HR News July 2011

Welcome to the July issue of HR News. In this issue we look at the findings of a recent survey that suggests that absence levels are starting to decline. Is this purely because of the threat of redundancy and wanting to make a good impression or that employers are taking more interest in the reasons for absence? Another survey has shown the importance of a robust recruitment policy as an alarming amount of businesses regret their recruitment decisions. Older employees are again in the news, with statistics showing that although they are having to work to an older age, they are still not being treated fairly when it comes to on-going training and development. Finally we look at why a healthy workforce strategy could improve the image of your business.

 

Decline in absence levels

Studies show that there has been a gradual but steady decline in absence levels over the past five years, falling from an average 4% of working time lost in 2006 to 2.8% in 2010.

This is according to a survey on staff absence rates and costs, which also found that the average cost of absence in the UK in 2010 was £553 per employee.

Absence was found to be higher in the public sector than in the private sector, with an average of 3.5% and 2.4% of working time lost in 2010 respectively.

The survey also found regional variations in absence rates, with London and the South-East reporting the lowest rates.

It is fair to say that these figures show a small but significant drop in absence rates across the economy. This should be heartening news to the government-appointed body that has just been set up to undertake a major review of the sickness absence in Britain.

Streamline staff absence with Teamspirit Human Resources Software.

 

Alarming amount of employers regret recruitment decisions

According to new research, an alarming three quarters of employers regret their hiring decisions due to employee under performance.

The survey asked the respondents if they ever felt regretful about hiring a member of staff, to which 74% said 'yes'. A further 22% of the respondents said they were 'unsure' and four per cent said 'no'.

The respondents were also asked which possible qualities an employee would have to adopt in order for them to feel regretful about hiring them. The new employee exaggerating their qualifications and experience on their CV was the top (71%), followed by not being good at the job (68%) and under-performance (66%).

The most common reason for employers feeling regretful about hiring a member of staff was due to the under performance of the person in question, according to 63% of those surveyed. A further 21% said it was due to the employee having a bad attitude.

The survey underlines the importance of making the recruitment process water tight giving the employer the confidence that their decision to hire was the right one. Terminating an employee's contract is not an enjoyable task for any manager. It is estimated that is costs around £4k per job to hire an employee!

Teamspirit recruitment software enables you to track potential employees from application through to employment. The details of recruited applicants can then be automatically transferred to Teamspirit Payroll and HR Software modules thus avoiding the double entry of data.

 

Employers should not neglect the older workforce

As the Pensions Bill makes its way through Parliament, promising to extend the working lives of thousands of people - new research has shown older workers are often forgotten at work when it comes to training and career development.

The study by the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD) conducted a survey of 2,000 workers and found less than half aged 65 or over had received a formal appraisal once a year compared to almost two thirds of all employees. Older workers are also much less likely than younger workers to have received training, with 51 percent of those aged 65 or over saying they had received no training in the last three years, compared to 32 percent across all age groups.

From these findings it would suggest that employers should make more effort to treat older workers equally when it comes to training and development, especially as the removal of the default retirement age means people can work into their late sixties and beyond if they choose. Employers who focus career development towards younger staff could find themselves falling foul of the law!

The research highlighted the extra difficulties faced by older workers who have been made redundant and are trying to get back into the jobs market. If employers direct training and development towards younger people, it suggests they believe older workers are "nearing the end of their working lives" and this may go against them in the recruitment process. The survey finds too many older workers are currently neglected in the workplace when it comes to training and performance management.

View and update your training needs online with Teamspirit Human Resources Software

Empower your staff - give your staff access to key training information, records, qualifications and appraisals with Teamspirit employee self service software. 

 

Could a healthy workforce be linked to a healthy company?

In a recent survey carred out by Global Wellness, the findings highlighted that 50% of participants in the UK now have a workplace wellness strategy. So why are these companies so interested in the health and wellbeing of their workforce?

Wellness strategies are put in place in general as they have a positive impact on employees' productivity, absence and engagement levels. Most local councils have a policy in place to encourage local businesses to think about the well-being of their staff. They get them to consider offering walk breaks, reduced rate gym memberships, free health checks and if there is a canteen, providing healthy food on the menu. The type of businesses who invested in their workplace are more likely to have invested in workplace wellness primarily because it reflects the culture and goals of their company, intuitively sensing that the financial benefits will follow.

Workplace wellness can be an excellent indicator of how engaged employees are with their organisation and how much an employer listens to the opinions of their employees. Most wellness strategies will not work without making sure that they include programmes that the employees want, as without high participation, they will not have the required impact.

Organisations that have a strategic approach to all aspects of their business, are usually more inclined to offer a range of health-related programmes to their employees, but these are rarely coordinated in their delivery or communication. Companies that are strategy-led are attracted to formalising their investment in their employee's health to ensure that they have a clear plan to implement and carry out programmes that maximise the impact of this investment. It can also be deemed as an indication that your company in general is in good shape.

From a cultural perspective, companies which believe that employees are their most important asset are very likely to have a workplace wellness strategy. If your employees are your key business differentiator, then you need them at work; healthy, focused and engaged. Workplace wellness is a key tool in assisting with this.

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