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Welcome to our HR News, Views & Advice.
Worker Protection Act 2023 - Obligations on Employers
On October 26th 2024, legislation changes come into force that require companies to protect their workers from sexual harassment. Do you know what your obligations are?
Absence is a Capability Issue
Continuing his series of articles, Martin Nicholson highlights how absence fits in to the Performance Management process.
Conduct v Capability
Continuing his series of articles, Martin Nicholson clarifies where Performance Management is a conduct or capability issue, and why it’s important for managers to understand the distinction.
Time to Incentivise Your Employees
Continuing his series of articles, Martin Nicholson discusses the benefits of a bonus or commission scheme to link employee performance to company success.
Seventy-Year Old Practices to Support Labour’s 100-Day Plan
Continuing his series of articles, Martin Nicholson highlights decades-old management philosophies that could hold the key to mitigating the effects of the changes in legislation, along with aligning employee performance with business success.
Change Your Mindset: Are You Ready?
Leading up to the General Election on 4th July this year, much was made of Labour’s so-called “100 day plan” forming part of their manifesto to kickstart economic growth. They pledged to introduce legislation within 100 days to implement ‘Labour’s Plan to Make Work Pay: Delivering a New Deal for Working People’. There has been much speculation about the detail, but some parts of the Plan are relatively straightforward. Introducing day one basic rights to protection from unfair dismissal will bring Performance Management into sharp focus. Employers will need to be fair and transparent in dealing with employees who are not meeting their standards, so a robust Performance Management process - including recruitment, onboarding and probation - will be key.
Wellbeing Strategy - Tick Box or Value Add?
Martin Nicholson focuses on wellbeing and whether businesses really are taking it seriously. Are they seeking to fix or simply ticking it off their to-do lists? Martin discusses how to actually deliver improved wellbeing and with it a greater return for the businesses that take this area seriously.
What Exactly is HR?
Is it a daft question? Martin Nicholson doesn’t think so. After 30 years in the profession, he’s well aware that there is a broad range of beliefs and understanding about what HR stands for and should be.
Here he discusses what HR covers in a business, and how he sees the function helping organisations thrive through the value and uniqueness of their people. Oh, and what it should be called!
A Day for Book Lovers and Coworkers
It’s Book Lovers Day, which is an excellent excuse for Martin Nicholson to highlight a particular book that epitomises ProAction HR’s values and approach, and our belief in people. It is also International Coworking Day, which is not about celebrating your co-workers per se (you should be doing that every day!), but about the value of sharing a workspace as a coworking community, and the benefits that brings. One such benefit might be spreading the word about ideas and insights that have resonated with you, as this has done with Martin. And as we reach the close of the Paris 2024 Olympics, Martin’s book choice is especially pertinent.
On Your Bike! It’s Cycle to Work Day
Martin Nicholson outlines the value a Cycle to Work scheme can provide to an employer and their employees.
The Cycle to Work scheme in the United Kingdom, is now 25 years old. It arrived in 1999 and has gained traction predominantly in the mid-size to larger organisations in the UK. But it should be as attractive to smaller businesses, if only we all understood how it worked a little better.
Don’t Kick Annual Appraisals Into Touch!
Martin Nicholson gets controversial about yearly performance reviews. He believes that annual appraisals play an important role in performance management - but they’ve got to be done as part of a full process lifecycle, and not just a one-off evaluation every 12 months.
Improving Performance in SMEs
Performance management is a critical aspect of running a successful SME in the UK. While SMEs may not have the resources of larger businesses, implementing effective performance management practices can significantly enhance productivity, employee engagement, and overall business success. In this article, Martin Nicholson explores key strategies and considerations tailored specifically for SMEs.
Pride - What’s all the fuss about?
Have you ever wondered what all the Pride Month fuss is about and why LGBTQ+ people spend June at rainbow-themed events, waving flags and generally having a fantastic time? It’s also an ideal opportunity for employers to demonstrate support for their LGBTQ+ employees too.
Hire Right: First Time, Every Time
Martin Nicholson highlights the importance of a robust recruitment approach to make sure your first hire is the right hire.
Self-Awareness is the key that opens the door to effective leadership
Joanne Hobbins discusses the importance of building self-awareness to improve your working life.
Insights into Stress and Resilience
Joanne Hobbins reflects on how Insights Discovery has helped her manage her own stress, build resilience, and be more understanding of how stress affects the people around her.
Employee Retention - it’s not just about a pay rise
Martin Nicholson encourages you to consider ways to mitigate the risk of staff leaving you in 2024.
Employment Lawyer vs. HR
Martin Nicholson discusses the relationship between an HR Practitioner and an Employment Lawyer, and whether employers need to choose between the two.
Banish your Imposter Syndrome to the path less travelled
Joanne Hobbins is choosing to challenge her inner critical voice and rewrite her internal script.
Are Time Management Tools a Waste of Time?
Joanne Hobbins, our co-founder and in-house psychology expert, wonders if any time management tool or technique can be effective if we don’t get to the root of the problem.