Extraverts don’t always make the best leaders

Extraverts don’t always make the best leaders

extravertsThe ‘extraverted leadership advantage’ is a well-recognised phrase among researchers which describes how the characteristics of an extraverted personality create an advantage in the workplace when it comes to leadership roles. Extraverts are typically outgoing, loud, assertive, and high energy, so if you’re in a meeting with them they tend to speak up often. They can be hard to miss, which is what leads to many extraverts naturally taking on the role of a leader. More →

Disabled workers to get their own mentor programme from World Economic Forum

Disabled workers to get their own mentor programme from World Economic Forum

disabled workersThe Valuable 500, which claims to be the largest network of global CEOs committed to disability inclusion, has announced the launch of Generation Valuable, a programme designed to accelerate opportunities for disabled workers to join the boardroom. Generation Valuable plans to connect and incubate C-Suite talent with disabled talent. Over 1.3 billion people across the world live with some form of disability yet, according to Return on Disability, only 4 percent of businesses are focused on making offerings inclusive of disabled people. Moreover, research shows that minority talent faces promotion barricades just below the Executive rung. More →

Half of people aren’t comfortable talking about disability in the workplace

Half of people aren’t comfortable talking about disability in the workplace

disability in the workplaceA new poll from Samsung UK claims that people are generally uncomfortable talking about disabilities, including the issue of disability in the workplace. According to the survey, nearly half of the population (45 percent) admit to feeling uncomfortable saying the word ‘disabled’ or ‘disability’ in everyday conversations. Meanwhile, over half of people with disabilities say they have tried to conceal their challenges from work colleagues due to the fear of stalling their professional progression or landing a promotion (almost 45 percent) or being judged and made to feel like an outsider (41 percent).  Forty percent felt that their colleagues valued them less after they realised they had a disability. More →

Competition for talent is fierce, but employers edge away from pay to attract people

Competition for talent is fierce, but employers edge away from pay to attract people

competition for talentNew CIPD research claims that almost half (45 percent) of UK employers report having vacancies that are hard-to-fill, and almost two thirds (65 percent) anticipate problems filling vacancies in the next six months. The most common response made in the past six months by employers with hard-to-fill vacancies has been to increase pay (44 percent). However, only a quarter (27 percent) of organisations plan to raise wages in response to the competition for talent in the future. This suggests that organisations may be approaching their limit on this ‘quick win’ strategy and are exploring alternative options, such as upskilling people and flexible working, to attract and retain people. More →

The truth about motivation, engagement and the employment of motivated idiots

The truth about motivation, engagement and the employment of motivated idiots

motivated idiotsThe current obsession with engagement and motivation is evident every time you read the business media these days. This is understandable in many ways, not least because it seems true that firms and employees are often working in an atmosphere of mistrust. But one thing that is often noticeable when a profession such as HR gets itself into a debate of this nature is the gap that can exist between practitioners and everybody else offering a view. So while academics can talk about definitions and suppliers seek to apply their solutions to the issue, it is often down to those who work at the sharp end to dish up the truth, however unpalatable or cynical that can seem to be. More →

Job dissatisfaction is rife among senior executives – and hybrid working doesn’t help

Job dissatisfaction is rife among senior executives – and hybrid working doesn’t help

job dissatisfactionWidespread job dissatisfaction means a large proportion of senior executives from top US companies plan to leave their organisations in the next two years, according to a new report from KellyOCG. According to the 2022 KellyOCG Global Workforce Report – Re:work – there’s a significant disconnect between employees’ expectations and the support employers provide. Through a survey of C-suite leaders, board members, department heads, directors, and managers in 12 countries, including the United States and Canada, the report claims that 78 percent of US executives and 52 percent of Canadian executives, compared to 72 percent of leaders globally, aim to leave their jobs by 2024. More →

Imposter syndrome afflicts most people, but very few talk about it

Imposter syndrome afflicts most people, but very few talk about it

imposter syndromeThree in five workers experience imposter syndrome with women and younger people disproportionately more likely to have feelings of self doubt, according to a new report from jobsite Indeed.  The findings from Indeed’s Working on Wellbeing report are based on a YouGov survey of 2,500 UK workers around mental health and highlight how workers still are not getting the support needed from their employer.  More →

Human resources professionals should focus on boardroom partnerships

Human resources professionals should focus on boardroom partnerships

human resources partnershipsThe future of Human Resources remains a hotly debated topic, with conversations often focusing on whether the term is still accurate and how internal and external changes often put HR in a state of flux. As working models shift and new post-pandemic challenges emerge, the focus should be on what skills today’s HR leaders need to support the business and ensure its continuity and success in an evolving landscape. This includes embracing imminent changes to the HR strategy to develop additional skills and capabilities whilst ensuring compliance with new regulations, overcoming staff shortages and meeting heightened candidate expectations. More →

Flat organisations are handing out inflated job titles to hang on to staff

Flat organisations are handing out inflated job titles to hang on to staff

job titlesWe’ve seen more talk of the glass ceiling in recent years than for some time, and part of the explanation is the way we’re creating false career ladders within businesses which don’t need to be there and don’t really lead anywhere. We are seeing companies trying to retain people in a time of skills shortages and one of the ways they are going about it is to accelerate ‘promotions’ within organisations for individuals to encourage them to stay. And some of these promotions do not involve much more than the creation of inflated job titles. More →

Menopausal women being let down by employers

Menopausal women being let down by employers

menopausal womenA landmark study based on data from the largest ever survey of menopausal and peri-menopausal women in the UK reveals a shocking lack of support for often severe symptoms which mean the needs of menopausal women are being ignored both in the workplace and by healthcare providers. More →

Get ready for the artificial intelligence revolution

Get ready for the artificial intelligence revolution

artificial intelligenceBehind every successful business strategy is a talented and motivated workforce that is ready to apply itself and achieve great things. A leader may have a flawless strategy, but if they cannot staff their teams with the most talented individuals, their vision will stay just that. A vision. Unfortunately, the tools organizations use to identify and recruit the best talent have not changed much over the last few decades: resumés, interviews, and reference checks continue to be the predominant methods for evaluating potential. Sadly, many studies demonstrate that these methods are unpredictive, biased, and are inefficient.  The good news is that innovations in artificial intelligence offer exciting tools that improve the recruitment process for both organizations and candidates.  More →

Why the over 50s are leaving the workforce in huge numbers

Why the over 50s are leaving the workforce in huge numbers

over 50s leaving workThe UK economy has a problem with its over 50s: following the COVID pandemic, they have been leaving the labour force en masse, causing headaches for businesses and the government. Roughly 300,000 more workers aged between 50 and 65 are now “economically inactive” than before the pandemic, leading a tabloid paper to dub the problem the “silver exodus”. Being economically inactive means that these older workers are neither employed nor looking for a job. Of course, it could simply be that workers saved more during the pandemic and can now afford to retire in comfort earlier than planned. More →