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Basic steps in closing an office
Written by John Berry on 31st May 2020. Revised 8th March 2025.
5 min read
Regretfully there are many firms now considering closing an office, factory or other facility. First the closure must be necessary, and this can be proven using a business plan. Second, the whole process of redundancy must be done fairly. Critically, this involves determining redundant jobs and assessing all jobholders for dismissal using a fair criteria
Are Leaders Born or Bred?
Written by John Berry on 3rd May 2017. Revised 6th March 2025.
2 min read
Are leaders born or bred? It’s a persistent question. Some senior managers and policy makers believe absolutely that leaders are bred, that a leader must come from the right background. Others argue strongly that anyone can be made into a leader given the right training. So who’s right?
A Practical Approach to Managing Work Based Stress
Written by John Berry on 5th May 2017. Revised 5th March 2025.
6 min read
This article proposes a practical approach to managing of work based stress. It suggests use of the HSE Management Standards to describe six forces that need to be balanced. It then elaborates this to include these forces in a feedback model to suggest a method by which managers can actually manage reduction in stress through control of stressors and increase in coping.
A practical guide to Company Sick Pay
Written by John Berry on 22nd April 2021. Revised 4th March 2025.
4 min read
Many Government employees get full wages paid for anything up to a year of absence, so the Government, as an employer, pays ‘Company’ Sick Pay. Some firms have realised that to attract and retain key staff, they must do something similar. Whilst managers might want to pay full wages whenever an employee is off sick, only the Government and a few others can afford such generosity. So, what are managers to do?
Are some psychometric assessments discriminatory?
Written by Sue Berry on 13th March 2023. Revised 4th March 2025.
5 min read
In 2017, a job applicant with Asperger Syndrome had her case upheld by the Employment Appeals Tribunal (EAT). Her treatment by the Government Legal Services amounted to indirect discrimination. She had been required to take a multi-choice situational-judgement test – a form of psychometric test - as the first part of the recruitment process. So does this mean that psychometric tests are discriminatory? Simply, no. But it does require that they are administered, managed and analysed correctly. Here's how.
Employee Engagement is Good For Business
Written by John Berry on 5th May 2017. Revised 28th February 2025.
7 min read
Employee engagement occurs when an employee feels proud, is involved and feel empowered to make decisions. Employee Engagement is Good For Business. This blog first defines employee engagement. It then investigates how a manager sets about creating an engaged workforce.
