​The employee journey and employee engagement are something we’re all going to be hearing more about over the coming months and years.  That’s because of the ‘war on talent,’ as it’s often known.  Otherwise known to us in the Hertfordshire area as #how-on-earth-do-I-fill-my-vacancies-when-there-is-such-low-unemployment-and-no-one-is-applying!
Difficulty with recruitment must be the number one bug-bear for companies in the Dacorum area.  And even if you can find someone and fill your vacancy, how do you ensure they stay with you?  There are several answers to the recruitment conundrum and the one I want to focus on this month, is employee engagement.
Companies with more than 250 UK based employees now have to include a statement about employee engagement in their annual reports.  If you’re interested in the legal bit, this is covered under the Companies (Miscellaneous Reporting) Regulations 2018.  The Regulations specify that the directors’ report must have a statement summarising how directors have engaged with employees and taken account of their interests during the year. It must also describe the action by the company taken during the financial year to introduce, maintain or develop arrangements aimed at:

​If you haven’t heard of The Good Work Plan yet, you will be hearing a lot more about it in the coming months.  It’s set to affect almost every business in the country when its policies come into force on 6 April 2020.
Dubbed ‘one of the biggest shake ups of employment law in a generation’ The Good Work Plan came about as a result of an independent review, known as the Taylor Review of Modern Working Practices in July 2017.
Most of the 53 recommendations put forward in the Taylor review were accepted in principle by the government. This resulted in a number of consultations on how these proposals could be successfully implemented and the government’s Good Work Plan is, they claim, their ‘vision for the future of the UK labour market.’

​Happy New Year!  And happy new career???  It’s the beginning of a new decade and for many of us a new job, a change of direction or even a completely new career is something we might be contemplating.  I recently read the first Emerging Jobs Report from LinkedIn.  Produced for the UK, it shines a spotlight on jobs experiencing tremendous growth - it makes for fascinating reading.  Here are some of the highlights:

​When I was working in-house, I used to advise line managers to watch out for the Christmas and Summer Holiday up-tick in resignations: that’s when people have had time away from work (either their two-week summer holiday or the two-week break over Christmas) and then return to work determined to move on, get out, make that decision to pursue something different.  Resignations and the number of leavers – or attrition as it’s often known - is one of the key metrics us HR people measure.  That’s because high attrition can be costly, and in more ways than one.  When people leave your organisation, their knowledge, skills and networks leave with them – that’s never good for business, especially when you have invested time and money to recruit and train them. 
So what would a reduction in attrition be worth to you?  I’ve put together some tips to help ensure your employees are looking forward to a long and happy future with you, rather than looking for their next role elsewhere…

​What makes your company unique or better?  Why should I buy from you?  These are some of the questions every single consumer subconsciously asks themselves before buying anything ... ever. Right now, even YOU are subconsciously asking, “Why should I listen to you? Is this article valuable to me?” as you continue to read this...
In this month’s article I’m attempting to explain why creating, articulating and communicating your Company’s core values will help you attract and retain the right people, appeal to more of your ideal customers, foster a successful company culture and grow your business faster.
Everything revolves around values, and openly sharing your values in an effort to let your employees and customers know what you stand for and what you believe in, is key.  So ask yourself the following questions:

Since 2014 everyone in the UK has had the right to request flexible working.  Many of us (87%) would like to work more flexibly and interestingly, the demand is strong across all age ranges and for both men and women.  So why is it that most jobs (89%) are still not advertised as flexible?
A concern I often hear from employers is, “we don’t want to set a precedent,” as well as apprehension about quality of work and productivity.  However, in my experience (and now through recent research completed by the CIPD and Affinity Health) there is plenty of evidence of the huge benefits of flexible working – for both employer and employee.
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The benefits of flexible working
Did you know, having flexibility can motivate us even more than financial incentives.  I know this to be true anecdotally because of all the female friends I’ve spoken to in the last 15 years who stay with their Employer following maternity leave because of the years of trust and flexibility they’ve been able to build up – which they don’t believe they will get if they moved Employer.  But flexible working shouldn’t just be limited to maternity returners.  Here are some of the benefits organisations will get from quality flexible working, which came out of the CIPD/Affinity research: 

​Every April HMRC update their minimum wage and statutory payment rates.  Here’s a quick summary and handy reference to check you’re in-line with the latest requirements.  All rates listed apply from 7 April 2019.

​I’ve followed the debates in the press over recent years about what counts as self-employed work and what doesn’t.  When I first went freelance, some eight years ago now, discussions often centred around a tax rule called IR35 and those employed in the IT sector.  More recently, there have been high-profile cases relating to Employers such as Pimlico Plumbers, Uber and Hermes and the phrase “gig economy” is usually bandied about.  Employers do ask me from time to time, about the employment status of their workers and whether they should be classed as workers, employees or consultants.  If that’s their query, I usually begin with the following questions:

The world is changing, and it's changing fast.  Have you heard of the Fourth Industrial Revolution yet?  Maybe it's my age, maybe it's the fact my eldest is in secondary school, but this topic has been pre-occupying me more and more recently.  Having attended a number of events where this and the Future of Work have been the hot topics of conversation, my blog  this month is an attempt to make sense of it all...

As I write this blog it's the beginning of February.  January went by in a whirl, so it's only now that my thoughts are turning to this question:  what are you hoping for in the rest of 2019?  If your workplace fills you with dread, here are a few handy hints to help make 2019 a more rewarding experience for all – whether you’re a manager or not.

Recent research shows that people who feel their relationship with their work supervisor is more of a partnership, as opposed to a traditional boss/worker association, are likely to report much greater life satisfaction.  And whilst