Employee survey
November 26, 2010
I recently completed an internal employee satisfaction survey and there were some surprising results. Although I can divulge little direct information from this within this blog, I can give an indication of the results.
The most pleasant surprise was that the vast majority of our employees were at least reasonably happy in their role. Of course, there were concerns throughout (mostly relating to salary, holidays, and the usual complaints) but there was nothing that stood out as an immediate and major worry.
I also asked if there were any suggestions about how we could improve working conditions in the office, and let me pass on my special thanks to those employees who suggested a Games Room, Free Alcohol and one cheeky person who wanted 4 hour lunches.
Mostly helpful information, but things like this always brings out the jokers!
Looking to Leave
November 24, 2010
A recent study has shown that 20% of Human Resources workers are looking to change their jobs. The primary reasons given for this is poor salary and management, as well as long hours.
Head of CS at Croner, Viv Copeland, has strongly voiced concerns that such a high number of people in this sector were seemingly unsettled in their roles. “It is crucial that employers keep up to date with the facts on market pay, otherwise they risk losing key professionals who feel underpaid and undervalued,” Copeland added.
The results of this study are worsened by the lack of pay rises in the sector in the past year or two, however this is something that is being felt across the board in the public sector so I, for one, am not too concerned by this news - or I am unusual in that I enjoy my job?!?
Firstcare - end of the sickie?
November 21, 2010
I recently came across a company by the name of Firstcare. They state that they do Absence Management Services, which involves various means in tracking employee health and illnesses resulting in a reported 40% reduction in employee absence in year one.
While this appears to be great news for employers, it may not be the same for employees. While I cannot accuse any employees of deliberately ‘pulling sickies’ I am sure that it happens. What I do know is that one of the biggest worries for employees is the big brother act. Anything that could put further pressure on employees, particularly when out of office aspects are tracked, could be bad news.
I reiterate that it obviously works extremely well for large companies where the 40% reduction in absence could make a huge difference to productivity, but I do worry about the impact on the mindset of the employee.
Slocombe Syndrome
November 18, 2010
I have heard a fantastic array of reasons for not turning up at work. My colleagues seem to have a boundlessly imaginative knack of inventing stories for not coming to work - of course, I would never accuse them of making it up, but some just seem to be beyond the realms of believability.
Recent research has uncovered something called Slocombe Syndrome. Named after the beloved character from Are You Being Served? who constantly talked about her cat, the Syndrome involves inventing illnesses or problem with real or fictional pets as a reason for not turning up to work.
This seems to be taking that old high school stalwart “My dog ate my homework” and taking it into the professional world!
Jobcentre Plus; helping businesses and long term unemployed
September 14, 2009
With the grim news today that unemployment could continue to increase, and potentially not recover to pre-recession levels until 2015, there are millions of people relying on the services of Jobcentre Plus to help them return to employment. The numbers of people who are classed as long term unemployed is increasing as the time to find new work gets longer in the limited employment market, but at the same time many companies are still recruiting and potentially struggling to find candidates that meet their needs through their existing recruitment methods.
One effective way of tackling this dual problem is with a Local Employment Partnership (LEP). This is a scheme where the Job Centre helps to source candidates through the pool that is classed as long term unemployed, and if required may carry out pre-interview training or assessments to ensure that candidates with the right capability and skills are being put before employers. One employer that has recently found success with this scheme is John Lewis, where recent recruitment drives for new store openings have involved many LEP candidates, and the success rate for these applicants has been high. In addition to this, it has been found that those employees that were sourced through the LEP have been retained at 90%, which shows the benefits in terms of loyalty and commitment that can be found through this route. As Suzy Welby, manager of government initiatives at John Lewis highlights, the labour pool of long term unemployed people is growing and could be a great source of untapped talent:
“There might soon be three million unemployed, many of whom will have the skills we want, and that is not a group you can ignore.”
For more information on this subject visit the jobcentreplus website
Staff retention is not any easier during recession
July 27, 2009
Due to the uncertainty surrounding the economy, and therefore job security and the labour market, it is likely that employees are not as mobile as usual in most organisations. Some employers may be thinking that they don’t have to worry about staff retention at the moment because there aren’t as many opportunities out in the wider world to entice their employees away, and the relative security they can offer their employees versus another job they may move on to will help to keep people at the company whilst the uncertainty over the economic stability of the country continues.
However, whilst the flow of employees into and out of the company may be slower than usual just now, employers need to be warned that if they do not keep their eye on employee retention issues, the outward flow may suddenly turn into a torrent once the economy improves and the labour market frees up again. When this will happen, nobody knows for sure, but what is certain that it will eventually take place and the last thing companies need when they are emerging from economic instability and getting ready to take advantage of improved market conditions, is a mass exodus of their most talented staff. This is certain to happen if employers become too complacent with their approach to staff retention. On top of this, despite the labour market being slow at the moment, there are still jobs available, and if your employees really want to move on now, the really talented ones; the ones you really want to retain; will be able to find a new position even in the recession.
Recent CIPD research, carried out on 3,000 employees found that 34% of respondents would ideally like to change jobs, although most were planning to stay put for the near future due to difficulties in the labour market. Many people involved in the survey, which was carried out by YouGov, were actually planning to change sector or career altogether once the economic crisis ends. An advisor from the CIPD said:
“the poor state of the labour market is acting like a dam holding back the normal flow of talent”
Employers that wish to keep their staff during and after the recession must continue to listen to the needs, ideas and concerns of their workforce through formal and informal consultation methods, and line management has a massive role in maintaining the loyalty, commitment and enthusiasm of their teams through assisting them in working towards career goals and development needs. Loyalty is a two-way street and employees need to know that they have a bright future with the company, otherwise they will pursue other avenues to achieve their aspirations and find job satisfaction.
Hiring office cleaners for your company
July 13, 2009
As an HR professional, you may at some point be called upon to hire office cleaners for the building in which you work. While cleaners are unlikely to be direct employees of the business, it still pays to treat this as you would the recruitment of any other individuals.
So how would you go about this, considering the fact that you are unlikely to wield as much influence over the specific individuals who will be carrying out the work? All you can do is ensure that you make use of a professional and reliable cleaning company and from that point you’ll have to leave it in their hands.
It may be tempting to employ someone directly or give the work to a friend of a friend, but the advantage of using a cleaning company is that you won’t need to recruit again if a cleaner leaves. The agency should have a roster of cleaners on their books, all of whom should meet qualification criteria. Pick the right cleaning agency and you won’t have to worry about a thing.
A good cleaning company will ensure that their employees have the expertise to do their job. For example, professionals will have received carpet cleaning training, as different carpets require different cleaning approaches and the wrong one could lead to damage.
Office chairs – make sure they’re fit for purpose
May 6, 2009
Back problems are one of the biggest causes of sickness absence in UK workplaces, and an awful lot of these problems are actually caused by the workplace. In offices, this can be related to the office chairs provided for staff that sit at desks all day.
The set up of the desk space is very important in ensuring workers avoid any strains due to sitting uncomfortably or having to reach unnecessarily for long periods of time. Chairs need to be height adjustable so that the arms rest comfortably on the desk and the worker does not need to ‘shrug’ their shoulders to keep their arms on the desk.
Also, the worker needs to be sat back in the chair so that their back is supported – which is something I have a habit of not doing, as I tend to lean forward in my chair and sort of perch on the end of the seat – and hence I often have a sore lower back at the end of the day. If the worker is sat back in the chair, the seat should fit underneath the desk so that the elbows are comfortably resting on the desk. If the chairs have arm rests, this may be a problem for taller people as they will have the seat higher and therefore the arms will cause a barrier to putting the seat under the desk. Chairs should therefore have height adjustable arms – or no arms at all, because if the worker can rest their arms on the desk they should not need chair arms.
The worker needs to be able to plant their feet on the floor when the chair is at the correct height. If, like me they have short legs they may have difficulty reaching the floor, which can be resolved with a foot rest.
Checking that office chairs are fit for purpose is an important part of a Display Screen Equipment (DSE) assessment, which should be carried out by a trained professional in an office environment.
The Equality Bill: more legislation and box-ticking or real change?
April 27, 2009
I’ve just read about the Equality Bill, which has been unveiled today by Minister for Equality Harriet Harman. The aim of the bill is to tackle workplace discrimination, particularly in relation to women, older workers and people from the working classes.
In order to expose the gender pay gap, the bill will require employers of over 250 staff to publish average ay rates for men and women within the organisation. This will take effect in 2013, but companies can voluntarily do this before this date. It will also become illegal to put clauses in contracts banning staff from discussing their salaries. Harman has said:
“Unless we can see [discrimination] workplace by workplace it stays swept under the carpet – that unfairness stays hidden, and we can’t tackle it if it’s hidden.”
However lots of business groups, including the Institute of Directors and the Chambers of Commerce have said that the bill will just add more pressure to companies already struggling to get through the recession, and have called for a moratorium on more legislation to enable the country to recover.
The CIPD has also given a ‘thumbs down’ to the idea that the bill will magically solve the gender pay gap. Charles Cotton, a spokesman for the Institute said that:
it was dishonest of policy makers to suggest that gender pay reporting is a “magic bullet” on the inequality issue.
This is because the problem with the gap in pay for men and women has been caused by many different factors, and discrimination in the workplace – whilst still an issue – is not the biggest cause. Therefore this bill will add a lot of pressure to organisations without solving some of the more deep-rooted problems such as cultural/societal norms (e.g. the assumption that women leave work to look after their children).
I can see where the business groups and CIPD are coming from on this one. Whilst discrimination in the workplace needs to be eradicated, there is a danger that yet another piece of legislation will cause more difficulties for organisations and Employment Tribunals that are already overloaded with claims. It is highly likely that the new requirements will just lead to more box-ticking and poor recruitment and selection decisions in order to fill quotas or avoid litigation, when we should be addressing the actual problem – i.e. why are women paid less?, and coming up with ways to tackle the root of the problem – such as speeding up the introduction of legislation allowing men to take on some of the maternity leave from their partners.
What’s your opinion on this subject?
Interview bugbears
February 12, 2009
This week I spent the whole of one day interviewing candidates for a new position. The structured interview is still one of the most common methods used by organisations in recruitment and selection, and having experienced a range of different responses from interviewees, I thought I would put together my top three interview bugbears:
- When the candidate hasn’t bothered to do any research at all on the company. My first question is usually ‘what do you know about the company?’ and one of the candidates this week said that she had not been able to find out anything because the link to our website that was sent in her invitation email did not work. She had apparently not thought to find another way to get onto the site such as typing the url into the address bar, or Googling the company name. After the interview myself and the other panel members all agreed that it was pretty much game over at that point, but of course we gave the candidate a full and proper interview, which felt like a waste of time!
- When the candidate cannot answer succinctly. Have you ever been in an interview where the candidate tells gives you a sufficient, and sometimes event brilliant answer to a question in a few minutes, yet they continue to ramble on and on for a long time, with no additional benefit to the interview. I know it’s easy to ramble when you’re nervous, but it’s good skill to be able to give a full and relevant answer without having to talk for ten minutes, and it puts me off if the candidate cannot realise when they have talked too much. Also, I feel that the best interviews are more like two way conversations, so it’s good for the interviewer to be able to speak occasionally, but with ramblers you can’t often get a word in edgeways.
- When a candidate is late but doesn’t apologise. There’s nothing worse than rudeness, and whilst I understand that there are sometimes uncontrollable circumstances that lead to lateness, if you don’t even acknowledge this then you’re on a path to rejection with immediate effect. If a candidate is going to be late then they should call and ensure the interviewer is aware of this and the reason as soon as possible. If the role is a client facing job, then this is especially important because their behaviour in attending the interview is indicative of their potential behaviour with a client.
So if you’re going to an interview in the near future, the above points are general no-no’s if you want to have a chance at getting the job. If you’ve recently been interviewing, let me know what your biggest bugbears are.