Wanna job? Get down to McDonalds
Two contrasting stories about the employment market recently illustrate really well how different businesses are coping in the economic downturn…
read more...»Marketing strategy - making the pier stand out from the crowd
The fire at the pier at Weston-Super-Mare might put you off buying a seaside attraction. But not Stephen Bournes…
read more...»Tipping and the Minimum Wage
Business Secretary John Hutton has said there needed to be more transparency in tipping. In a recent BBC report he called on employers to make it clear how tips were distributed so that customers knew where their money was going - and whether or not the establishment operated a fair tipping policy.
read more...»Is training the key to survival in a downturn?
Many businesses will not have traded through a recession before, so it will be interesting to see how they respond in terms of cost control. My recollection of the last recession was that two of the significant cost categories to bear the brunt of cuts were advertising and staff training. However, an interesting article in the Sunday Times today suggests that better investment in training might be a key part of a strategy to survive the impending downturn…
read more...»End of term got you tired and stessed? Dying for a break?
This is not meant as a joke. You can die from overwork, even in the modern workplace, and it has recently emerged that one of Toyota’s senior car engineers died from working too many hours.
read more...»Who should a start-up employ? Simple - the kids
Child labour. That’s the answer to some (not all) employment challenges facing a small business. A mailing campaign to put into envelopes? Need help with the photocopying or filing? Fancy a cup of tea brought up to the back-bedroom office. Then it makes sense to ask the kids to get involved, and grab a significant tax break at the same time…
read more...»Tanker driver strike - was it worthwhile after all?
Is it really two weeks since a strike by a group of oil tanker drivers had the media running their standard “panic buying” stories, featuring petrol stations that had run dry. It’s amazing how the actions of a relatively small group of employees (providing fuel to just 10% of the UK’s petrol stations) can have such a significant impact. However, it seems the strike tactic may have worked for the employees…
read more...»Porkie Pies Don’t Cut It in the Real Job Market
A few white lies about his educational history didn’t prevent Lee McQueen from being named The Apprentice. However, the latest annual employment survey from the CIPD suggests “Sir Allun” may have let his protege off lightly…
read more...»What NOT to do when being interviewed for a job: reflections on The Apprentice
You may not enjoy BBC’s The Apprentice, but last night’s show was helpful in pointing out some of the things that are best to avoid in interview situations! The BBC have done a great job in summarising some helpful and amusing points at Five job interview bear traps
Latest happiness survey: financial rewards are not the answer to job satisfaction
A smarter kind of homework
Homework, or should I really write “home-working” is a smarter way to work for an increasing number of British employees. What a pity that, as a dedicated part-time homeworker, I missed an official day off last week.
read more...»New rights for temporary staff
The ultimate example of flexible, short term labour is hiring staff through agencies. Instead of the hassle, time and expense of recruitment, training and pension costs, firms have been able to buy in labour to meet temporary staff shortages. In some cases businesses have gone further. Their use of agency staff extends beyond filling gaps through to using agency workers for key roles such as cleaning and maintenance. I still remember my surprise when I took a group of students on a field trip to a well known supermarket and found that they had no cleaners. Their wonderful claims to be a supportive, caring and loyal employer didn’t actually extend to the people with a mop in their hand.
read more...»The Challenge of Recruiting for the Best Job in the World (OCR Applied Unit 9)
The case study for OCR Applied Unit 9 (Erica’s Eco Tours Ltd) focuses on the strategy of a specialist tour operator that runs small-group escorted tours to long-haul destinations. One of the strategic challenges is how to recruit and retain high quality people to act as Expedition Leaders. Here are some links to resources that help students learn more about the role and the ways in which a successful tour operator manages the recruitment process.
read more...»Avoiding the risks that lead to shattered lives
I was in the tutor2u food manufacturing division (my kitchen) stirring some delicious home-made bacon broth when a piece on tonight’s Five Live news caught my attention. It featured a representative from the Health & Safety executive discussing new legal requirements for business owners and led onto a discussion about how complying with health and safety legislation actually generates a good return on investment for a business.
read more...»Motivating the 80%
The 80/20 principle is often used to refer to the fact that 20% of staff contribute to 80% of the output of an organisation. In terms of motivating the 80%, I wondered how successful this tool might be.
read more...»Counting the Cost of Workplace Sickness
An important report into workplace sickness is a goldmine for Business teachers looking for some great examples of issues in people management.
read more...»Would you be motivated by a wacky workplace?
But would you work for a boss who promised happiness more than wealth? Would you believe her? A couple of go-ahead firms – Orange and Innocent – feature in a web article You’ve got to laugh - BBC where the offer of a stimulating workplace is every bit as important as the wage rate.
Google is at it too, Google your way to a wacky office - BBC with a workspace in Zurich that includes a slide, a games room, a ‘chill-out’ aquarium and plenty of free food. They have meeting ‘pods’ in the style of Swiss chalets and igloos, fireman poles to allow easy access between floors and a slide to ensure that people can get to the cafeteria as quickly as possible. The ‘wacky’ publicity can’t hurt in an environment that is increasingly hostile to the firm’s business practices. They also hope that the innovative environment will help information exchange between staff.
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John Lewis staff bag a bumper bonus
I’m going to have to keep this blog entry secret from my team at tutor2u. News that staff at John Lewis are each to receive a 20% bonus certainly focuses the mind on how to use pay as a method of remuneration.
read more...»21p extra on the National Minimum Wage
Slowly, step-by-step, the National Minimum Wage is increasing. The latest increase of 21p per hour represents a 3.8% increase on the previous rate of £5.52. The NMW was last increased in October 2007, just six onths ago.
read more...»Starbucks Closes 7,100 US Outlets
...for a few hours, to train all the staff. An amazing decision taken by the new boss of Starbucks in the US to kick-start his recovery strategy for the poorly-performing coffee chain.
read more...»Is it worth working for nothing?
Would you work 40 days a year for nothing? Probably not, unless you had a job you truly loved and could afford to forego the financial rewards. However, a new survey suggests that the average British manager works 40 days of unpaid overtime per year.
read more...»Team spirit, innovation and business success
People are naturally cooperative and humans have a phenomenal capacity to work collaboratively in teams according to Lynda Gratton, Professor of management practise, London Business School, one of the contributors of Peter Day’s latest In Business programme. He visits the preparations of the Cambridge University boat race team to discover some of the factors that influence team-building and its significance in helping businesses to innovate, raise productivity, succeed in markets and drive shareholder value. Increasingly modern business organisations are looking for team-players, we hear that Goldman Sachs may put people through up to sixty interviews before taking them on! The programme interviews the author Mark de Rond, Reader in strategy & organisation, Judge Business School, Cambridge who has written a book about his experiences with the Cambridge boat race crew entitled “The Last Amateurs”.
Are staff appraisals a waste of time?
An Investors in People survey, reported by the BBC, found that 29% of people felt the experience was a waste of time, while 44% believed their appraiser had been dishonest.
read more...»Will you be at work on Christmas Eve?
Employers have denied “Scrooge-like” attitudes to Christmas after research suggested one in four staff would be expected to work on Christmas Eve.
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