News & Press

There has long been a concern about HR's capability to deliver against its promise of being more business attuned, more strategic in orientation and able to add more value to their organisation and its performance. As business/organisational conditions have become more difficult over the last few years, the delivery challenge has intensified. In particular HR's change management skills are being fully tested. The distinction between what HR, learning and development and OD do has been blurred in the search for greater organisational effectiveness. It is no longer good enough to say that OD does change, learning and development does training and HR manages the exits, there has to be an integrated contribution to enhance people management during these troubled times.

It's that time of year again when the Christmas parties start to fill up our diaries. The office Christmas party is often a popular way of thanking staff for their hard work over the year, but for some, the December merry-go-round of celebrations can be part of a damaging corporate hangover, implying hard drinking is normal behaviour and resulting in workers coming into work suffering the after-effects of excessive drinking, which, in turn, reduces their productivity.

Social media is much on everyone's minds at the moment; Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter have become everyday communication tools for many of us, not only in our private lives, but also in our working lives. This throws up certain challenges for HR, some practical and some ethical, mostly linked to the blurring of the boundaries between work and private life.