HR in 90 Seconds - December 2019

For the December edition of HR in 90 we thought we’d look back at some of the expert advice, guidance and enlightenment provided by our HR contributors this year.

Recruitment and Selection

Getting an engaged workforce starts with recruiting the best talent and as recruitment processes adapt to changing times, we look back at some of our contributors feelings on this important HR function.

• Joanne McAuley, Clarendon Executive challenges us to think about the candidate experience when considering our recruitment processes. 
• Mairead Regan and Hugh McPoland from Clarendon Executive in the HR Bitesize Podcast Series discuss an Employer’s brand and how that can be a hindrance or help when trying to recruit the most talented staff.  They also discuss the importance of authentic selection which they define as a process which aligns an organisation to appoint primarily on the basis of merit.
• Emma Kieran, Clarendon Executive discussed how to harness the power of Artificial Intelligence in  recruitment outlining the benefits it can provide to both employers and candidates.

Employee Engagement

Keeping employees engaged with the organisation is crucial to help not only promote a healthier and happier workforce but also reduce turnover and save on recruitment and training costs.  Our contributors posted many articles on employee engagement this year and here are a few:

• Employee Engagement; where to start? – Olga Pollock discusses the Employee Engagement journey – commencing with setting the objective for engagement and outlining methods to achieving this. 
• Claire Loftus discusses the Top 5 benefits of employee engagement.
• In her article entitled Psychological Capital – A Mindset Shift for HR, Emer Hinphey, Think People asks us to consider how we measure engagement.

Work Life Balance

okay, so now you have recruited the most talent bunch of hard-working employees, how do you keep them

• Leeanne Armstrong, TLT, outlines both legal requirements and best practice in handling requests for flexible working – a cornerstone of an organisation’s attitude towards work life balance.
• Despite an increase in the minimum entitlement of annual leave from 20 days a year to 28 days in 2009, and the launch of a holiday pay campaign as part of the UK Government’s ‘Good Work Plan’, many are still not taking off what they are entitled to.  Joanne McAuley, Claredon Executive, discusses the concept of Workplace Separation Anxiety and outlines what an employer can do to promote greater work life balance.  
• Olga Pollock queries whether remote working, as an option, is actually bad for us.

Change Management and Restructuring

An inevitable consequence of increasing technology and a move from traditional types of industry is a need for organisations to restructure to become flatter and, often smaller.  Conscious of the impact that this can have on the workforce here are a few helpful articles from our HR contributors:

• Paolo Ruoppolo, Think People, outlines the importance of supporting leaders during a change management and restructuring process where it can be quite lonely at the top!
• The role of HR in the change management process is clarified by Mairead Regan and Hugh McPoland from Clarendon Executive.
• In dealing with the impact of organisational change as an individual Olga Pollock outlines why redundancy was the best thing that happened to her.

You can find the full range of updates in our HR Updates section, and can also listen to the fantastic HR Bitesize Podcast Series. Merry Christmas all!