Hr Network Volume 18 Issue 6 by immags

Inspiring People Development

JULY 2022 VOLUME 18 ISSUE 6 A MEDIA AVENUE PUBLICATION | www.hrnetworkjobs.com

ESG: ENVIRONMENT

SOCIAL

GOVERNANCE

IT’S THE NEW KID ON THE BLOCK!

SPECIAL FEATURE: OPENING THE DOOR TO MAGGIE’S CENTRE’S

unique experiences

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.

hamiltonandinches.com

CONTENTS

COVER STORY It’s the new kid on the block! ESG is being heralded as the future for environmental, social and governance across all work practices. But is it the way forward for more ethical people policies? Andy Moore spoke with one Scottish based resourcing business, which is actively pursuing rigorous ESG principles, and he discovers how it embodies ESG in its organisation.

CONTENTS

News

14 Employment Law Update: A Welcome Return to Scottish Pride

8 22

20 Stats Combatting Executive Burnout

22 Feature Two Review of Hr NETWORK Conference & Exhibition 2022

26 The Bookshop The latest bestsellers to be published

28 Feature Three Showcasing the sponsors of the Hr NETWORK National Awards 2022

34 Special Feature Opening the door to Maggie’s Centre’s

38 EXTRA Workers want their managers to have leadership skills

42 Insights Environment, Critical Care, Flexible Working, Employee Safety

42 5

46 My LinkedIn John Gillespie, WorkNest

CONTRIBUTORS

Natalia Milne,

Founder and Publisher:

Employment Law Update: Welcome Return to Scottish Pride p. 14

Senior Associate Editor:

Navigator Employment Law

Federico Garcea

Lee Turner lee@hrnetworkscotland.co.uk

Andy Moore editor@hrnetworkscotland.co.uk

Treedom

Deputy-Editor:

Insight: Environment: Does your company have an environmental policy p. 42

Editor-At-large:

Karl Bartleman

Teresa Flannigan editor@hrnetworkscotland.co.uk

Neil Archibald editor@hrnetworkscotland.co.uk

Editor’s Assistant/Admin:

Direct365

Insight: Critical Care in the Workplace p. 43

Marion Robertson editor@hrnetworkscotland.co.uk

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

Kiki Stannard ZEDRA

Design:

Insight: Unlimited Vacation p. 44

Media Avenue Ltd Hr NETWORK now available on: LinkedIn: uk.linkedin.com/in/ hrnetwork1

Naz Dossa Peoplesafe

Twitter: www.twitter.com/ HrNETWORKNews

Insight: Employee Safety p. 45

YouTube: www.youtube.com/ user/hrnetworkscotland

John Gillespie WorkNest

MyLinkedIn p. 46

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. 2022.

W E LCO M E

July 2022

Welcome to our July 2022 issue of Hr NETWORK Magazine. Whilst we are still not in a position to restart printing the magazine again, following the damaging effect on our business from COVID-19, we are delighted to be able to still continue to offer you our digital magazine, containing all the industry news, features, updates and of course, showcasing all our wonderful commercial partners too.

As always at this time of the year we have a busy few months ahead with the Judging process for this years’ Awards 2022 in partnership with Roffey Park Institute, which will include the initial scoring stage over the months of July and August and from there the Judges will be able to announce their shortlisted finalists.

This Issue

The interviews for finalists will take place in mid-September and the winners will be announced at the Gala Dinner in Glasgow on Thursday 10th November.

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.

Hr NETWORK Conference & Exhibition 2022 The Hr NETWORK Conference & Exhibition 2022 which took place at the magnificent BT Murrayfield Stadium was a huge success following some incredible feedback from delegates, sponsors and exhibitors. Delegates were clearly excited and relieved to connect with eachother again and we are very grateful to all our sponsors, exhibitors and delegates at this year’s Conference & Exhibition, which would not have been possible without their incredible support.

In this online edition of the magazine, Andy Moore takes a closer look at the increasingly more talked about subject of ESG (Environment, Social and Governance) and what companies are doing to ensure sustainability throughout their working practices.

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: Natalia Milne, Federico Garcea, Karl Bantelman, Kiki Stannard, Naz Dossa, John Gillespie.

NEWS

Employers need a greater understanding of cancer care to support employees

Many providers now offer reward schemes for good health behaviours (when employees take part in exercise, meet a step count, buy healthy food or join a mindfulness session, for example), and actively encourage employees to take responsibility for their own health. Screening plays a hugely important part in improving cancer outcomes. For example, lung cancer can be screened with an at-home sample test kit, with results in less than two weeks. The survival rate of five+ years, 2 and half for lung cancer is 61% if caught at stage one, 39% at stage two, 15% at stage three, and only 4% at stage four. However, currently, nearly half (47%) of all cases of lung cancer in the UK are not diagnosed until stage four.

Sunday 5th June was Cancer Survivors’ Day. This was a timely reminder that cancer is often survivable, given the right lifestyle, screening, diagnosis, and care. All of which are factors that employers are in a position to support. Debra Clark, head of specialist consulting, Towergate Health & Protection, says: “Employee cancer services are often underutilised. Cancer care is included within a lot of employee benefits products but often the employers themselves are not aware of the full extent of the cover they may have arranged for their employees. Yet it’s vital that they’re aware: better understanding of the support available can lead to better health outcomes for employees.”

Many cancers have very high survival rates. Melanoma, prostate, testicular, thyroid, follicular, Hodgkin’s lymphoma, and breast cancer all have a survival rate of over 80% for five+ years, 2 and half (50%) of people diagnosed with cancer in England and Wales survive their disease for ten years or more (3). What is important, however, is for employees to receive good mental and physical care to help them through.

Many cancers are preventable. Around four in 10 UK cancer cases every year could be prevented, which equates to more than 135,000 every year. This is why it is so important for employees to be provided with health and wellbeing support. In the UK, smoking is the largest cause of cancer, and being overweight or obese is the second biggest cause. Employers can assist with both factors by engaging employees with lifestyle, exercise, nutrition support and specific support, such as smoking cessation programmes.

A perhaps surprising amount of cancer care is available to employees via the workplace. Group private medical insurance (PMI) has a wide range of cancer support. This often includes fast-tracked access to diagnosis and treatment, access to medicines and additional support, which may not be available on the NHS.

Employee Fear: One in six UK workers are worried that revealing their mental health concerns could result in job loss

Over the last 12 months, two in three employees have experienced worse mental health at work, compared to the previous year. As remote and hybrid working environments continue to be adopted by more UK businesses, evidence suggests that companies have struggled to adapt their mental health support processes. One in three employees feel less able to raise mental health concerns during remote meetings, often causing any issues to go unnoticed.

Debra Clark concludes: “Survival rates for cancer can be high if the right steps are taken. Employers are in a position to make a real difference but only if they understand the support available and help employees utilise that support before, during, and after cancer.”

The Employee Mental Health and Remote Working report – conducted by virtual events and in-person team building company Wildgoose – asked employees from 129 different UK companies whether their mental health at work had improved or worsened over the past year. It also asked whether these employees felt comfortable raising any mental health concerns with their employers and what they believed would happen if they did.

Study reveals increasing issues around reporting employee wellness whilst hybrid working, as 95% of UK employees feel that their company doesn’t do enough to identify and support those with mental health concerns. One in six UK employees feel worried that raising mental health concerns with their company could put them at risk of losing their job, a new report into employee mental health and remote working has found. Throughout the UK, 86% believe that their workplace is not a safe space for employees to be open about mental health.

Just over one in eight companies in the UK don’t have a process in place for remote workers to report mental health concerns. This is most prevalent in SMEs, where this figure nearly doubled to one in five not having a process in place

NEWS

Driving an electric car could be more financially accessible than people think An electric car leasing company has witnessed a 371 per cent increase in demand for hybrid vehicles since the turn of the year amid global uncertainty and rising fuel prices. The increase is against the same period as last year and with the Government looking to ban the sale of new petrol and diesel cars by 2030, there is increased impetus for motorists to consider investing in electric cars.

LeaseElectricCar.co.uk has reaffirmed its belief more learner drivers should be encouraged to take lessons and tests in electric cars on UK roads - in the wake of COP26.

LeaseElectricCar.co.uk says cost need not be a huge barrier for people who want to switch to electric.

A spokesman for LeaseElectricCar.co.uk said: “Many learner drivers represent the next generation of motorists - a generation which will witness huge strides in tackling climate change across the world.

A spokesman for LeaseElectricCar.co.uk said: “A number of factors have increased consumer interest in electric cars in the present UK market. Many people may feel the cost of buying an electric car is out of reach, but there is also the option to lease, and leasing one can cost in the region of £200 a month.

“Already the UK has ambitions to reduce the number of petrol and diesel cars on our roads, and there has been a recent Government announcement suggesting new homes will have EV chargers by law, so the culture towards electric cars is happening. It makes sense for a greater number of learner drivers to get the opportunity for all or at least for some of their learning to take place in electric cars as we approach these future milestones.”

“The price has come down in recent years due to advances in manufacturing and technology, making this a more feasible option than might have been the case in the past.”

NEWS

Revealed: 79% of young people believe they have missed out at work due to a lack of assertiveness

The survey also explored the percentage of people who believe they are naturally assertive at work. It was found that almost 1 in 5 people believed that they had always been assertive and therefore haven’t had to learn to be more assertive. This figure was the same for both men and women. It was also revealed that the ways people learn to be more assertive, 57% answered that they have naturally become more assertive with age, 18% said through mentoring, 18% replied through practice without external help and finally only 4% have been on a training course.

Acuity Training questioned 500 employees in a variety of sectors and age groups to investigate questions like how assertive people think they are and the ways they learnt to be assertive in workplace situations.

The survey also discovered that 55% of workers believe they have missed out at work due to not being assertive enough. Conversely, 41% answered that they didn’t feel this way and finally 4% of those polled were unsure whether they had missed out or not.

Acuity Training defined assertiveness as individuals feeling like they can reveal their point of view and opinion at work. Their research found that an average of 88% of those surveyed believe that they are assertive at work.

From looking at age, 79% of young people (under 35) think that they have missed out at work because they have not been assertive enough. On the other hand, 51% of older people (over 45) think that they’ve missed out. Acuity Training also explored if those polled find it easier or harder to be more assertive during a video call. They found that 54% find it easier to be assertive on a video call whereas 46% of people find it more difficult. 55% of men compared to 52% of women feel it is easier to be assertive on a video call.

If we look at this from the perspective of gender, 80% of women believe that they are assertive at work compared to a whopping 97% of men.

More than a third of UK office workers have no dedicated workspace at home

This is because the availability, or lack, of dedicated workspaces at home and familiarity with technology means workers can have starkly different experiences of hybrid working.

Over a third of UK office workers have no dedicated workspace at home, and only 6 percent have been trained for hybrid meetings, reveals a new report from Leeds University Business School.

Analysis of in-depth employee data shows that working from home without access to a specific desk or separate room (e.g., having to use a kitchen table or the sofa) is associated with lower performance, job satisfaction and engagement, say the researchers. The office remains core for most workers (72% wish to work from the office at least once a week). This is good news as there is evidence that spending time working from the office is beneficial, being related to greater employee job satisfaction, engagement and concentration.

The report is an interactive tool and suggests practical measures based on evaluation of stakeholders and employee interviews, industry workshops, cross-industry surveys of UK office workers, employee diaries and case study corporations.

The report addresses tensions that can be caused by organisations implementing hybrid working schemes, such as employees feeling disconnected from colleagues and managers, and offers managers solutions to tackle the main key challenges caused by hybrid working.

The report is based on research led by Dr Matthew Davis, Associate Professor in Organisational Psychology, and six of his colleagues at Leeds University Business School and the wider University, which shows that UK businesses have a long way to go to formalise the arrangements that grew organically from the COVID-19 pandemic.

Other tensions stemming from hybrid working addressed in the report include the development of an “us versus them” mentality among employees and excessive supervision from managers. The researchers recommend where possible implementing principles of work rather than strict rules which reduce working flexibility, undermining the key benefit many employees say they value from hybrid working. Managers can use this interactive tool effectively, in order to ensure hybrid working is as successful and efficient as possible in their organisations.

According to the authors, staff in charge of designing or updating hybrid working schemes should avoid trying to force a “one size fits all” policy and include employees in the creation process if they want it to be successful.

NEWS

Employers report increased productivity as they embrace home and hybrid working CIPD stresses the need for employers to consult with staff as research shows nearly two thirds of employees who can work in a hybrid way haven’t been asked about their future preferences. The number of employers who report that an increase in homeworking has increased their organisation’s productivity or efficiency has jumped significantly over the last year, according to new research from the CIPD.

The new research by the CIPD, based on a survey of over 1,000 employers and 2,000 employees, gives a clear picture of how organisations and individuals are now approaching hybrid and flexible ways of working as businesses look to ‘live with Covid’. Despite the reported productivity improvements associated with home and hybrid working, there is a potential mismatch emerging between the ways organisations want their employees to work and how their people want to work. One in four (25%) employers want their employees to be in the office/on site all the time, while 39% of employees would like to work from home all or most of the time going forward.

When asked in December 2020, a third (33%) of employers said homeworking had increased their organisation’s productivity or efficiency. However, when asked about increased home/hybrid working in October/November 2021, over two-fifths (41%) said these new ways of working had increased this.

The CIPD is urging employers to develop and implement hybrid and flexible working practices in collaboration with employees that are inclusive and offer more choice to all. Organisations should have clear and transparent policies that outline eligibility and access to hybrid working.

At the same time, the number of employers that say the increase in home and hybrid working has had a negative impact on their organisation’s productivity has fallen. Under a fifth (18%) of employers say it has decreased productivity, compared to 23% who previously said the rise in homeworking had decreased productivity.

Together, we can build workplaces where employees of all ages feel respected, valued and able to fulfil their potential. With a third of workers now over 50 and five generations in the workplace for the first time ever, it has never been more important for organisations to harness the potential of their multi-generational workforce. Wherever you are on the age inclusion journey, Age Scotland can support your organisation in a number of ways. • We offer HR consultancy programmes to support organisations with bespoke, fully-funded support. • Our training workshops cover topics such as age inclusion, unconscious bias health and wellbeing and pre-retirement planning. • Our employer network brings organisations together to share experiences, good practice and insight. To find out how we can support your organisation, visit age.scot/workplace or email jonathan.park@agescotland.org.uk 11

NEWS

Health and Safety Executive supports workers’ health at Scottish construction sites Construction sites across Scotland were targeted as part of a month-long respiratory health initiative by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE).

Construction Leadership Council (CLC), Health in Construction Leadership Group (HCLG) and Construction Dust Partnership. HSE’s chief inspector of construction, Sarah Jardine, said: “Occupational lung disease is preventable. It can have a devastating impact on both the individuals affected and their family. Every year, construction workers are dying from diseases caused or made worse by their work. We are urging employers and workers to take the necessary precautions today to protect their long-term lung health.”

Throughout June, inspections supported by HSE’s Dust Kills campaign focussed on respiratory risks and occupational lung disease. Each year in the construction industry, there are thousands of preventable cases of ill health caused by lung disease due to past exposure to dust at work. These diseases often have a life-changing impact and can result in an early death.

As part of HSE’s longer term health and work strategy to improve health within the construction industry, inspectors will be checking the control measures in place to protect workers from inhaling construction dust including Respirable Crystalline Silica (RCS) and wood dust.

Site inspections, which took place in June, had a specific focus on dust control, checking employers and workers know the risks, plan their work and are using the right controls. HSE has partnered with construction and occupational health organisations to highlight the control measures required on site to prevent exposure to dust. The network of Dust Kills partners includes British Occupational Hygiene Society (BOHS), Construction Industry Advisory Committee (CONIAC) and Civil Engineering Contractors Association (CECA),

The initiative was supported by HSE’s Dust Kills campaign, aimed at influencing employer behaviour by encouraging builders to download free guidance and advice. There is also information to support workers, helping them to understand the risks and how to stay healthy.

1 in 5 will move jobs this year: How to keep employees during the Great Resignation

“Research of our own found that less than half (48%) of employees are likely to remain with their employer long-term and 23% say they feel less loyal as a consequence of their employer’s COVID response. “Employees may not be dissatisfied per se, but they have much greater bargaining power now to ensure their needs are met. Businesses will need to quickly review their retention strategies, thinking creatively about how they can improve the workplace, and develop the opportunities that exist within for employees to grow, learn, develop and ultimately, feel their needs are fulfilled. Employers may not be able to meet all salary demands but could look to improve their benefits package instead.

PwC has completed one of the largest ever surveys of the global workforce (52,195 workers in 44 countries) and a big worry for employers will be the finding that 1 in 5 staff are expected to change job in the next 12 months.

“It’s imperative that managers are equipped with the right tools, techniques and knowledge to confidently address any discontent within their teams and to ensure that development, flexibility, progression and opportunities remain firmly on the agenda.

This is a continuation of the ‘Great Resignation’ we saw during Covid and could put an already struggling recruitment market into crisis. Vicky Johnson, Senior HR consultant at employment law and HR support firm WorkNest, said: “We are already seeing one of the most competitive labour markets the UK has ever experienced. Staff shortages are rife across multiple sectors and, naturally, businesses can ill afford to lose existing talent at a time when replacing people will prove incredibly difficult. This research presents an increasing pressure for employers to think creatively about how they can ensure opportunities for growth, development, reward and recognition for their staff.

“Organisations must recognise the value that managers represent – they are the building blocks that connect the C-suite to the wider business, and are the first line of defence when it comes to resolving issues. Therefore, removing barriers that prevent them from addressing issues, and investing in their capabilities, is vital for overall success and profitability.”

NEWS

Alcohol, emoji use and workload discussions considered inappropriate in the workplace

However, nearly 20% of respondents felt flirting was an appropriate behaviour in the workplace, and most workers (57%) think tactile behaviours, such as a pat on the back, are appropriate. The study also looks at various workplace phrases that can be interpreted in different ways. Phrases like “Bless Your Heart” have quite divisive interpretations, with 65% of people seeing it as “you’re sweet” whereas 35% of respondents view it as “you’re dumb”. The interpretation of the phrase varies even further when looking at the responses between males and females - 44% of woman would interpret “bless your heart” as “you’re dumb” as opposed to only 23% taking it this way.

Tollfree Forwarding, a telecommunications provider, released a survey spotlighting workers’ opinions on what behaviours are considered inappropriate in the workplace.

Dave Clark, a practicing lawyer in the U.S. with over 35 years of experience, said inappropriate workplace behaviours and miscommunication could lead to legal repercussions.

According to survey findings, alcohol use in the workplace is considered the most inappropriate behaviour, with 90% of respondents finding it inappropriate. Additional inappropriate behaviours in the workplace include shouting and gossiping, with both behaviours deemed inappropriate by 88% of respondents.

“Charges for emotional damages are not surprising when swearing, shouting, and gossiping get out of hand in the workplace…gossiping, in particular, can even give rise to slander or libelous claims which are both punishable by law.”

A variety of inoffensive actions are considered inappropriate in the workplace, according to the survey. 3 in 5 people (60%) say using emoji in work correspondence is inappropriate. In addition, running errands during work hours is considered inappropriate by 69% of respondents.

“Flirting can create a hostile and uncomfortable working environment for some employees. This is often indicative of a looming sexual harassment complaint.”

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BULLYING & HARASSMENT

DATA PROTECTION

DISABILITY

DISCIPLINE & GRIEVANCE

DISMISSAL

EMPLOYMENT TRIBUNALS

E M P L OY M E N T L AW U P DAT E

A WELCOME RETURN TO SCOTTISH PRIDE By Natalia Milne Navigator Employment Law

Pride events and celebrations across Scotland this summer are likely to be well attended after a hiatus in the past couple of years during the Covid pandemic.

Trans equality and legal issues impacting on HR Professionals handling recruitment

ncreasingly UK businesses recognise the commercial benefits of inclusivity. In May this year, the UK’s Minister for Equalities, Mike Freer, welcomed the launch of OutBritain, an accreditation scheme for LGBT+ owned organisations in the UK. During a speech at the launch event, he highlighted research suggesting that ‘open, inclusive and diverse societies are better for business and economic growth’ and how LGBT+ inclusive employers can attract and retain talent, which in turn helps to build customer loyalty and brand strength, enhancing financial performance. “In recent times, it has become clear that increasing numbers of employees and customers no longer wish to associate with organisations that do not share their values,” he said, pointing out that advances made by businesses in driving LGBT+ inclusion in their workplace have in turn been an engine for driving wider change.

Trans equality has regularly featured in news as the Scottish Government consults on draft legislation to change the system through which transgender people can gain legal recognition. The Equality Act 2010 (EqA 2010) already prohibits unlawful discrimination based on gender reassignment. It protects not only those holding a Gender Recognition Certificate (GRC), as the legislation also covers someone who is “proposing to undergo, is undergoing or has undergone a process (or part of a process) for the purpose of reassigning the person’s sex by changing physiological or other attributes of sex.

E M P L OY M E N T L AW U P DAT E

This will involve retaining only what is needed, ensuring that the data is held securely and that there is no informal sharing of this information as this could be unlawful. Employers and HR professionals should also be mindful that gender reassignment and any information appertaining to an individual’s gender history is

“ In recent times, it has become clear that increasing numbers of employees and customers no longer wish to associate with organisations that do not share their values”

TERMS & CONDITIONS OF EMPLOYMENT

Great care is needed whenever HR professionals handle sensitive information about transgender status. While not all trans people have a GRC, the current legislation makes it a strict liability criminal offence for a person who acquires in an official capacity (such as through a recruitment process)

Training or refresher training to ensure HR professionals are supported handling such issues, and also create a supportive and welcoming workplace for all LGBT+ staff is recommended. It is an investment with the potential to bring great rewards in terms of building an inclusive workforce and a loyal team.

REDUNDANCY

Of course this may come out during a recruitment process, as it requires documentation checks to confirm information such as a candidate’s employment experience, qualifications, criminal record history (where relevant) and right to work.

HR professionals ought to be familiar with the Government Equalities Office’s Guidance for Employers on ‘The recruitment and retention of transgender staff’. It says ‘Ideally, trans candidates should have access to a nominated person in HR who is knowledgeable and available to deal with the documentation sensitively’.

special category data under the UK GDPR and the Data Protection Act 2018, so it can only be processed for certain specified reasons.

MATERNITY & PARENTAL RIGHTS

information about someone’s application for a GRC, or information which identifies someone with a GRC as transgender, to disclose that sensitive information to any other person except in certain prescribed circumstances (such as disclosure for the purpose of preventing or investigating crime).

HEALTH & SAFETY

A trans person (with or without a gender recognition certificate) is not obliged to inform an employer or prospective employer of their gender change, although some may volunteer this information to ensure their gender history is clearly established to be protected information. Nor is a job candidate required to tell prospective employers they have changed gender.

TUPE WORKING TIME

ESG: IT’S THE NEW KID ON THE BLOCK!

ESG is being heralded as the future for environmental, social and governance across all work practices. But is it the way forward for more ethical people policies? Andy Moore spoke with one Scottish based resourcing business, which is actively pursuing rigorous ESG principles, and he discovers how it embodies ESG in its organisation.

F E AT U R E

Mention ESG to many HR practitioners and you’ll be met with “widening eyes” in what is considered a revolution in greener, humanitarian and better governed work practices. “ESG is becoming increasingly important both to us and our many client organisations. We have seen a huge increase in the level of interest in ESG and we are investing heavily in this ethical future by operating in green industries that have a high level of compliance,” Rob explains.

ESG stands for Environmental, Social and Governance. It can be best described as a vehicle for enshrining and delivering a broad range of greener, more diverse and socially responsible policies – those that organisations have strived to embody over many years. The environmental aspect considers how organisations may safeguard the environment and how its corporate policies address climate change and emissions for example.

“From a Diversity, Inclusion & Belonging (DI&B) perspective, we ensure that regardless of people’s background, gender, sexual orientation, disability, or any other often discriminated group, they have exactly the same opportunities as everyone else. ESG is very much about ensuring businesses are greener, not meaner but with better governance.”

In turn, the social criteria examines how employers manage relationships with employees, suppliers, customers and communities and ultimately how we create a safe and progressive environment for our children and the future generations to come.

Despite its relatively recent launch, importantly, PTR has 25 years’ experience in the energy sector working with business professionals and HR practitioners. It is fully ISO-certified in environmental, H&S (Health & Safety) and quality – and has embarked on a strategy to engage with HR professionals and organisations that seek a resourcer with a strong ESG ethos and accreditation.

The governance element of ESG deals with aspects such as leadership, audits and internal controls. An organisation that embodies ESG is the rapidly fast-growing resourcing business, PTR Ltd (Premier Technical Resources Limited) based on the outskirts of Edinburgh and operating in countries across the globe, including: Bulgaria, Poland, The Netherlands and Germany.

ESG is becoming increasingly important to employers, both at management and HR level - a value that PTR spearheads throughout its tender process for organisations.

Set up by Directors Rob Aitchison and Martin Aisthorpe in 2019, PTR originally outsourced technical and engineering specialists for the oil and gas sector, and is now specialising in the renewables industry too.

“Historically, CSR (Corporate Social Responsibility) was more about how HR conduct’s its social codes of practice – but some organisations may see this as a tick box exercise. In contrast, ESG delivers CSR with a complete governance process,” Rob continues. “Within our tendering process, we are not only ISO certified – but we also have to demonstrate we have the appropriate anti-corruption procedures in place across area’s such as anti-bribery and slavery.”

PTR was established as a project management organisation, providing technical people in engineering, surveys, quality, health and safety and environmental services.

F E AT U R E

PTR works with a wide range of leading global organisations in the delivery of offshore and onshore projects and services for the evolving energy industry, delivering a strong ESG focus. A number of them are signatories to the UN Global Compact with aims to become Net Zero by 2050, and PTR firmly believe that by matching the same level of commitment that their clients make to ESG, is not only good for business, but it shows that their ethics and values are completely aligned to those of their clients too.

For PTR, a huge aspect of Environmental, Social and Governance is being sustainable across its resourcing practices, especially for shorter and longer-term procurement contracts. Moreover, it can adapt to accommodate clients’ everchanging people and business strategies. The limited company has set out its long-term business plan to cater for all aspects of ESG as society and employers strive to become more sustainable. For HR, an environmental ethos may include measuring the employee carbon footprint, switching to Net Zero pensions, introducing electric vehicles into the business and changing to renewable energy.

So, what is the future for ESG over the coming years? Rob sums up: “The way ahead will be to make ESG policies and procedures ever more transparent in work practices. PTR will meet our clients’ demands by ensuring everything we do is ethical, open and fair in our supply chain, and by creating a compliant environment for us to operate in. In the near future, the only way businesses will survive is through sustainable and ethical protocols and how we treat our employees.”

Alongside environmental, the people aspects of ESG can be equally enshrined in modern HR policies, for example in mental health, race relations and disability and discrimination laws. The organisation has been undergoing a consultancy process to achieve certification with its ESG procedures being comprehensively assessed, including a Gap Analysis and it will have to recertify annually.

Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG)

“In June, we were audited for ISO45003, the first global standard giving practical guidance on managing psychological health in the workplace,” Rob adds. “We believe it is essential to achieve the certification and compliance, both for own people in the workplace – but also for the many clients we are engaging with.” A main principle behind ESG is treating people with respect and dignity, for example enabling overseas workers to take compassionate leave in their home country. PTR enabled a contracted employee working in Germany to take compassionate leave in Bulgaria recently, which was managed within just three hours by our in-house team, and then backfilled the role for temporary cover for a demanding seven-day week contract.

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A vehicle for enshrining and delivering environmental, diversity and social responsibility policies

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Increasingly important to employers at management and HR level

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ESG delivers corporate social responsibility with a complete governance process

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Environmental commitments may include measuring the employee carbon footprint and switching to Net Zero pensions

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A main principle behind ESG is treating people with respect and dignity

F TAT S E ATSU R E

One in five executives are suffering from burnout Love Your Employees (LYE) contributed an article in previous issue of Hr NETWORK Magazine called ‘Navigating the Perfect Storm’. The feature identified that as we come out of the pandemic we need to rise to the challenges of a whole new world. Since the feature was published, LYE has also published the findings of their ‘Executive Burnout’ report, and the figures are alarming. Given the role as captain of the ship, LYE were keen to hear what senior executives felt about the specific challenges they faced at this extremely challenging time. The research looks at the impact of the last two years on four specific areas: physical disruption, emotional disruption, aspirations now and future aspirations. Three hundred leaders participated from a wide variety of industries and organisations.

How are leaders coping personally? LYE asked ‘how do you feel at the moment?’ and encouragingly 50% chose a positive indicator showing they’re upbeat about the future. However, one in four leaders feel ‘a bit burnt out’ and worryingly, one in five say they are ‘totally burnt out’ or ‘suffer severe levels of anxiety’. Their most popular concern (31%) was a ‘poor work-life balance’, with (22%) having concerns about their ‘mental health’. In a crisis, people roll up their sleeves and get stuck in, but working at crisis capacity long term is not sustainable. Companies should be seriously concerned about their leaders and aim to provide support. There are red flags in this research (and in others) that show executives need help with burn out now, or risk more problems in the future. We all know you need to put your own oxygen mask on before helping others. If we expect executives to lead, inspire, motivate and steer companies, then we need to provide the resources to help them do this.

What do they feel about work? LYE researchers asked ‘what has been the hardest part at work?’ no surprise to see ‘the challenge of managing people remotely’ (38%) in the top three. Remote working was imposed in lockdown and was a big learning curve. ‘Managing workloads’ (32%), is also top of the list.

LYE asked the leaders to pick from a list of statements that best described what has been positive about the experience for them. The three most popular answers had roughly a third of participants choosing each, ‘I’ve developed as a person’, ‘the way we pulled together as a team’, ‘navigating the financial challenges’.

What do leaders think about the future? Researchers asked ‘what are your plans going forward?‘ and they were surprised by the response. Slightly more than half (52%) selected ‘support their people through this period’ as top of their priority list. We wonder if this is understood and valued by shareholders and boards. Another positive indicator from (28%) of leaders ‘If I can manage under recent circumstances, I can do anything, this has made me hungry for new challenges’. Resilience is fantastic to see. Finally, 17% said ‘it’s made them realise that they work for a company that fits with who they are and they want to stay’. The researchers expected people to be unsettled, wanting to move or retire, but in the sample very few selected any pessimistic options. This stoic group of people clearly have more to give and more they want to do. Leaders demonstrate resilience and an intention to navigate the storms facing everyone at the moment. Their concern to support their people shows they are fully aware that they need alongside them to ride it out.

Leaders are well aware of the impact of the last two years on their ‘employees mental health’ (30%). There were disparities previously between leaders and staff in terms of pay, bonus and perks, but a pandemic indiscriminately impacts families, jobs, schooling and mental health and it is an issue for everyone regardless of position.

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. • Constructive 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.

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BT Murrayfield serves up a whole new world of work The Hr NETWORK ‘Our New World of Work’ Conference & Exhibition 2022 took place at the magnificent BT Murrayfield Stadium on Thursday 12th May 2022 and judging from feedback from delegates, sponsors and exhibitors, this first conference event from Hr NETWORK in two years, did not disappoint at all. Leaders Dinner 2022 Jacqui revealed in her interview with Jane some of the biggest challenges that she and her senior HR colleagues faced during the two years of the pandemic, which included in particular, the setting up of the national COVID centre and temporary hospital, the Louisa Jordan facility in Glasgow.

The event began on Wednesday evening in the President’s Suite at BT Murrayfield with the hugely popular Annual Leaders Dinner 2022, which attracted around 130 senior HR practitioners and guests. Founder & publisher of Hr NETWORK, Lee Turner welcomed guests to the Dinner along with special guests Jacqui Jones, Director of HR for NHS National Services and Gill Scott, HR Director of Aegon UK.

In June this year, Gill Scott retired following a hugely successful career in HR, latterly enjoying 12 wonderful years as HR Director for pensions giant Aegon UK. Following Jacqui Jones’ interview, Lee Turner invited Gill Scott on stage to join Jane in the Chair for a final word with her industry peers as she embarks on a much more relaxed and slower pace in life.

Jacqui was there as a special guest to collect the Outstanding Contribution to Scottish HR award on behalf of the NHS workforce, NHS Workforce won at the Hr NETWORK National Awards last November, but until now hadn’t been presented to them due to further COVID restrictions and the outbreak of the Omicron variant of the virus.

Guests were treated to a beautiful three course dinner and the chance to network with colleagues and connections, many of whom, who hadn’t seen each other since before the start of lockdown in March 2020.

Jacqui then took part in an insightful interview session with trusted adviser to Hr NETWORK and founder of The Culture Builders and Tuddl, Jane Sparrow.

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Conference & Exhibition 2022 Trusted advisor of Hr NETWORK and managing Director of Business Jigsaw Clare Moore opened the Conference & Exhibition with a warm welcome back for delegates following a two year break due to COVID.

Following morning break, delegates returned to the President’s Suite where they heard speakers Jacques Quinio from Right Management and Priyanka Rai Jaiswal from Three UK & Ireland.

The Conference featured six keynote sessions on the day as well as a full Exhibition Area showcasing an exciting range of products and services for the HR and people development & management community.

Jacques’ session was called Our New World of Work: The Leadership Struggle and Opportunity. Jacques talked about the boundaries between what is happening in our world and our personal lives and how this is shifting. The pandemic of course has been a critical time, but climate change, Brexit, high inflation, the conflict in Ukraine to name a few other major events, as well as business trends (talent shortage, pressure on compensation, paradoxical expectations form a wide variety of stakeholders) are putting pressure on leadership.

Keynote speakers included: Steve Williams OBE, Olympian, Mountaineer and Performance Coach, Jacques Quinio from Right Management, Priyanka Rai Jaiswal from Three UK & Ireland, Kash Haroon from Roffey Park Institute, Julia Stevenson and Katrina Wright from Scottish Water and finishing off the day of speakers, Erick Rainey founder of RainWorks.

Following a quick five minute reset for delegates between the two speaker sessions, it was then the turn of Priyanka Rai Jaiswal, Three UK & Three Ireland. Priyanka’s session was called Encouraging and Celebrating Diversity, Inclusion and Belonging at Three.

Steve Williams’ session was called High Performance Principles: Achieving Peak Performance in the New World of Work. Having won two Olympic Gold medals in rowing, he moved on to a very different challenge in a completely new world of high performance and summited Mount Everest. Steve shared his insights and learning’s about the common high performance principles that get the best out of individuals and teams in these very different worlds, which can help us as we explore and seek to achieve our own peak performance in the new world of work.

In her keynote session, the Director of People Propositions discussed the journey Three has been on to ensure that the business is committed to their DIB agenda now and in the future. Following Priyanka’s session, delegates and exhibitors got the chance to engage once again in the Exhibitor Area. Lunch was served to delegates as they mingled and chatted with each other. The ever-popular iPad Mini competition was running throughout the Conference as delegates were tasked with collecting a secret letter from exhibitors, which made up two hidden words on their competition form. The entries were placed in the competition box during the day.

Following Steve, delegates broke for morning break in the Exhibitor Area situated in the Thistle Suite where a wide range of HR industry product & service providers had been assembled. Delegates mingled with Exhibitors who were eager to show the HR delegates what they had on offer and entice them with a great mix of goodies and giveaway’s.

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Following lunch, Kash Haroon from Roffey Park Institute began his session entitled, The Future of Work is Here: Are You Ahead of the Curve or Behind It? Kash said that the COVID crisis has accelerated workplace transformation and innovation in a way that nothing else could. Employers are finding themselves in a precarious position, fighting an ever-tougher battle for talent, whilst trying to stay relevant as organisations. People are able to work from anywhere, they do what they want, when they want and organisations have to consider carefully, the way that they now construct themselves around employee needs and they will certainly face problems ahead. Kash also discussed how organisational development can be a catalyst for your organisation’s ambitions and help you ensure it is built by design and not by default. Following another five minute reset between Kash’s session and the fifth session of the day, Julia Stevenson & Katrina Wright from Scottish Water were up next with their session entitled Scottish Water: Working Together to Find a New Flow. Almost overnight, the Covid-19 pandemic accelerated health and wellbeing to the top of the corporate and societal agenda. Water is essential to life, and the additional importance of hand-washing and extra hygiene protocols brought about by the pandemic, put sharply into focus the requirement for Scottish Water’s people to go the extra mile to keep Scotland’s water flowing. Scottish Water’s 4,000+ employees all had a part to play, regardless of

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sponsored by:

Search is a multi-discipline recruitment consultancy, supporting more than 20 industries across the UK. For the past 35 years they have built trusted partnerships with national corporates delivering resource solutions and large scale transformation projects. Their recruiters are specialists in their field having worked in the industry they are recruiting for or due to their years of experience and success. They were one of the first recruitment agencies to receive the ‘Investors in People’ platinum award for their commitment to employee engagement. Diversity and Inclusion is also a key priority, having been awarded with Clear Assured Bronze status.

Brodies LLP is Scotland’s largest law firm. Home to more Leading Individuals than any other firm in Scotland, Brodies has 43 top tier rankings in the independent legal directories, including employment, where it has been regarded as a leader in the field for many years. The team consists of specialists in employment, immigration, pensions, health & safety, and remuneration & employee benefits. The team provides high-quality, innovative services to a wide variety of clients in the private and public sectors and is praised for its commerciality with personality. Its specialist lawyers apply common sense and practical, in-house experience to ensure delivery of relevant, high quality legal services, tailored to the needs of each client.

For further information, please visit: www.search.co.uk

For further information, please visit:

HR Specialist of the Year sponsored by:

www.brodies.com

SOR AVAILABLE TO SPON

HR Project of the Year sponsored by:

Benefits of sponsoring this category: By sponsoring this category, you are directly supporting the HR community in Scotland. Hr NETWORK has been committed to supporting HR professionals and those closely associated with this vibrant and energetic community for more than 14 years.

For further information, please contact the Awards Planning Team – Email: awards@hrnetworkscotland.co.uk or visit: www.hrnetworkjobs.com/events/awards/

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HR Assistant/HR Officer of the Year

HR Business Partner of the Year

sponsored by:

Right Management from ManpowerGroup Talent Solutions has more than 40 years of expertise in the talent lifecycle, enabling organisations to attract, develop and retain the talent needed for a rapidly transforming business environment. Their insight and technology-driven solutions are designed to work with your needs and your organisational culture, and include leadership development, workforce career management and career transition. They accelerate the capabilities of your workforce to ensure your talent – and your business – is prepared to meet the ever-changing demands of a strategic global workforce.

For further information, please contact the Awards Planning Team – Email: awards@hrnetworkscotland.co.uk or visit: www.hrnetworkjobs.com/events/awards/

Attraction and Resourcing Award of theYear

For more information, please visit:

sponsored by:

www.rightmanagement.co.uk

SOR AVAILABLE TO SPON

Employee Engagement Award of the Year

sponsored by:

For further information, please contact the Awards Planning Team – Email: awards@hrnetworkscotland.co.uk or visit: www.hrnetworkjobs.com/events/awards/

Diversity & Inclusion Award of the Year

For further information, please contact the Awards Planning Team – Email: awards@hrnetworkscotland.co.uk or visit: www.hrnetworkjobs.com/events/awards/

sponsored by:

Three is committed to creating an engaging and inclusive culture. Their Diversity, Inclusion and Belonging Steering Committee – made up of volunteers from across their business – is making some great progress, aligning with the Race at Work Charter and the Talent Tech Charter, celebrating diverse calendar of events and ensuring their policies and processes support their people. They believe that being diverse and inclusive, with a strong sense of belonging is not only the right thing to do but it will make them a stronger and better business. And they’re committed to making it part of their very DNA. For further information, please visit: www.three.co.uk/

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Organisational Development Award of the Year

Health & Wellbeing Award of the Year sponsored by:

sponsored by:

For further information, please visit

Love Your Employees is a platform to help employers improve employee wellbeing to help drive employee and company performance. Employers can score themselves across the five pillars of wellbeing (mental, financial, physical, career and social) and use this score to shape their reward, benefits and wellbeing support. Organisations can easily review their provisions online, arrange free reviews with independent consultants quickly and simply find support with no sales pressure. The wellbeing marketplace brings together established providers, consultants, tech-based services and more to make it easy to get inspiration and find new solutions.

www.roffeypark.ac.uk

For further information, please visit:

Roffey Park Institute primes organisations to build business skills for everyone, everywhere. They provide business education around the world for individuals, teams and organisations, which develops mindsets and skillsets for the welfare of all. They help you and your people create a collaborative, resilient, high performing and inclusive culture. This is the Roffey Park Difference in leadership development, management development, organisational development, HR and adult learning.

www.loveyouremployees.co.uk

HR Manager/Advisor of the Year sponsored by:

HR Team of the Year

SOR AVAILABLE TO SPON Benefits of sponsoring this category: By sponsoring this category, you are directly supporting the HR community in Scotland. Hr NETWORK has been committed to supporting HR professionals and those closely associated with this vibrant and energetic community for more than 14 years. For further information, please contact the Awards Planning Team – Email: awards@hrnetworkscotland.co.uk or visit: www.hrnetworkjobs.com/events/awards/

Corporate Responsibility Award of the Year sponsored by:

SOR AVAILABLE TO SPON

sponsored by:

FEATURE 3

Navigator is a flexible employment law, HR, health & safety and data protection advisory practice. It is the client that decides what type of service they need, and they design their offering with them so that it meets their specific requirements, right down to how they want to pay for their advice. They have responded to a rapidly changing marketplace and an increasing unwillingness to settle for whichever “off the shelf” service a REWARD RECOGNISE traditional law firm,ACKNOWLEDGE on the one hand, or a call centre orientated provider, on the other hand, wants to promote.

SAVE THE DATE! For further information, please visit: www.navigatorlaw.co.uk

NATIONAL AWARDS 2022

For further information, please contact the Awards Planning Team – Email: awards@hrnetworkscotland.co.uk or visit: www.hrnetworkjobs.com/events/awards/

in partnership with

Gala Dinner, Glasgow Hilton,

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Best Employer/Workplace of the Year

challenges of workforce transformation. They do that by helping their people navigate change, become better leaders, develop their careers or find a new path in life. The results: a stronger employer brand, less risk and better business performance.

sponsored by:

Seamless, flexible, and leading-edge applicant tracking systems – Jobtrain pioneered applicant tracking systems in 1999 when online recruitment was in its infancy. They are regarded as the UK’s most innovative and clientfocused ATS / Talent Acquisition Management Software provider. They are a trusted partner to organisations including, NHS Scotland, Teleperformance, Glasgow and Edinburgh Airports, Toshiba, Odeon Cinemas, and Scottish Canals. They enable you to manage the sourcing, assessment and hiring of the right people with minimum effort and maximum efficiency. This positive automation of administrative processes in recruitment, frees up your time as recruiters to focus on the allimportant element of hiring – people and relationships.

For further information, please visit: https://info.lhh.com/outplacement-support

Outstanding Contribution to Scottish HR or Lifetime Achievement Award of the Year The Outstanding Contribution to Scottish HR or The Lifetime Achievement Award is Scottish HR’s most prestigious award specifically given by the Judges to an individual who has an established history of distinguished service to the HR profession either as a practitioner, academic or someone who has successfully transcended different areas of the HR profession. The individual will have made a lasting contribution to HR practice and has demonstrated excellent leadership qualities and provided inspiration to others in the sector. The Award may be presented to an individual in recognition of their contribution to a new innovation, new knowledge, or ways to improve professional practice. Importantly, the contributions should be above and beyond the everyday and have had a long lasting impact in the HR sector.

For further information, please visit: www.jobtrain.co.uk

Chief Executive of the Year sponsored by:

Please note that nominations for this award are not requested, as the recipient of this award, will be chosen by the Judging Panel.

Nominations

For further information, please contact the Awards Planning Team – Email: awards@hrnetworkscotland.co.uk or visit: www.hrnetworkjobs.com/events/awards/

To see the full criteria and to make your nomination, please log on to: www.hrnetworkjobs.com/events/awards - and select the Awards Nominations Form

HR Director of the Year sponsored by:

If you have any enquiries in relation to nominations, sponsorship or becoming a table host at the Gala Dinner at the Glasgow Hilton on Thursday 10th November 2022, please contact: Tel: 0131 625 3267 or email: awards@hrnetworkscotland.co.uk

As the world’s leading integrated talent development and outplacement company, LHH has got both global scale and local knowledge; pioneering technology and experienced consultants. Whether you’re restructuring, changing your culture or developing your leaders, they can help. They work with companies to simplify the

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THE MAGGIE’S STORY 34

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Maggie was a writer, gardener and designer. When she was 47, she was diagnosed with breast cancer and five years later, in May 1993, on a visit to the Western General Hospital in Edinburgh, she was told that it had returned.

fter hearing this, Maggie and her husband Charles Jencks were moved to a windowless corridor where they were left to process the news. They discussed the need for somewhere ‘better’ for people with cancer to go, outside of, but nearby to the hospital. Maggie and Charles designed the blueprint for the centres together, enlisting the help of some of their friends from the architectural world. The first Maggie’s opened in Edinburgh in 1996, and they now have centres across the UK and even some abroad. Maggie felt that her diagnosis and treatment was as hard on her family as it was on her, so she created a new type of support, a centre that could make the experience of cancer more manageable for everyone. She believed that with encouragement to become actively involved in treatment, and with the right information and support, people could change the way they live with cancer. Maggie also wanted to bring people together in a calm and friendly space that would help them to find comfort in the experiences of others. Maggie died shortly before the first centre opened, at the Western General Hospital – but with the support of Charles, and her medical team, including her cancer nurse Laura Lee (now Maggie’s CEO), her vision has lived on. Maggie’s has now grown into a network of centres built beside NHS hospitals across the UK. Their centres help people to take back control when cancer turns life upside down. They’re available for anyone with cancer and their family and friends, whatever kind of cancer, and whatever stage they’re at. All their support is free, and no appointment or referral is needed. Many of their staff are NHS-trained and all their cancer support specialists have expert knowledge about cancer and treatment.

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In 2021, they had 245,000 visits to their centres. 55,000 were new people with cancer or new carers of someone with cancer. Throughout the last few years of the pandemic, they have been there for people by phone, email and online, as well offering face-to-face appointments in their centres when possible. Up to 740,000 potential cancer cases have been missed due to the pandemic, resulting in a devastating situation for many people with cancer according to a report by the National Audit Office (NAO). The report reveals: •

29% of cancer patients due to start treatment during the pandemic experienced delays, cancellations, or changes to their treatment

•

67% of cancer patients say they have felt more ‘frustrated’ and 62% have felt more ‘anxious’ since the start of the pandemic

Maggie’s evidence-based programme of support has been proven to improve the physical and emotional wellbeing of people with cancer and their families. The National Cancer Survivorship Initiative Report by the Department of Health in 2013 highlighted Maggie’s unique approach to cancer care as an example of best practice. Maggie’s programme of support has also been commended by the NHS Cancer Plan, NICE and the Cancer Reform Strategy. This has been reinforced by their recent annual audit of centre visitors: •

98% of visitors rated their experience at a centre as ‘good’ or ‘excellent’

•

96% said they felt less alone after visiting Maggie’s

•

94% said their visit improved their understanding of cancer

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91% said Maggie’s helped them manage stress better

Maggie’s has started offering training to Line Managers to support colleagues with cancer in 2012. This ‘Cancer in the Workplace’ training was developed in conjunction with their long-term corporate partner, Unum. In response to increased recent demand from companies for their expertise, they started to focus more on offering a wider range of training to companies, to help their staff provide the best possible support to people with cancer. This has included: •

•

Offering tailored Communications and Tone of Voice workshops to Underwriting, Claims and Sales teams at a major insurer. The courses focused on increasing their skills and confidence when speaking to customers with cancer over the phone Delivering bespoke resilience training to staff at one of the UK’s largest car dealerships, to give managers the skills to deal with difficult and emotional situations when managing staff. Course content provided practical ideas and strategies for emotional safety and well-being that were easily transferred into the workplace to enhance resilience for leaders and their teams Offering tailored cancer awareness training to contact centre teams and home engineers at a leading technology and entertainment company. This has enabled the company to create a team of cancer champions, who use their increased confidence and knowledge to speak to colleagues and customers affected by cancer and make them aware of the support available from Maggie’s

They always tailor training content and new courses to meet the needs of organisations, with outlined training detailed below:

1) Cancer in the Workplace There is an ever-increasing need to provide expert support and guidance to employers and employees affected by cancer – the number of people living with cancer in the UK is expected to rise to four million by 2030. Maggie’s interactive Cancer in the Workplace workshops can help HR managers, Line Managers and employees to support colleagues affected by cancer. Workshops are led by Maggie’s Cancer Support Specialists at our centres or through webinars. These sessions include: •

The emotional, physical and psychological needs of people with cancer

•

The impact of cancer on family, carers and friends

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Challenges in the workplace for people with cancer

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Support Specialist. The training will include content to simulate the experiences of patients and colleagues. Courses can cover a range of topics:

•

How to approach situations with knowledge, empathy and understanding by providing insights and management strategies

•

Creating the right framework to support and manage people with cancer

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Communicating with people with cancer in the workplace

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Managing a graduated return to work

2) Cancer Awareness 1 in 2 people will develop cancer at some point in their lifetime, so it has never been more important for employees to develop their knowledge about cancer and their awareness of the support Maggie’s offers people with cancer. Maggie’s cancer awareness workshops can offer colleagues a unique opportunity to develop their knowledge about cancer and their awareness of the support available from Maggie’s. Workshops are delivered cancer support specialists based in Maggie’s centres at NHS cancer hospitals or through webinars.

Subjects in these workshops can include: •

An introduction to Maggie’s and our unique model of support

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The physical, emotional, social and financial impacts of cancer on people’s lives

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The experience of people living beyond cancer

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Recognising when customers are in vulnerable circumstances

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Situations staff might encounter as part of their jobs when working with or delivering services to people affected by cancer

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The practical, emotional and social support that Maggie’s can offer to people at every stage

3) Communications Skills Maggie’s can also provide a tailored communications skills training course to increase confidence when speaking to people with cancer. This course offers colleagues the opportunity to reflect on and increase existing skills in a safe and supportive environment facilitated by an experienced Maggie’s Cancer

•

The experience of people living with and beyond cancer

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Breaking bad news

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How to speak to people with cancer

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How to communicate with bereaved patients

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Handling anger and distress

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Having difficult conversations with patients and colleagues

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Handling complaints

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Coping mechanisms for distressing claims situations

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Training in simple mindfulness techniques to aid communication

Maggie’s and Hr NETWORK magazine have joined forces in an initiative called ‘Maggie’s At Work’, which highlights the need for employers to support their employee’s and their families, with a cancer diagnosis. In the forthcoming issues of the magazine, we will publish a series of Insight articles to help employers offer their people the best and most appropriate guidance, advice and support during what can be a very difficult time. For more information, please visit: www.maggies.org

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WORKERS WANT THEIR MANAGERS TO HAVE

LEADERSHIP SKILLS 39

A new study on skills in the workplace has revealed a list of the most important skills that workers expect a manager to possess, with leadership right at the top of what they want.

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round half (51% of men and 45% of women) of the 2,048 workingage adults polled by Censuswide, on behalf of enterprise LMS provider Digits, thought leadership skills were the most essential. Verbal communication and teamwork skills ranked joint second for over a third (35%) of people, closely followed by empathy and problem-solving skills (30% and 29% respectively). Surprisingly, written communication skills came last on the list (8%) – proving to be less popular than a strong work ethic (21%), good time management (18%), and conflict resolution (15%). Just one in 10 of those surveyed reported having no specific skill requirements of a manager, suggesting that most people do have pre-existing ideas around what makes a good or competent manager to them. Whether their actual managers meet their expectations, on the other hand, is a matter for another survey. The most important skills needed by managers, ranked by popularity, are: •

Leadership skills (48%)

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Verbal communication skills (35%)

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Teamwork skills (35%)

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Empathy (30%)

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Problem-solving skills (29%)

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A strong work ethic (21%)

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Good time management (18%)

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Conflict resolution (15%)

•

Written communication skills (8%)

Of course, ‘leadership skills’ is an umbrella term that can mean different things to many people. And it can encompass a range of hard skills (jobrelated knowledge) and soft skills – transferable skills that help individuals work and interact with others – such as adaptability, flexibility, communication, teamwork, time management and problem-solving.

There is no one-size-fits-all, explains Bradley Burgoyne, head of talent at Digits: “We’ve got more generations in the workforce today than we’ve ever had. And, each group of workers prefers slightly different managerial styles and leadership qualities. “Every individual has their own expectations about how they want their managers to lead them, coach them, support them, relate to them, and empower them. Those skills don’t just happen, even the best managers need to receive regular training and development from their employers.”

According to Burgoyne, some of the core leadership skills of a modern manager include: •

Vision setting – having clear business goals for the team and being able to influence and gain buy-in from team members to work towards that vision. This also includes some change management skills, as setting a vision and taking a team on a journey to reach it, inevitably involves helping people work through change.

•

Empathy and listening – builds trust and connection between individuals and their managers. Managers need to be mindful and show their team that they understand and relate to them as human beings, that they recognise that each person has different needs, different skills, and a different perspective on how they approach different situations at work.

•

Inclusive leadership – managers that want to create a high performing team need to be able to provide high levels of psychological safety within their teams, where feedback is welcome and encouraged. An environment where everyone feels included and safe enough to provide feedback, feels that the feedback that they provide is valid, and that action will happen as a result, helps to build a team with a sense of purpose in what they’re doing and a growth mindset.

He adds: “The challenge for HR and L&D teams is to ensure that their training strategy is broad enough to cater to all levels of employees in the organisation because, I think, everyone benefits from leadership or management development. “It’s important that employers actively listen to their workforce and find out where the skills gaps are – what training do employees think they need? What training do employees think their managers need and what leadership qualities do they respond best to? They can then utilise the data to create training courses or a series of engaging development activities in their learning management system, that are really relevant to the people within the organisation rather than something that could, potentially, be seen as just a tick-box exercise.”

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•

Collaboration skills – managers don’t need to have the answers to every question. The world of work is too complex and fast-moving for one person to be able to come up with all the solutions all the time. Encouraging collaboration – with other individuals, other teams and other departments – to find answers by working together or reaching a shared goal through a collaborative process, will help improve the performance of the entire organisation.

Coaching skills – rather than always telling people what to do, good managers trust and empower their teams to use their skills and knowledge to find the answers and achieve an outcome. A quality coaching conversation will help someone to realise that they knew the answer all along or feel empowered to then go and find the answer. This can support an employee’s sense of purpose and self-validation and create a far more autonomous team.

•

Self-awareness – to lead others successfully requires managers to reflect inwards and understand their management style and learn how to adapt it for different situations. There are multiple challenges facing managers today, many that they may not have experienced before, so it’s important to be really agile, adaptable, and constantly thinking about the wider world and how that might need to change your approach.

Generational divides Further analysis of Digits’ survey results showed clear generational divides between what people at the start of their career considered to be important managerial attributes compared to those who have been in the workforce for a decade (or two). Almost twice as many people over55 (who’ve probably experienced a few different managers during their working life) than those aged 16-to-24years-old think leadership skills are a must-have for managers (56% vs 28%).

Although leadership skills are ranked the highest across all age groups, what comes next varies. A strong work ethic is popular with a quarter (25%) of 16 to 24 year-olds, verbal communication skills are preferred by 24 to 34 yearolds and the over-55s (36% and 44% respectively), while teamwork skills are highly rated by over a third (36%) of those aged 35 to 54 years old. In the Digits’ soft skills report, the results include a survey of 2,048 people in the UK, conducted by Censuswide for Digits, in March 2022.

The challenge for HR and L&D teams is to ensure that their training strategy is broad enough to cater to all levels of employees in the organisation

INSIGHT: ENVIRONMENT

Does your company have an environmental policy? Over two thirds of employees don’t know about theirs 64% per cent of European businesses have a sustainability policy in place but only a third of employees know about the impact it’s making on the environment. One in five also confess they actually do not know whether their company has a sustainability policy at all. These are findings from a new employee survey by Treedom, the world’s first digital platform for growing and gifting trees online. Here, Federico Garcea, Founder and CEO at Treedom offers some insight for employers who wish to raise the profile of the environmental policy within their organisation.

So, what are the key sustainability drivers for employees when choosing a company to work for? 1.

Employees want to be proud of the company they work for (29%)

Ensuring the planet is being protected for future generations (29%)

Makes a positive impact on the environment (24%)

Which industries are the most sustainably minded?

The Treedom survey is part of a campaign we are driving across six European countries between Earth Day and World Environment Day. The goal is to grow 20,000 trees in a dedicated forest with the help of Treedom’s Community.

In an age where consumers are looking to governments to take the lead on achieving net zero goals, it is surprising to note that one in three of those working within governments are not aware of their sustainability policy, and 37% don’t deem it important to know, according to Treedom’s research. Similarly, those working in education, helping to nurture the minds of tomorrow are also not in the ‘know’ when it comes to their own corporate sustainability.

The survey of 7,000 workers across Europe found that whilst business decision makers understand the need to implement sustainability policies and communicate with key stakeholders, employees are less aware of what action is actually being taken – fewer than a third of employees know about their company’s policy. But there is a clear desire to know more as 64% want to learn about policies, rising to 70% amongst Gen-Z.

For those working in marketing, 81% agreed how vital green initiatives are for businesses and three quarters of these workers are up to speed on their own company policies. This inherent knowledge on sustainability is clearly a need for external communications, as industry professionals know the positive impact it can have on not only company perception, but employee satisfaction.

The importance of ensuring the workforce understands such policies, is paramount from a recruitment and retention perspective. 67% of employees agree that sustainability is an important factor when choosing which job role to apply for, particularly Italians with 86% saying it impacts their decision making.

What do employees want to see in a sustainable business policy? For Europeans, the top three sustainability initiatives they want employers to consider include: •

Prevent and decrease environmental impact (51%)

•

Ensuring constant improvements (38%)

•

Social impact - giving back to communities (28%)

Ultimately, a policy needs to demonstrate a positive impact that is able to clearly communicate to workers clear goals, actions and results. There is a gap in knowledge and understanding between the decision makers who create sustainability policies and those who are the boots on the ground in the business. Employees need to be engaged in the sustainability journey to make a lasting positive impact as well as to remain competitive as a business by attracting the best talent.

I N S I G H T : C R I T I C A L C A R E I N T H E WO R K P L AC E

Defibrillators in the Workplace: Tips and advice for employers How often should a defibrillator be checked?

World Heart Rhythm Week, which ran in early June aims to raise awareness and educate the public and professionals about arrhythmias. Here, Karl Bantleman, Head of Digital at Direct365 has compiled a list of questions and answers for employers’ typical questions surrounding defibrillators in the workplace.

Defibrillators should be frequently checked for power and wear and tear. For battery power, most defibrillators will have a built-in checking system, which alerts the owner as to whether they need to replace the battery. This will be a noise or LED light. Other than this, you should manually check your defib every few weeks.

How much does a defibrillator cost in the UK?

Automated External Defibrillators (AEDs) are becoming a common sight in most public places and within the workplace. They have increasingly been in the news and recently the Premier League announced a donation of more than 2,000 defibrillators to grassroots football after Christian Eriksen’s cardiac arrest on the pitch last year.

Defibrillator costs vary drastically. There are several options with different types of features. For example, the defibrillators with video screen for instructions are likely to be more expensive than their audio counterparts.

Do I need to train staff on how to use one?

According to the British Heart Foundation, 30,000 people each year suffer a cardiac arrest outside of hospital. Survival rates are shown to be 50-70% higher in these victims when a defibrillator is used within 5 minutes of collapse.

When it comes to training staff on how to use a defib, it’s hard to train people on how they are going to feel and react when placed into a real world scenario of having to use it on someone when required. That being said, the defibs are split into automatic and semiautomatic, for both types the user will take the pads and place them on the patient. Semi autos find the rhythm and will ask the user to push a button if required where as the fully auto will automatically administer the shock.

What is a Defibrillator? A defibrillator (also referred to as defib) is a small electrical device that provides a controlled shock to the heart, in the event of a life-threatening arrhythmia called ventricular fibrillation. The most common type of defibrillator is the AED (an automated external defibrillator).

Business owners are making the decision to bring lifesaving defibrillator devices into their workplace. While there is no law around workplaces having a defibrillator just yet if a workplace is a populated area, then there should be always be an AED nearby and accessible. Now it’s even easier for people to access training to use these devices as they’re usually included in typical workplace first-aid training courses. Our advice would be to prepare your business, save a life, get a defibrillator.

Are defibrillators a legal requirement for businesses in the UK? There are no laws in the UK that require employers to provide defibrillators to their employees. However, the British Heart Foundation, and the Resuscitation Council UK all advocate for the use of defibrillators in the workplace to save lives.

How long do defibrillators last? Defibrillators have replaceable parts. It is just the batteries and electrode packs that need replacing. Each defibrillator model comes with a stand-by life while it isn’t in use. This ranges between 2-5 years while the unit isn’t in direct use. This doesn’t mean the defibrillator needs replacing, this only means that replacement parts are required.

I N S I G H T: F L E X I B L E WO R K I N G

Unlimited Vacation – Is it the grand holiday we want it to be? It’s well known that employers are determined to keep their best and brightest employees, particularly those who work the hardest and contribute the most. With 24/7 connectivity nearly everywhere globally, finding time away from the demands of a stressful job are becoming more and more difficult. It is often a challenge for those in the highest demand to get a decent amount of time off to rest and recuperate properly – both physically and mentally – never more so than in the world of financial services. Here, Kiki Stannard, MD at ZEDRA looks at the implications for employers who implement this ambitious policy.

•

The unlimited vacation is only on the basis that the employee’s work is done, or the break will not disrupt the business, often leading to employees logging on regularly whilst they are away

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Confusion can arise around the use of the policy and different interpretations as to exactly what amount is acceptable as ‘unlimited’ according to who your line manager happens to be

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There can be an inclination to cancel a day’s leave when something urgent comes up at work

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Blurring of the lines can be seen where there is a performance issue requiring careful management or additional employee support

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Does unlimited vacation just mask real sick days?

It may have come as a surprise to many to read that internationally renowned investment bank, Goldman Sachs, announced that senior staff are being moved to a ‘flexible vacation’ policy which will permit time off when needed and not adhering to fixed maximum days per annum.

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Does unlimited vacation result in a duvet day for anyone who is just not that motivated?

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How can you shake that Monday morning feeling when you know that not turning up today is ok?

Unlimited holidays can work for some businesses and sectors, but this type of policy won’t work for every company. In today’s environment it might act as a great benefit to entice new, often younger, starters to join a company. It’s always important to engage with staff and key stakeholders to get a better idea of the appetite for such a policy before committing and if there is desire, prepare thoroughly to avoid any negative ramifications to individual staff and company morale.

Having been hailed as progressive for the industry and designed to encourage a decent amount of time off to support health and wellbeing (there will be a minimum level of time off for junior staff which aligns with the statutory requirement in any event), will there really be any change in culture or attitude at Goldman Sachs – often viewed as fiercely competitive? In the US, the tech sector has actually been offering unlimited vacation for many years, which might sound like a significant benefit where vacation is around ten days plus public holidays. The reality however can be quite different.

I N S I G H T : E M P L OY E E S A F E T Y

Employers are underestimating personal safety fears of nearly 7 million workers Britain’s workforce is our most valuable asset, and it has faced up to considerable challenges throughout the pandemic while continuing to deliver fantastic services. A landmark study into perceptions of personal safety at work found 6.8 million workers worry about their safety each week, while the majority of employers underestimate the level of concern. Here, Naz Dossa from Peoplesafe is calling on employers and government to work together to achieve a step change in how workers are being protected.

Lower cost security measures now exist and can be better tailored to a wider array of employees. The most effective are personal safety alarms that provide a strong level of protection, can support the prevention of incidents, and critically manage issues. Where CCTV systems may cost thousands of pounds, some personal safety alarms are now the price of a cup of coffee for near instant access to the police. There is a clear, tangible benefit to recruitment and perceptions of roles if prospective employees are offered technology, and in particular, personal safety solutions. Despite this, we are facing a cross-industry problem that few have come to terms with. It’s clear that safety concerns are real for millions of employees in all types of roles, and that employers underestimate their concerns, and feel it is hard to know what they can do to protect their employees.

The study, conducted on behalf of employee safety experts Peoplesafe, found that one in five of all employees worry about their safety at least once a week and that negative experiences involving safety issues can often contribute to decisions to leave their jobs.

We need to shift the dial on the importance of employee personal safety. By supporting businesses to act in the best way possible, and by giving employees greater peace of mind through recognised standards, we can make a genuine difference. We’re calling on employers and government to work together to achieve a step change in how workers are being protected.

Policy makers and businesses across the UK are facing a recruitment and retention challenge in front line roles. Although the study found that many businesses want to do more to protect their employees, many struggle to know how they can help. The new report, published by Peoplesafe, explores this issue of workplace safety and presents solutions for how employers and Government can work together to address these challenges.

Results of the study include:

The report recommends that in order to better protect employees, regulators must give clearer guidance and Government should work with all parties to set out a standard of protection that employees can easily understand and access.

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Nearly 7 million workers worry about their safety each week

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57% of employers underestimate the level of concern felt by their staff

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57% of employees are concerned about facing aggression from the public

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22% of former lone workers and front-line staff said safety concerns were among the reasons they chose to leave their job

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One in four people do not want to take a role that involves face-to-face contact with the public, with 62% citing safety concerns among the reasons for that.

MY LINKEDIN

MyLinked John Gillespie

Key Account Director, WorkNest Current: WorkNest Connections: 500+ Location: Glasgow, United Kingdom

About:

workplace. What we do, and the expertise with which we do it, enables our clients to manage the most sensitive issues. We believe that when employers are compliant confident and risk-aware, when employees feel safe, supported and encouraged, then companies can attract and retain the best people, focus on innovation and drive growth.

An accomplished sales professional with over 20 years’ experience spanning across outsourced HR, Employment Law and Health & Safety consultancy services. A consistent high achiever who has onboarded more than 2000+ new clients focusing on a broad and diverse mix of business sectors. Has demonstrated the ability to flex easily as an individual contributor or as a sales leader owning multiple geographical territories within the UK & Ireland. Articulate communicator with a focus on driving key negotiations with both executive stakeholders and fostering partnerships with intermediary and third-party associates.

Business Development Manager Peninsula UK July 2014 – January 2022 Business Development Manager ELAS November 2011 – June 2014

Experience:

Area Sales Manager Peninsula UK August 1993 - November 2011

WorkNest (Formerly Law At Work) January 2022 - present

Education:

Last year, Law at Work evolved into WorkNest and joined forces with other businesses that complemented their offering and as a result, we’ve now got more expertise and more value-added services. At WorkNest, our purpose is to empower employers with preventative and proactive services covering employment law, HR and occupational health, safety and wellbeing. The personal, high-quality and responsive services that our clients know and love always remains at the heart of what we do. We bring together a broad range of services that will help you to further protect and nurture client organisations. My role at WorkNest is in supporting businesses, small, medium and large to further protect and nurture their people and their

University of the West of Scotland Diploma in Business Studies, Accountancy, Economics, Business Law, Psychology. 1982-1985

Recommendation: “I worked with John for 16 years, he has an impressive management style that is effective in getting his staff working for him. He has an in depth knowledge of his industry that has gained him respect from within the industry and from customers.” Ray Wrigglesworth, Managing Director, Emplaw Solutions

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Look no further. Connect with us. 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.

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Hr Network Volume 18 Issue 6

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