Will swine flu affect businesses?
April 29, 2009
The biggest news story at the moment is the outbreak of swine flu, which has killed almost 160 people in Mexico and has spread to other parts of the world including the USA and Europe. Two people are confirmed to have swine flu in the UK so far – a couple in Scotland who have just returned from their holiday in the popular Mexican resort of Cancun. Whilst the risk is said to be low for the rest of Britain at the moment, there is always the possibility of a spread of the virus to many people – and the last thing I heard on the radio on the way to work this morning was that the Government is going to send a leaflet about swine flu to every house in Britain, and is looking to order in a massive stockpile of protective face masks.
So, if the worst happened, what could this mean for businesses? With a contagious virus the way to avoid spreading it around is to stop people from having close contact with each other, but how do you achieve that in the workplace? Firstly, just getting to work could leave staff open to infection, as small enclosed spaces on public transport are perfect places for viruses to spread. Secondly, infections and viruses spread really easily within workplaces – as my organisation experienced over the winter when nearly everyone had some strain of the same cough/cold/flu illness.
So what can be done to prepare. It’s likely that in the event of a pandemic, the Government would advise employers to take as few risks with their staff as possible; which could include allowing them to stay at home. Here lies a problem for many companies; remember only a couple of months back when the heavy snowfall affected UK businesses because it caused chaos for the country’s travel networks and left many people unable to attend work or school? At the time a lot of organisations found that their business suffered because they did not have contingencies in place for staff not being able to get to work. Swine flu could potentially cause the same problem, and companies need to be mindful of this by having plans, such as home working and home network access, ready for if such an event were to occur.
Importance of culture in organisations highlighted in FSA review
March 30, 2009
How much does the culture of an organisation affect its success or failure? A review of global banking regulation by Lord Turner; the chairman of the Financial Services Authority (FSA) has highlighted that organisational culture and behaviours have a very big impact on the way a company operates.
The report has looked at many different areas of why banks across the world have collapsed or fallen into crisis; and also reviewed whether high salaries and huge bonuses, which have been the subject of high profile controversy in the media, can be to blame for the excessive risk taking that led to the credit crunch and subsequent recession. It was found that the remuneration practices that have been so heavily criticised could only be blamed for a small part of the problems that have occurred due to the way banks and other financial institutions have been run. According to the CIPD (in People Management Magazine):
“Many top executives of the banks that suffered huge losses during the financial crisis … were large shareholders in their firms – voluntarily and through the pay policies”
This shows that trying to stop similar risk taking occurring in future by linking reward to performance more clearly will not work on its own, as it did not stop it this time. The FSA review makes it clear that the culture of risk taking – and the behaviours that arise from this – were a major factor in the demise of the financial sector, and recommends that in the future HR has a big job in moulding the culture of these organisations to avoid a repeat of such failures.
The culture of an organisation is set and determined by the very top level management – and this is where HR should focus when looking to influence and develop organisational culture and behaviours. As the FSA review highlighted – sometimes HR may have to become unpopular by telling management things that are difficult to hear, as well as becoming more intrusive in departmental activities to ensure the appropriate culture is being developed. This is all part of the job, but it isn’t an easy part of working in HR, and is something many professionals struggle with – especially in organisations where HR does not have a formal role or recognition at senior or board level; however this is something HR must overcome, especially when the right culture can be the difference between the success or failure of a business.
Team building events
March 27, 2009
Many organisations at the moment are feeling the negative effects of an economy in recession within their workforce; there may be a sense of worry, or panic, if the company is struggling to make money, or depression if there have been countless waves of redundancies, benefit and training reductions, or other necessary cost cutting exercises that have had an effect on the morale within the company. So the organisation has done all it can to weather the financial storm; and what it needs now is an injection of enthusiasm, drive and above all positivity, otherwise the business is not going to continue to survive in the face of the recession, and more negative activities will become inevitable. So what are companies doing to boost morale, encourage the kind of team spirit that drove the company before the credit crunch struck, and increase their chances of survival through improving the behaviours of their staff?
One option is a company event; such as a day out or even an overnight event. This might sound like a strange idea given the need for most companies to cut costs at the moment; but it needn’t be an expensive activity to plan. There are loads of free and low cost activities to do across the country, and there may be untapped creativity within the company that can be channelled into a really positive event. In a previous role of mine, one of the major activities for me each year was to plan and implement a two day team building event for all staff, and the budget was always very tight. Staff would always request activities such as rock climbing or canoeing, but the budget just didn’t stretch to that, and I also felt that these were not the sort of activities that would encourage team and employee interaction. Activities in the trips ranged from working in teams to create a live advertisement for one of the company’s services (for some reason most teams went down the superhero route – you wouldn’t think there would be so many men willing to wear knickers over tights and a makeshift cape!), to complex puzzles in which the only way to solve the mystery was for each team member to take a section each and then really work together and listen to each other to get to the answer. The accommodation was really cheap and we even had a function band for evening entertainment that was made up of a group of employees.
Other cheap activities could include orienteering if you have a lot of employees that like the outdoors (there are lots of ready-made courses in national parks or country parks) or something more creative if you have more arty types; such as re-creating a famous piece of art with a varied range of materials. The old saying of ‘thinking outside the box’ was never more appropriate than for this kind of activity.
There’s so much scope for a morale-boosting event for staff; and even if it doesn’t cost a lot it shows the organisation that whilst times are tough, and finances are tight, the need for a strong team of people that work well together and are enthusiastic about what they do is still really important within the business.
Interim specialists – providing help for businesses affected by the recession
February 26, 2009
The big ‘R’ word – you can hardly go half a day at the moment without hearing something related to the economic downturn, whether it’s interest rates cuts, mass redundancies or businesses going under. Thousands of companies in the UK, both small and large, are really starting to struggle in the face of economic uncertainty and loss of business; and in turn this is leading to an increase in the need for interim specialists to carry out short term ‘turnaround’ projects to provide help for businesses affected by the recession.
Interim specialists can provide the value needed at a variety of levels in the company; from boardroom to backroom. This is not to say that existing staff are not capable of managing the company as the country is going through a recession, but that there may be certain specialist skills and experience required that may not be abundant within the organisation. Another factor is that existing staff have all the issues that still occur each day to deal with – and an interim has the benefit of not being part of the workforce and therefore the day to day activities. They can therefore take a step back and really focus on what is needed without any preconceptions, or indeed without any emotional connection to the company – which may hinder the difficult decision making process companies often have to go through in a recession.
According to a recent article I read, interim managers are in high demand at the moment but are in short supply due to the abundance of companies using their services to help them deal with the recession. It seems that interims can pick and choose their assignments, and will almost certainly choose the ones that will have the biggest impact on their portfolio, as well as those in which they feel they can truly make an impact (and not be hindered by company politics or individual agendas). Many companies advertise for interim turnaround managers in the national or specific press, and there are also a lot of recruitment consultants that specialise in interims. Often a good way to source the perfect interim is through networking – many senior managers know specialists or their counterparts in other organisations, or have met the right kind of people at events or conferences.
Do something positive – company events
February 24, 2009
At the moment there’s loads of news about poor employee morale, the struggle to maintain commitment and motivation in hard times and a general lack of positivity. Employers are finding it hard to keep employees’ spirits up and therefore team work, communication and mutual support (the things that are most in need), are thin on the ground as suspicion and self-preservation prevail as the common behaviours of naturally concerned staff. Even if your company isn’t going through upheaval such as redundancies, it is impossible for the workforce not to be somehow affected by the knock-on effects of the recession, so it’s important to generate ways of increasing morale, teamwork and strong relationships within the workforce.
One way of bringing people together at work is to arrange a joint event that people can become involved in and possibly ‘bond’ over. This doesn’t have to involve a lot of money – for example in my organisation we have entered a charity run as a company team, and everyone running has been set a challenge to raise as much money as possible for a nominated charity. Almost half the workforce has signed up to the run, which was really pleasing, and many other employees will be joining in by coming down to cheer us on on the day.
This type of event can have many different benefits – there’s staff ‘bonding’ over the fact that we’re all training and there are many conversations going on in the staff room or at the kettle about how far people have ran so far, what pace they’re doing, how much their legs are aching and what they’re wearing on the day! Of course, the fact that we are raising money for charity gives participants a shared sense of purpose and also contributes to the company’s corporate social responsibility (CSR) agenda, which can be a good feature on a corporate website or in the local press. There is also the health and wellbeing benefits of having a workforce that regularly exercises – so giving people something to aim for encourages this outside activity.
I’ve done this kind of thing before in previous organisations that I’ve worked for, and whilst it’s really hard work and something I’m not overly looking forward to at the moment, it does always turn out to be a great day out and a good morale-boosting exercise for the workforce.
What to do with staff survey data
February 16, 2009
In my organisation we have recently carried out an employee survey, which was done through face to face meetings with each employee. I am part way through analysing the results and there have been some interesting responses. It’s always surprising how different people have widely different feelings about what makes them happy and motivated at work. There were comments about many different aspects of work, ranging from the level of feedback employees receive on a regular basis, to what is provided in the food and drinks machines! It just goes to show that the smallest things that management may not consider to be important can actually have an effect on the general mood of the workforce; and this is why I personally am quite a big fan of staff surveys.
Carrying out a survey is one thing, but it is what you actually do with the results of the survey that is really important. When I have carried out surveys in the past I have always worked hard to try to at least put together a report for the management team or company leadership, so that a response can be put together and actions made as a result of what staff have been saying. There’s nothing more damaging to the sense of ‘employee voice’ than when a staff survey is carried out and employees hear nothing more about it after they have submitted their response. Even if the results are used positively and management make workplace changes as a result of survey responses, the communication of this is almost as important as the action itself; as it is vital that employees know that this has been a direct result of their opinions and ideas.
There’s an interesting article in the latest People Management magazine (The Big Ask: 12th Feb) which talks about linking employee survey results to business performance. Employee engagement is the main buzzword of the moment in terms of how employees feel about and respond to the organisation; and this can be shown to have an effect on the bottom line and other business performance indicators. Research has shown that organisations that have high employee engagement also have better business performance, including in particular, net profit.
For more information on employee engagement and staff surveys have a look at previous articles Let’s get engaged (13 June 08) and Developing engagement (14 June 08).
The Health and Safety (offences) Act 2008
February 13, 2009
On 16th January, the Health and Safety (offences) Act 2008 came into force. This is an amendment to the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974, and covers the sentences that might be issued if a company/individual is found to have breached the law, which include prison sentences.
Under the 1974 Act, employers have a duty to manage the risks in the workplace to employees and other people affected by the business (visitors, customers etc), and it is an offence to breach this duty. Previously this offence only carried a financial penalty, however now the courts have wider powers including larger fines and prison sentences of up to 12 months (Magistrates Court) or up to 2 years (Crown Court).
The reason for this change in the law is that there are still thousands of accidents and injuries in the workplace that could be avoided with good health and safety awareness, but the numbers keep increasing. In 2007/2008, over 200 people were killed at work, and there were over half a million new cases of people suffering illnesses that were caused or made worse by the workplace.
Many injuries are caused by slips and trips, due to things like poorly designed or laid out office furniture, filing cabinet drawers left open or wet floors with no warning sign. Some of the more serious injuries are caused by poorly maintained machinery or unsafe practices when operating them. Whatever the industry, all companies should pay attention to health and safety issues, whether it is a display screen equipment (DSE) assessment at an employee’s desk, or providing the correct clothing or equipment for employees working on a site or plant.
The Health and Safety Executive has a great deal of information on getting started in health and safety issues and how to deal with accidents and incidents. Many companies also buy in the services of an external consultant to assess the risks in the workplace and help manage them; and with fines of up to £20,000 for breaches of the law, it’s probably a small price to pay to make sure your employees are safe at work.
ECJ ruling ends dispute over holidays on long term sick
February 3, 2009
The European Court of Justice (ECJ) made a ruling at the end of last month that will end years of debate over whether staff who are on long term sickness absence should continue to accrue holidays and then be entitled to them at the end of their sick leave.
The right to a minimum amount of paid leave (which will increase to 20 days plus bank holidays in April) is part of the Working Time Directive (1998), and the ECJ ruling found that this right remains even when the employee has been absent through sickness for a long time:
“A worker does not lose his right to paid annual leave which he has been unable to exercise because of sickness. He must be compensated for his annual leave not taken”
This news has been taken badly by many employers and business groups, because of the added expense this ruling is likely to mean, especially in the current economic circumstances. It means that an employee will be entitled to take the accrued annual leave after the end of their sick leave, no matter how long this period is – which will mean issues with providing cover for extended leave requests and effectively integrating the employee back into work. In many cases employees on long term sickness absence do not return to work at all, and in this case the employee would be entitled to a lump sum payment of their outstanding accrued holidays when their employment is eventually terminated.
What this means for HR departments is that they will need to review their policies and handbooks to ensure the new rules are incorporated into the wording. Many current policies will give a maximum length of sick leave during which an employee may accrue annual leave (e.g. 6 or 12 months) and this will therefore need to be taken out. Many companies have a policy that states that employees on long term sick will continue to accrue the statutory minimum amount of holidays, but will not be entitled to accrue their additional company holidays (if they have an enhanced number of days) after a certain period. It is my understanding that this type of policy will still be legal after the ECJ ruling – as long as the employee accrues the legal minimum amount of holidays whilst they are on long term sick. It might therefore be prudent to add this into the policy when changing it, so that the company is not liable to pay even more annual leave that has been accrued by the employee if they are entitled to an enhanced amount of days when they are in work.
Heavy snowfall affects UK businesses
February 2, 2009
Today has seen the heaviest snowfall in 18 years across the South East of England, and many other areas have also been affected by the severe weather. This has caused major delays to many road and rail networks, meaning a lot of workers could not get to work this morning. The first I heard about this is when a friend of mine who lives in London called me first thing this morning to gleefully announce that she was heading back to bed after not being able to get to work on the tube, bus or train! London is said to be the worst affected for travelling as this is where the transport network is most concentrated. Tonight the weather is due to turn very icy, with some areas reaching lows of minus 7 degrees, so it looks like there will be further travel chaos for commuters tomorrow. Commuters are warned to take extreme care when driving as not all roads have been gritted properly and so car tyres may not grip the roads. I’ve actually seen a few minor road accidents in the last few weeks caused by icy driving conditions.
Whilst I wasn’t affected too badly by the snow, I did have to stay at home today due to unforeseen carer leave. However this wasn’t a problem for me because I have a laptop and have recently gained home access to the work computer network and my emails, via a virtual private network (vpn). I’ve actually managed to have a very productive day at home! However this isn’t the norm where I work, and the issues with the weather today have made me realise that we don’t have suitable contingencies for when staff cannot get to work or have to go home early (as we had today)to avoid impending bad weather.
Flexible working options such as home working are seen as a great benefit to employees and are often part of employers’ recruitment and retention strategies, but what’s happened today shows that good facilities for home working can also be a great help to companies when alternatives to employees being in work are needed. Many businesses today will have suffered from a massive amount of down time with employees not being able to get to work, such as the company where my friend in London works. Flexible working plans can help to ensure no loss of productivity when circumstances impede normal working situations.
Let me know if your company has been affected by the weather, and what measures (or lack of them) were in place to cope with the loss of working time.
When does capability kick in?
January 30, 2009
A friend of mine is in a tricky position at work, and when he was describing it to me the other day, it got me thinking as it’s quite an interesting situation from a HR point of view.
My friend is a project manager, and therefore oversees jobs, delegating work to people in his team and ensuring the different tasks are completed on time and in budget. The projects have very specified fees, and time spent on a project is costed to that project through a project management system that logs timesheets and project codes. Therefore work has to be efficiently completed to enable projects to be completed within the budgets allocated.
This is all really straightforward stuff, but what happens when you have a situation with an employee who is perhaps not able to complete works in the most efficient manner because of an illness or disability? In my friend’s case, one of the employees that had been allocated to his project suffered a stroke a few years ago, and as a result has not worked as fast as he was previously able to since then, and struggles to pick up new skills and knowledge. Therefore the tasks my friend allocates to this employee cannot be completed as quickly or effectively as was perhaps quoted, yet the employee’s time still needs to be allocated to the project so that the company can charge for him and pay his salary.
So my friend is in a quandary: on the one hand the company wants to make ‘reasonable adjustments’ so that the employee is able to continue to work, which in this case means giving him fewer tasks or more time to complete tasks, but on the other hand the project manager has to deliver the project on time and in budget, which will be seriously hindered by this employee’s capabilities. What is the answer?
I feel this case is lodged right in between the ‘reasonable adjustments’ element of disability/sickness legislation and the statutory capability procedures. Do the adjustments become ‘unreasonable’ when it involves not delivering projects within the fee and therefore losing money for the company? Should the employee be taken through capability procedures? I think it is a really interesting debate and I would be really happy to receive your feedback and ideas.