Sheena McLullich - 2012

In the final review of the year we look back at the writing of our HR Director Sheena McLullich.  Sheena has written some of our most entertaining posts of the year.  One thing that is clear is that Sheena has a wonderful ability to be able to relate her experience to a topic. (Ed Scrivener)

2012

• What’s in a name? 23^rd February
• Bank Holiday3^rd May
• A little ray of sunshine – please! 15^th August
• Cruising in comfort and style 27^th September
• What did you do in the war Grannie? 29^th November

2011

• Full back catalogue

About the author

Sheena began her career in Training & Development before moving to a generalist HR position in 1998.  Since then she has held senior HR roles for several SMEs in a wide range of industries. A Fellow of the CIPD and Member of the US SHRM, she has a keen interest in Employee Development, specifically in coaching and supporting managers to enable them to get the best from their people.  She was appointed as Director of People for SPA Future Thinking in September 2011.

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Jill Hart-Sanderson - 2012

In our penultimate review of the year, we look back at the writing of Jill Hart-Sanderson.  Jill has written some of the more engaging posts of the year and she has a wonderful knack, that I have completely failed to master, or delivering concise and to the point posts! See I’m waffling again! (Ed Scrivener)

2012

• Do you hear or do you listen 16^th February
• The boating business 26^th April
• Policy and procedure as Granny would understand it 4^th July
• How much does HR cost? 12^th September
• What’s the Point? 22^nd November

2011

• Full back catalogue

About the author

Jill is passionate about using creativity to unlock people's potential, finding practical solutions that make a real difference to organisations.  Her extensive management experience in both the public and private sectors combined with HR consultancy has given her a real insight into how great HR can transform individuals and businesses.

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Susan Popoola - 2012

We’re nearing the end of our review of the year and today we’re looking back at the writing of Susan Popoola.  I would like to give Susan some added praise as she recently received an Award of Excellence from the Queen's Diamond Jubilee Equality and Diversity Awards, so truly well done Susan! (Ed Scrivener)

2012

• Social capital in the workplace 9^th February
• The problem with change projects 19^th April
• The war for talent 27^th June
• Paralympics legacy? 5^th September
• The one in the corner 15^th November

2011

• Full back catalogue

About the author

Susan has established a successful career as an HR Consultant. Specialising in HR Transformation and Talent Management across the Private, Public & Voluntary sectors.

Susan serves as a Partnership Governor for The Hazeley School where she chairs the Innovation and Partnership Committee. She also serves as a Young Enterprise judge and a Business Ambassador for Countec Education Business Partnership.  She is also the published author of Touching the Heart of Milton Keynes: A Social Perspective and the soon to be published book: Consequences: Diverse to Mosaic Britain.

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How HR can support the brand....

Welcome to this week’s Discuss HR, the HR blog written for and by members of Human Resources UK.

Well this year has certainly flown by!  This is the last post for the year and today we welcome our latest guest writer Sarah Ambler who looks at HR helping to support the development of a brand.

Before the end of the year look out for the final few reviews of our panel of writers.  Likewise, next week I shall be making a rather exciting announcement about the future of this blog.  I have taken a lot of feedback on board, so hopefully the blog will be even better very soon!  (Ed Scrivener)

How HR can support the brand....

Every business, from the largest employer to the smallest SME, has a brand whether it is one they have consciously developed or not.  HR has a key role to play in supporting that brand – by building a reputation for the business as an employer of choice and helping to attract and retain the talent that will lead it into the future.

These five tips will help you maintain a positive employer brand and make sure the business is giving out a strong and consistent message to all of its stakeholders.

Define the proposition

Often, HR is not that clear what the company’s employer brand actually is.  The best way to find out how you are currently perceived by employees is to ask.  Do your people feel it’s a fun, relaxed place to work or do they see it as stressful and competitive?  Analysing data about staff retention can also give you some important clues Are levels of employee turnover high, for example, or are staff in certain age groups more likely to leave than others?  If you don’t have this data in house, you may find some useful clues if you look at your company’s profile in LinkedIn.  Once you have a clear picture of what your employees feel about the company- and what they think it stands for, you can start to look at areas you might want to improve or change going forward.

Keep it consistent

The employer brand needs to be congruent with the company’s overall brand.  It’s no good telling customers you are a vibrant, innovative business if internally new ideas and any kind of risk-taking are openly frowned upon.  Equally, you can’t make swathes of staff redundant while at the same time telling the world how well the business is doing.  Make sure you work closely with marketing colleagues to ensure the messages you are conveying both internally and externally are clear and consistent.

Walk the talk

The brand should permeate all parts of the employee life-cycle.  It starts with the moment someone applies for a job with you, continues with the experience they have while working with you and lives on after they’ve left.  The advent of social media has made it more important than ever for companies to walk their own talk.  Employees can and will discuss what it’s like working for you on Twitter, Facebook, Glassdoor and LinkedIn.  The word soon spreads, whether it’s positive or negative.  Depending on the experience they have at your hands, your employees can be your greatest advocates or your worst enemies – and don’t forget that employees and their families and friends are often current or potential customers too.

Take the temperature

You may be clear about your employer brand and what it stands for – but that doesn’t mean you can rest on your laurels.  It’s important to check back regularly to see how employees are feeling and pick up any issues or problems well in advance so that you can adjust your proposition if necessary.  Regular employee surveys or focus groups are a good way to make sure you keep your finger on the pulse – but be aware that if you ask for feedback, you need to be prepared to act or at least respond.

Communicate, communicate, communicate…

Just as marketing people keep up a continuous stream of communication with customers, so HR needs to keep pushing the message home with employees.  Find ways to remind people of what a great place it is to work, perhaps by helping to get an employee newsletter off the ground, encouraging managers to share successes, championing team-building events or introducing quarterly total reward statements that remind them that they benefit from more than just their basic salary. Often employees don’t realise the value of their total package. Keep them up to speed with potential changes and future plans so they feel involved and are not the last to know.

Your employer brand is one of your most valuable assets, so make sure you take every opportunity to reinforce the message.  Some of the latest HR software incorporates social features, such as an HR portal or activity feed, so that employees know where to go to get the latest information or can engage in the conversation. Again, this is a great opportunity for HR and marketing people to join forces to create an internal communications programme that keeps everyone informed, enthused and engaged.

About the author

Sarah Ambler is currently a digital marketer for Cezanne OnDemand HR Software in London. A Business Management graduate of Newcastle University, Sarah is passionate about marketing and HR.

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Annabel Kaye - 2012

In our latest review of the year we look back at the writing of our legal eagle, novelist and stand up comedian Annabel Kaye.  Annabel has certainly written some of our most entertaining and informative posts of the year.  In particular I would thoroughly recommend anyone looking to undertake a TUPE transfer to read her TUPE series. (Ed Scrivener)

2012

• TUPE or not TUPE 2^nd February
• TUPE or not TUPE, part 2 12^th April
• TUPE or not TUPE 3 20^th June
• Measure for measure... TUPE and redundancy 30^th August
• Talking about complexity 8^th November

2011

• Full back catalogue

About the author

Annabel Kaye has been specialising in employment law since the seventies.  She founded Irenicon in 1980 and has spent the last thirty years helping HR, line managers and everyone else look at employment law in a way that gets some organisational gain. She likes to think about things from a different angle and making the complex simple – despite the government’s best efforts.   She has traded through three recessions and advised clients from multi-national corporations to the smallest organisation. The toughest thing has always been to balance the competing needs of staff and organisation and that never goes away whatever the legal details.

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External Auditing for HRM: Red Tape Crisis?

Welcome to this week’s Discuss HR, the HR blog written for and by members of Human Resources UK.

Today, in our penultimate post of the year, we welcome our latest guest writer Claire Smith.  Claire has written an excellent and well researched article which I’m sure you will find very engaging.  (Ed Scrivener)

External Auditing for HRM: Red Tape Crisis?

Earlier this year a thought provoking article was released by Personnel Today questioning whether HR should be regulated by external auditors.  I can hear the shouts of concern from many HR practitioners even now, but why shouldn’t HR be regulated? As HR professionals, we have a responsibility to add value within our organisations and contribute to organisation success. This covers many HR disciplines, but at the heart of it we are trying to guide the organisation holistically down an ethical and legal path in terms of people management.

If one consults the work of Friedman, it is suggested that organisations should not concern itself with society and considering the effects of people and employees, but simply to make as much money as possible for their shareholders within the parameters of the law. However, times have changed, with society making up the vast consumer base, it is possible to see that where organisations cannot and do not relate to society (including their employees), through their brand and reputation they are unlikely to make the profits as desired. We also saw the fall of great organisations at the start of the 2000’s, where organisations such as Worldcom, Enron, Arthur Andersen, amongst others, had become so focused on the bottom line, they were willing to sacrifice anything to achieve these financial goals.  Although we would hope these days are over, only recently it was highlighted that Starbucks, Google and Amazon alongside the BBC have been in talks regarding tax avoidance in the UK. Although these are not directly related to HR, as owners of performance management tools and often, internal codes of conduct / ethics, surely HR has some accountability. Farrell et al conducted a study, which found that organisations that had a code of ethics in place were found to be breaking these ethics (through whistle blowing), or simply lying about their activities. Kish-Gephart et al follow on from this advising that codes of ethics cannot influence simply through existence. That they need to be effectively enforced through a performance management process, which will discipline for behaviour that is not consistent with the code the organisation sets as expectation. Within this context, it is possible to see the value that may come of external regulation within HR departments.

Although a standard of professionalism is set for HR people, particularly through the CIPD, as HRM strives to add value within its organisation it is possible that HR itself may face some tough decisions in terms of legal interpretation and ethics. Many organisations operate pre employment assessment centres that are held in high regard by practitioners and academics alike. However, the ethical considerations are not without substance, with Pilbeam and Corbridge identifying several unethical practices that can occur; candidates not knowing what to expect thus unable to withdraw in time, observation during informal periods, deprivation of sleep to enable preparation for the following day amongst others. Although not breaking any legal requirement, one might consider why we would wish to undertake these techniques. Alongside a potential unfair disadvantage to those with protected characteristic including, disability, religious or child-care reasons why a candidate may not wish to stay overnight. Further to selection activities, it has been known for employers to dismiss employees then re-hire on a substantially lower package. This follows as another aspect where HR are traditionally in a position of direct influence to ensure the organisation operates within legislative requirements. This practice of dismissal then re-hire could certainly be considered as an opportunity for employees to raise a case for unfair dismissal within the UK. This also does not add up to Ulrich et al comment that HR “represent employee interests…”

As a HR professional, friends have occasionally consulted me for advice when finding themselves in questionable situations at work. These queries are often related to acts of indirect discrimination although some have felt directly discriminated against – a clear legal and ethical issue. Mostly I suggest calling ACAS as a place they can get proper advice (and probably tell some of the things that they would prefer not to tell a friend). However, it is clear that many organisations still have issues operating ethically even in aspects that are covered by effective legislation. Raising an employment tribunal is also costly, especially when the person at detriment – the employee – does not have “hard evidence”. It is a big risk.

So, back to the original question of a red tape crisis if we externally audit HR. Yes, it would probably cause us all a bit more work but less so for those who operate legally. It would also encourage the HR departments who are relying on the grey areas of employment law or employees ignorance to operate more ethical and legal processes.

About the author

I commenced a career in HR over 4 years ago at LG Electronics where I played a key position in operating a complete performance management process, participated as part of a European culture and engagement council and managing diversity. After 3 years, I left LG to complete my MA in HRM full-time at University of Wolverhampton where I am completing my dissertation. In the meantime I have acquired a new position at Allegis Group Service, as HR Advisor for the EMEA region.

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Ed Scrivener - 2012

Continuing our review of our writers’ posts during 2012, today we arrive at none other than myself.  To avoid any criticism of being narcisstic I won’t eulagise about how great the posts are! (Ed Scrivener)

2012

• Missing the social point January 19^th
• Beware of big brother March 29^th
• HR, get out and network! June 7^th
• Too many roles July 18^th
• Not another remake October 17^th

2011

• Full back catalogue

About the author

Ed spent the best part of 10 years being an evil HR recruitment consultant.  After finding redemption he now works on the other side helping organisations optimise their direct recruitment channels, a role which allows him to focus on his passion, namely social media.  He manages Human Resources UK and organises regular networking events for the group across the UK.  He is also Editor of Discuss HR and occasionally his humour will creep into articles!

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What Did You Do in the War, Grannie?

Welcome to this week’s Discuss HR, the HR blog written for and by members of Human Resources UK.

This week we welcome back our resident HRD, Sheena McLullich who once again has written a thought provoking post.  Her article also heralds the last of the year from our panel of writers.  We will then be welcoming two guest writers before the end of the year.  In the meantime enjoy Sheena’s post. (Ed Scrivener)

What Did You Do in the War, Grannie?

Luckily I haven’t been asked this question – yet!

However, I’m about to make a confession which will, I fear, immediately invoke a prejudice in many people’s minds.  This could seriously impact my chances of ever being head-hunted or of being recruited into another company and could in fact destroy my future employability. 

Anyway, here goes …. I am a Grandmother – of five.

Actually, I’m called ‘Grannie’ (after my own Grannie who also spelt it that way) and, in my defence, I was 21 when my eldest son was born and my son was 22 when his son was born.  Do the maths, as they say.  Even though my oldest grandson is now five, this doesn’t make me old or even vaguely approaching retirement age, but it does invoke strong responses in some people when I’ve told them.  ‘I don’t think we’ve ever had a grandmother before’ was the response of one director and someone else suggested, in all seriousness, that I might want to reduce my working hours… he never got to finish that particular sentence!

My present CEO said to me during my interview ‘we have a young, metropolitan workforce and you don’t fit that model’.  He went on to say that in his view, that was a good thing as I’d been there and learned from the experience, which made me better able to advise and empathise with others and less afraid to make a  tough decision where necessary.  I’m really glad he did that as it gave me an opportunity to bring the subject into the open and to discuss how my life experiences could enhance the organisation.  Unfortunately not many CEOs share Jon’s candour or his attitude to diversity.  

I’ve been present at too many job interviews (both as candidate and interviewer) where someone has been rejected purely on the grounds of age.  ‘They won’t learn.’  ‘They won’t adapt.’ ‘They’ll be too slow’  ‘They won’t like change’ are common misconceptions. 

Like many ‘baby boomers’, I started my working life in the early ‘eighties.  Back then, the personal computer was just coming into common use.  There was no email, no social media, no internet.  If you wanted to find something out, you had to look up a reference book or ask someone else.  (Networking is not a new concept by the way!)  Since then we’ve mastered numerous versions of increasingly sophisticated software packages and coped with radically different ways of working – ‘won’t learn, won’t change’ – I think we’ve proved that exactly the opposite is the case. 

During my career I’ve had to deal with almost every challenge that working with people can throw at you.   I’ve struggled through recessions, coped with redundancy (from both sides) and had to handle some very traumatic situations, including some real human tragedies.   As you get older, I think you become less emotional and more resilient.  You’re less likely to panic when faced with something unfamiliar and more inclined to step back, assess the situation and decide on a course of action that won’t make things worse.   These are not skills that are taught in business schools – I know, because I’ve been there too. 

So, on my desk at work you’ll see a photo of five smiling little faces whose Grannie has a wealth of experience to share with them (when they’re old enough) but who isn’t ready to retire to a rocking chair for some considerable time yet.  

But I wonder, what will you see the next time you interview an older candidate?

About the author

Sheena began her career in Training & Development before moving to a generalist HR position in 1998.  Since then she has held senior HR roles for several SMEs in a wide range of industries. A Fellow of the CIPD and Member of the US SHRM, she has a keen interest in Employee Development, specifically in coaching and supporting managers to enable them to get the best from their people.  She was appointed as Director of People for SPA Future Thinking in September 2011.

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Una Doyle - 2012

Continuing our review of 2012, today we look back on the writing of Una Doyle.  Una joined Discuss HR in late 2011 and has been an excellent addition to the blog, so why not enjoy her a second time round. (Ed Scrivener)

2012

• Smart Goals 2012: A different perspective 12^th January
• Reaping the rewards after restructuring, redeployment and redundancy 22^ndMarch
• Eliminate silos, increase results 31^st May
• The 7 Cs of great internal communication 9^th August
• Why are only one in twenty bosses good leaders? 25^th October

2011

• Full back catalogue

About the author

Una Doyle is an accredited Talent Dynamics Performance Consultant and an award-winning speaker, coach and consultant. Una has worked with organisations such as Argos, Asda, Yorkshire Forward, Kodak and local authorities from a one-to-one basis, to groups as large as 2,000.   She is passionate about helping to create intrapreneur teams; getting the right people, in the right place, doing the right things with ownership and commercial acumen. Una has learned how to apply many of the world’s top-thinkers’ ideas in a way that is simple, profound, gets massive bottom-line results and a more empowered, motivated and engaged workforce.

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What’s the Point?

Welcome to this week’s Discuss HR, the HR blog written for and by members of Human Resources UK.

We’re now entering the final few posts of the year and will be shortly starting our 3^rdyear of existence and it’s moment like this that never cease to amaze me about how time flies!  Today is the final post of the year for Jill Hart-Sanderson who once again illustrates her ability to write about her experiences so that we can all relate to them. (Ed Scrivener)

What’s the Point?

How often do you watch the television with the subtitles switched on? When you are about to watch (and listen to) an important announcement, news story or documentary do you reach for the subtitle button? Unless you have a hearing impediment your answer is probably no.

Would seeing the words on the screen help you understand the message better, or would it distract you?

Recently I attended a series of workshops run by very knowledgeable professionals. Despite the fact that they were presenting to a group of people as part of their regular job role, they started the session by saying they weren’t presenters. They then took turns to speak to the group - reading from their pre-prepared PowerPoint slides which were projected onto a large screen.  A paper copy of the slides was also given to each of the attendees. The content of the presentations was very interesting but the way in which it was delivered made most of the attendees glaze over after about two minutes. The workshop lasted seven hours and at the end of it I was asked what exactly had I learnt and how could have the day been improved.

I’m sure most of you have experienced this type of scenario, and it still unfolds every day in many organisations around the country. So what did I learn and how could the day have been better?

PowerPoint can be a wonderful tool – but when it is used purely as a memory aid for the presenter it can be a real distraction. If the whole ‘speech’ is typed on a screen there are too many words to read while you are trying to listen at the same time. The element of surprise is also lost, as the attendee can read ahead and scan for that important piece of information. The audience has come to find out something in person. If it were merely about the words then they could have just read about it in their own time from the comfort of their own office. To attend a presentation, course of workshop of any kind is about the complete experience which makes the time, cost and effort of actually attending worthwhile.

Perhaps the workshop I attended could have been improved if the ‘presenters’ had considered Neil Fleming’s VAK model which claims that we all have a preferred learning style:

• Visual – thinking in pictures, diagrams etc.
• Auditory – listening and discussion
• Tactile – moving, touching, doing

Most people may have a preference to one of the styles but use parts of all three when receiving new information. I appreciate that how something is presented depends on time, type and size of the audience, but by being aware of the attendees’ diversity could have meant that some of these styles were incorporated instead of reading through text on a slide.

PowerPoint can be a brilliant way of presenting a clear chart, diagram, picture or even animation (which would also appeal to the visual learners amongst us!). Without the constraints of a script projected on a screen the presenter is free to talk about their subject with knowledgeable enthusiasm and really connect with their audience.

The next time you are preparing a presentation to the board, arranging a training course, or asking a candidate to produce a PowerPoint presentation at interview why not ask ‘what is the point of using  slides and will they enhance what is being said’?

The late Steve Jobs was famously quoted as saying “People who know what they're talking about don't need PowerPoint". What are your thoughts and experiences?

About the author

Jill is passionate about using creativity to unlock people's potential, finding practical solutions that make a real difference to organisations.  Her extensive management experience in both the public and private sectors combined with HR consultancy has given her a real insight into how great HR can transform individuals and businesses.

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John Hepworth - 2012

In the 2^nd part of our series reviewing the writing of our regular contributors over the course of 2012, today we look back at the writing of HR consultant John Hepworth.  Based upon the viewing figures John will win this year’s award for the most read post (but I’m afraid I’m not stumping up for a prize for you John!), so clearly it is definitely worth reading.  (Ed Scrivener)

2012

• 2012 – New Year wish list 5^th January
• Getting the balance right: the psychological contract at work 14^th March
• Justice and fairness 24^th May
• A day in the life of… a self-employed HR consultant 1^st August
• Where do we go with people development? 11^th October

2011

• Full back catalogue

John helps organisations, especially in the SME sector, achieve competitive advantage.  He has a particular interest in translating strategic HR management into practice.  Typically, this has meant focusing his efforts on recruitment and selection, performance management and training and development activities.  John sees the challenge of matching the development of internal competencies with the externally driven demands of the market place as one of the key themes in developing organisational engagement, capability and performance.
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The One in the Corner

Welcome to this week’s Discuss HR, the HR blog written for and by members of Human Resources UK.

This week we welcome back Susan Popoola who has written an excellent post about employee engagement.  Being a rather vocal person I know I am not the subject of Susan’s example, but I can say for sure that I have learnt from it to pipe down and let others pipe up! (Ed Scrivener)

The One in the Corner

Employee engagement and indeed the need for it is nothing new – even though we might not have always used the phrase as we increasingly do over the last few years. It is however great that we do recognise it’s importance as it’s only when employees are engaged that we attain the best from them.  We talk about engaging employees in general terms and we also talk about engaging people from different backgrounds, but there is a group that I believe that we are often forget about – that it group represented by the people that I will refer to on an individual basis as “The One in the Corner”

Everyone is aware of those great employees that are very quick to put themselves forward for projects and are quick to give their input or provide an opinion during meetings.  But what about the one that sits quietly in the corner i.e. the one that rarely puts himself/herself forward unless asked directly and is very slow to offer an opinion or provide input.

I met one such person recently - I’ll call him James.  James had gone away to University at Princeton in the States.  Without meaning to be elitist, this is an indication in itself that he had something to offer. Coming back to the UK he had obtained a job at one of top consultancies. It sounds great, but he had struggled. 

James was quiet spoken and shy and during his first project with the organisation he had sat in meetings saying very little.  He explained to me that he spent a lot of time thinking things through and digesting them before speaking. This was enhanced by the fact that he was new to the environment and didn’t want to appear stupid. When he did speak he didn’t feel as if people took much notice of what he had to say and so he drew back the more saying even less.   His project lead was not pleased.  He did not see him as a team player and questioned the value that he brought to the team.  James didn’t say it, but through the conversation I had with him, I recognised that even outside of meetings he did not put himself forward – he just put his head down and did what he was asked to – nothing more.  So maybe really and truly he wasn’t a team player?

The only thing is as James was talking – he brightened up as he mentioned the project he was now working on.  The difference in his countenance wasn’t due to the project - he had a new project manager.  She recognised that he was quiet during meetings.  She spoke to him quietly one day telling him that she recognised that he didn’t speak very much, but when he did, what he said was very intelligent and useful.  Encouraged and motivated by this he was now contributing more to meetings.  Hopefully in time as others recognise the value that he brings he will also feel encouraged to put himself forward and volunteer more as well.

What would have happened if his next manager was like his first project manager.  Would he have become totally disengaged, ultimately leaving the organisation or simply not working to his full potential. The thing is people like James do have a responsibility to put themselves forward and contribute. However, managers also have a responsibility to recognise the value of all employees and what they have to offer.

The most appropriate answer or solution to a problem may not always come from the most vocal person in the room. So what are you missing out on by not listening to or drawing out the quite person in the corner of the room?

About the author

Susan has established a successful career as an HR Consultant. Specialising in HR Transformation and Talent Management across the Private, Public & Voluntary sectors.

Susan serves as a Partnership Governor for The Hazeley School where she chairs the Innovation and Partnership Committee. She also serves as a Young Enterprise judge and a Business Ambassador for Countec Education Business Partnership.  She is also the published author of Touching the Heart of Milton Keynes: A Social Perspective and the soon to be published book: Consequences: Diverse to Mosaic Britain.

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Discuss HR is the blog for Human Resources UK, the leading LinkedIn group for those involved with HR in the UK.  Next week’s Discuss HR will be written by Training Consultant Jill Hart-Sanderson. 

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