We're experts on all things Management & HR
Determining candidate suitability through pre-employment checks
Written by John Berry on 31st May 2017. Revised 13th November 2020.
3 min read
Managers would often like to know if the person they intend to hire would at some stage in the future be a threat to the hiring company. Managers may therefore be keen to vet candidates before they employ them. But vetting is complex, shrouded in mystique by many firms supplying vetting or pre-employment checks. And statute constrains what's possible. Here’s some outline information on vetting.
Strategic HRM: People, Culture and the Bottom Line
Written by John Berry on 5th May 2017. Revised 13th November 2020.
11 min read
Strategic HRM (Human Resource Management) is about changing people to align them with your business strategy. The managers of the firm create an ecosystem, an environment, in which their people work. All firms employ people, therefore all firms have a people ecosystem. This paper considers how the people ecosystem can be managed to the best advantage of the firm and how optimising the people ecosystem leads to improved bottom line result.
And the results are in: managers aren’t helping manage employee stress
Written by John Berry on 26th March 2020. Revised 11th November 2020.
5 min read
Results of our 103-manager survey are disappointing, but in line with the general trend claimed by researchers – stress in the workplace is on the rise. But it’s not the strain that’s increasing! Management is deteriorating to cause the increased stress. And the only conclusion - managers really must improve. Managers really must get trained and act.
Methods of Job Evaluation
Written by John Berry on 23rd September 2018. Revised 10th November 2020.
1 min read
Job evaluation is at the heart of the process in which managers determine how much to pay one employee over another. Many managers guess where salaries should lie. This results in feelings of injustice in employees over both the method and the result. Here are some rational methods where the manager can justify decisions.
Just what benefits should you offer?
Written by John Berry on 17th August 2018. Revised 10th November 2020.
6 min read
Broadly, most UK SME managers grant employees the bare minimum of additional benefits over and above salary. In many cases, they’ll award staff the statutory minimum. Yet a few SMEs do give their employees generous high-value benefits. So why the difference, and does it make any sense to offer more than you must? Here we discuss the origins of this minimalist thinking and explore what other options there are for beneficial benefits.
Calculating Total Reward
Written by John Berry on 4th May 2017. Revised 10th November 2020.
5 min read
Firms do a great deal for staff. Of course they pay for work done, and give statutory holidays. But it goes a lot further than that. Keeping a good work-life balance and giving recognition and career builds employee commitment. Thinking about total reward helps managers add elements of great benefit to employee and firm without huge cost.
