Hr Network Volume 19 Issue 3

Review of 2022 Review of 2022 A tumultuous

an experience, like no other

Our newly renovated showroom is open and ready to be rediscovered. We recently embarked on an incredible transformation to create a space that celebrates heritage whilst innovating with contemporary design.

COVER STORY

Review of 2022: A tumultuous year!

Scottish HR faced some incredible new challenges in 2022. Post-Covid recovery, world events, skills shortages, a cost of living crisis and a stormy UK political scene ensured practitioners’ work was cut out. Andy Moore looks back at the key topics Hr NETWORK Magazine featured during a tumultuous year.

Sean Morris Navigator Employment Law

Employment Law Update: ICO resources for HR teams using workers’ personal data p. 14

Mike Eriksen Agilis Health

Insight: Being an employer who cares will be your biggest investment in 2023 p. 42

Lynne Connolly

Insight: Support from Maggie’s while working with cancer p. 43

Max Ertl DocuWare

Insight: HR Trends for 2023 p. 44

Kjell Mathisen Aviator

Insight: Learning Culture p. 45 Susan DeFazio Be Future Ready Today MyLinkedIn p. 46

Founder and Publisher: Lee Turner lee@hrnetworkscotland.co.uk

Senior Associate Editor: Andy Moore editor@hrnetworkscotland.co.uk

Deputy-Editor: Teresa Flannigan editor@hrnetworkscotland.co.uk

Editor-At-large: Neil Archibald editor@hrnetworkscotland.co.uk

Editor’s Assistant/Admin: Marion Robertson editor@hrnetworkscotland.co.uk

Advertising/Sponsorship: Donna Turner advertising@hrnetworkscotland.co.uk

Design: Media Avenue Ltd

Hr NETWORK now available on: LinkedIn: uk.linkedin.com/in/ hrnetwork1 Twitter: www.twitter.com/ HrNETWORKNews

YouTube: www.youtube.com/ user/hrnetworkscotland

Media Avenue Limited 18 Young Street, Edinburgh, EH2 4JB 0131 625 3267 www.hrnetworkjobs.com www.mediaavenue.co.uk

The views expressed in Hr NETWORK (SCOTLAND) are those of invited contributors and not necessarily those of Media Avenue Ltd. Media Avenue Ltd does not endorse any goods or services advertised, or any claims or representations made in any advertisement in Hr NETWORK (SCOTLAND) magazine and accepts no liability to any person for loss or damage suffered as a consequence of their responding to, or placing reliance upon any claim or representation made in any advertisement appearing in Hr NETWORK (SCOTLAND)magazine. Readers should make appropriate enquiries and satisfy themselves before responding to any such advertisement or placing reliance upon any such claim or representation. By so responding or placing reliance readers accept that they do so at their own risk. © Media Avenue Ltd. 2023.

January 2023

Welcome to our January 2023 issue of Hr NETWORK magazine and we wish all our readers, contributors, advertisers and sponsors a very Happy New Year and we look forward to continuing to work with you and support you during 2023.

Following the great recovery of our own from the impact of the pandemic, we were delighted to host the 15th Hr NETWORK Awards Gala Dinner in partnership with Roffey Park Institute in November, with guest numbers returning to almost pre-pandemic levels of 700+ guests and it was quite a night!!

The feedback from finalists and eventual winners, as well as all our sponsors and guests from the Gala Dinner has been absolutely wonderful and plans are well underway to make sure that we can repeat this amazing event again in November 2023, with even bigger numbers.

Following last year’s move to the magnificent BT Murrayfield Stadium in May for the annual Hr NETWORK Conference & Exhibition, our

‘People-First Culture’ themed Conference & Exhibition 2023 will once again take place at the home of Scottish Rugby on Thursday 11th May, featuring an impressive range of award winning organisations who have realised the huge benefits for their organisation, when putting people before profits.

Our Conference Planning Team is currently pulling everything together to make this our biggest and best Conference yet and aim to make people feel connected and inspired and by attending, can realise the amazing benefits that come from the many networking opportunities too.

Hr NETWORK Awards Gala Dinner 2023

We are very excited at the prospect of hosting the 2023 Gala Dinner again in November with most of last year’s sponsors already indicating their intention to sponsor the awards categories again and we already have a large number of organisations confirming their intention to host a Table of 10 again in 2023. We are extremely grateful to all our sponsors and table hosts for their wonderful and continued support again this year. If you would like to join us at the Gala Dinner with your guests, please contact the Awards Planning Team as soon as possible.

This Issue

With the tumultuous year we had in 2022, with a range of worrying global events including the war in Ukraine, the cost of living crisis at home and what seemed like an endless list of national strikes by a range of workers including rail workers, nurses, baggage handlers and barristers, in this latest online edition of the magazine Andy Moore takes a closer look at the range of topics featured in the magazine issues throughout 2022, covering a tumultuous year for HR professionals.

The regular sections of the magazine include: Stats, the Bookshop and a range of Insight features on some hot topics in the people management & development world.

I hope you enjoy your online copy of Hr NETWORK Magazine and look forward to welcoming you at our events this year

Lee Turner Publisher

Contributors: Sean Morris, Mike Eriksen, Lynne Connolly, Max Ertl, Kjell Mathisen and Susan DeFazio.

Almost 1 in 2 concerned about missing their mortgage repayments as the cost-of-living crisis deepens

As the rising cost of living continues to be felt keenly throughout the country, homeowners – as well as those looking to get a foot on the property ladder – are looking for ways to better balance their budgets.

Last year, MetLife UK has conducted extensive research to explore how people feel about financial protection. As part of this, MetLife explored how UK households would cope with personal financial crises, as well as how their concerns have changed in the past year as the cost-ofliving crisis has developed.

MetLife surveyed homeowners, together with people in the process of taking out a mortgage, to understand their financial situations, and what they would do if something unexpected happened.

Rich Horner, Head of Individual Protection at MetLife UK commented: “The Chancellor made it crystal clear that tough decisions are necessary to keep mortgage rates down. However, there are still real pressure points

70% of HR professionals highlight the cost of living crisis as their biggest challenge for 2023

Latest research by employment law and HR consultancy firm, WorkNest has found that 70% of HR professionals have highlighted the cost of living as their most significant challenge for 2023.

This was closely followed by retention (69%) and recruitment (55%). A third of those questioned also see skills shortages (34%) as a significant HR challenge next year, and employee engagement (24%).

Echoing this, half (50%) of HR professionals believe retention will be the stage of the employee lifecycle in which they will face the most challenges in 2023, followed by recruitment (44%).

affecting potential first-time buyers and current homeowners that need addressing quickly.

“For those with a mortgage, many are starting to see their monthly repayments rise in line with rising interest rates. With the uncertainty around how high interest rates will go and the on-going pressures on the cost of living, the worry of meeting payments can be daunting. Yet just 1 in 10 are aware that for a relatively small monthly fee, they can ensure they have protection in place to cover their mortgage repayments – often the largest monthly outgoing for many.

“At a time when households are looking even more closely at their finances to ensure they keep up with household bills and payments, accessing the right mortgage protection policy, is a simple and cost-effective way to safeguard finances should a homeowner have an accident or were to become ill, and they weren’t earning their usual salary as a result. Providing that peace of mind is more important than ever.”

Interestingly, only 6% of HR professionals think the most significant challenges will come from in-life employee management (on-boarding and off-boarding). Yet if they could manage this better, then they could impact the high resignation rates and not need to face recruitment challenges.

With the cost of living crisis and the repercussions this will have throughout 2023, three-quarters (75%) of HR professionals revealed that mental health and wellbeing would be the most crucial area for HR to support employees over the next 12 months.

This was followed by performance management (50%), diversity, equality and inclusion (48%) and hybrid and flexible working (48%). Other areas also mentioned by HR professionals included financial wellbeing and cost of living.

Being efficient is essential, and HR professionals want to help streamline their processes further with secure HR platforms and having a solid budget to help them achieve their goals. Almost three in 10 (29%) respondents revealed their HR technology budget will increase in 2023, while 37% said their budget would stay the same next year.

Ill health is having an enormous impact on UK businesses.

The latest data released from Health and Safety England shows that over 35 million working days were lost to ill health in 2021/22.

The data also revealed that over 1.8 million work-related ill health cases were reported in this same period.

“With NHS waiting times now up to 18 weeks, we’ve got a serious health issue on our hands. And it’s affecting UK businesses more than we think,” says Bertrand Stern Gillet, CEO of Health Assured.

We know that poor mental health alone cost UK employers up to £56 billion in 2022, which has increased 25% in the past three years.”

Absence rates are also rising, with an estimated 149.3 million working days lost to sickness or injury in the UK in 2021.

In fact, according to figures from HR software company BrightHR, absence rates have surged by 39% in 2022 in comparison with 2018.

Poor health is increasingly becoming a workplace issue. So, what is the solution to this growing concern?

Bertrand suggests: “If more employers invest in mental health and wellbeing services, they will be widely accessible to the majority of people across the UK, and this has a multitude of benefits.”

“Greater access to wellbeing services reduces the pressure on our National Health Service, improves individual recovery rates, and lessens the impact of ill health in the workplace.”

“With an Employee Assistance Programme (EAP), employers can see a return on investment of £8 for every £1 spent. So not only are you contributing to greater employee wellbeing, but you are also reducing absences, improving productivity, and boosting morale, all of which have financial benefits.”

“In the current landscape, when staff retention and cost-cutting have arguably never been so important for employers to prioritise, it makes sense to invest in an EAP where employees and their families have access to round-the-clock support in relation to all life’s challenges

“A widespread adoption of such a programme has the potential to improve worsening health statistics, where both employers and employees reap the reward.”

Half of employers do not report on the number of employees with disabilities

Forty-six percent of employers do not report on the number of disabled people they employ, according to research from GRiD, the industry body for the group risk protection sector. Although the Government has yet to make this mandatory, it is committed to reducing the disability employment gap, and GRiD believes that it can be useful for employers to understand their numbers in order to focus on helping those with long-term health conditions and disabilities to enter and stay in their business.

Katharine Moxham, spokesperson, Group Risk Development (GRiD) said: “If and when reporting is made mandatory, it is likely to be for larger corporates initially, but all employers need to have an understanding of the number of people they employ with a disability or long-term health condition as the perceived wisdom is that what gets reported gets done.

“However, there is likely to always be under-reporting as not all disabilities are immediately obvious - employers may believe that they have a good grasp on how many people with a disability they employ but those with a ‘non-visible’ or ‘hidden’ disability, such as a mental health condition, diabetes, or autism, could be overlooked –and many employees don’t want to disclose their condition or don’t see themselves as having any particular need that shouldn’t be addressed by their employer wanting to ensure that everyone they employ is enabled to do the best that they can.”

Of those businesses that do currently collect information on the proportion of people with disabilities in their workforce, a third (33%) do so to inform diversity and inclusion (D&I) practices and initiatives. A further 30% use the data to track progress made on their initiatives, 17% do so to inform recruitment practice, and 16% do so to inform talent management practice. In fact, 68% agree that transparency on disability reporting in the workplace could help to reduce the disability employment gap by leading to more inclusive practices. Under the Equality Act 2010, employers must make reasonable adjustments to support disabled job applicants and employees. This means ensuring people with disabilities or long-term health conditions can overcome any substantial disadvantages they may have in applying for, or doing, a job and progressing in work.

Boards are looking for HR skills going into 2023

The ability to drive transformation will be the top HR skill valued by businesses in 2023, according to a new report, which also cites leadership effectiveness, talent and culture as key priorities.

BIE Executive, the executive recruitment and talent advisory firm, surveyed almost 200 HR leaders including CPOs, HRDs and Heads of Talent, from firms such as ASOS, KPMG, TalkTalk, BT and Ocado, to understand the key strategies for top businesses going into 2023.

The report, ‘Shaping the Workforce of the Future: People, Culture and Talent’, shows the HR function has developed at pace for 61% of organisations since the pandemic. More than half (58%) said that boards are now looking to the HR department to drive transformation, and that this skill will be most indemand in the coming year.

The report showed HR leaders driving significant change across organisations, including the implementation of innovative working practices, technology solutions, productivity and ROI, along with an expectation on HR teams to contribute to commercial decision-making.

Most welcome the changes and feel that HR is now more credible and respected (62%), visible and recognised (67%), and more influential (63%). But others report that “the workload has increased,” and that “there’s less traditional HR work and more transformation so we’ve been experiencing a real push around the capabilities of the team.” In addition, they cite the “need to be ready to constantly evolve and seek out new ways to add value.”

BIE Executive’s Managing Director, HR, Emma-Claire Kavanagh, said: “The shifting priorities for HR towards transformation and leadership came through very clearly in our research, and this is backed up in our daily practice. The businesses we’re speaking with are increasingly looking for people to come and sit at the table to challenge them and to help them to grow, and to shape their business to focus on their people. It’s not the transactional side of HR that they’re worried about - it’s that top-level strategic repositioning.”

It seems the complexity of HR’s role in the business is increasing, with senior HR professionals stepping outside of their traditional function and contributing to other areas, including ESG (49%), Operations (45%) and commercial/sales (26%).

New research explores the top practical approaches for HR to boost employee engagement in 2023

The past few years of prolonged uncertainty and disruption has had a significant impact on employees and HR leaders today. The report findings reflect this change and reveal a significant disconnect between employers and employees when it comes to engagement. A minority of employees rate the physical (32%), mental (39%) and financial (28%) wellbeing support from their employers as ‘good’ or ‘excellent’. However, the majority of employers believe they are excelling in this area. With over 2 in 5 employees frequently experiencing burnout, the report highlights science-based, practical strategies to boost overall wellbeing and increase employee engagement, in turn mitigating employee burnout.

The research findings of 1,015 employees and 250 HR managers in the UK show that wellbeing benefits are imperative to re-engage staff today, given that 24% of UK employees state they are no longer going above and beyond at work. Moreover, 72% of employees say that their workplace wellbeing would improve if they were simply thanked and recognised more frequently for their hard work, as a lack of recognition can trigger a sense of pointlessness at work.

Almost half of UK employees say that they frequently experience feelings of overwhelm, driven by the current ‘war for talent,’ constant adjustments to life postpandemic, and ever-increasing inflationary pressures. With 72% of employees stating that they have felt a lasting negative effect from the last few years of constant upheaval and uncertainty, there is a clear gap in expectations for improvement when it comes to wellbeing support.

Reward Gateway’s report brings to light specific, practical ways HR managers and senior executives can re-engage their workforce in 2023, citing the four R’s: Revive, Remind, Recharge and Recognise. This framework encourages employees to think about why they decided to accept their job in the first place, and to remind them of all the benefits and support available to them beyond the paycheque.

There’s been no shortcut to this point, but you did it! Your new job is a reality. Your thoughts now turn to how you make the right impact from day one.

Your First 90-Day Roadmap™ allows you to manage your entry into a new role. It provides a structure that will help you get started, enhance your chances of success and saves you time.

Visit www.befutureready.today and find it in Roadmaps.

Nearly a third of employers have no plans to offer fertility support

Thirty-one per cent of employers have no plans to offer fertility support, according to new research undertaken during September 2022 by digital health app, Peppy. Peppy believes this approach may have a detrimental impact on an employer’s ability to both attract and retain staff of child-bearing age, as well as reflect poorly on their overall brand.

Conversely, 39% of employers have either always had employee benefits in place that support staff with their reproductive health, or have put them in place in the past 12 months, but that leaves a significant number of employees without adequate support for their fertility journey now.

Francesca Steyn, Director of Fertility & Women’s Health Services of Peppy said: “Up until recently, there has been very little support available for employers to offer people on a fertility journey but when one in six people in the UK are affected it’s very much needed. Employers need to recognise that they must be on the front foot when it comes to supporting employees in this area.”

Workplace fertility support can cover many areas, including IVF, family planning and adoption through to conditions such as endometriosis that can affect fertility.

Francesca Steyn continued: “Employers who provide genuine family-friendly support from fertility through to birth and beyond, and help their staff feel confident and comfortable discussing these issues will create a caring and inclusive environment – one in which staff are more likely to want to return to after starting their family.”

Fertility issues can wreak havoc on the lives of individual employees, and become all-consuming physically and emotionally when their journey doesn’t go to plan. The result is that employees can become distracted, depressed and isolated, which can also potentially make them less productive. Being supported lifts that burden and can also engender loyalty and engagement in the long term. It also helps companies recruit and retain this important demographic, saving the cost and disruption of finding and training new people.

More ethical businesses are more unlikely to experience unethical employee behaviour

Despite a growing trend for more ethical investment, Rotterdam School of Management, Erasmus University (RSM) has uncovered eight unethical effects that can sneak in, even when organisations are doing their best to act ethically.

Muel Kaptein, Professor of Business Ethics and Integrity Management, has looked at how a good organisation can facilitate employees’ unethical behaviour.

This surprising outcome is due to four forces that threaten the ‘good’ organisation, which become stronger when as it becomes more ethical—upward, downward, backward, and forward forces.

Each of these directions has two corresponding effects that can arise when organisations actively become more ethical. And each one of them could increase the likelihood of unethical behaviour.

“It helps to know that unethical behaviour isn’t always caused by bad people and bad organisations, and an understanding of these effects and how they come

about can help society to change the way ethical standards are set, regulated, inspected and evaluated. Sometimes the unethical effects come from good people in good organisations – and this insight might help to soften evaluations of unethical practices within and by organisations,” says Professor Muel Kaptein.

Delivering a timely warning to business leaders, this research even considers if well-meaning attempts to impose ethical values on investment and consumption might be the cause of the problem. Professor Kaptein has already presented his model of these threatening effects to regulators, compliance officers and managers. They all recognised them, and some described their own examples of the eight effects that lead to negative – and sometimes devastating – outcomes. Perhaps this research is a warning for everyone to watch out for these threatening effects.

The research, A Paradox of Ethics: Why People in Good Organizations do Bad Things published in Journal of Business Ethics.

Jaguar Land Rover announces drive to recruit skilled workers from the digital technology industry

Jaguar Land Rover has recently announced a global hiring drive to fill more than 800 new digital and engineering vacancies across the UK, Ireland, USA, India, China and Hungary, as it seeks to recruit skilled workers from the digital technology industry.

Following the news of large-scale job losses from technology firms, Jaguar Land Rover is opening a new jobs portal for displaced workers from the tech industry to explore career opportunities, offering hybrid-working patterns.

Available roles span Autonomous Driving, Artificial Intelligence, Electrification, Cloud Software, Data Science, Machine Learning and many more, as the company becomes a digital-first and data-driven organisation.

These skills are essential to developing, building and repairing Jaguar Land Rover’s next generation of cars

that will epitomise beauty and modern luxury, while delivering for clients a fully connected experience.

Anthony Battle, Chief Information Officer at Jaguar Land Rover, commented: “We are further strengthening our data and digital skills base so we can deliver our Reimagine strategy and become an electric-first business from 2025 and achieve carbon net zero by 2039.

“Our digital transformation journey is well underway but being able to recruit highly skilled digital workers is an important next step. We are pleased to be able to provide opportunities to talented individuals with digital capabilities.”

Dave Nesbitt, Digital Product Platform Director at Jaguar Land Rover said: “Jaguar Land Rover is transforming to an electric-first business, and we are creating some of the most digitally advanced vehicles ever seen. Through our products we will create new experiences, new levels of intimacy and connected car services for our customers, to give our clients a true modern luxury experience.”

Through its Reimagine strategy, Jaguar Land Rover is at the forefront of the rapidly changing automotive industry with a focus on electrification, digital services and data. The company is focused on enhancing its in-house data capability, which is crucial to its digital transformation to deliver clients a modern luxury

Agilis Health’s comprehensive suite of occupational health services cover the complete spectrum of work-related health issues,

•

•

•

•

•

•

•

agilishealth.co.uk/occupational-health

NEW ICO RESOURCES FOR HR TEAMS USING WORKERS’ PERSONAL DATA

By Sean Morris Navigator Employment Law

In 2023, one of the biggest challenges facing HR professionals will be keeping up-to-speed with new guidance on handling workers’ personal data. In October 2022, ICO25 - the Information Commissioner’s Office three-year action plan - was finalised.

The regulator also opened consultation on new draft guidance, the initial stages of an ongoing project to replace its Employment Code of Practice with an online hub of UK GDPRfocused resources – a one-stop shop for organisations and workers to answers questions about handling personal data.

New ICO draft guidance: Monitoring and Using Workers’ Health Information

Monitoring includes:

Monitoring includes:

• Checks on a worker’s electronic devices (such as access controls or timekeeping checks on their computers, laptops, mobile phones).

• Technologies which enable workplace vehicle tracking (such as dash-cams).

• Video surveillance (such as CCTV or wearable cameras used for the purpose of health and safety).

The new ICO draft guidance covers occasional monitoring, where introduced as a short-term measure for a fixed time period or specific need (for example, installing cameras to Investigate suspected theft). But it also covers situations where all workers are monitored as a matter of course (using software to monitor productivity or security, for instance).

Post-Covid, remote working remains commonplace, and in situations where workers outside an organisation’s premises accesses sensitive commercial or personal data, appropriate security arrangement may involve a degree of monitoring. The ICO’s draft guidance reminds organisations to keep in mind that workers’ expectations of privacy are likely higher at home than in the workplace. In addition, there is an increased risk of an organisation capturing family and private life information, which should be factored into planning and decision making around such monitoring.

In the draft guidance on using workers’ health information, key topics covered include identifying a lawful basis for processing health data, data minimisation, transparency and retention. It also discusses carrying out Data Protection Impact Assessments (DPIAs), sharing personal data with other organisations, automated decision making, as well as specialist topics such as occupational health schemes, medical examinations, genetic testing, and health monitoring.

Consultation on draft guidance on monitoring workers closes on 11 January 2023 and consultation on using workers’ health information closes on 26 January 2023. No dates have been given for when finalised guidance will be available online.

ICO Action Plan: Priorities in 2023

ICO25 set out initiatives the regulator will introduce before October 2023. A priority in the first year will be safeguarding and empowering the public, particularly the most vulnerable groups (such as children and the elderly) through a better understanding of how their personal information is used and can be accessed. At the same time, the ICO aims to bring down the burden and cost of compliance for organisations.

Among proposals to achieve those aims, the ICO plans to launch a database which publishes recommendations it has made to

organisations following audits, investigations, or complaints.

Anonymous case studies will be available online, giving examples of improved practice and best or good practice. They will also host an online forum for organisations to discuss questions about data protection compliance, acknowledging the value of knowledge sharing and networking. It is hoped this resource, moderated by the ICO, will bring together experts and help support organisations.

Other free resources likely to be welcomed by HR professionals include making available a range of ICO ‘off the shelf’ templates, checklists and products to help organisations develop proportionate privacy management programmes.

Subject Access Requests (SARs) to Increase?

Perhaps not all the ICO’s proposals will receive a warm welcome from HR professionals.

ICO25 includes plans for an online ‘Subject access request (SAR) generator’ to help individuals identify where their personal information may be held and how to request it in ways which will assist organisations to respond effectively. This tool will generate a template SAR which can be sent in, and at the same time, the organisation will receive corresponding information direct from the ICO which, it claims, will help it respond quickly and simply

to the SAR. Those requests, more often than not, are forwarded internally by organisations to HR professionals – so this new tool may mean a very busy year ahead.

Back in September, the ICO publicised enforcement actions taken against seven UK organisations which had failed in their obligations when responding to SAR. Prior to this, only once since the UK GDPR came into force in 2018 had the regulator publicised such actions. This suggests it is running out of patience with organisations who do not respond properly when individuals exercise personal data rights.

Artificial Intelligence (AI): Discrimination Implications

Another concern prioritised by the regulator is AI (Artificial Intelligence) driven discrimination. It will be investigating concerns over the use of algorithms to sift recruitment applications, which has potential to negatively impact on work opportunities of those from diverse backgrounds. Also it will look at exclusion from digital services of people with certain protected characteristics.

The Equalities and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) ECHR is supporting this work, with their Chief Executive, Marcial Boo, having contributed to the ICO’s annual conference in July. Both regulators want improved awareness in UK organisations of how the Equality Act 2010 and the UK’s Human Rights Act apply to use of personal data in relation to automated decision making and new digital software and apps for HR activities such as recruitment. While digital platforms have the potential to improve equality of opportunity, there needs to be recognition of how making services digital by default risks less favourable treatment of some groups with protected characteristics, such as age and disability.

Navigator Law will deliver training and webinars on the finalised ICO guidance when published in 2023.

Review of 2022 Review of 2022

A tumultuous year! A tumultuous year!

Scottish HR faced some incredible new challenges in 2022. Postcovid recovery, world events, skills shortages, a cost of living crisis and a stormy UK political scene ensured practitioners’ work was cut out. Andy Moore looks back at the key topics Hr NETWORK Magazine featured during a tumultuous year.

Rocky UK politics, skills shortages, the UkraineRussia conflict and the cost-of-living crisis catalysed a testing time for HR to re-evaluate its people practices.

First out of the blocks, in the January issue, we featured the Great Resignation, which prophesised that 25% of UK employees planned to leave their jobs in 2022. By the end of the year, only 15% of senior decision makers in UK businesses believe the Great Resignation did not affect them, reveals consultancy, Barnett Waddingham.

Radically-changed working environments and values have given employees a different vision on who they would like to work for – and these career aspirations are born out by a candidate-driven market - although this is now cooling off.

The UK workforce’s trend to down tools and look for alternative careers or roles was reflected in the Employee Burnout feature we published in the March issue. And despite many employees drastically changing their work patterns since March 2020, the apparent treadmill work ethic in some organisations is taking its toll on employees.

Workplace consultancy, Catalyst, discovered in global research that 92% of workers report burnout from the stress in their workplace, their Covid work experiences and/or their personal lives. Glassdoor revealed that over half of Scottish workers admit that their job regularly eats into their personal life, with burnout on the rise again.

“Burnout leads to turnover, but that can be mitigated by remote work policies and inclusive, empathic leadership,” said Catalyst President and CEO, Lorraine Hariton. “When implemented effectively, flexible work options can help organisations access more talent and less turnover, as well as increased innovation and productivity.”

Also in our March issue, the Hr Network National Awards and Gala Dinner opened for entries.

Into May, Hr NETWORK Magazine discovered how President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s tenacious leadership style can be an inspiration to Scottish practitioners, especially during difficult times. Critical leadership is pertinent to testing situations inside organisations – for example in circumstances such as redundancy, restructure and tough economic trading.

Little needs emphasising just how much HR, business leaders and employees can learn from Zelenskyy’s leadership ethos in times of adversity and in peace time too.

Effective communication in adverse times, as well in times of peace, is vital to inspire and motivate colleagues. He has remained clear and unambiguous throughout the conflict and most Ukrainians, our research discovered, find him incredibly honest.

Continuing the best practice theme, our July issue saw us feature the growing importance of Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG). We took a closer look at how Scottish business, Premier Technical Resources (PTR), embodies the process in its resourcing business. ESG can best be described as a vehicle for delivering a broad range of greener, more diverse and sociallyresponsible policies – those that organisations have strived to embody over many years.

If 2022 proved to be an eventful year for Scotland’s HR community, 2023 will keep practitioners on their toes in even more challenging ways. Last year was influenced by several events, not least when many workplaces returned to some semblance of pre-pandemic normality.

The environmental aspect considers how organisations may safeguard the environment and how its corporate policies address climate change. In turn, the social criteria examines how they manage relationships with employees, suppliers, customers and communities. Lastly, governance deals with aspects such as leadership, audits and internal controls.

As summer turned to autumn, and with the Ukraine conflict gaining momentum, we spoke with Dr Arlene Egan of Roffey Park International on the timely topic of influencing in HR.

Dr Egan revealed that when HR influences well, it can move mountains. Post pandemic, she believed the seismic shift in organisational and workforce profile, catalysed by HR as a strategic business partner with leadership, has revolutionised the profession.

“HR should have a seat at the leadership table, figuratively and literally. They must be able to inform the board about the reality of what it’s like to be a member of staff,” she explained. “The decisions we make, whether at board or executive level, must be bound in reality or they will not work and lead to higher staff turnover and a poor work culture.”

So, this was 2022 in a snapshot. From the Great Resignation to Burnout, ESG and Critical Leadership to Influencing HR – all these topics united a common theme: how vital it is for HR to adapt its personnel strategies to move with the times in 2023.

This year is set to bring a whole new set of challenges, both in economic and world event terms. But the mission, should Scottish HR choose to accept it, is to put its people first as always!

2022 – A year in HR challenges

• Stormy UK politics, skills shortages, war and the cost-of-living crisis led HR to re-evaluate its people practices.

• By the end of 2022, only 15% of senior decision makers in UK business believed the Great Resignation did not affect them.

• Over half of Scottish workers admit that their job regularly eats into their personal life, with burnout on the rise again.

• President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s bold and tenacious leadership style has been inspirational to Scottish practitioners.

• ESG enshrines and delivers a broad range of greener, more diverse and socially-responsible policies.

• When HR influences well it can move mountains. The seismic shift in organisational and workforce profile has revolutionised the profession.

Two-thirds of female-dominated professions have a gender pay gap

Most popular occupations in the UK – including those with a high proportion of women in the workforce – have a pay gap that favours men, according to new analysis.

HR systems provider Ciphr reviewed the latest gender pay gap estimates from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) to identify which female-dominated occupations (with workforces of 50,000 or more) have the widest and narrowest gender pay gaps in 2022.

The study found that around two-thirds (65%) of professions with a predominantly female workforce (where over 60% of workers are women) have gender pay gaps in favour of men – which means men are paid more per hour on average. Only 2% have no reported pay gaps, and a third have gender pay gaps in favour of women.

Popular career choices – those with the largest numbers of workers –appear the most likely to have pay disparities. Nearly three-quarters (72%) of the female-dominated occupations employing over 100,000 people in the UK have a gender pay gap in favour of men. For female-dominated occupations with workforces of over 330,000, over 8 in 10 (82%) have gender pay gaps in favour of men.

Some of the occupations with the largest gender pay gaps (and workforces over 100,000) include functional managers and directors (including town clerks, planning managers, research directors and trade union managers) and legal associate professionals (including legal assistants, litigators, data protection officers, and land registrars). The average gender pay gaps for these occupational groups are 21.3% and 16.8% respectively.

There’s also around a 12% gender pay gap for office managers and local government administrative occupations (12.5% and 12.1% respectively).

The fourth-largest profession in the UK, with over half a million full and part-time employees, is other administrative occupations – which includes numerous administrative and clerical roles. While nearly three-quarters (74%) of these workers are women, it has an 8.9% gender pay gap in favour of men.

Around two-thirds of the UK’s human resource managers and directors, bookkeepers, payroll managers and wages clerks, and records clerks and assistants, are women, yet all these job roles have a gender pay gap of nearly 7% in favour of men (6.5%, 6.9%, and 6.5% respectively).

An even greater proportion of receptionists and teaching assistants in the UK are women (89-90%), yet both these careers have a gender pay gap of 5.1% in favour of men.

Some of the other femaledominated occupations with pay gaps over 5% (and workforces of less than 100,000) include PR professionals, cleaning and housekeeping managers and supervisors, bank and post office clerks, specialist nurses, and project support officers

Nearly six million workers – around four million of which are women – are employed in female-dominated careers with a gender pay gap of 1% or higher in favour of men.

The top 10 most popular femaledominated jobs in the UK (and their gender pay gaps), ranked by the number of people employed:

1. Other nursing professionals – including nurses: 814,000 employees (0.2% gender pay gap)

2. Sales and retail assistants: 737,400 employees (2.8%)

3. Care workers and home carers: 731,100 employees (-1.0%)

4. Other administrative occupations – including admin and clerical assistants: 576,500 employees (8.9%)

5. Kitchen and catering assistants: 443,000 employees (-1.1%)

6. Nursing auxiliaries and assistants: 438,600 employees (1.4%)

7. Bookkeepers, payroll managers and wages clerks: 401,100 employees (6.5%)

8. Primary education teaching professionals: 368,500 employees (0.6%)

9. Teaching assistants: 349,100 employees (5.1%)

10. Secondary education teaching professionals: 347,900 (2.3%)

All gender pay gap data was sourced from the Office for National Statistics and is based on the provisional datasets for all employees (including full-time and part-time but not self-employed workers) released last month.

Workforce numbers, where available, were sourced from Nomis’ Annual Population Survey – January to December 2021 dataset.

International Enterprising Impactful Leading Strathclyde

The final word in business education

Our Masters programmes are consistently ranked among the best in the UK – and around the world. Our department of Work, Employment and Organisation is Scotland’s leading centre for research, knowledge exchange and professional education in human resource management and employment studies. As HRM experts, we understand the importance of providing high quality education that fits around your career:

We offer:

• A part time MSc/PGDip Human Resource Management programme which is completed in two years with classes from 1–7pm once a week.

• CIPD* approved postgraduate qualifications leading to Associate Membership.

• Cons tructive external engagement with policy makers and practitioners.

Make Strathclyde your destination.

www.strath.ac.uk/business

* CIPD is the professional body for HR and people development. SBS are proud to be offering programmes in conjunction with CIPD (previously IPD and IPM) for almost 70 years.

FORMER AEGON HR CHIEF PRESENTED WITH AWARD FOR OUTSTANDING CONTRIBUTION TO SCOTTISH HR IN Hr NETWORK NATIONAL AWARDS 2022

By Teresa Flannigan

The 15th Hr NETWORK National Awards 2022 in partnership with Roffey Park Institute took place at the hugely impressive Hilton Glasgow on Thursday 10th November 2022.

The Remembrance Day themed Annual Dinner, complete with animated falling poppies, attracted 700+ guests from the world of human resources and people development & management, showcasing fifteen award category winners from a wide range of sectors across Scotland. The annual event, the largest of its kind for HR professionals anywhere in Scotland, which normally attracts around 800 guests, recognised, acknowledged and rewarded the champions of the Scottish HR profession including: Gleneagles Hotel (Attraction & Resourcing Award) Scottish Water (Health & Wellbeing Award) and Aegon UK’s recently retired HR Director, Gill Scott was presented with the Outstanding Contribution to Scottish HR.

The flagship event for HR professionals across Scotland was hosted for the 15th time by radio & TV presenter and broadcaster Stephen Jardine, with Hr NETWORK’s founder Lee Turner paying tribute to Stephen’s commitment and professionalism over the years, with this being Stephen’s final time of hosting the Awards.

The coveted Outstanding Contribution to Scottish HR award was presented to Aegon’s recently retired HR Director following her thirty-year career at the pensions giant, with 12 years spent as their HR Director.

In his welcome address, founder of Hr NETWORK Lee Turner thanked all the sponsors and table hosts for their tremendous continued support of the Awards and reminded guests that despite an increasing number of new events and networking initiatives for HR professionals in Scotland, it is Hr NETWORK that is credited with reigniting the energy, excitement and passion back into the present day HR community, making it extremely easy for the HR profession and associated professionals to tap into the vibrant and wonderfully engaged community it is today.

Dr. Arlene Egan, CEO from principal sponsor Roffey Park Institute, expressed her thanks to Lee and the entire Hr NETWORK team and all their partners for creating such an exciting event that recognises the champions of the Scottish HR profession and looked forward to continuing the ‘great collaboration’ that exists between Roffey Park Institute and Hr NETWORK as they develop a range of exciting opportunities for the profession, over the next few years.

The chosen charity for the charity raffle draw was ‘Cancer Card’, a very committed and deserving charity at the heart of a network of patients, partners, family members, friends, employers and professionals, offering a hub to help those affected by Cancer find support and key contacts for all UK cancer support charities and services and valuable insights from the Cancer Card Community.

The charity was founded in 2017 by Jen Hardy, who was diagnosed with cancer in October 2017 after having a CT scan to find out the cause of her paralysed vocal cord. Whilst searching for cancer support, Jen noticed there was no single place to go that listed the many different services, support providers, information channels and free treats available and it was this realisation that prompted her to start Cancer Card. On the night, a staggering £10,000 was raised for the charity, which will increase by up to 25% from gift aid.

Category winners of the Hr NETWORK National Awards for 2022

are:

Learning & Development Award of the Year sponsored by:

Winner:

HR Project of the Year

Winner: Multrees Investor Services

HR Graduate of the Year sponsored by:

Webhelp UK

Winner: Sarah Lawson, Strathclyde Business School

Attraction & Resourcing Award of the Year, sponsored by:

Diversity & Inclusion Award of theYear sponsored by:

Winner:

Winner:

Corporate Responsibility Award of the Year

Winner:

HR Business Partner of the Year sponsored

Gleneagles

Business Stream

Tata Consultancy Services

by:

Winner: Rachael Tochel, Webhelp UK

Employee Engagement Award of the Year

Health and Wellbeing Award of the Year sponsored by: Winner:

Organisational Development Award of the Year sponsored

HR Team of the Year sponsored

Winner:

Winner: Zero Waste Scotland

by:

Barclays Scotland

Scottish Water

by: Winner: VisitScotland

Best

Employer/Workplace

sponsored

CEO of the Year

of the Year

HR Director of the Year sponsored by:

Further information regarding the winners and the gala dinner, including the official video and photographs from the evening can be found on our website: www. hrnetworkjobs.com

Plans are now underway for the next Hr NETWORK Awards and Gala Dinner, which will celebrate 16 years of the Hr NETWORK Awards, which promises to be even bigger and better and takes place at the Hilton Glasgow on Thursday 9th November 2023.

For further details on attending the 2023 Hr NETWORK Awards Gala Dinner taking place at the Glasgow Hilton on Thursday 9th November either as a sponsor or table host, please contact the Awards Planning Team on Tel: 0131 625 3267 or email: awards@hrnetworkscotland.co.uk

by:

Winner: Barclays Scotland

Winner: Jim Gillespie, Kibble Education & Care Centre

Winner: Kevin Staunton, Turning Point Scotland

Outstanding Contribution to Scottish HR Presented to: Gill Scott, Aegon UK (Retired)

Supporting Sponsors

Additional sponsors

BETWEEN the LINES

Spare

By Prince Harry

It was one of the most searing images of the twentieth century: two young boys, two princes, walking behind their mother’s coffin as the world watched in sorrow - and horror. As Diana, Princess of Wales, was laid to rest, billions wondered what the princes must be thinking and feeling - and how their lives would play out from that point on.

For Harry, this is that story at last.

With its raw, unflinching honesty, Spare is a landmark publication full of insight, revelation, self-examination, and hard-won wisdom about the eternal power of love over grief.

Never Finished

By David Goggins

Can’t Hurt Me, David Goggins’ smash hit memoir, demonstrated how much untapped ability we all have but was merely an introduction to the power of the mind. In Never Finished, Goggins takes you inside his Mental Lab, where he developed the philosophy, psychology, and strategies that enabled him to learn that what he thought was his limit was only his beginning and that the quest for greatness is unending. The stories and lessons in this raw, revealing, unflinching memoir offer the reader a blueprint they can use to climb from the bottom of the barrel into a whole new stratosphere that once seemed unattainable. Whether you feel off-course in life, are looking to maximize your potential or drain your soul to break through your so-called glass ceiling, this is the only book you will ever need.

How To Meet Your Self

By Dr Nicole LePera

In recent years, Dr Nicole LePera has become the leading voice in psychological self-healing, helping millions of people around the world rise out of survival mode to consciously create authentic lives they love. In her first book, How to Do the Work, Dr Nicole offered readers a revolutionary holistic framework for self-healing. Now, in How to Meet Your Self, she shares an interactive workbook designed to help every reader uncover their authentic self. We all fall into conditioned habits and patterns - products of our past - that lead to cycles of stuckness, pain, and self-destruction. But as Dr. Nicole shares, we also have the innate ability to awaken to and change the behaviours that no longer serve us, allowing us to step into the highest versions of ourselves. By objectively and compassionately observing the physical, mental, and emotional patterns that fill our days and create our current selves, we can more clearly see what we do not wish to carry into the future.

People-First Culture

The ‘People-First Culture’ theme will consider the difference that organisations can make when they put their people before their profits. Conference delegates will hear from a range of employers who have learned to prioritise the needs and requirements of their employees above all else and will show that a people-first approach boosts engagement, retention, productivity, and creativity.

Speakers from a range of award-winning organisations, who have successfully embedded a people-first approach in their organisation and have created and implemented a sustainable plan, which has not only allowed them to thrive in tough market conditions, but has also ensured that they are able to cope with future threats, including a return to working in a global pandemic, the cost of living crisis, fighting the war for talent and many other threats.

Keynote Speakers

The Conference will feature SIX keynote speakers throughout the day, which also includes a panel discussion and debate. The keynote speakers and panel members will be confirmed very soon. The organisers have provided an insight into the session topics and for a full list of session titles, please visit the Hr NETWORK website delegate booking page, to book your place.

Keynote session topics include:

• Embedding a people-first approach in your organisation

• Creating learning & development opportunities for all

• Adapting to an ever-changing remote working world: The next phase

• Wellness: Supporting an age of menopause in the workplace

• The power of employee recognition

• Reward & Benefits: More than just a salary

• Health & Wellbeing: Combatting the impact of burnout on employees

Please note that this is a sample of keynote session themes with many other theme’s being featured at the Conference and the full speaker programme will be published on the Hr NETWORK website in due course!

6 Keynote Speakers

• Networking & Exhibitor Area

• Lunch & Refreshments

• Delegate Bag and Goodies

• Official Conference Programme

• Delegate List

Full terms & conditions for booking are available on request and the booking form is available at the link: www.hrnetworkjobs.com/events/conference/

Early Bird Delegate Cost:

£125+VAT*

The Early Bird discount for each delegate attending the Conference & Exhibition on Thursday 11th May is £125+VAT and we have group booking discounts for groups of 5 delegates or more.

* Please note that the Early Bird booking discount is available until 28th February 2023. From 1st March 2023, the cost per delegate is £165+VAT.

Group bookings available - Details available on request

Please note that costs quoted include full access to the Keynote sessions, Exhibitor area plus lunch and refreshments on the day.

Special Requirements:

Hr NETWORK welcomes a diverse group of delegates to the conference therefore please indicate any special requirements you have on your booking form and we will be very happy to accommodate you while you are attending the Conference.

COVID Safety Policy:

There is no requirement to wear a mask at the Conference. However, any delegates wishing to wear a mask may do so.

For further information on Sponsor and Exhibitor options or to book your Delegate place, please contact the Conference Planning Team on Tel: 0131 625 3267 or email: subscriptions@hrnetworkscotland.co.uk www.hrnetworkjobs.com

IN THE WORKPLACE FACTORS INCREASING FACTORS INCREASING

WORKPLACE THAT COULD BE

KEY FACTORS INCREASING STAFF TURNOVER

KEY FACTORS INCREASING STAFF TURNOVER

Employee wellbeing experts Loopin have highlighted six of the major factors in the workplace that could lead to a high staff turnover, from a lack of opportunities and purpose, to overworked employees, all of which contribute to huge employee turnover costs.

There are many factors to consider when it comes to staff turnover – but while some may be inevitable, such as retirement, a change in career, or even moving away, others can be controlled.

Little opportunity for growth

Not providing any opportunities for employees to progress can cause them to feel stuck in their roles and feel as though their hard work and commitment aren’t recognised. A different company that can offer a role of higher authority will eventually become more appealing after plenty of time in the same role – not only for income but to further demonstrate their skills.

Offering promotions for existing employees rather than hiring externally is one way to provide opportunities for growth. Communication is key in this instance to ensure that staff have clarity on how they need to perform in order for this to be possible, for example, a checklist of targets over a realistic time frame – this way, both you and the employees can assess how close they are to the next step. Alternatively, providing relevant training courses for staff allows them to educate themselves and stay up to date with the sector, thus being an excellent opportunity for growth.

Lack of feedback

Offering feedback to employees is a small implementation that can go far – not only does it show recognition, but it’s also a huge factor that can help them succeed. Regular 1-1s are an excellent opportunity to provide feedback, as it gives employees the chance to address any areas they are particularly struggling in.

As an employer, the purpose is not to provide top-down performance feedback, assess the company’s performance, or evaluate the status of certain projects. Instead, the employee needs to take centre stage. You should ask questions to discover more about their goals and ambitions, as well as any concerns or pain points.

Micromanagement

Micromanagement can have huge implications that can drive employees away. Not only does it limit creativity, but it also implies that you don’t trust employees to make the right decisions on their own. Micromanagement can also lead to burnout, which not only affects productivity and company success, but the employee will likely consider joining a company that offers a more supportive approach to management.

In summary, it is wise to avoid micromanagement. Although it can be daunting to let go of projects, delegating to your team members will allow employees to feel valued, trusted and therefore, confident to complete the task. Seeing your employees complete these tasks will help you to see their skills first-hand and allow for timely feedback. Managing expectations instead of tasks is essential to zone out of the micromanagement phase and offer more freedom to employees. Therefore, ensure that before the task is given to a team member, you have made clear your thoughts and goals on the task at hand. This enhances communication between yourself and the employee and allows them to have clear structure before you trust them with the task.

Lack of flexible working

Flexible working options offer a practical solution for employees. It can help those using unreliable public transport, those who need to take their children to school, or those with pets, to name a few. Implementing flexible working options where employees can be more autonomous and set their own schedules offers a healthier work-life balance; without it, employees may turn to a different company that does provide this benefit.

To incorporate flexible working into the organisation, you can start by selecting the core working hours in which every employee must be present – but outside of this, employees can decide when they start and finish. On top of this, switching to a hybrid workplace where employees split their time between the workplace and working remotely can increase productivity and allows them to use their time more efficiently – not to mention, it’s an attractive factor to job-seekers.

Overworking employees

Of course, there may be times when employees will have additional responsibilities. Particularly whilst many companies are making significant redundancies, resulting in employees having a bigger workload. However, managers must monitor the workload of all employees and find ways to protect them from burnout and stress caused by unavoidable workloads. Without doing so, staff are more likely to search for another role that offers a better work-life balance. On the other hand, employees must have enough work and understand their contribution to the make-up of the organisation’s overall mission, vision, and success.

This is another area where regular 1-1s are particularly useful. You can use this time to ask questions to your employee about how they are finding the workload and alter it based on their answers. Additionally, a preventative employee wellbeing strategy is key to understand how employees are feeling. It’s crucial to offer early support to employees who are feeling stressed, burnt out, or disengaged, which could be related to their workload.

Feeling undervalued and unappreciated

Free lunches and table football are great, but they barely scratch the surface when it comes to creating a culture where employees feel appreciated, cared for, and understood. If employees feel their work is not valued and their contributions go unnoticed, they are likely to lack motivation and may consider leaving their current role for a job that is more rewarding and enjoyable.

Understanding an employee’s concerns, values, needs, and hopes for the future is crucial to retain your top talent. Efforts should be made to communicate and understand individuals’ needs and inspirations, so their hard work can be recognised in a way that has the maximum impact.

In summary

It’s vital that employers consider the reasons for high employee turnover, particularly if they are due to factors that can be prevented in the future. This requires spotting signs at the earliest opportunity and having a true understanding of employee concerns. High staff turnover not only affects the efficiency of a business, but also comes at a huge cost to businesses too. It’s essential to understand the reasons why past employees have left to prepare for the foreseeable and secure future business success.

This information was provided by Loopin, Ai predictive people software that helps businesses to foresee risks in burnout, engagement, productivity and turnover.

“Understanding an employee’s concerns, values, needs, and hopes for the future is crucial to retain your top talent.”

Being an employer who cares will be your biggest investment in 2023

There has been a complete shift in the way that employers view workforce health and wellbeing and now employees have a much greater understanding for when it is simply best for them to stay at home. Here, Mike Eriksen from Agilis Health discusses the impact by employers who care the most for their employees, have the greatest power to place their company at the forefront for staff retention and talent acquisition.

Gone are the days when staff felt the need to turn up at work full of a cold with little concern about spreading germs, rather than call in sick for a day or two. Employers are certainly now more open to support those who are unwell and encourage remote working when required.

However, this is not just a one-off approach to the odd bout of illness. The last few years has created a movement within the workplace towards a better overall attitude towards overall health and wellbeing.

Being an employer who cares has the power to place companies at the forefront for staff retention and talent acquisition, so cultural investment in health and wellbeing is one of the most worthwhile investments employers can make.

There are endless employee benefit options available but offering staff access to regular health assessments can be hugely beneficial not only for staff, but it could also help to reduce absence or at least ensure a business is better prepared for dealing with it.

Supporting staff with their health is a huge plus right now as, given the strain on GPs and community care, it gives accelerated access to health care and can ease concerns or highlight issues at an earlier stage.

There is a range of healthcare assessments available that can be tailored to a budget. There is no denying this is a ‘nice to have’ benefit but if a business takes a best practice approach to health and wellbeing and is known as an employer who looks after their staff, it certainly makes them a favoured employer.

Whether it is paid for by an employer or deducted from a benefits plan, health assessments are completely confidential and managed entirely by the individual, whether they want a full blood review or just a basic MOT, including blood pressure, pulse, and BMI.

Laboratory testing can screen for 36 markers and provide a dashboard of information from a single thumb prick blood test, highlighting many underlying health issues. People who access this type of service may just be inquisitive about their health, not feeling too great, or are simply what we call the ‘worried well’. These tests can be turned around, start to finish, within a week, so there is no waiting around for GP appointments and then subsequent results.

The health conversation has certainly moved on since 2020, the culture and mentality has changed, everyone is more health conscious and looking to employers, to make positive changes to support staff and their families with greater access to health and wellbeing benefits.

It is all about providing a proactive and preventative health approach as an employer and if an employer is committed to this, health and wellbeing soon becomes a company lifestyle and culture – one of the most attractive traits for both staff retention and acquiring future talent.

Support from Maggie’s while working with cancer

As part of Hr NETWORK’s ongoing support for Maggie’s Centre’s during 2022 and 2023, we have spoken to a number of people over the past few months who have shared their experience of cancer and the impact this has on work life. In this latest Maggie’s Insight feature, Lynne Connolly shares her experience of working with cancer and how Maggie’s has helped her to continue to work for so long, following her diagnosis.

According to statistics, one in two people will develop cancer at some point in their lives with just over one million people of working age, predicted to be diagnosed with cancer by 2030.

One in two. That’s a stark figure. And we all hope that we, or those we love, are not the one. It’s not that we wish cancer on anyone else, it’s just that we don’t want it to be us. And then it happens. It’s indiscriminate.

My primary cancer diagnosis happened when I was 37 – a ‘healthy’, non-smoking, active person with no family history. It didn’t enter my mind that it would be cancer. But it was, and was relatively well advanced. I knew no-one at my age who was in this position and no idea where I could turn. Maggie’s was that place.

It’s difficult to sum up what Maggie’s has given me. From that first visit, it’s been my place to breathe. It’s where I recharge to get through operations and treatment and to be effective at home and work. I loved my job and wanted our home life to feel ‘normal’ for my kids. Maggie’s helped me to do both effectively for over 13 years. There are so many ways employers can work with people in my situation, depending on the stage they are at, and Maggie’s is there to help.

Maggie’s helped me to work out what I wanted to communicate to my colleagues at each stage. I had lost confidence but knew that I didn’t want cancer to define me at work. I had to accept that my life had changed significantly, particularly after secondary diagnosis. Maggie’s helped me to do that and to articulate what I wanted to say to others. My colleagues have been just brilliant.

Cancer doesn’t stop with primary treatment and I found trying to re-establish myself at work to make up for ‘lost’ time, as well as trying to be a great mum, juggle medical appointments and look after myself felt totally overwhelming. Coaching at Maggie’s helped me to realise that I was just one person and to work out, and articulate, what my priorities and new realities were.

Maggie’s also helped me to find ways to connect with others through 1-2-1 coffees, online groups and workshops. My daughter and I have enjoyed meeting others and learning through Nutrition workshops, for example. Feeling that you are not alone is so important. Through these connections I grew more willing to share my own experiences with those around me. In the same way that I can’t know the full reality of others’ situations, I couldn’t expect my colleagues to know mine unless I shared it.

I have no doubt that Maggie’s has been key to me being able to work for so long and to just live my life. It’s there for individuals, as well as their families and colleagues, to listen and untangle all the medical jargon into practical (and less scary) actions. It makes all the difference.

It’s time to start working towards a better HR

The Great Resignation and hiring crises have affected all businesses. If hiring processes take too long, candidates may take offers elsewhere. Here, Max Ertl, President of DocuWare considers some of the HR trends to look out for in 2023.

Speed and efficiency when on-boarding/ hiring in 2023

Great resignation and hiring crises have affected all businesses. If hiring processes take too long, candidates may take offers elsewhere. Speed and efficiency are so important when hiring/onboarding staff – the right tech tools ensure that new employee records are secure and onboarding workflows are smooth and fast. Businesses must digitalise processes to retain candidates/ staff and ultimately thrive against the competition. We had the same challenge as other businesses - we are growing fast & had to hire a large number of employees in a short time. What helped our process was using DocuWare solutions and we have successfully filled most of those roles so far this year.

Hiring is very personal, from human being to human being and this is where you should spend your time. From the very first interview to sending an offer letter–every stage gives an impression of a company to a potential staff member and that impression needs to be a good one – technology can assist! Digital onboarding makes processes seamless, speedy, secure and consistent for a new hire and the business. The new employee feels welcome from the very first second, with the added extras for the business of increasing efficiency and removing costs.

With today’s employees expecting to work anywhere, anytime and on any device – great technology is key to retaining even at the very first stage of hiring.

Making the move away from paper

HR is one of the most paper-intensive departments. Especially since the pandemic – workers can be anywhere – paper just isn’t a realistic option anymore and the technology is here and has proven it works. Technology solutions that are up and running in days can centralise all paper-based processes. The benefits

are huge: it saves money (use less paper & ink) which is also good for the environment, improves security and compliance, more data to learn from, etc.

New era of hybrid working

Since the pandemic it’s really been proven across multiple industries that a team’s best work can happen inside and outside the walls of a traditional office. Investing in technology so everyone is on the same wavelength, regardless of work location, enables employees to collaborate on a huge range of tasks - at any time, from any location and on any device. Of course, nothing can completely replace in-person contact and we realise this. We encourage our employees to come into the office but also provide the tech tools for them to work remotely when they need to. It is not a one-size fits all and technology allows customisation so that employers can adapt to the needs of hybrid workers.

Next generations in the workforce

The next 5-10 years will see more millennials and Gen Z workers enter the workplace – some are already here, and we already see the changes they are requiring. HR departments should start to rebrand themselves and show they are not just the place to go to when hiring or filing complaints. They are the “humans” in Human Resources. Technology/automation will free them up so they can focus on being forward-thinking. Younger workers will demand Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) in the workplace. Make the change now to make this evident in their own team and then throughout the company. Now is the time to start working towards a better HR.

Learning culture in an organisation: Key to aviation business success

Aviation is a fast-changing industry, deeply focused on safety and professionalism, thus continuous training is a must to ensure the quality of operations as well as employee satisfaction. At least this is how Aviator Airport Alliance, a full-range provider of aviation services at 15 airports across the Nordics, sees training within their organisation. Here, Kjell Mathisen, Head of Training at Aviator describes some of the benefits his organisation has realised from a learning culture.

Creating continuous training and learning culture within the organisation is an important part of a successful business. From the initial training, required to safely do the tasks, to more complex courses, we believe that learning at work should never end and that such a learning culture is beneficial not only for the company as a whole but also to each individual team member as an opportunity to improve themselves.

The quality of training depends not only on the materials provided. By far, the best way to engage people in learning new things is with the help of passionate and experienced trainers. A well-versed, competent, and involved trainer can take courses to the next level and inspire trainees to continue improving even after the courses end.

One such inspiring training opportunities is Aviator Leadership programme for supervisors. Our goal is to develop the best conditions for Aviator to have as strong leadership as possible. Great leadership, as well as a passion for work, is contagious, and passionate leaders can make a huge difference. Getting others to grow and reach their goals and achievements is one of the leader’s most important tasks. It’s about guiding and helping others to see opportunities.

Aviator Leadership programme for supervisors began in late 2019, with plans to continue in 2020, but the global pandemic made some changes to these plans. Recently, we were able to return to the program, with 2 training groups having already finished the training. Now we have 4 more training sessions planned for 2023 and hope to switch to an on-demand model once all our supervisors are trained.

Leadership training is essential for building culture, retaining staff, and improving the overall morale in the departments and the company. “Our supervisors are experts in their fields who are looking to become leaders of their groups. Some are natural leaders who want to improve, and some grow into the role with training. While the functional part of being a supervisor remains a major focus, strong leadership is also extremely important. Through this training, we can purely focus on the leadership role and strengthen their security in this part of their role as a supervisor.

The Aviator Leadership Model builds on the company’s Values, Responsibility, Respect, Customer Focus, Flexibility and Passion. The Model is used throughout the training and is promoted as a tool. Several of the participants used the Values back home in between the training and feedback was that this approach made their life easier while communicating with the staff. My experience is that many companies have values, but they are not actively used or worked with. It is a great tool to set and promote the culture you want in a company.

So far, Aviator Leadership programme has been a great success, and as such the programme could be beneficial to other companies. As part of Avia Solutions Group, leaders in end-to-end capacity solutions for passenger and cargo airlines worldwide, we see a lot of potential for co-operation between our group companies. There are countless possibilities to further nurture training and learning culture in our group and we are excited to be a part of this journey.

MyLinked

About:

Susan DeFazio

Founder of Be Future Ready Today – The Joy Factory Podcast –Hr NETWORK Judging Panel Member

Current: Be Future Ready Today Connections: 500+

Location: London, United Kingdom

Faculty Member - Human Capital Institute (HCI)Freelance

Organisational Health and Strategic Workforce Planning

Expert with 20+ years of experience working in talent acquisition and management worldwide, Susan is part of a growing number of specialists who believe that organisational health will surpass all other business disciplines—creating the most incredible opportunity for improvement and market advantage.

With the complexity of our world of work, her experience and skills have helped many leaders improve their ability to deal with risk and optimise outcomes across the triple bottom line - Prosperity, People and Planet. Being a catalyst for change throughout her career, Susan understands the value of raising the ability to gain more control of today and building competence and confidence for navigating the future.

Skills: Pioneering Simplification • Self-Empowering Toolkits • Improving the Triple Bottom Line • Elevating Strategic Thinking and Credibility • Empowering The How • SWP Implementation Expert

Experience:

Be Future Ready Today

Dec 2018 – present

Susan has been a leader, practitioner, vendor, buyer, employee and freelancer. She has held the power of influence, then not. She knows what it’s like to be a female leader. She understands the ups, the downs, the advantages and some disadvantages. Over the past 25 years, her experiences have shaped the traits she believes a healthy company should have, whether you’re a customer, part of the workforce, leader, analyst, shareholder, or impacted by the consequences of their actions.

March 2014 – present

Principal – Talent Advisory Services KellyOCG Nov 2014 – Sept 2018 Director (21 Years) Kelly Services

Jan 1989 – Dec 2009

Education:

Henley Business School

Executive Education, Strategic Marketing, Value Creation Within Outsourcing Relationships Jan 2008 – Dec 2012

INSEAD

Customer Focus: From Promise To Action 2007 - 2007

Recommendation:

“Susan is an absolute expert in the domain of Human Resources. I have had the great pleasure and honour to work together with Susan in a number of different roles, responsibilities and projects and was always impressed by her deep domain expertise and solution-driven approach. As a seasoned practitioner, Susan has a clear view for what’s working and where there is optimisation potential. Her analytical and empathetic nature allow her not only to uncover root causes of inefficiencies but to convey them to her audience in an easy to follow yet captivating way. While being very detailed, Susan never loses sight of the big picture and always drives for efficiency. Working with Susan will broaden your perspective about what good looks like in Human Resources and what it really means take workforce planning to the strategic level.” Dr. Thorsten Koletschka.

Transform your future.

Big change offers great opportunity. As you step forward into 2022, the need for new leadership and management skill sets and an even stronger coaching and collaborative mindset is already upon you. At Roffey Park Institute we hear your call. The change and transformation agenda. The need for managers to connect and empower teams to perform. For colleagues to become stronger business partners and internal consultants. Critical thinking and decision making at speed will be crucial to the organisational task ahead. Relearning working and reworking learning will be imperative. At Roffey Park Institute we can help unlock your and your organisation’s potential. With our partnership approach we can deliver tailored solutions to realise organisation goals. Together we can make a difference. Let’s talk.