HR Directors Boardroom Update – Leeds 2013

On 24th April 2013 a select group of the top UK’s HR Directors gathered at Evershed’s boardroom in Leeds for the latest Ashley Kate’s HR Directors Boardroom meeting. The meeting was chaired by Simon Rice-Birchall of Evershed’s International Employment Law Group and led by Tony Cooke – HR Director Adidas Group.

Our Boardroom events provide HRD’s with a rare opportunity to debate topics that are relevant to their position and company, share insights into the challenges they face and they offer a real focus on key issues that will affect the future of their HR function. A number of key topic areas were discussed and all joined in a lively debate that focused on how HR are expected to recruit the best people, train and develop them and keep them fully engaged in such a difficult and challenging landscape.

After the event Tony commented, “It was great to be involved in such a participative discussion that offered a great opportunity to compare notes from HR leaders from differing sectors and create new network contacts with which to share ideas and initiatives in this event and after” Click on to our You Tube page to view further feedback. http://bit.ly/YouTubeHRDForum

Simon Rice-Birchall, Partner of Eversheds International Law Group chaired the debate, “Tony Cooke facilitated a thought provoking session. He not only set out the very interesting challenges faced by Adidas, he engaged the audience, invited feedback, and seemed genuinely keen to take on board all the ideas he could. An excellent session, which delegates very much enjoyed.”

As you can observe from the photographs I am sure you will agree a good discussion took place! – Click on our Facebook link to view the photographs http://bit.ly/HRDBoardroomLeeds2013

If you are keen to understand more about the debate, hear about the outcomes and would like to receive a free copy of the full notes from this essential HRD forum please email me at kim.macnamara@ashleykatehr.com.

Ashley Kate HR have a full schedule of Boardroom forums in place, across the UK, for 2013 so keep an eye out for an event near you on this group soon. If you are interested in sharing ideas and experiences with those in similar positions to yourself and would like to join our HR Director’s Boardroom meetings or offer your services as a key speaker please let me know so we may speak further.

Ashley Kate HR offer the full range of HR recruitment services further details of which can be found at http://www.ashleykatehr.com/

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The Future of Talent

It’s clear that the world of work is changing. KCOM Group, as part of its membership of the London Business School Future of Work Consortium, has been considering the future of talent; where will it come from, how will we attract it and how we will develop and retain it.

Within our lifetime there are several key trends that will have a direct impact upon HR and recruitment professionals.

The Multi-generational workplace - In just a few years we’ll have five generations in the workplace for the first time. That’s going to impact all aspects of how we engage with, and motivate, our employees from how we design  jobs to what flexible benefits we offer; given that the majority of organisations were designed by so-called ‘Baby Boomers’ it is predicted that a transformation is needed in our businesses to make them truly future proofed. In particular, we expect more employers to adopt the principle that work is an activity not a location and that means a huge shift not just in ways of working but also the mind set of leaders.

Globalisation of the office - The whole concept of talent management is going to be influenced by changing demography, increased globalisation and the evolution of technology. We only have to look at the rise of social media, and its ability to transform how we operate to know that it’s going to be a powerful influence in the future. As technology increasingly means location is no longer a barrier, many typically ‘office-based’ roles will become geographically independent. With teams interacting and engaging over social networks, straddling numerous time zones, projects and potentially different companies, personal responsibility and ownership becomes the expected norm. The traditional middle manager is apparently an endangered species.

Tackling the skills gap - Over the next decade or so it’s predicted we’ll see a ‘hollowing out’ of work in the UK. For years, we’ve been outsourcing work to the developing world, and automating lots of work previously done by people. As this continues, we are at risk of ending up with a two tier labour market, with a big gap in the middle. At the top, we’ll have a need for lots of highly specialised work, with a shortage of suitable candidates, and below work where we can’t make use of remote working or technology, such as care work, catering and hair dressing, again with a shortage of people to fill those vacancies.

The war for talent people is going to become a reality.

Recruiters are going to have to be agile. The old methods of attracting people to your organisations just won’t cut it in the future. We may well need to create our own talent by engaging those leaving education and investing significantly in their careers through learning and development. It is already recognised that young people do not leave the education system job ready. Employers will need to increasingly become involved in bridging that gap and engaging directly with schools and universities to engage with talent at an early stage.

Where ever the Future of Work is headed, it’s obvious that your employer brand will become increasingly important. Different generations and cultures will value different things and it’s only those organisations that can embrace new ways of attracting and retaining talent that can ride the waves that are coming.

If you would like to talk to Chris Whittaker : Head of HR – Programmes & Strategies, regarding this article please let us know at solutions@ashleykatehr.com

 

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Practical Steps to developing a high performing HR function

In the fast paced modern business world HR Departments have never been under so much pressure to process higher volumes of work, provide a greater breadth of service and balance day to day transactional work with proactive strategic work.

Little wonder many HR Departments struggle to keep up with demands from businesses and in many cases are barely able to deal with transactional case work to a consistent high quality standard, let alone work in a proactive and strategic way.

Common problems encountered tend to be; lack of resources and / or multiple skills in the department; HR and Payroll systems which are not “fit for purpose”, lack of flexibility, little available time to problem solve or be proactive; line managers who still expect HR to deal with their people issues; HR not understood by the business and administrative processes which consume huge amounts of time and resource.

There are, however, a number of “best in class” measures that an HR Department can adopt to provide an efficient, customer focussed function that works with the business as an “internal customer”. And this doesn’t necessarily require additional staff, money or time.

The following practical tools have been developed over a number of years working across many HR Departments in different business sectors and organisations. Some or all of these steps can be employed to make a significant impact on HR service delivery.

Where is your HR department currently? (Diagnostic)

Take the time to ask your HR team where the bottlenecks and problems are and what the possible solutions might be.

Speak to your customers, i.e line managers, employees and suppliers and gain their feedback on the quality of service they perceive they are receiving and what could be done to improve them or expand them. Run internal HR customer satisfaction surveys.

Review your HR technology and systems against the original specifications and see if there are any functions you could make better use of.

Clarify what type and level of service HR will provide to the business. In light of this, do the job roles, current skill levels and structure of the HR function fully support this?

How efficient are you at delivering your service? (Processes & Measurements)

Review all your processes, forms, documents, letters, filing & storage systems and process map your employee life cycle activities, both as it is and as it should be, and use this opportunity to eradicate duplication, non value added activities, overly long or complex processes & areas of high concentrations of time.

Ensure you have quality and corporate governance processes in place.

Assign clear areas of responsibility to each member of the HR team and ensure all members of the HR team understand where responsibility and accountabilities lie with team members.

Put in place regular processes and systems for listening to the “voice of the customer” and obtaining feedback on the quality of service and new opportunities for providing additional services.

Use the “in house” experts in I.T. or HR systems people to develop and enhance existing technology.

Develop performance measures for both the HR Department and for service provided to the business.

These should include: mix and volume of work received in the department, time spent on tasks, accuracy levels, skill levels of team members, and turnaround time of work processing.
How effectively does HR work with the business? (culture)

Define who your customers are and in what ways do they access your services.

Ensure all members of the HR team understand “good customer service” and check to make sure all the systems, processes, documentation which customer’s access are “user friendly”.

Set up regular forums and opportunities to engage with your customers to share information and have quality discussions around service improvement areas.

Educate and up skill your line managers to become effective people managers and to understand the importance of working to processes and procedures to enhance the quality of service to them. Place part of the accountability for effective service provision on your customers in providing timely, complete and accurate information.

How well do you harness technology to provide your services? (systems)

Ensure the systems your customers use are intuitive and user friendly.

Automate your processes as much as possible.

Ask your customers what management data would enhance their ability to manage business better and produce regular people and business dashboards which are easy to understand. These might include, cost of recruitment, sick pay costs, lost time rate and FTE days lost.

Introduce Employee and Management self service wherever possible, to automate leave applications, learning event requests, vacancy applications, and to provide a virtual HR office for employees.

How effectively does HR sell & market its services & successes to the business? (communication)

Ensure there is a clear HR strategy and/or action plan linked to the Business Strategy. Communicate this to the business. Present a clear case for HR in the business.

Proactively seek out and engage with key stakeholders. Understand their issues and concerns and proactively find ways to achieve quick wins.

Pilot initiatives and use the success to promote HR activities to other parts of the business. Use managers who have had positive experience of HR to promote HR to other business people. Use them as champions.

Thank you to Peter Cablis (M.A., B.A. (Hons), FCIPD) for his insight and ideas.

For more details regarding this article please contact Kim MacNamara on 0845 4133200 or solutions@ashleykatehr.com

This article is taken from our latest HR Newsletter copies of which are available on our website  www.ashleykatehr.com

 

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Take a look at what HR are saying about Ashley Kate HR!

Claire Baker and Kim MacNamara – HR Recruiters for the East Midlands region of Ashley Kate HR have recently worked with Rob Allen – Interim HR Manager at Gala Coral Group. He has kindly provided a recommendation so we wanted to share this with you:

Claire and Kim were nothing but professional throughout the campaign and quickly provided us with a succinct shortlist based on my initial brief, demonstrating their ability to understand our requirements. They also demonstrated their excellent knowledge of the local market by providing us with people who were at the right level and available at the right time, this was particularly important as the role has a highly specialised focus which we knew was being sought by a number of other companies at the same time.

Ashley Kate HR has extensive experience in recruiting HR professionals at all levels not just within the East Midlands region but right across the UK and have an excellent understanding and enviable track record in HR recruitment.

As well as HR recruitment we offer a number of additional services including Salary Surveys, Newsletters, HR Directors Boardroom, Social Media groups, HR legal updates and discounts on advertising.

If you are recruiting in your HR department and would like to find out more about how Ashley Kate HR can achieve your overall HR strategic objectives contact us now on 01159223000 or email kim.macnamara@ashleykatehr.com or claire.baker@ashleykatehr.com

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HR Directors Boardroom – London 2013

Announcement from HR Directors Boardroom

Join Wendy Cartwright, Former HR Director for the Olympic Delivery Authority & Chair of the Advisory Board of Global Diversity Practice, and other like-minded HR business leaders at our next meeting of the HR Directors Boardroom.
Debate - Fostering a sustainable business performance through a diverse workforce.

 

Wendy will lead a debate that uses the creation of diverse and award winning workforce at the Olympic Delivery Authority as a case-study. As diversity is increasingly recognised as a key enabler of business and organisational success, delegates will focus on how HR leaders should be delivering excellence in diversity and inclusion and also what further progress needs to be made to enhance diversity in the Boardroom and beyond.

 

Fiona Bolton, Partner at Eversheds International Law Group is ranked as a Leading Individual in Chambers Guide to the UK Legal Profession 2013 and is Chair of the HR Directors Boardroom. She will also share the latest research findings undertaken by Eversheds on Boardroom diversity.

International Law Group is ranked as a Leading Individual in Chambers UK 2013 and features in the Top Tier of the Legal 500 and is Chair of the HR Directors Boardroom.

Venue: The Boardroom – Eversheds LLP – London
Address: 1 Wood Street, London EC2V 7WS
Date: Tuesday 2nd July 2013
Time: 8.30am – 10am
Cost: Free of charge

HR Debate is completely membership led and to ensure you get maximum return on your involvement the places are limited so if you are interested in attending please email kim.macnamara@ashleykatehr.com

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Acas early conciliation: Government consults on practical details

The Government has published a consultation paper seeking views on detailed proposals relating to the introduction of Acas early conciliation (which is given the shorthand EC by the Government).

Background

Part of a package of measures to encourage the earlier resolution of workplace disputes and improve the efficiency of the employment tribunal system, EC requires most prospective claimants to contact Acas before they can lodge tribunal proceedings. A conciliation officer will then endeavour to promote a settlement between the parties. Both parties remain at liberty to decline EC and the claimant may proceed to lodge a claim, providing they have a certificate from Acas confirming that settlement was not possible.

The Enterprise and Regulatory Reform (ERR) Bill, currently reaching the end of its passage through the Houses of Parliament, contains provisions outlining the EC system including providing for an extension to tribunal time limits to allow for conciliation. There are, however, missing details as to how EC will work in practice which has necessitated this latest consultation. The consultation contains draft regulations (The Employment Tribunals (Early Conciliation: Exemptions and Rules of Procedure) Regulations 2013) which include the EC rules of procedure.

EC consultation

The consultation seeks views on the following issues:

  • In deciding which prospective claimants will not be required to comply with EC, the Government has decided that only a very limited number of jurisdictions will be exempt. These are where a short period exists for presenting a claim or where settlement is not appropriate. Examples proposed include an application for interim relief and appeals against improvement or prohibition notices (for example, under health and safety or working time legislation). In addition, it is proposed that a limited number of prospective claimants will be exempted, for example, where they are part of a multiple claim and another claimant has complied or where they are already in contact with Acas.
  • The Government intends that the initial form that the prospective claimant must complete and submit to Acas, unless they are exempt from EC, will only need to contain  basic information (claimant and respondent contact details). In particular, it is not proposed to require prospective claimants to provide information on the nature of their claim on the grounds that many will struggle to do this accurately.
  • Upon receipt of the EC form from the prospective claimant, the Government is proposing that initial Acas contact is made by a lesser-qualified ‘support officer’, not a conciliation officer, to provide a more cost effective way of gathering information. It does, however, recognise that such an approach may not be as effective as involving a conciliation officer from the outset.
  • Where initial contact is unsuccessful, in that the prospective claimant cannot be contacted, Acas will cease EC and issue a certificate allowing the claim to proceed. The Government is consulting on how hard and/or long Acas should try to contact the prospective claimant before stopping and issuing the certificate.
  • Where contact is made and a prospective claimant indicates that he does want to attempt to settle, it is anticipated that a conciliation officer will contact the prospective claimant, and respondent if appropriate, within two four working days of receipt of the EC form. If both parties agree to participate in EC, the conciliator has one calendar month from the date of receipt of the EC form (extendable by two weeks) to facilitate a settlement.
  • The Government is consulting on the information which should be included on the EC certificate at the end of the EC process, other than the date the EC form was received and the date the certificate was issued (to allow the tribunal to consider limitation periods given that the limitation period will start to run again following receipt by the tribunal of the EC certificate).
  • The Government is proposing that the EC process will provide for prospective respondents to request EC where they consider there is a matter that might give rise to tribunal proceedings if it is not settled.
  • Where the claimant proceeds to tribunal, they will be required to provide their unique EC reference number on the ET1, failing which the claim will be dismissed.

Thank you to Fiona Bolton Partner at Eversheds LLP in London.

For more details regarding this article please contact Kim MacNamara on 0845 4133200 or solutions@ashleykatehr.com

This article is taken from our latest HR Newsletter – copies of which are available on our website www.ashleykatehr.com

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Recruiting Temporary HR Professionals

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Ashley Kate HR Network Event – Employment Update

EMPLOYMENT UPDATE: THE LEGAL PERSPECTIVE

Nottingham

Ashley Kate HR would like to invite you to our next HR Network Event where leading employment lawyers from international law firm Eversheds LLP will provide an update to Senior HR professionals on key legal developments. A great opportunity to stay up to date with current employment law and network with like minded HR professionals.

This is an essential update for anyone involved in HR.

Nottingham Wednesday 19th June 2013 The evening will be led by Clare Ward and Vanessa Kelly from the Eversheds LLP Human Resources Group.

Time 6-8pm

Address – Novotel Hotel, Bostocks Lane, Nottingham, NG10 4EP

Please join our interactive update where you will have the opportunity to question experts on topical legal issues and discuss employment law developments.

Eversheds LLP will provide an update to Senior HR professionals on key legal developments and cases including:

  • The practical impact of the new ET rules and fees
  • Stress, depression and absence review
  • Case law update quiz

Email your interest in attending to solutions@ashleykatehr.com

The event is sponsored by Ashley Kate HR and is free to all HR Network members. Non members will pay a small charge of £25 per delegate.

Buffet & refreshments are provided.

We look forward to seeing you.

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HR Shared Services – The Missing Links

The last 10 years has seen a major increase in the introduction of HR Shared Services across all industry sectors.

Whilst Shared Services and the Ulrich Business Partnering Model have become more widely understood across the HR community, there are a broad range of variations on this theme. Many HR functions are still unclear of how the model works and line managers and businesses even more so.

 

Often, there is a lack of understanding of the context in which shared services should operate. Is it there to empower the line, if so, how? Provide a more focussed and value added service, if so, what is it? Are the business and line managers ready for a major cultural shift from traditional HR to a more proactive and strategic HR function? If not how do you manage the transition?

In addition, to the above, there are often even more fundamental issues not thought through or implemented. Some of these are listed below, although, there are many more issues / questions to be asked.

Some of the most frequently encountered questions:

How does the shared service provision link into the HR and Business Strategy?

  • How effective is your current HR service offering, HR skill levels and IT technology?
  • Do you understand what processes need to be in place and is this the most efficient way of delivering the service?
  • Have you project and change management skills within your department?
  • What model of shared service will you develop, i.e. outsourced, in house, a combination and what does this mean in terms of Service Level Agreements and Key Performance Indicators you set?
  • What technology will you use and how will it be implemented, i.e. manager / employee self service, fully automated processes, HR analytics and so on.
  • Have you a clearly defined communication plan to engage the business, present a clear case for business benefits, and clarify the roles, responsibilities & accountabilities of both the HR team and customers?

A structured approach to shared services

To successfully introduce a world class shared service function which has the flexibility to deliver what the business requires demands a holistic and structured approach.

A model for this introduction is attached and a number of activities need to be carried out concurrently, such as, process mapping service delivery areas and assessing HR systems.

The key to success involves adopting a 5 pronged approach. This covers diagnostics, process flows and measures, operations / culture, systems and communication.

Whilst no area is more heavily weighted than another, particular emphasis needs to be placed on understanding organisational culture and its impact on the structure and implementation of a shared service. Communication also needs to be tailored to engage both HR and business customers and to help each respective area take accountability and responsibility for its own area of delivery. These aspects are often neglected in the rush to ‘save money and reduce headcount’.

Without attention to these aspects, far from feeling empowered, the Line Managers may feel that extra ‘HR work’ is being dumped upon them; the HR administration team may feel that their job has been deskilled and the HR Business Partners may feel stressed because they are trying to cling on to the elements of their old role with which they feel comfortable and/or feel daunted by their new more strategic role.

Another area which has been overlooked by many HR functions and in which there is frequently a shortage of skills and knowledge is in project management, Lean efficiency measures and Six Sigma. These techniques can eliminate considerable duplication and waste, thereby, saving costs as well as delivering superior service to the front line business through quick, easy, and transparent information and self help tools.

A key enabler as always is technology and in many instances only about 10% of existing HR systems are used and understood by both HR and the business. Ultimately, shared services needs systems which offer both manager / employee self service as well as automated processes, decision support tools, HR analytics and CRM interfaces. In many cases, these functions already exist with the current systems but are not used, so you need to check with the systems provider where they are or how they can be fully utilised. In some cases add on packages can be bought or as a last resort new systems introduced.

Finally, by adopting the shared service model you will have captured all of the key aspects you need to consider when setting up shared services. Even if you decide that shared services are not for your HR function or the business at this time, you at least will have a template to improve HR efficiency and quality of service levels to the business.

Thank you to Peter Cablis (M.A., B.A. (Hons), FCIPD)

For more details regarding this article please contact Kim MacNamara on 0845 4133200 or solutions@ashleykatehr.com

This article is taken from our latest HR Newsletter copies of which are available on our website www.ashleykatehr.com

 

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Connecting HR Professionals

Take a look at what HR are saying about Ashley Kate HR!

Carrie Fletcher have recently worked with an HR professional and we are delighted to add details of the LinkedIn recommendation that we received from Andy Craine

“I have worked with Carrie, both as a candidate and as a client and have found her to be a very professional and customer focused recruiter. She has a very good network of HR contacts across the Region and is exceptionally good at matching a peoples skill’s to the culture of the organisation and also great a providing career advice in a changing market place. I would have no hesitation in recommending Carrie as a sounding board if you’re looking for career advice or to support your sourcing activities”.

If you would like to connect with Carrie Fletcher to discuss your current or pending HR recruitment needs then click on this link now http://www.linkedin.com/in/carriefletcher1

As well as HR recruitment Ashley Kate HR offer a number of additional services including Salary Surveys, Newsletters, HR Directors forums, Social Media groups and HR legal updates. We can also pass on significant discounts on advertising in key HR journals including People Management and discounts on online advertising.

If you or your colleagues would like to use our UK wide HR services and find out more how Ashley Kate can help you achieve your overall HR strategic objectives contact us on 0845 413 3200 or email solutions@ashleykatehr.com

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