Following on from Mental Health Awareness Week this month, we can reflect back on the fantastic initiatives’ organisations have run to highlight the importance of mental health.
Following the Law Society’s 2022 Risk and Compliance Annual Conference, Access Legal's Regulatory Director, Brian Rogers explores ethical issues in law firms and the solicitors' code of conduct, and some of the biggest scandals in the legal industry.
- Topic:
- Legal
Many people leaders are all too familiar with the additional HR challenges that can arise at Christmas time, from constant enquiries about payday to dips in productivity, last-minute annual leave requests and potential Christmas party fallout.
But that’s all in the Christmas past for many, who likely manage (and therefore pre-empt) any festive related HR issues in their HR software. So that’s Christmas present handled too.
But how do HR managers prepare for a Christmas future yet to come, and avoid being haunted by failed HR strategies that came before? Can you judge how successful your HR strategy has been this year for example, and make decisions on where to focus next year?
- Topic:
- Human Resources
The pandemic has accelerated the change in the employee/employer dynamic. Employees’ career development priorities and expectations of their workplace and employer have shifted, with many of us demanding more from our place of work, its leaders and decision-makers.
HR is juggling all the traditional challenges along with these new expectations. Dropping the ball can mean failing to attract and retain the top talent or keep existing employees happy, motivated and productive.
I don’t think anyone is in doubt that nearly every aspect of life today is dramatically different to how it was 12 months ago. A few of the impactful changes we have seen are:
- Face masks becoming the norm
- An increased focus on our health and wellbeing
- The exchange of handshakes for social distancing and elbow bumps
- An increase in online purchasing
- Computer screens fast became our window to the world
- Finding solidarity in social recognition
The disruption we have witnessed is leading to a new phase in our working lives. As a result, organisations will need to examine how they create value and start to develop a more human-centred future. The role HR plays in this will be pivotal going forward, ultimately shaping the future of Work, the Workforce and the Workplace.
- Topic:
- Human Resources
As COVID-19 restrictions are easing across the UK, businesses are looking ahead over the coming weeks and planning how their workforce can make a safe transition to new working conditions. In this article, we examine the health and safety issues which need to be considered from two perspectives.
So much has changed over the last year as the pandemic caused untold disruption to businesses and their staff. Large numbers of people have been forced to work from home and others have had to adjust to more restrictive conditions and protocols when still attending their usual place of work – or have been furloughed and unable to attend at all. Now we are heading towards another shift and HR teams across the UK are working out the details and practicalities of who should return, when, and what the working environment looks like.
- Topic:
- Human Resources
Making people central to their success
“To me, the model of success is not linear. Success is completing the full circle of yourself.”
There’s going to be something of a circular, cyclical theme to this reflection on learning, improvement and the importance of people being at the centre of things. As the quote above suggests, circles and success are no strangers to each other and we’ve been thinking within this area lately, in particular regarding people-centric product design and a cycle for the creation, delivery and review of effective learning experiences. It all stems from a belief that it’s really important to ‘put people into products’ – to ensure that the initiatives and developments we undertake are really focused on and effective for, those intended to benefit from them.
A wider view of employee wellbeing
Let’s start with a few statistics. The charity Versus Arthritis recently conducted a survey of people working remotely and found that 81% of respondents were experiencing some back, neck or shoulder pain, while 48% were less physically active than they were before lockdown. Another study, by the Health Foundation, discovered that more than two-thirds of adults in the UK feel somewhat or very worried about the effects that Covid-19 is having on their lives. A further survey undertaken by the RSA reported that from over 1,100 workers’ responses, four in 10 had worked within 10 days of a positive Covid-19 test result, while over 10% said they’d been ordered on-site when they could have worked easily and safely from home.
I’ve brought these statistics together because they touch on the physical, mental, occupational and social pressures being exerted on people during this extraordinary chapter – and suggest the need to look at employee wellbeing holistically. The pandemic’s effects have reached into all areas of our lives, not least our work situations. There’s surely never been a period of such flux in modern times, featuring so many changes to the fabric of the work environment including the shift to remote working, the need for altered workplaces when that’s not possible, as well as the furlough scheme. So there are naturally many tests and tasks to overcome on the road ahead.
HR modernisation: will you throw your hat in the ring?
For today’s HR professionals, it can feel like work involves wearing a lot of hats. Need to navigate a route towards improved company performance? Pop on a pilot’s cap. Busy with health and safety concerns? Try this hard hat on. Involved in difficult staff situations, or legal disputes? Time for the police helmet. Got training and coaching programmes to set up? Look out your mortarboard. Mindful that a hundred more tasks are waiting in your in-tray? Maybe a magician’s hat is what you really need, so you can pull a few more rabbits from it.
Luckily, achieving greater efficiency with a HR or payroll solution is not just for larger organisations, as moving from manual processes to software simplicity works for SMEs too. Indeed, every opportunity to automate repetitive or time-consuming tasks will free up your team to focus on responsibilities that have a real impact on your business. So, let’s look at some of the ways you can leverage software to make your work life easier, using the key areas below.
Recruitment > Onboarding > Compliance > Self-service and Mobile > Reporting > Integrations
An experience shared by everyone
Did you know that the origin of the word ‘pandemic’ is rooted in Greek? The term comes from ‘pandēmos’, derived from ‘pan’ – ‘all’, and ‘dēmos’ – ‘people’. It’s a word that’s so familiar to everybody now, after a difficult and deeply strange 12 months. It aptly describes something huge, a phenomenon that has undoubtedly affected all people and transformed every personal and work life in some way.
The world is dramatically different. Face masks have become as much of a habit as the brushing of teeth. There’s a heightened focus on health and wellbeing, nature and hobbies. We’re binging on TV series (ok, perhaps that’s not totally different) and learning to keep our distance, with changed greeting customs and different forms of social recognition – memorably demonstrated by the clapping for key workers. Banking and shopping have altered too, with an exponential increase in online transactions. As a result, more people are tech-savvy, with digital screens of some description now even more common than they were before.
Looking at all of this from a HR perspective, it feels like employee experiences matter more than ever too.
- Topic:
- Human Resources
