Insights

Every absence needs to be carefully monitored and managed. While it’s impossible to expect that human beings will have no days off work, you can still try to minimise absence levels to cut disruption to your business. Yet, some absences are trickier than others. Coughs, colds, bugs and diseases are all standard issues, but more serious health conditions – physical or mental – might well need a more careful and…

HR is all about looking after the people in an organisation – and it’s tricky to do that if you don’t understand what makes them tick. By taking time to consider the motivation of different people in the workforce, you can appreciate why they act and react the way they do when confronted with challenges at work. While it’s tempting to focus on a typical desk-based office jobs, the modern…

Every workforce has to face up to the impact of sickness at some point. Illness is a fact of life and, while businesses can do all they can to mitigate this, they won’t be able to eliminate it entirely. HR must play a proactive role in monitoring and managing sickness and that means facing a series of questions. It’s important that businesses have the answers to put the mind of their…

Flexible working is becoming an increasingly popular topic of discussion. It’s no wonder when studies show just one third of UK workers are happy with their work-life balance, but a mere 6% of job adverts promote flexible working. Employers have, perhaps understandably, found it tough to ditch the nine-to-five norm. However, a flexible working policy managed appropriately can only be a positive thing for a modern working environment in the digital economy.…

Wellbeing is a topic that is increasingly being taken seriously by workplaces across the UK. In 2016, fewer than a third of businesses had their own wellbeing strategy – a number that had jumped to 45% by the following year. It won’t be long until those without such a strategy will stand out as the exception. But businesses shouldn’t just look to jump on the bandwagon because it’s becoming fashionable. There are…

Annual leave plays an important part in keeping your employees happy and healthy – but it can be tricky to manage. You need to ensure people are clear about what their holiday allowance is and work with team leaders to make sure that leave is taken in a way that doesn’t impact productivity. This guide offers some top tips on how to manage annual leave for your staff so that everyone is…