No Going Back

The small, now defunct, local authority at which I started my career had a room termed “the bunker”; a veritable treasure trove of dusty government papers, untouched by data laws, hidden behind large metal locked doors. For young apprentices like me, a shift in the bunker was like some sort of initiation. It was here we found old sets of 1970s committee minutes.

TagTeamBlog #1 Performance Management

Blogging this week has been exactly like buses (one doesn’t come along for ages and then there’s two at once). But when the awesome energy that is one Perry Timms AKA @PerryTimms (adjusteddevelopment.wordpress.com) asked me to take part in a new blogging experiment, how could I resist? It’s the new idea I hinted at last year in my blog White Noise.

The Liminal Period

Well The New Year is finally here, the much lauded but perpetual disappointment it always is. The two-day hangover has dissipated with nothing to show for it but a bunch of half-hearted promises. Everyone’s thoroughly back in to the swing of things and Christmas is a distant dream. The prospect of a bright, fresh new start has been thoroughly dampened (quite literally) by the British weather. It hasn’t stopped raining since last year.

Rethinking Networking

One of the modules I teach involves the use of case studies to bring key Human Resources issues to life. A recent theme was learning and development, with one of the questions asking students to think about learning via networks. This generated some confusion. Isn’t networking about circulating a room, making uncomfortable small talk and handing out your business card? Where is the learning in that? 

#CIPD15 Key Themes Day Two

@hrpotential‘s lowdown on the key themes of the second and final day of #CIPD15

The right network

Linking back to yesterday’s theme of diversity driving innovation, there was a lot to be said on day two about expanding networks. But wait a minute, we do that all the time right? Maybe so, but not with the right people.

15 Shades of HR #CIPD15

First of all apologies for paraphrasing the title of what must be this century’s worst successful book, if not ever. Neither is it particularly original, but then what is? I’m more sorry that via the existence of this blog post I’m going to have to admit that I’ve read the darn thing, if only to see what all the fuss was about. 

Are you in the loop?

It is said that the generation now entering the workforce desire constant feedback and close contact with their line manager. This is something higher education is acutely aware of and is always striving to improve. In fact, part of my seminar this week involved facilitating an activity on feedback. This made me wonder why employers have not been quite as receptive.

Creative Conformity

I’m one week in to my new role and my transformation from HR practitioner to HR Lecturer. Within my first few days the stand out difference between practice and academia was revealed to me. This is the freedom to have, and explore, your own opinions. 

Change Soapbox

When I was a kid, my Nanna used to try a make a new soap by squashing together all the tiny bits of individual bars that had become too small to use on their own. I once remember seeing an advert in one of those door to door sales catalogues for a “gadget” that claimed it took the effort out of this process and really made a new soap out of the old. It never worked. As soon as you tried to use it the component soaps would fall away from the whole into their previous forms. My Nan came from a time where such resources were precious. Nowadays, rather than waste the effort, we would just throw the soap away once it becomes unusable and open a new packet.

2014: HR Year in Review

It’s time to say goodbye to 2014 and hello to 2015. This last year has certainly been an interesting one for Human Resources. After years of austerity, economic recovery finally seemed to slowly be making headway, leading to many employment issues being turned on their head.