Wednesday 27 August 2008

Results of a survey by the CIPD

According to a survey released by the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD), fewer than a third of UK firms are taking on new staff and are expected to increase from 22% to 27% this year.

The number of employers planning job losses increased between the second and third quarters of this year. And the survey of 1,200 UK firms showed a big dip in work prospects compared with 37% of firms taking on staff earlier this year and 58% when the survey began in 2004.

John Philpott, chief economist at the CIPD, said: "Last December I forecast that 2008 would be the UK'S worst year for jobs in a decade. I thought there would be some growth in employment- though only a third of that enjoyed in 2006 and 2007 and not enough to present a rise in unemployment- resulting from a squeeze on recruitment and a limited increase in the number of redundancies. Although this forecast was initially considered pessimistic it now looks relatively optimistic in comparison with the prevailing mood of doom and gloom. My initial view was based on the assumption that interest rates would fall in the second half of 2008. But this has been made difficult by a bigger than anticipated spike in food and fuel prices, making the outlook for jobs worse than originally expected.

Even if we avoid the scale of jobs fallout suffered in previous downturns, the era of the candidate's recruitment market is already over, with people in work becoming increasingly anxious that their P45 might be on its way soon.

With pay pressure still subdued, mounting job insecurity is being compounded by a significant squeeze on workers' real incomes."

According to the recent study, average pay rises are expected to rise by 3.7% in the coming months, in line with recent settlements.

Author:
Chris Crawford is the MD of BD Recruitment a specialist recruiter for creative manager jobs, ppc jobs and c# jobs, based in Manchester, UK.

Friday 22 August 2008

Help to Decline in the Level of Sickness at Work

New report by the Department of Work and Pensions claim that bosses could be assisted by the department by being given grants to help sick employees return to work. This would in turn cut the level of sickness absence as well as the amount of people that are relying on incapacity benefits.

The Department of Work and Pensions reveals that around 90% of people that have health problems would be able to return to work earlier if there was some intervention in illnesses, along with the work place becoming much more accommodating, allowing more support for retuning to work and the temporary provision of modified work.

The official review looks closely into vocational rehabilitation, simple measures, as well as more structured support for employees who need extra help, this could reduce the amount of long term sickness absence. It could also reduce the number of employees on incapacity benefits by up to 60%.

James Purnell, the Secretary for the Work and Pensions Department, commented on the review stating that their radical proposals to change the welfare system are created to make sure that people can stay at or return to work if they re able to. The evidence from the review shows how getting back to work can be an important step to the recovery of employees.

Author:
Chris Crawford is the MD of BD Recruitment a specialist recruiter for creative jobs, marketing jobs and technical IT jobs, based in Manchester, UK.

Monday 18 August 2008

CIPD Conference

With the economic downturn being the focus for this year’s Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD) conference it’s a must for all businesses. With 5,000 HR professionals to meet and network with, 300 exhibitors and the opportunity to book an appointment in advance with key suppliers it’s worth a visit if you are a recruiter or just looking for a career change.

You can find advice and solutions to all your HR needs from talent management to organisational development and there will be speciality zones to help you find your way.

The Conference will take place at the Harrogate International Centre from Tuesday 16th of September until Thursday 18th of September. It will be open to everyone from 9.30am-5pm.

Seminars that will take place include;

· Surviving and Thriving through Turbulence: views from the top with Carolyn McCall, chief executive from the Guardian Media Group (GMG) and David Robinson, chairman from Richer Sounds.

· Leading through Turbulence: the power of courageous leaders with Octavius Black.

· How to Get Engaged at Work: developing successful leaders and cultures with Beverly Alimo-Metcalfe, professor of leadership from the University of Bradford School of Management, Emeritus professor of leadership studies at the University of Leeds and chief executive at Real World Group.

· Performance Management with Stephen Sidebottom, head of HR Europe at Nomura International, and Stephen Moir, Director of people and policy from Cambridgeshire County Council.

To find out more information about the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development conference visit their website www.cipd.co.uk

Author:
Chris Crawford is the MD of BD Recruitment a specialist recruiter for web development jobs, ppc jobs and .net developer jobs, based in Manchester, UK.

Tuesday 12 August 2008

Pauillac Gironde Latour Reprieve

Grand cru Château Latour vineyards in Pauillac Gironde FranceA reprieve from work: Château Latour's vineyards... heaven?

Monday 11 August 2008

Vulnerable Workers

Business leaders have breathed a sigh of relief after a crackdown on rogue employers of vulnerable workers announced today did not include new laws.

The strategy instead features a telephone helpline for vulnerable workers to report abuses, and a £6m information campaign to raise awareness of employment rights as reported in personneltoday.com.

The Vulnerable Worker Enforcement Forum made recommendations which included representatives from business, unions, recruiters and the government.

Neil Carberry, head of employment at the CBI, said; "This report is good news for law-abiding employers. Britain has a strong framework of employment rights and it is where these laws are flouted that employees are open to exploitation. New laws and regulations do little to tackle unscrupulous firms, who simply ignore the law while they undercut law- abiding businesses. This package of reforms will not increase the burden for honest businesses, but will help protect workers who are being denied their employment rights".

The new Fair Employment Enforcement Board, chaired by the employment relations minister Pat McFadden, will co-ordinate the work of the government enforcement agencies covering minimum wage, health and safety, employment agencies and gang masters.

Among the new measures is the induction of a telephone helpline to report abuses to government workplace enforcement agencies. The Employment Agencies Standards Inspectorate is to be strengthened by doubling the number of its inspectors by the end of July 2009 and have its profile raised significantly, while BERR (The department for Business, Enterprise & Regulatory Reform) will also introduce stronger penalties for agency offences. As part of the crack down, agencies are being encouraged to share more information.

Pat McFadden said: "There are still dark corners of the labour market where rogue employers seek to mistreat their workers and more needs to be done to safeguards people's rights. We want to prevent unscrupulous employers who undercut honest competition and prey on people who are fearful or so desperate to earn a living that they are open to exploitation. It is vital we boost awareness of employment rights and ensure those rights are properly enforced".

Author:
Chris Crawford is the MD of BD Recruitment, a specialist recruiter for copywriter jobs, sem jobs and web programmer jobs, based in Manchester, UK.

Re-Think Redundancies

Employers need to retain staff to see out the economic downturn, according to Hull based human resources consultant Rob Coates; The Managing Director of Willerby Hill.

Rob's Comments are supported by a recent study by Deloitte Touche, which concludes that 2008 is the year when there will be more jobs than people to fill them.

Coates claims that staff expertise and skills are needed most during a downturn to see companies through it. He said "Apart from depriving yourself of prized assets that may be vital to weather hard times, you could be delivering competitive advantage to business rivals by letting go high calibre players whose training and development you financed."

"The fact is that, whatever the short to medium-term trends, the UK workforce is aging and shrinking rapidly, with decent staff increasingly aware of their value and far more ambitious. As such, the employment market is more predatory than ever before and businesses should be positioning themselves as top employers in their sector and geographic area so that they attract and retain the best workers."

Yet still it seems that too many companies are taking the knee-jerk reaction of streamlining three vital areas: marketing, training and staff- with the impact of redundancy invariably echoing long after people have departed. As the morale of the surviving staff is then low and they are feeling insecure they then start to seek alternative opportunities – which then in turn leads to more staff losses.

Rob says that even if business is doing well and there doesn't seem to be any plans to make redundancies then communication and transparency are vital in the face of the slowdown. This way everyone knows what's happening around them and they are kept in the picture.

Author:
Chris Crawford is the MD of BD Recruitment, a specialist recruiter for web development jobs, seo jobs and .net developer jobs, based in Manchester, UK.

Frustrated Employees

According to new research conducted by the global management consultancy Hay Group: one in five UK workers are frustrated in their current jobs. 20% of the UK workforce felt frustrated by their work, while 35% think their job does not make the best use of their skills and abilities and 50% believe that they lack the authority to make decisions crucial to their jobs.

The majority of people at work are aligned with corporate goals and objectives and enthusiastic about making a difference- but they are held back by roles that do not suit them or work environments that get in their way. "Frustrated" employees represent a real lost opportunity for organisations. From a motivational perspective, business leaders have these employees where they want them. Where strong motivation to succeed is not paired with similar levels of support, employees are likely to either tune out or leave.

The report also showed that 56% of senior managers fail to generate a high-performance climate, while 41% thought managers were guilty of creating a de-motivating climate for employees.

Ben Hubbard, regional director (Europe, Middle East, Africa) at Hay Group’s employee survey division, said: "The frustrated employee phenomenon poses a major risk and a significant opportunity. With fierce competition for the most talented employees, companies' efforts to engage their people will be wasted if not backed by a supportive and enabling environment".

According to a report written by hay group there are several ways in which organisations can help beat the employee "frustration":

· Performance Management: By clarifying personal goals and priorities enables performance by allowing employees to focus on essential, value-added tasks. Likewise, by continually 'raising the bar,' ongoing feedback about performance helps ensure that employees are using their full capability.

· Authority and empowerment: Where employees have appropriate autonomy and discretion, they are better able to structure their working patterns to suit the way that they work best. And, by managing how they work, employees are more likely to find opportunities to leverage their skills and abilities fully in their jobs.

· Available resources: An enabling environment requires that employees have the information and resources (e.g tools, equipment, supplies) needed to do their jobs effectively.

· Training: In an enabling environment, employees are provided with job-related training to ensure they have the knowledge and skills necessary to carry out key tasks and deal effectively with internal and external customers. Appropriate training, which can turn potential into productivity, is also essential to ensure that organisations get the most from the abilities of their employees.

Author:
Chris Crawford is the MD of BD Recruitment, a specialist recruiter for creative account manager jobs, marketing account manager jobs and technical project manager jobs, based in Manchester, UK.