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Employee wellbeing is now an accepted business factor

Thank you to Lisbeth Claus at The HR Congress for raising this central dilemma within HR – a tightrope that HR practitioners walk every day. The pandemic has brought to the surface the financial versus human dilemma like never before. Employee wellbeing is now accepted as a factor in business results. Intellectually, that is. It’s in the day-to-day that […]

Feel like an imposter?

Imposter syndrome has absolutely nothing to do with capability, or the way others see us – only how we think we are seeing ourselves. Many of the most effective leaders I’ve coached have suffered from imposter syndrome. It has absolutely nothing to do with capability, or the way others see us. Only how we think […]

What’s the most unhelpful feedback you have received?

‘If you want to be taken seriously as a manager, you need to be less girly’ is the most unhelpful feedback I ever received. Not only was it tied up with my gender, it was also so unspecific it gave me nothing to work on. I had my hair cut shorter and wore my skirts […]

HR people still have to make a business case for common sense

HR people still have to make a business case for common sense This caught my eye. Not just the statistic, but the common sense that follows. ‘What’s their secret to retaining talent?’ asks Neel Gandhi of the companies not suffering ‘at a time when attrition is increasing on a global scale.’ The answer, he says, ‘may lie […]

HR still has to explain what HR does

HR still has to explain what HR does and how it relates to the business strategy This neat summary from the Gartner 2022 HR Operational Playbook points towards more pace and sharper focus. Both depend upon HR becoming closer to the business than ever before. When I’m listening to HR leaders, as a coach and in […]

Who has responsibility for how people are treated?

Who has responsibility for how people are treated? In our recent poll, 68% voted that leaders and managers SHOULD own responsibility for how people are treated. How do you think people would have voted if the question asked who DOES own that responsibility? How does this play out for you, in reality? In my work […]

What would be your reason to stay?

What would be your reason to stay? Asking people why they’re planning to stay is a far more powerful question than asking why they’re leaving Asking people why they’re planning to stay is a far more powerful question than asking why they’re leaving. You get valuable data as well as the opportunity to give a […]

HR faces fundamental dilemmas every day

HR faces fundamental dilemmas every day One of these is providing robust services while also pushing forward in the strategic direction This is a great matrix from Gartner as it clarifies one of the fundamental dilemmas that HR faces day-to-day – providing robust services while also pushing forward in the strategic direction. For the HRBP, both […]

‘Quiet quitting’ and ‘toxic behaviours’

‘Quiet quitting’ and ‘toxic behaviours’ New jargon in headlines reveals a fresh interest in what’s actually often an old topic. ‘Quiet quitting’ and ‘toxic behaviours’ – new jargon in headlines reveals a fresh interest in what’s actually often an old topic. In this case, it’s what happens in that crucial relationship between people and their […]

What is Agile HR?

Think of the most frustrating part of your job, and/or the thing that your stakeholders complain about most – and imagine how great it would feel to fix it. What would be at the top of your list of hassle factors that you’d like to sort out? Here are some of the things that I’ve […]