The latest industry insights, business trends and news to keep you informed.
It has now become a little trite to say the Pandemic has changed us all. Many of us have realised that there are more important things than work. However, work is still essential as it usually funds our lifestyles and, in many ways, keeps us included in broader societal experiences which comes from mixing with […]
Were you as surprised as I was when the Sewell report was launched? No systemic racism in GB was the leaked theme of the report. Like all these reports, there is more in the detail, and I would recommend a close reading. I was struck by one of the anomalies, if there is no systemic racism, then why recommend more funding to the EHRC in England?
It is fantastic to see the increased attention and discussion that the menopause is getting at the moment. Open discussion and the sharing of knowledge and resources will help to remove the stigma around the menopause and help to build more supportive and open workplaces.
This last year and a half of the Covid pandemic has certainly tested our resilience – both professionally and personally – in terms of how we have reacted and adapted to new ways of working and being in the world. I know that I have gone through waves – sometimes coping well (as many of the aspects of lockdown suited my personality) but finding other days challenging and upsetting. So, what has this period taught us about resilience and what do we, as HR professionals, need to consider going forward in terms of developing both organisational and personal resilience?
The last 16 months have seen many of us coping with sustained periods of fear, uncertainly, anxiety and, inevitably, fatigue and exhaustion.
As we move out of the current public health emergency it is a good time to reflect on recruitment practices both in the past and perhaps and to the future.
Last year, Claire McKee, Partner in Clarendon Executive wrote an interesting article, Conscious of Unconscious Bias in the Workplace. Just over a year later, we are back to ask what we have learned over the last 12 months - and what a 12-month period it has been!
For many, work is challenging - as we try to balance the ever-increasing demands of our role with our own and our families’ needs. Mobile phones and 24/7 access to email mean that many of us spend our lives in ‘standby’ mode, rather than deliberately choosing to be in ‘on’ or ‘off’ mode.
COVID-19 has forced an abrupt shift to remote and new ways of work and organisational agility is critical for survival. In response, organisations have adopted flexible and collaborative approaches to survive this pandemic and keep their business moving forward.
It is clear that we will in part, be in lockdown in some form for quite a few weeks more and I hear anecdotal stories of people reaching the end of their tether. The clamour to return to normal is rising. Nevertheless, there may well be an inevitability that working from home will be more ubiquitous in the future and certainly that appears to be a keynote element of any attempt to kickstart the economy.
For many of us in the world of identifying talent, competency-based interview techniques have been a great step forward from the unstructured “conversation”. For most of us gone are the days when managers would ask interviewees questions like: what would your last boss say about you? Or what is your greatest weakness? Unbelievable as it sounds, we still find that these types of questions occasionally being asked and there may be readers of this article who feel these types of questions offer true insight. They don’t.
In ‘normal’ times a request for home working/remote working would typically take time to consider and set up, while the business and the employee discuss what steps would need to be put in place in terms of technology, support, communication, ‘fit’ with the role requirements and whether this would work for both parties before a decision was made. Often when it was a ‘yes’ this new way of working might have been on a trial basis, while both parties considered if it was working and had the opportunity to monitor, review and tweak the arrangements.
The single biggest problem in communication is the illusion that it has taken place - George Bernard Shaw. Recent months have seen a dramatic escalation of the much-predicted practice of working from home. The reasons for the escalation will be well known and let’s try and avoid the dreaded C word just for a few minutes.
With 85% of decision-makers within HR admitting their organisation has made a bad hire and 39% of employers admitting that their candidate interviewing and assessment procedures could be improved, how relevant is psychometric testing to the modern workplace? Legal Island talks to Heather Angiolini, Associate at Clarendon Executive and occupational psychologist with over 20 years experience, about the evolution of psychometric assessment and the value it can bring to Northern Ireland businesses.
While diversity has been on the radar of smart businesses for a long time now, with its links to productivity clear, a recent CIPD report suggests employers may be preoccupying themselves with diversity metrics at the expense of building a truly inclusive workforce. With National Inclusion Week not long behind us, the launch of Northern Ireland’s very first Diversity and Inclusion Charter Mark by Legal Island, and business leaders gathering at Stormont to promote LGBT inclusion, Claire McKee takes a closer look at some of the key issues employers, specifically HR teams, should consider around the subject.
The statutory right to holiday pay was introduced back in the 1930s, but nearly 100 years on it seems people are struggling, more than ever, to take the time off that they are entitled to. And for those that do, the pressure of an ‘always on’ work culture means their precious annual holiday is often little more than an ‘office away from the office’. The summer holidays may now be a distant memory but Joanne McAuley from Clarendon Executive says that with the Christmas break and a new year looming, there is no better time for companies to revisit their annual leave policies with a view to encouraging and sustaining a culture of engagement, productivity, and mental and physical wellbeing.
The pressure is on for employers. As record numbers of jobs are created and companies struggle to fill open roles, the job seeker is increasingly in the driving seat. In a tough talent market, successful businesses understand that to stand out from the competition it’s not enough to simply move candidates from one stage of the recruitment process to the next – they need to be mindful of every single interaction. Although the way in which organisations view the candidate experience has come a long way over the past 20 years, Joanne McAuley from Clarendon Executive says some businesses are still falling short, and looks at what improvements can be made.
Whether we recognise it or not, everyone brings some form of bias into the workplace, but tackling unconscious bias – that which we are unaware of - is particularly tricky as it’s neither visible nor deliberate. Claire McKee from Clarendon Executive looks at how how unconscious bias goes much deeper than just recruitment, impacting almost every facet of organisational decision-making and the employee lifecycle, and says businesses have a responsibility to address and control such bias if there’s any genuine chance of improving the diversity and inclusivity of our workplaces.
‘Corporate Wellness’ has become big business in recent years – health and productivity being inextricably linked – but there is a changing emphasis away from the purely physical wellbeing of employees to also include their mental and financial health, as well as a greater appreciation of the strategic impact of wellness programmes on corporate brand and culture. Mairéad Regan from Clarendon Executive looks at how corporate or workplace wellness initiatives have evolved over time, why they are so important and how your organisation can ensure its programmes are fit for purpose.
Succession planning is as important for risk mitigation as it is for talent development. Why then are so many businesses, large and small, ill-prepared when it comes to addressing their future leadership needs? Joanne McAuley from Clarendon Executive looks at some of the considerations for HR professionals in ensuring their organisations have an adequate succession framework in place and are fit for purpose as they grow, change and develop.
Artificial Intelligence has become the buzzword for modern day business and indeed life. We have all witnessed AI increasingly disrupt industries – bookshops replaced by Amazon, music stores replaced by Spotify and the transport sector transformed by Uber. As it becomes more accessible, AI has the potential to transform every business and if your industry hasn’t been affected yet, it most probably will be. Emma Kieran from Clarendon Executive examines what this might mean for the future of the recruitment industry.
