When employers come across job applicants with criminal records they can panic. Do they need to? A 2016 YouGov survey commissioned by DWP found that that 50% of employers wouldn’t employ an offender or ex-offender. The survey also showed that, whilst only 32% had concerns about ex-offenders’ skills and capability, 40% were worried about the public image of their business and 45% were concerned ex-offenders would be unreliable. Hopefully some of the stats in this blog might help you change your mind as an employer? Urban myths surrounding job applicants with criminal records are worth reviewing. All ex-offenders have been to prison Not true. Fines are the most common sentence (68%) given by all courts. Only a small number of people go to prison. Only 7.9% of offenders are given immediate custodial sentences. All ex-offenders are men This is another one that’s not true. 7 out of 10 men who have proceedings against them in court have some kind of action taken against them. Not all are custodial sentences. 9 out of 10 offenders given custodial sentences are men. Ex-offenders are violent Violence against the person is one of the most common crimes in the UK. BUT the severity ranges dramatically. These crimes often occur when […]
Employees are most worried about their financial position. The Money Advice Service identified that 28.7 million working adults in the UK weren’t satisfied with their finances. The Financial Conduct Authority reported that 25.6 million people were financially vulnerable. There’s a shocking stat out there. Faced with an unexpected £300 bill, 11.8 million adults will borrow money or can’t pay. Only 50% of employees, thinks that their employer cares about their financial well-being. That’s less than those who think that their employer cares about their mental (62%) and physical health (60%). When asked what their top three worries are, employees said Financial worries (30%) Health (25%) Retirement provision (24%) Employees are most worried about their financial position What do employers think their employees are most worried about? When asked what they thought their employees worried about the most, employers gave very different answers. Their top two worries were work life balance (44%) and workload (33%). There’s clearly a difference between what actually worries employees and what employers think their employees worry about. Work life balance worries only 22% or employees surveyed. Employees are most worried about their financial position. The effects of financial worries show themselves in many ways. Physical factors such as loss of sleep and […]
If you’re looking for 5 simple steps to improve employee engagement you’ve come to the right place. Some of the things might not be considered trendy nowadays, but they have always worked as engagement strategies. They rely on some simple foundations, communicate well, praise sincerely and do what you say you’ll do! Get out from behind your desk Talk to your employees, listen to them, their problems and suggestions. Be ready to roll up your sleeves to help out when things are pressured, do whatever needs to be done. Show some sincerity Look for the good in people. When you see something you like, tell that person right away. Tell your people what you appreciate, and why. It’ll bring the best out in them. Role model Make it a priority to demonstrate your company’s values. If you really want to affect your culture, work hard to show your remployees your values and priorities. It makes natural that they will follow your lead. Get over yourself. This doesn’t mean that you lack self-confidence or that you don’t stand up for yourself. It means that you recognise that you don’t know everything and that you’re ready to learn from others. Demonstrate a […]
Moving businesses from inadequate to outstanding is a new CIPD report claiming that UK employers are “sleepwalking into a low-value, low-skills economy”. The report attributes this to two main factors: an inadequate education system low employer spend on training As employers we can do little about the first, but we can do something about the second. We can affect how much we spend on training our workforce. Employer spending on training has been reducing year on year since 2005. The UK spends an average of just £ 202.30 per employee on training compared to an average spend of £457.42 per employee across the rest of Europe. The UK is now fourth from bottom place in an EU league table of job-related adult learning. The CIPD is making a valid point. The effectiveness of training isn’t determined by how much is spent on it. It states that UK employers may have found ways to minimise their training spend, without reducing the quality of the training. Using digital training or negotiating better deals with training providers is one way they are doing this. But the situation is very different in America, where the average spend on training per employee is £787.35. However, there is a potential disincentive for employers to […]
When is a warning not a warning? The simple answer is when it’s not carried out correctly. We get a surprising number of calls from employers who have reached the end of their tether. They’ve given an employee lots of verbal and written warnings with no improvement. Now they feel the need to remove the employee. It comes as a shock to them when we say, “that’s risky”. Let me give you an example of what I mean A business provides a facilities service to clients. They send teams of employees into a client premises, often out of hours. The intention is that the client will come into work the morning after and be delighted by the results. Over a 10 year period this had not always been the case when the business sent in one particular employee. His work was not always of a high standard. Over the ten year period the employer had given the employee a number of verbal and written warnings relating to his poor standard of work. One morning the Facilities business owner received an irate phone call from a client about the less than sparkling state of his premises after having paid for an overnight service. The […]
Exit interviews are important, but we get asked all the time, “What to ask in an exit interview?” Whilst they may not be very comfortable scenarios, they help your business out with real feedback from a departing employee. Recruitment is expensive, therefore by gaining the best feedback, you can use to create changes in your organisation. Here are the best questions and what to ask in an exit interview: What prompted you to look for another job? Get to the root of why your employee is leaving in the first instance. They may have already told you, but maybe there is more to it. Does it have anything to do with your company, the other employees or management, or simply the position they were in? What made you decide overall to accept your new job? What does the other organisation have that has enticed your employee away? It could be as simple as salary, benefits, or distance from home. Although there could be deeper, more emotional motivation, such as better company culture or opportunities for advancement. What did you like most about your job? Ask them about the positives. Find out what your company is doing right for your employees? […]
Clients ask, how can we help an employee return to work after maternity leave? New mothers are an incredibly valuable part of the talent pool. As an employer you have a responsibility to help them when they return to work in a way that doesn’t impact on their long-term career. The first step in supporting women during and after their pregnancies is to ensure they think of their careers as a long term thing. Encourage them to see that having a baby isn’t the end of their career. If we assume an individual begins working at 22 and retires at 65, the time employees spend caring for young children is relatively brief. However, when a mother has had a baby which has been their only concern, they can forget they had a career beforehand. Therefore, when a new mum returns to the workplace, have a conversation about her career goals. Make sure she knows the value she can add to the company and discover how she wants to move forwards. Some new mums may want to tread water while others will want to go straight back to what they were doing before they went on maternity. However, it’s important to encourage them to […]
The retail industry has been in the news recently because of redundancies being made at an alarming rate and many have not received support in redundancy. Many retail sector staff have felt the pain of losing their job or a colleague to redundancy. Then how can managers ensure that staff who are being made redundant or those who survive the redundancy process are sufficiently supported? Equally, the uncertainty they face could potentially cause mental and physical stress. Help Reduce Uncertainty Uncertainty about the future is a big cause of stress to employees. Therefore, to reduce the impact of stress on your staff, it is important that you provide as much information as possible. Therefore, by offering support in redundancy, you could consider implementing: A clear communication strategy. Plan and implement a communication strategy, alongside your redundancy consultation, to ensure information is conveyed effectively to staff. This is to avoid sending out mixed messages to staff, and avoid inaccurate information circulating. This can be highly damaging and could derail the redundancy process. Financial advice. Additionally, financial worries are a major cause of stress. Therefore, you may wish to consider offering staff access to financial advice. Usually, this will ensure they understand the financial implications arising from their redundancy. […]
The 6 essential aspects of workplace culture are : Purpose Connecting employees to your organisation Opportunity Providing employees with the opportunity to learn Success Giving employees the opportunity to do meaningful work and be in winning teams Appreciation Acknowledging and recognising employees contributions Wellbeing Paying attention to employees’ health and physical and social wellbeing Leadership Connecting employees to purpose and empowering them to do great work Research by OC Tanner* shows us organisations that marginally improve in each of the 6 essential aspects of workplace culture see dramatic improvements. Those improvements show in recruitment, retention, satisfaction and other business metrics. Not convinced? 1 in 5 employees think that there is no reason for their organisation to even exist 38% of employees think that their organisation negatively affects the lives of others More than 1 in 3 employees are often bored with their work responsibilities Nearly half of employees feel that their skills are under utilised in their current role 1 in 5 employees say they do not do their best work because no one else does Almost 50% of employees feel that their employer takes them for granted 49% of employees say that the recognition they receive is not authentic or […]
Mediation in the workplace is a completely voluntary and confidential form of alternative dispute resolution. It involves an independent, impartial person helping two or more individuals or groups reach a solution that’s acceptable to everyone. The mediator can talk to both sides separately or together. Mediators do not make judgments or determine outcomes – they ask questions that help to uncover underlying problems, assist the parties to understand the issues and help them to clarify the options for resolving their difference or dispute. The overriding aim of workplace mediation is to restore and maintain the employment relationship wherever possible. This means the focus is on working together to go forward, not determining who was right or wrong in the past. Many kinds of dispute can be mediated if those involved want to find a way forward. It can be used at any stage in a dispute but is most effective before positions become entrenched. You might want to think about writing a mediation stage into your individual grievance procedure. In facilitative mediation – the style that dominates workplace mediation – the mediator is said to be neutral with respect to both the parties and any solutions found. Mediators manage a structured […]
