agile organisations spot and exploit market opportunities.” In an article for the Institute of Directors, Dodds argues that one of the biggest challenges facing organisations today is how to solve the “people puzzle”. One example of this is the tensions emerging in workplaces between those who like to work flexibly and collaboratively, and those who feel most comfortable with the routine and uniformity of the traditional workplace.
“A hybrid organisation is one characterised by fluidity, not rigid structures or linear processes. Evidence of this change is starting to be seen in many businesses – whether that be in flexible working policies, virtual teams, the dissolution of compartmentalised office space or the emergence of cloud computing.
“The biggest barrier to an organisation becoming hybrid is management attitude,” he adds. “Supporting different employees doesn’t mean that management has to abandon all structure and lines of control; more that it has to understand the value that new working styles can bring to the organisation and the need to help those skills flourish.”
“The key to success in this environment is to break down the operational and physical barriers between the organisational functions of people, operations and technology. If organisations don’t start to do this they will become constrained by their inability to respond to change, find it difficult to recruit talent
Take a look at the full article, Businesses of tomorrow: creating the hybrid organisation, including a 20-point plan of action on how to mix up your workplace. Go to the Institute of Directors website – www.iod.com – and search under ‘hybrid organisation’.
Measure output, not time
Readers Offer
and when work gets done.” Boil this down and you could see your high achieving remote workers getting the job done by lunchtime and then taking the rest of the day off. How will you present this scenario to the board? And do you want to?
We all want to offer staff the right work/life balance. But how do you get your flexible working strategy started? Writing from his kitchen table, Matt Castle offers five suggestions.
1. Create a remote working strategy What are your requirements for remote communication within your organisation? Establish this and you can understand what technology staff will need. Talk to IT about laptops and mobile phones for sure, but also Virtual Private Networks (VPNs) and online conferencing such as Skype. Broadband connectivity at home should be on your agenda as well.
2. Make sure your IT is ready Staff may be able to log onto internal servers easily enough in the office, but how about your remote workforce? Will their working day be a battle against firewalls and slow internet speed? Definitely a recipe for low productivity and frustration but new technology such as Cloud computing is available to ease the strain.
3. Stay secure Welcome to the world of encryption. Staff still need to work securely when they are at home, at an internet café or at the airport. Previous experience at the CIA is not essential, but you do need to understand how your company’s systems should be protected against viruses, hackers and employees inadvertently sharing confidential information.
4. Provide different ways to communicate The industry term is Unified Communications - or UC for short. In other words, give Joan in her spare bedroom office all the channels she needs to talk, watch, listen (and gossip?) just as she would if she was in the office. Systems on the market include real-time information displays so that co-workers know when and how to contact each other.
5. Instill a culture of trust
Alison Maitland talks about the “demand for greater autonomy and choice about where
5
insideHR readers can get 30% off Future Work by Alison Maitland and Peter Thomson, plus free P&P. Visit www.palgrave.com and enter WINSIDEHR30 at the basket.
Offer ends: 31 August 2012
Technology aside, the biggest barrier to remote working is trust and the hardest message HR has to communicate to the executive team is: “Just because employees aren’t visible doesn’t mean they’re not working.” Remote working is no longer a ‘nice to have’ but an accepted, integral part of business life. So get your elevator pitch ready!
6. Health and safety at home Just because staff are working at home or on the move, they are still protected by the same health and safety regulations as if they were in the office. Make sure you know your obligations and provide remote workers with the same support offered to on-site employees.
reedglobal.com/hr 17/05/2012 17:36
4
Follow us on twitter @ Reed_HR
Join us on Linked In at Reed Human Resources
Remotely possible?
in FOCUS: ON THE JOB
out of office At Google, its engineers are judged on what they create not where or when they do it. “Our engineers can work whatever hours they like,” explains Matt Brittin, Google’s European managing director, “assuming they co-ordinate with colleagues and deliver what they’ve agreed. They can be nocturnal.” This is just one example of a major transformation taking place in the way we work. In our research, two-thirds of the international managers we surveyed said they expect nothing less than a revolution in working practices in the next decade, with huge implications for the management and leadership of people. There are powerful forces driving this technology-enabled transformation: the rise of women in the workforce; men’s changing attitudes to family and work; the extension of working lives; a new “connected” generation able to work remotely and in virtual teams. For this workforce, the common theme is a demand for greater autonomy over where and when work gets done.
Back in 5 s e t u n mi
What is striking is that organisations that are making this transition report broad business benefits, not just HR benefits: higher productivity, big cost savings, better customer service, faster access to new markets, as well as more motivated workers willing to go the extra mile.
This is an excellent opportunity for HR leaders to play a strategic role in business innovation. So, why are some organisations reluctant to make the shift to what we call “future work”? One reason is that corporate culture and management attitudes are often slow to respond to the opportunities offered by fast-paced technological change. There is also still a strong assumption that “manager knows best” and a lack of trust in employees. Just look at how some companies ban social media instead of enabling employees to use
Five “TRUST principles” Organisations can make a successful transition to future work when they:
Trust their people 2. Reward output 3. Understand the business case 4. Start at the top 5. Treat people as individuals 1.
insideHR 3773 Inside HR 8.indd 4-5
Over the next ten years there will be a seismic shift in working patterns, argues Alison Maitland. Will the last person to leave turn off the lights?
them to innovate and connect with each other and customers. In resisting change they are clinging to a model of work that was suited to the Industrial Age but is out of date in the global, mobile, knowledge economy. Change can and does take place quickly when senior leaders are committed and thoroughly understand the business case. But even in this scenario, they need to know what “future work” really means. It goes way beyond conventional flexible work arrangements that are often viewed purely as a cost to the organisation. It’s a business strategy, led from the top, that rewards people based on output not time, gives them the tools and objectives to do their job and trusts them to get on with it in the way that works best. Take Gap, for instance. When the US clothes retailer faced high turnover in its production and technical design team, it tried offering standard flexible arrangements to stem the outflow. This had little effect. It then adopted a radically different approach by ending fixed hours and instead measuring staff on how well they achieved their objectives. Within six months the attrition rate had halved. Employees still come to work, but not at the same rigid hours or every single day of the week. In other words, in the organisations that we see leading change the relationship between employer and employee is one of mutual trust and accountability. It assumes that people are self-motivated and expects them to take responsibility for meeting their goals in the best way possible. It treats them as adults. This is how successful organisations of the future will operate. It is also an excellent opportunity for HR leaders to play a strategic role in business innovation. Alison Maitland is co-author with Peter Thomson of Future Work: How Businesses Can Adapt and Thrive in the New World of Work (Palgrave Macmillan)
Find out more at: www.futureworkbook.com
It pays to send your staff home Organisations large and small are adopting increasingly flexible methods of operation. This isn’t simply a staff perk; it’s a key strategy for performance improvement. Unilever
Word Association
Unilever launched its “agile working” strategy in 2009, has since cut office space and is making 30% of roles location-free by 2015. The company wants to double the size of its business without increasing its carbon footprint, to attract and retain Generation Y talent, and to get more women into senior management.
Ten years ago Mark Thomas took a sabbatical and kept in touch with his staff in Leicester by phone and email during his travels. Realising he could run the business from hundreds of miles away he closed the office on his return and asked staff to work from home.
Its principles for agile work include: all employees may work at any time and anywhere as long as business needs are met; performance is determined by results; and managers are assessed annually on how well they support agile workers.
A decade later, the business is flourishing with everyone working remotely, apart from weekly get-togethers. “We have high levels of productivity and staff satisfaction and very low levels of absenteeism,” he says. Overheads are low “enabling us to offer our clients more for less.”
Mix it up Successful businesses of the future will embrace difference and become what Microsoft calls “hybrid organisations” Last year, Microsoft launched the concept of the ‘hybrid organisation’. Bringing together experts from the fields of social change, workplace design, technology, public sector development and economics, the project identified several characteristics of businesses and organisations that are best placed to thrive in uncertain times. Scott Dodds, General Manager of Marketing & Operations for Microsoft UK explains the thinking:
and lose market share as more agile organisations spot and exploit market opportunities.” In an article for the Institute of Directors, Dodds argues that one of the biggest challenges facing organisations today is how to solve the “people puzzle”. One example of this is the tensions emerging in workplaces between those who like to work flexibly and collaboratively, and those who feel most comfortable with the routine and uniformity of the traditional workplace.
“A hybrid organisation is one characterised by fluidity, not rigid structures or linear processes. Evidence of this change is starting to be seen in many businesses – whether that be in flexible working policies, virtual teams, the dissolution of compartmentalised office space or the emergence of cloud computing.
“The biggest barrier to an organisation becoming hybrid is management attitude,” he adds. “Supporting different employees doesn’t mean that management has to abandon all structure and lines of control; more that it has to understand the value that new working styles can bring to the organisation and the need to help those skills flourish.”
“The key to success in this environment is to break down the operational and physical barriers between the organisational functions of people, operations and technology. If organisations don’t start to do this they will become constrained by their inability to respond to change, find it difficult to recruit talent
Take a look at the full article, Businesses of tomorrow: creating the hybrid organisation, including a 20-point plan of action on how to mix up your workplace. Go to the Institute of Directors website – www.iod.com – and search under ‘hybrid organisation’.
Measure output, not time
Readers Offer
and when work gets done.” Boil this down and you could see your high achieving remote workers getting the job done by lunchtime and then taking the rest of the day off. How will you present this scenario to the board? And do you want to?
We all want to offer staff the right work/life balance. But how do you get your flexible working strategy started? Writing from his kitchen table, Matt Castle offers five suggestions.
1. Create a remote working strategy What are your requirements for remote communication within your organisation? Establish this and you can understand what technology staff will need. Talk to IT about laptops and mobile phones for sure, but also Virtual Private Networks (VPNs) and online conferencing such as Skype. Broadband connectivity at home should be on your agenda as well.
2. Make sure your IT is ready Staff may be able to log onto internal servers easily enough in the office, but how about your remote workforce? Will their working day be a battle against firewalls and slow internet speed? Definitely a recipe for low productivity and frustration but new technology such as Cloud computing is available to ease the strain.
3. Stay secure Welcome to the world of encryption. Staff still need to work securely when they are at home, at an internet café or at the airport. Previous experience at the CIA is not essential, but you do need to understand how your company’s systems should be protected against viruses, hackers and employees inadvertently sharing confidential information.
4. Provide different ways to communicate The industry term is Unified Communications - or UC for short. In other words, give Joan in her spare bedroom office all the channels she needs to talk, watch, listen (and gossip?) just as she would if she was in the office. Systems on the market include real-time information displays so that co-workers know when and how to contact each other.
5. Instill a culture of trust
Alison Maitland talks about the “demand for greater autonomy and choice about where
5
insideHR readers can get 30% off Future Work by Alison Maitland and Peter Thomson, plus free P&P. Visit www.palgrave.com and enter WINSIDEHR30 at the basket.
Offer ends: 31 August 2012
Technology aside, the biggest barrier to remote working is trust and the hardest message HR has to communicate to the executive team is: “Just because employees aren’t visible doesn’t mean they’re not working.” Remote working is no longer a ‘nice to have’ but an accepted, integral part of business life. So get your elevator pitch ready!
6. Health and safety at home Just because staff are working at home or on the move, they are still protected by the same health and safety regulations as if they were in the office. Make sure you know your obligations and provide remote workers with the same support offered to on-site employees.
reedglobal.com/hr 17/05/2012 17:36
Follow us on twitter @ Reed_HR
in addition...
Join us on Linked In at Reed Human Resources
Social network? We spend a third of our lives at work, but does that lead to fulfilling social interaction or the cause of isolation?
Working to beat the baby blues
Loneliness comes out of the shadows
Mothers who work are significantly less likely to suffer from depression than those who stay at home, according to new research by Dr Susan Harkness, senior lecturer at the University of Bath.
We might not want to admit it but a recent New York Times article, ‘Building a bridge to a lonely colleague’ has explained how loneliness can exist at every level of the workplace. As well as causing personal and emotional problems, isolation also reduces productivity.
The study challenges the idea that depression among women is linked to the rise in female employment. On the contrary, according to this research work leads to a substantial reduction in depression among mothers. That’s why Dr Harkness argues that giving mothers routes back to work matters for reasons over and above any financial gains to employment:
If loneliness can lead to a lack of engagement and even hostility, Morris explains, structures that actively encourage collaboration can fight it.
“In recent months, employment data have shown that twice as many women as men have lost their job. At the same time, budget cuts have reduced the support for childcare, making work less affordable for many women.”
“We have found that facilitating chance encounters at work can create relationships that would otherwise never have flourished in a traditional workplace. Colleagues from different teams get the chance to communicate, sparking up social interaction and building a bridge between potentially lonely staff.”
This could have long-lasting effects on the mental health of mothers. That’s because the research finds work, whether full-time or part-time, has a much more significant effect on depression than income. This suggests that the role work plays in providing a sense of identity and self-esteem - widely reported for unemployed men - matters for mothers too. But job quality also matters. Mothers in managerial and professional occupations see larger and more significant improvements in their mental health as a result of working than those working in, for example, sales or personal services.
HR
book
club insideHR 3773 Inside HR 8.indd 6-7
Nick Morris at Microsoft UK says HR should take this issue seriously because employee wellbeing and business success are part of the same strategy.
Case studies provide some real-life examples of bridge-building in action. For example, mental health charity Mind identified that its two separate office locations were causing a problem for employee interaction. According to Mind CEO, Paul Farmer: “Healthy working is all about some very simple things like good management, good support and good policies for employees. Part of that is about the office environment and the tools we give staff.”
So the argument that rising employment has led to greater ‘role stress’ among women does not appear to hold on the face of this evidence.
Interestingly, the importance of flexible working has also been shown to have a positive affect, which goes to show that healthy workplace relationships don’t necessarily require people to spend all their time with each other.
Even mothers facing long hours and pressurised schedules seem to benefit: mothers in both full-time and part-time work have a similarly lower risk of depression compared to those who stay at home.
As the NYT article states: “…it’s the quality rather than the quantity of interaction that counts. A mixture of flexibility and collaboration promotes staff happiness, so we can build a bridge – wherever we work.”
The Advantage
Why Organizational Health Trumps Everything Else in Business
What Matters Now?
Workplace Flexibility
Patrick Lencioni
Gary Hamel
The main difference between successful companies and mediocre ones has little to do with what they know or how smart they are, but more to do with how healthy they are. Healthy organisations outperform their counterparts, Lencioni says, because they are free of politics and confusion and provide an environment where star performers never want to leave.
The world of work today is like never before: corporate miscreants getting pilloried in the blogosphere: hundred year-old business models being rendered irrelevant overnight: newbie organizations crowdsourcing their most creative work. The question now is how will businesses of the future operate and how HR can handle the change.
Realigning 20th-Century jobs for a 21st-Century workforce
7
Graduates wannabe
TV Execs and Spies Millennial generation of graduates actively seek out employers whose values reflect their own
Cool brands, TV channels, security services, the healthcare profession and organisations with a strong social conscience are likely to enjoy a good year of graduate recruitment, according to the newly published Guardian 300 survey. Listing the organisations that students most want to work for this year, Google has taken the top spot, followed by BBC TV and then GlaxoSmithKline. NHS Graduate Schemes - last year’s number one - has slipped to fourth place, with MI6 (the Secret Intelligence Service) at number five. Channel Four moves up one ranking into sixth place, followed by Amnesty International and Oxfam in seventh and eighth respectively. Completing the top ten are Mi5 (the Security Service) and Innocent Drinks which has seen its desirability rating catapulted 94 places on last year’s results. Significant climbers also include Rolls-Royce, which has moved up 39 places from 53 to 14, and the John Lewis Partnership rising 50 places to number 20 this year. By contrast, financial and professional services institutions have been pushed out of the top ten completely this year. Deloitte, Ernst and Young and PwC all featured in 2011. Kathryn Callow, UK account director at Trendence which carried out the survey of 25,000 graduates, said: “This year’s findings show that the usually desirable financial services companies have fallen out of favour with current students who are becoming more interested in organisations like Amnesty International and Oxfam.
What’s on in HR?
To save you time leafing through the conference schedules, we’ve done it for you. For more information visit the conference websites below. So, get out there and network to find new ideas and develop your skills!
“This could well be down to the image crisis that the sector has faced since the downturn and, as a result, many students are now looking at the third sector as a valid career path. “It’s also very interesting to see the intelligence services break into the top ten for the first time. Again this seems to be an example of a wider trend where today’s students want to work for an employer who aims to do good and have a positive impact on society.” Despite the public sector undergoing widespread restructuring, the Civil Service Fast Stream is also still a popular choice amongst students, rising 16 places to number 15 this year.
High expectations mean companies might find it harder than ever to keep their best talent. Jon Terry, partner at PwC, said financial services companies are already finding it hard to keep younger workers and this is likely to become even tougher as the job market starts to improve: “This generation of graduates demand a different approach to recruitment, retention, management and development, which organisations simply can’t afford to ignore. If companies fail to invest in trying to understand what drives this group, they face the real risk of losing large numbers of them to other companies when the job market picks up.
“Carrying on with the same approach to recruitment and retention is no longer an option. Millennials want more than ‘just a job’. They expect a varied and interesting career, constant feedback and the opportunity to progress quickly. Their high expectations mean that companies might find it harder than ever to keep their best talent if they don’t adapt their approaches to their development appropriately.” For Maxine Ward, Head of Graduate Services at REED, this presents many challenges for employers looking to take on graduates. “Balancing graduate expectations with those of employers to get the best outcomes for all parties has to be considered from initial attraction, through the recruitment process and beyond. Getting the right graduate into the right role at the right time is no less challenging in what is commonly viewed as a buyers market. Recruiters are still fighting for the ‘best’ and the ‘best’ are hedging their bets - dropping offers from organisations who don’t meet their millennial expectations at the last minute.” “Today’s graduates are savvy customers. They expect honest conversations and respond well to employers who are open and transparent about what they are able to offer. It is key that these messages are tailored to present a compelling proposition to graduates and really push the right buttons” Openness? Transparency? Perhaps you can compete against MI6 and Mi5 for your next James Bond after all!
Health @ Work Summit 2012
2012 Home Working Summit
Even a small investment in the health of your employees can pay big dividends for your business. Learn best practice on how to tackle stress and build resilience, how to minimise absence rates, improve employee wellbeing and how to measure the impact of initiatives. www.symposium-events.co.uk
Over 100 industry leaders are gathering at the Paddington Hilton for a Home Working summit to learn more from a number of leading global brands including Tesco, American Express, Dell, Hilton and Enterprise Rent-a-Car. www.callcentrehelper.com
20-21 June, Thistle Marble Arch Hotel, London
4-5 July, Hilton Paddington Station, London
Edited by Kathleen Christensen and Barbara Schneider
CIPD Recruitment & Resourcing Conference
Talent 2012
The London HR Summit
Today’s one-size-fits-all workplace has become profoundly mismatched to the needs of an increasingly diverse and varied workforce. Workplace Flexibility brings together sixteen essays on the subject authored by leading experts in economics, demography, political science, law, sociology, anthropology, and management.
Get the right people in place to maximise organisational capability. Get advice on how to attract, select and retain the best people for your organisation’s future success… plus, explore sessions on recruiting through social media, succession planning and skills shortage. www.cipd.co.uk
Learn about the latest methods in building a talent development culture, transformational talent management, leadership behaviours, succession planning, and the broader perspective on talent. www.osneyhr.com/talent
The London HR Summit is an event for senior HR executives and managers looking to find innovative, leading HR service and product suppliers. This year, bring your colleagues in Payroll and IT to the Software Lounge. www.forumevents.co.uk
20-21 June 2012, London
4-5 July, London Marriott Hotel Regents Park, London
Crossword answers Across: 1. Pessimistic, 7. Eradication, 8. Cheerleader, 12. Interesting, 17. Intelliigent, 18. Generalised Down: 1. Prescribing, 2. Space, 3. Icier, 4. Irate, 5. Tried, 6. Congregated, 9 Ewe, 10. Lie, 11. Ant, 13. Titan, 14. Ruler, 15. Swill, 16. Items
6
12 July, Grange Tower Bridge Hotel, London
reedglobal.com/hr 17/05/2012 17:36
Follow us on twitter @ Reed_HR
in addition...
Join us on Linked In at Reed Human Resources
Social network? We spend a third of our lives at work, but does that lead to fulfilling social interaction or the cause of isolation?
Working to beat the baby blues
Loneliness comes out of the shadows
Mothers who work are significantly less likely to suffer from depression than those who stay at home, according to new research by Dr Susan Harkness, senior lecturer at the University of Bath.
We might not want to admit it but a recent New York Times article, ‘Building a bridge to a lonely colleague’ has explained how loneliness can exist at every level of the workplace. As well as causing personal and emotional problems, isolation also reduces productivity.
The study challenges the idea that depression among women is linked to the rise in female employment. On the contrary, according to this research work leads to a substantial reduction in depression among mothers. That’s why Dr Harkness argues that giving mothers routes back to work matters for reasons over and above any financial gains to employment:
If loneliness can lead to a lack of engagement and even hostility, Morris explains, structures that actively encourage collaboration can fight it.
“In recent months, employment data have shown that twice as many women as men have lost their job. At the same time, budget cuts have reduced the support for childcare, making work less affordable for many women.”
“We have found that facilitating chance encounters at work can create relationships that would otherwise never have flourished in a traditional workplace. Colleagues from different teams get the chance to communicate, sparking up social interaction and building a bridge between potentially lonely staff.”
This could have long-lasting effects on the mental health of mothers. That’s because the research finds work, whether full-time or part-time, has a much more significant effect on depression than income. This suggests that the role work plays in providing a sense of identity and self-esteem - widely reported for unemployed men - matters for mothers too. But job quality also matters. Mothers in managerial and professional occupations see larger and more significant improvements in their mental health as a result of working than those working in, for example, sales or personal services.
HR
book
club insideHR 3773 Inside HR 8.indd 6-7
Nick Morris at Microsoft UK says HR should take this issue seriously because employee wellbeing and business success are part of the same strategy.
Case studies provide some real-life examples of bridge-building in action. For example, mental health charity Mind identified that its two separate office locations were causing a problem for employee interaction. According to Mind CEO, Paul Farmer: “Healthy working is all about some very simple things like good management, good support and good policies for employees. Part of that is about the office environment and the tools we give staff.”
So the argument that rising employment has led to greater ‘role stress’ among women does not appear to hold on the face of this evidence.
Interestingly, the importance of flexible working has also been shown to have a positive affect, which goes to show that healthy workplace relationships don’t necessarily require people to spend all their time with each other.
Even mothers facing long hours and pressurised schedules seem to benefit: mothers in both full-time and part-time work have a similarly lower risk of depression compared to those who stay at home.
As the NYT article states: “…it’s the quality rather than the quantity of interaction that counts. A mixture of flexibility and collaboration promotes staff happiness, so we can build a bridge – wherever we work.”
The Advantage
Why Organizational Health Trumps Everything Else in Business
What Matters Now?
Workplace Flexibility
Patrick Lencioni
Gary Hamel
The main difference between successful companies and mediocre ones has little to do with what they know or how smart they are, but more to do with how healthy they are. Healthy organisations outperform their counterparts, Lencioni says, because they are free of politics and confusion and provide an environment where star performers never want to leave.
The world of work today is like never before: corporate miscreants getting pilloried in the blogosphere: hundred year-old business models being rendered irrelevant overnight: newbie organizations crowdsourcing their most creative work. The question now is how will businesses of the future operate and how HR can handle the change.
Realigning 20th-Century jobs for a 21st-Century workforce
7
Graduates wannabe
TV Execs and Spies Millennial generation of graduates actively seek out employers whose values reflect their own
Cool brands, TV channels, security services, the healthcare profession and organisations with a strong social conscience are likely to enjoy a good year of graduate recruitment, according to the newly published Guardian 300 survey. Listing the organisations that students most want to work for this year, Google has taken the top spot, followed by BBC TV and then GlaxoSmithKline. NHS Graduate Schemes - last year’s number one - has slipped to fourth place, with MI6 (the Secret Intelligence Service) at number five. Channel Four moves up one ranking into sixth place, followed by Amnesty International and Oxfam in seventh and eighth respectively. Completing the top ten are Mi5 (the Security Service) and Innocent Drinks which has seen its desirability rating catapulted 94 places on last year’s results. Significant climbers also include Rolls-Royce, which has moved up 39 places from 53 to 14, and the John Lewis Partnership rising 50 places to number 20 this year. By contrast, financial and professional services institutions have been pushed out of the top ten completely this year. Deloitte, Ernst and Young and PwC all featured in 2011. Kathryn Callow, UK account director at Trendence which carried out the survey of 25,000 graduates, said: “This year’s findings show that the usually desirable financial services companies have fallen out of favour with current students who are becoming more interested in organisations like Amnesty International and Oxfam.
What’s on in HR?
To save you time leafing through the conference schedules, we’ve done it for you. For more information visit the conference websites below. So, get out there and network to find new ideas and develop your skills!
“This could well be down to the image crisis that the sector has faced since the downturn and, as a result, many students are now looking at the third sector as a valid career path. “It’s also very interesting to see the intelligence services break into the top ten for the first time. Again this seems to be an example of a wider trend where today’s students want to work for an employer who aims to do good and have a positive impact on society.” Despite the public sector undergoing widespread restructuring, the Civil Service Fast Stream is also still a popular choice amongst students, rising 16 places to number 15 this year.
High expectations mean companies might find it harder than ever to keep their best talent. Jon Terry, partner at PwC, said financial services companies are already finding it hard to keep younger workers and this is likely to become even tougher as the job market starts to improve: “This generation of graduates demand a different approach to recruitment, retention, management and development, which organisations simply can’t afford to ignore. If companies fail to invest in trying to understand what drives this group, they face the real risk of losing large numbers of them to other companies when the job market picks up.
“Carrying on with the same approach to recruitment and retention is no longer an option. Millennials want more than ‘just a job’. They expect a varied and interesting career, constant feedback and the opportunity to progress quickly. Their high expectations mean that companies might find it harder than ever to keep their best talent if they don’t adapt their approaches to their development appropriately.” For Maxine Ward, Head of Graduate Services at REED, this presents many challenges for employers looking to take on graduates. “Balancing graduate expectations with those of employers to get the best outcomes for all parties has to be considered from initial attraction, through the recruitment process and beyond. Getting the right graduate into the right role at the right time is no less challenging in what is commonly viewed as a buyers market. Recruiters are still fighting for the ‘best’ and the ‘best’ are hedging their bets - dropping offers from organisations who don’t meet their millennial expectations at the last minute.” “Today’s graduates are savvy customers. They expect honest conversations and respond well to employers who are open and transparent about what they are able to offer. It is key that these messages are tailored to present a compelling proposition to graduates and really push the right buttons” Openness? Transparency? Perhaps you can compete against MI6 and Mi5 for your next James Bond after all!
Health @ Work Summit 2012
2012 Home Working Summit
Even a small investment in the health of your employees can pay big dividends for your business. Learn best practice on how to tackle stress and build resilience, how to minimise absence rates, improve employee wellbeing and how to measure the impact of initiatives. www.symposium-events.co.uk
Over 100 industry leaders are gathering at the Paddington Hilton for a Home Working summit to learn more from a number of leading global brands including Tesco, American Express, Dell, Hilton and Enterprise Rent-a-Car. www.callcentrehelper.com
20-21 June, Thistle Marble Arch Hotel, London
4-5 July, Hilton Paddington Station, London
Edited by Kathleen Christensen and Barbara Schneider
CIPD Recruitment & Resourcing Conference
Talent 2012
The London HR Summit
Today’s one-size-fits-all workplace has become profoundly mismatched to the needs of an increasingly diverse and varied workforce. Workplace Flexibility brings together sixteen essays on the subject authored by leading experts in economics, demography, political science, law, sociology, anthropology, and management.
Get the right people in place to maximise organisational capability. Get advice on how to attract, select and retain the best people for your organisation’s future success… plus, explore sessions on recruiting through social media, succession planning and skills shortage. www.cipd.co.uk
Learn about the latest methods in building a talent development culture, transformational talent management, leadership behaviours, succession planning, and the broader perspective on talent. www.osneyhr.com/talent
The London HR Summit is an event for senior HR executives and managers looking to find innovative, leading HR service and product suppliers. This year, bring your colleagues in Payroll and IT to the Software Lounge. www.forumevents.co.uk
20-21 June 2012, London
4-5 July, London Marriott Hotel Regents Park, London
Crossword answers Across: 1. Pessimistic, 7. Eradication, 8. Cheerleader, 12. Interesting, 17. Intelliigent, 18. Generalised Down: 1. Prescribing, 2. Space, 3. Icier, 4. Irate, 5. Tried, 6. Congregated, 9 Ewe, 10. Lie, 11. Ant, 13. Titan, 14. Ruler, 15. Swill, 16. Items
6
12 July, Grange Tower Bridge Hotel, London
reedglobal.com/hr 17/05/2012 17:36
8
Follow us on twitter @ Reed_HR
appointments Interim Head of HR
Head of HR
Head of Employee Relations
HR Services Manager
West London
South West England
Thames Valley
Birmingham
£55K
£60K - £65K
£50-65K
Circa £50,000
A fantastic interim Head of HR role has become available to join a brilliant company based in London. You will be joining on an interim basis to steer the HR function for the next 4-6 months.
A leading national organisation within the service industry, is seeking an experienced Head of HR to join their organisation to drive their growth and future expansion plans.
Responsibilities will include: • Responsibility and accountability for employee relations practices - advising on senior HR issues, good practice and commerciality - to both internal management teams and occasionally clients for new business pitches, or when discussing field reorganisations • Developing an overall awareness of company wide HR issues and challenges • Coaching, managing, developing and motivating the HR Business Advisors • Ensuring relevant stakeholders are kept up-to-date on all developments of company wide HR issues and challenges
A HR Services Manager is required for an international organisation based in south Birmingham.
You will be working in a very fast paced company where you will have the opportunity to get involved in a variety of projects and work at a strategic as well as operational level. You will report into the chief operating Director and will be responsible for the HR assistant in the team acting as a mentor. This is a company who are very passionate about what they do and you will find an engaging and motivated employee group to work with.
You will play a vital part in the development of the HR and communications strategy, working closely with the MD during a period of positive change and growth. With 10 direct reports, your management skills will be crucial, as will your knowledge of TUPE and change management, ideally in a shared service environment. The successful candidate will need to have operated at a Senior HR level both operationally and strategically, with a record of developing HR strategy in a transformational environment and implementing progressive talent management and succession planning. Experience of working with Unions would also be advantageous.
Key accountability will include line management of an HR support team (5 heads), supporting a UK wide group consisting of 15 business units and 1600 employees, with the potential for the role to expand to include a Europe wide remit. The role will have operational and strategic input, reporting into the Group HR Director. You will be an experienced HR professional with specific experience within a Shared Service function at a senior level, who has previously operated within a complex, multi-site, blue-collar environment. You must be CIPD qualified with demonstrable experience at an operational/strategic management level.
My client seeks a HR professional with a minimum of 5 years experience within a senior HR management role. It is essential that the successful candidate is CIPD qualified with experience of managing teams in a fast paced HR environment. As the role will be primarily Employee Relations focused, it is essential you have experience of advising on large complex ER issues, reorganisations and TUPE.
tom.peters@reedglobal.com 020 7220 6390 Ref 0237
anthony.may@reedglobal.com 0117 906 0009 Ref 0238
david.painter@reedglobal.com 01189 520 012 Ref 0239
QUICK CROSSWORD Across
1. Negative in outlook 7. Complete removal 8. Rah-rah girl 12. Attention-holding 17. Smart 18. Made sweeping statements
Down
1. Recommending (drug) 2. Empty spot 3. Colder 4. Furious 5. Sampled (food) 6. Gathered 9. Ram’s mate 10. Falsehood 11. Colony insect 13. Fabled Greek giant 14. Measuring tool 15. Slop 16. Agenda topics Answers on page 7
carly.o’connell@reedglobal.com 0121 237 8820 Ref 0240
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insideHR 3773 Inside HR 8.indd 8
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