Emma Denning MCIPD

CIPD HR Leaders and Policy Forum roundtable - Exploring New Deal for Working People … A great session today at The Royal Institute discussing and debating some of the future changes to employment legislation that are proposed by our new government Whilst we still await a lot of detail on what these changes will look like in practice, it was good to start to think about the impact for businesses and us as HR Professionals and have the opportunity to input to a response. It will be interesting to see how these proposed changes evolve over the next 12 months ! #cipd #employmentlaw #publicpolicy

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Are you a CPO/CHRO/HRD interested in a deeper discussion, thinking about how we systemically address the challenges of being a People Professional in the world of work today? And how we can create environments for People/ HR teams that reflect the real world challenges of our work? Look no further 👇

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🚀 HR Vendors And Consultants – What Do HR Directors Think of Your Marketing Efforts? 🚀 ⛔ It’s never been so bad. HR directors are inundated now more than ever with marketing and sales messages from suppliers. Just check out this quote from one chief people officer I have spoken to: “You get around 30 requests from vendors to connect/ask for a call and typically 30/50 emails now a week with people requesting meetings to buy you a coffee. This week I have had two vendors (who I’ve never heard of) put an invite directly into my calendar as they have got hold of my email in the hope that my EA or I may accept the call with them.” This is just one of many eye-opening comments I received when I carried out a survey of around 100 HR directors and chief people officers to find out how they make decisions about the products and services they purchase. I discovered five key mistakes HR vendors and consultants are making in their marketing and sales approaches to this specific HR audience: Mistake #1: Misidentifying the decision-maker  Mistake #2: The pitfall of feature-overload Mistake #3: Neglecting brand consistency and awareness Mistake #4: Over-relying on singular marketing efforts Mistake #5: The ‘too-salesy’ trap. I’ve distilled these mistakes into a free short 5-day educational email course which unpacks the common pitfalls many vendors make and, more importantly, how to avoid them. Each day we tackle one specific mistake, providing vendors with insights and strategies to enhance their outreach and engagement efforts. 📊 The toolkit and accompanying 24-page report offers insights into the preferences, challenges and decision-making processes of your key audience. The actionable strategies will enable HR suppliers to: 🎯 Precisely target and engage HR leaders 📈 Elevate your marketing effectiveness 🤝 Build lasting relationships with top HR decision-makers. So if you are looking to enhance your marketing approach to HR directors check out The HR Vendors Marketing Toolkit for the data-driven insights you need to succeed. From understanding what truly influences HR directors to mastering the art of engaging without overwhelming, it has it all! 💼📋 👉 Sign up now to gain access to this FREE short email course (you can consume it over your coffee each day) as well as the detailed report at the end and make every interaction count! Link in the comments below. 👇 And if you’re an HR practitioner I’d love to hear your vendor horror stories in the comments below! 😱 #HRVendors #MarketingStrategies #HRTech #HRDirectors #BusinessGrowth #HRConsultants

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Really interesting article which highlights the importance of a clear Attraction and Onboarding Strategy ⚠️ 51% of New Hires leave their positions or require additional support due to mis hiring ⚠️ 16% of new Hires leave within 12 months ✅ Fractional Work is increasing organisations are recruiting highly skilled professionals on a part time or project by project basis ✅ New Hires shared the importance of Technological and Process Innovation as part of their career needs #Fractionalworking #CandidateJourney

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The September edition of HR Law is now live! In this month's release you will find articles covering topics such as discrimination, grievance processes, cost of living, the Strikes Act and much more. Read the full edition here: https://bit.ly/3zLnhQF #HRLaw #Employment

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𝐂𝐨𝐧𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐮𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐃𝐢𝐬𝐦𝐢𝐬𝐬𝐚𝐥: 𝐖𝐡𝐲 𝐓𝐫𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝐌𝐚𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐬 𝐌𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐓𝐡𝐚𝐧 𝐏𝐫𝐨𝐜𝐞𝐬𝐬 ↪ When trust breaks down in the workplace, sometimes leaving feels like the only option. But must employees always exhaust the internal grievance process before claiming constructive dismissal? ↪ My latest article explores recent case law that challenges traditional views on grievance exhaustion and highlights the importance of trust over process. ↪ Discover practical tips for employers to create a fair and respectful workplace culture that addresses issues early and avoids unnecessary claims. #ConstructiveDismissal #Trust #WINCHR

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BUT... Performance Improvement Plans (PIP)are a tool and not the only game in town. (following on from last post) As discussed in a previous post, if performance outcomes are injury, disability or capacity based talk to the good folk at jobaccess. I encourage you to listen to the following podcast by Olexo (formerly PCC). Lawyers podcast on managing under performance. This is the fair work jurisdiction but has good advice for state system employees to cosider and chat with inhouse legal advice within your own organisation. My reading is essentially they are saying you can use a pip or a show cause letter with caveats. My disclaimers to HR folk are: - seek legal advice - pick the right tool for the right context - consider the implicit messaging to stakeholders and bystanders - consider your own policies - if state govtWA consider the PSC performance management standard in your conversations with your legal folk. With this last point I think this is worth some discussion. Performance Management policies I see, normally don't consider casual staff and can be problematic in working with fixed term contract employment. So I see that this might be worth a discussion in terms of those engagements subject to legal advice. HR folk often state that the PSC standard precludes the use of a show cause arrangement as described in the podcast, but I would like to see a healthy legally informed evidenced debate about this. At the end of the day, besides being a decent human being, the consideration here needs to consider the time, effort and dollars in employing someone to support the business and it's mission. Not to mention the implicit messaging to employees and managers about how it's handled. Getting performance right is critical. Pinning all your hopes on "good recruitment" and avoiding getting "performance right" is akin to playing lotto as a "solid" superannuation strategy. What do you think? Would love to hear your experience of Performance Management suporting the business or employees. (appropriately de-identified of course!) Remember, we are all in it together. https://lnkd.in/g5eWAqU6

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Highly recommend an hour with Luke O'Mahoney and Lauren Gomes on the PX Espresso Podcast. (link in comment) Was listening on my Sunday run and so many practical and actionable insights for forward thinking HR leaders - specifically for those interested in a more agile and human-centred approach to HR. One of my big takeaways that seems obvious, yet is so often overlooked, is the timing of HR projects can literally 'make or break' their success. We recently had a customer we'd been working with on an updated Talent Review & Development experience. The current process was manual and cobbled together with makeshift tools - costing the HR team hours of admin. We were excited to launch after big efforts all round to design a personalized (for employees) and automated (for HR) experience. But... the company had just made a bunch of layoffs. This HR team could have ploughed on to get the personal benefit of the automation, but they knew the timing was bad - to launch at a time when employee sentiment had taken a hit would have been received with scepticism. Absolutely the right call to postpone for better timing and in the long run will be a more successful outcome. Lauren gave other great examples of bad timing for HR projects... but if you wanna know what they are - you'll have to listen. 🙉 Link below 👇

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🍪 #hotoffthepress - Originally published by HR magazine PCA president David Liddle stresses on the well known fact that 'Grievance Procedures Don't Deliver Justice at Work' 🚫 What are your thoughts on this piece? Would you like to blog at the PCA? Become a MemberPRO at the People & Culture Association (PCA) and join a global hub for people professionals and leaders 📩 write to - [email protected] for a special coupon code. #peopleandculture #transformativejustice #futureofhr

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It was a pleasure to chair this session today on Career Planning & Development for senior people professionals and step in for Kayleigh Tobbell Firstly we got to hear from Steve George Chartered MCIPD, FRSA, GMBPsS about the wide range of tools, learning and support available from the CIPD website for Members at all grades. https://lnkd.in/ed-_fwqS Then a fabulous panel of senior people professionals. Vicki Casey Chartered FCIPD Jennifer Hulme Helen Bilton Some top takeaways for me included: 📈Structured planning to career development through short focussed bursts each day. 🔎 Researching the diversity of HR roles and understanding the business sectors you want to work with. 🗣️Network, network, network, get yourself visible and about in different forums, share and amplify insights and help people understand the value and impact you bring. 💻 Be able to understand the commercial value of HR and seek buy in for HR practices from business leaders. 📚Build a case study of work experiences to help capture your measurable impact as a people professional. 👾Overriding that inner gremlin and knowing you can. Some of this probably seems obvious but against busy work and home lives, which can be focussed on supporting and enabling others, it is easy to neglect your own development. What are your top tips? #cipd #sppn #seniorpeopleprofessionals #cipdnorth #careerdevelopment #personaldevelopment

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What can employers learn from the BBC's handling of the Huw Edwards case? This People Management article sets out some good pointers: "In a situation where an employee has been arrested but not charged, an employer is placed in a difficult position, weighing up their duty of care to their employee, colleagues, third parties and potential reputational damage.  Ultimately, there is no automatic right for an employer to dismiss an employee on an arrest, nor is there an automatic right to dismiss for reputational reasons if an employee is charged with a criminal offence. The employer must conduct a reasonable assessment of the relevant facts and situation. In Lafferty v Nuffield Health, Nuffield successfully argued it dismissed Lafferty fairly for some other substantial reason after he was charged with assault with the intention to rape. Nuffield was concerned that by continuing to employ a person facing such charges, this breached the hospitals’ duty of care to patients and risked reputational damage. They considered suspension as an alternative, but decided the risk was too great and decided to dismiss Lafferty on notice. The employment tribunal found that Nuffield’s concerns over reputational damage were genuine and they did not act outside the scope of a reasonable employer in the circumstances. Key considerations So what should an employer consider when an employee has been accused of or arrested for a non-work related matter? - The source and reliability of information about the alleged conduct (noting this to be greater if there was a decision to prosecute). - Their duty to act reasonably in the circumstances by carrying out their own inquiries. - The nature of the employees’ role and whether the alleged offence is incompatible with the employees continued employment (eg, where an employee is arrested for a driving offence and they are required to drive as part of their role). - The risk of reputational damage. - Any alternatives to dismissal and whether the employer has acted reasonably in rejecting them. - The cost of suspension pending investigation and the cost of dismissing. Actions to take Suspension should never be automatic. An employer should have reasonable cause to suspend; for example, if there is a clear risk to the business by the employee remaining at work. An employee should be paid their full salary for the duration of their suspension. Discussing the matter with the employee to better understand the issues and the risks to the business is reasonable. Depending on what is ascertained, there may be a need for further investigation and disciplinary action; for example, if (using the example above) they were driving their company vehicle at the time of the offence. If dismissal is a genuine consideration the employee should be notified of this in any invitation to a disciplinary meeting ...." Read the full article ...

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Here's some important guidance that every employer should be aware of over the coming weeks. Starting on July 18, a revised Code of Practice on dismissal and re-engagement (commonly known as “fire and re-hire”) will take effect. Employers should view this option as a last resort. You'll remember the outcry when P&O Ferries used a video to tell more than 800 staff members that they were being made redundant with immediate effect. Key points of the new code of practice include: Communicate changes in writing. Consult with employees in good faith and for as long as reasonably possible. Absolutely seek advice from Acas before considering fire and re-hire. Remember, failure to follow the Code could lead to costly tribunals - they have been given the power to increase protective awards by up to 25 per cent when an employer has acted unreasonably. Stay informed and compliant! You can learn more about the Code here: https://lnkd.in/exJKBusH And if you have any questions, you know where to come - we're always happy to help. #HRconsultancy #Employmentlaw #workingtogether

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Really interesting article about 2 high profile mergers and acquisitions by Honey Jane Wyatt in HR magazine I was asked to comment on. It's critical that organisations don’t go into a deep freeze awaiting the outcome of a long, drawn-out process; particularly when 10% of all mergers and acquisitions are cancelled each year https://lnkd.in/dyHcg8YM

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A disability discrimination case outlining how an employer dismissed an employee in #probation for not meeting expectations, but did not go far enough to make reasonable adjustments, based on the employee’s disability. Some key points for employers: - Probation doesn’t mean anything in law. An employer can’t consider a dismissal would be fair just because it’s in a probationary period, where it relates to a disability (or any form of discrimination under The Equality Act). - The onus for making and determining reasonable adjustments where an employee has a disability is reliant on the employer, not the employee to determine. - Not appointing somebody to a job because of their disability could also give rise to a disability discrimination claim, if reasonable adjustments could have been made. - The bar at which an employer is expected to make reasonable adjustments is high. An employer has to demonstrate how far it has considered adjustments, external support etc. - Take professional HR advice, which may also involve a referral to occupational health, before making a decision to dismiss (including in the probationary period) where the employee has or could be known to have a disability. Contact us if you need any HR support if based in Trafford, Warrington and surrounding areas 👇 https://lnkd.in/e23ay55 Read more about this case: https://lnkd.in/ekt7Szed #hradvice #discrimination #dismissal #disability #reasonableadjustment

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A lot of time, money and brainpower (definition required 😉) is spent on HR interventions without a common understanding the topic in question e.g. engagement, performance, culture. Rob Briner’s article brings home the point.

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Great to see the support Q5 provided to London HR Connection, a not-for-profit networking group for HR professionals, through our pro bono consulting practice, Pop Up. Learn more about the challenges LHRC faced and the positive impact our team made in the video below 👇 #HR #ProBono #Consulting

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🙃 I think this point has been raised long before I got into an HR role, and makes me wonder why it's not yet been resolved, or, do we just need to accept that HR departments will bear the brunt of blame for organisational issues that are fundamentally management related? 🌟One key aspect highlighted in this article is the misunderstanding of HR's role. HR isn't a fix for all managerial faux pas; it's a shoulder to lean on for support which helps in the execution of effective management practices. I've read about situations/tribunal outcomes a lot recently, whereby managers/business leaders who fail to be effective in fostering a positive workplace culture, or fail to deal with ER issues, solely point fingers at HR 🫵 📢I've always shouted loudly of the importance of HR practices being designed to be proactive instead of reactive, and therefore I wholeheartedly agree with this article emphasising the importance of HR being involved in strategic decision-making processes. When HR are given a seat at the table, they can provide valuable insights into how policies and initiatives will impact employees and company culture - sometimes highlighting the blind spots from a perspective which could have otherwise been overlooked. But all to often HR are eyeballed to sort out the aftermath. 💣 So it seems to me the challenge continues: How can we move away from HR being seen as administrator's of policy and the 'law enforcers' and 'fluffy HR' to being strategic people partners? Rather than, "we made a decision, people are leaving, can you sort"? to "We're thinking of moving to this way of working, what impact do you think it might have on our colleagues before we go ahead"? 🤷‍♀️ I am fortunate enough to have seat at the table at Signature 💖 and am involved in open communication with the management team and SLT, and this is what I would encourage all business leaders to do. By establishing regular check-ins or forums where both parties can discuss challenges, share perspectives, and brainstorm solutions, we can bridge that gap and develop mutual understanding.👯‍♂️ That's what it comes down to essentially, lack of understanding of each others role, and the pressures that go with that. By understanding the value both managers & HR can bring to a problem through their combined skill sets, can enhance their appreciation for each other's roles and develop a more cohesive working relationship. 🫶🤝 From what I've seen over my HR years, building this trust and respect requires a concerted effort from both sides, and by respecting and recognising each other's expertise and contributions, can create a collaborative environment where organisational goals are achieved more effectively 🥇 #strategicHR #collaboration #collaboration #HRmanagment #leadershipdevelopment #employeeengagement #workplaceculture #hrstrategy #managerialskills #trustbuilding #professionaldevelopment #organisationaleffectiveness

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