We recently presented a webinar on the key findings from our 2012 State of HR Survey. Use the link to listen to:

• Presenteesim – What is it? How common is it? What do you need to do about it?
• Employee engagement - Why are engagement strategies falling and what are the implications?
• Employee Health and wellbeing – is this really such a low HR priority? What does that mean for your business? How are you exposed?
• Running lean workforces – is it sustainable? What are the knock on effects? What are the short and long term costs?
• Talent management – Where should your HR resources be allocated? Does talent management actually make a difference?
• HR metrics – What do you need? What is really useful?
• Will metrics change the HR value proposition?

Today, we have created a new International Human Resources Management Academy (IHRMA) with Cornell University’s School of Industrial and Labor Relations (ILR).  The academy, which will meet at least twice a year in New York City and London, is designed to be a forum for sharing cutting edge academic research, and new knowledge and ideas with HR leaders. In so doing, it will provide insight and understanding into highly demanding, strategically critical, current global HR management issues.

The 2012 forums include the following themes:

• Globalisation, global firms & emerging management challenges
• Changing HR paradigms and global value chains
• The changing role of global HR and the CHRO
• Developing international HR strategy, metrics & analytics and ROI
• Managing major organisational change across international boundaries
• Leveraging talent within the global organisation
• Organisational innovation and HRM
• People risk & reward in an international context
• Managing internationally mobile, remote and virtual teams

In participating in the International HRM Academy, participants will be exposed to new knowledge as it is being created as many of the speakers will present ongoing research and practice. In this way, participants will become part of a diverse learning community of like-minded professionals from organisations with a truly global footprint, sharing knowledge, experience and expertise.

A fascinating insight into why people need purpose and meaning in their work, even bankers. This resignation letter from a senior exec at Goldman Sachs speaks volumes about how firms can undermine their ability to create a healthy and sustainable organisation by allowing corporate culture to skew from original ideals and values. We only have to remember Enron and Andersen to see where such toxic culture can eventually lead.

“Employees were more engaged when they believed HR practices  were motivated by the organization’s concern for high-quality service and employee well-being.”

In this study Lisa Nishii, ILR associate professor at Cornell University examines the extent to which employees’ attitudes and behavior, both at the individual and unit level, are shaped by their beliefs of the motivations driving HR practices—why HR does what it does.

Drawing on ground breaking new research, our next workshop will explore how
employees react to organisational turmoil and what factors can predict whether employees respond positively to major organisational change. Using insights and evidence arising from a major international acquisition, the workshop will look at what firms should do to keep employees engaged in a pre and post change environment. It will also identify lessons on what effective HR interventions can be developed during and after reorganisation, and other significant organisational change.

Contact: stuart.woollard@kcl.ac.uk

Employee health and wellbeing is eroding yet firms do not seem aware of the implications on their business or people

We have once again partnered with law firm Speechly Bircham to conduct our fourth annual in-depth survey of HR directors and senior HR professionals across the UK. The survey provides a unique perspective on the issues which businesses across all sectors have faced during the last 12 months and what challenges will be on HR agendas for 2012. The full report can be accessed through the link.

A survey report by Dr Mike Clinton at King’s provides interesting insights into people management challenges within Church of England clergy. The highest levels of engagement “were most likely to be found where self efficacy (confidence) was high, where clergy have a more proactive personality, have been ordained more recently, and have an intellectually challenging role in which they receive useful feedback on how well they are performing and are relatively free to make decisions.”

“Despite the attention paid by firms to tracking turnover and, to a lesser
extent, understanding why it may happen, there is much less work being done to truly understand the cost of losing and replacing staff. In fact, given the magnitude of the potential costs involved the lack of focus
on this issue is quite astonishing…”