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Achieving competitive advantage through people
Written by John Berry on 1st May 2017. Revised 7th April 2025.
4 min read
Competitive advantage is where a firm enjoys lower costs or greater sales than competitors. This paper builds an argument for a set of HR practices that form the basis of the psychological contract, the set of expectations that both employee and employer hold.
To interview volunteers or not
Written by John Berry on 6th January 2025. Revised 6th April 2025.
3 min read
Surely interviewing is normal? Surely you must enter the relationship with some view about whether the volunteer will do well in the job? Why is there any doubt about the need for interviews? The answer is complicated. Here we explain. By telling candidate volunteers they must face an interview, the manager puts a block in the volunteers’ paths. They send the message to the candidates that volunteering is just like employment. Volunteering is declining. Managers might want to think about alternatives.
Employing Foreign Workers Abroad
Written by John Berry on 2nd May 2017. Revised 28th March 2025.
22 min read
Managers can find it extremely attractive to ‘employ’ foreign staff resident abroad. Engaging workers in foreign countries is complex. In many cases it is better to trade at arms length through business to business agreements, paying against invoice. But that won't suit many firms, particularly where they have constraining upstream contracts. They must employ workers locally. Here are all the issues for firms wanting to gain worker services in both EU and non-EU countries.
Setting objectives has been researched in various disciplines. Objective setting is generally accepted as an effective tool for maintaining and improving performance. Here we discuss how objective setting is applied to volunteers in a CSO, including the cascade from organisational objectives to those personal to the volunteer. We also discuss tell and sell versus self-setting of objectives.
A calling or just a job: finding staff with more than an interest
Written by John Berry on 11th October 2017. Revised 20th March 2025.
6 min read
We’ve all heard the phrase “Called to the ministry” describing how someone became a priest or vicar. But it extends further. Many say that they knew from a young age just what job they wanted to do. Once in work, many people comment that they feel so motivated by the job they do that they’d do it even if they weren’t paid. Calling extends to many careers. So how does a calling come about and how do hiring managers attract those with a calling?
Managing Volunteers
Written by John Berry on 25th August 2020. Revised 16th March 2025.
5 min read
It’s often said by managers in voluntary organisations that their volunteers can’t be managed. And yet, if that is so, the organisation faces rudderless chaos. The direction in which the organisation travels, what it achieves and whether it has a future are therefore all in doubt. In short, the situation is unacceptable. Volunteers must be managed for the good of the organisation.
