HR Heads

I read with great interest this morning an article published on PersonnelToday.com by Mike Berry regarding our inability to completely ‘take a break’. As my annual leave is due to start tonight (and I am away for just one week!) I already have the nervous feeling that it will all happen whilst I am away.

According to a survey by the Institute of Leadership & Management (ILM) it was found that one-third admitted they work while on annual leave and 4 in 10 return to work feeling more stressed than when they left. This is largely due to the advancement of technology - Blackberries and smartphones are the main culprits for holiday work - more than two-thirds of respondents who own one admit to checking them at least once a day, if not more.

So for the next week I shall endeavour to be out of communication (the urge to check the blackberry at least once per day I sure will be overwhelming though!)  Looking forward to speaking to you on my return on Monday 2nd August…. What will the inbox be like???  I would love to hear from you, and don’t forget to check the live jobs or submit your CV and I will respond as soon as I am back.

Once again, we had a fantastic turnout to the HR Forum that featured guest speaker Leslie Spiers. Discussing engagement within organisations in this trying economic period, Leslie brought to life both realistic situations and numerous examples of how he had improved employee engagement across the businesses he currently works with - taking inspriration from groups including the Masai!

Engagement seems to be one of the most significant factors for businesses facing cost cuts, reduction in workforce and generally negative messages that are often delivered via HR. Severel HR leaders attending the Forum spoke of longer term plans but acknowledged it was difficult to see an impact from those plans in the very short term.

Of significant interest however, was the collective agreement that through engagement strategies, businesses could empower their employees to have more accountability and ownership of their roles within the companies; that a broader and better understanding of where the company was financially actually served to get the employees ‘buy-in’ to new initiatives - often changing existing patterns and habits.

If anyone would like a copy of the presentation by Leslie, or wishes to add their comments - we would be dlighted to hear from you.