Category Archives: Human Resources

Client Uncertainty Holds Back Growth

toplanguagejobs.nl Europe ‘s Number 1 Specialist Provider of Spaanse vacatures and English jobs talks about how they have seen an increase in the last month.

Aytac Irfan of TopLanguageJobs commented: “The Netherlands is facing a unique issue where clients are uncertain about making large business decisions due to the fallback that may occur as a result. This is slowing the economy in not only Netherlands but in Europe .”

Clients are hesitating to buy and as a result the economy is growing, but a lot more slowly than it should. Companies such as Randstad Holding NV whose business is dependant on a high up turn, as are a lot of other companies, says that its growth is being held back and expects ‘Single-digit growth in staffing sales.’

In other industries KPN reported results down across Dutch activities in a number of areas in the second quarter. With their revenues falling by 3.7% with an underlying drop of 2.2 percent, some companies can only be so lucky.

In Rotterdam it’s a different story, companies are more focused on ‘Satisfied employees = better work’ and how conditions could act as the catalyst to get people back into work who may have become complacent over the months and years.

“Down time,” says Bakker, “is not only a mark of sympathetic management. It helps renew workers, keeping them happy, productive and engaged,” which in turn results in a virtuous cycle of work engagement, job satisfaction and higher productivity.

We can only hope that the Netherlands and the organizations lose their hesitancy and spark a revival that crosses borders into neighboring larger economies to get Europe going again.

Via EPR Network
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Why You Need Employee Surveys

When you ask most workers: what is an employee survey? They will probably answer a waste of time, the boss will never pay attention it so why should I fill it out? Unfortunately, most workers are absolutely right when they give this answer.

Most organizations do not pay any attention to employee surveys until it is too late. Managers will send out the survey, collect it and store it away never to be read. Many employees will simply ignore the survey or worse give the false answer they know the boss wants to see.

This is a tragic waste of resources because employee surveys are one of the best ways for increasing productivity, employee engagement, employee morale and the effectiveness of the organization.

Employee Surveys for Effective Human Resources

A well-prepared employee survey can help a human capital team identify an organization’s major human resources problems. It can show them what they need to improve.

For example, an employee survey can help human capital identify the true causes of low morale or high turnover. A manager may believe that low salaries are the cause of this, when the real cause is poor morale. That means the organization could avoid a costly salary rise and instead focus on the real cause of the problem.

A survey could also tell human resources by how much salaries or benefits should be increased. It can also identify particular gripes of employees, for example high costs of commuting or frustration with the dress code.

When management is willing to pay attention to them, employee surveys can be a powerful tool for change. They can also be used to set smart goals that the human capital team can implement to solve problems.

A group of workers could feel frustrated because nobody is getting the bonus. Management could use this to improve morale by restructuring the bonus so workers can achieve it. Another complaint could be a lack of time off, management could improve morale by adding days off.

Employee surveys can be a cheap and effective human resources tool, if your organization takes advantage of them.

Via EPR Network
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Hays And CBI Release Digital Report On Workplace Flexibility And Communication

Hays and CBI have called on the Government to fundamentally rethink its approach to employment law in order to bolster workplace flexibility and foster better employment relations.

Launching its first ever digital report Thinking Positive: the 21st century employment relationship, produced in collaboration with Hays, the CBI explores how the employment relationship has changed, becoming even more flexible.

The report includes video interviews with employees and staff on the benefits of good communication and flexibility, and looks at how this helped minimise private sector job losses during and post-recession.

Now the CBI says the Government should build on the success of workplace relations forged during the recession by embedding this flexible approach into future employment law and in its Employment Law Review. Rather than automatically opting for legislation, in most cases the Government should specify what it is trying to achieve and set out suggested processes in more flexible guidance or codes of practice. With much of the UK’s employment law coming from Europe, this approach should also be applied to EU directives.

So far, the Government has given some welcome signals on reducing regulation and is looking at ways of improving the tribunals system. But it has also introduced policies that have reduced flexibility, including abolishing the Default Retirement Age without addressing the need for employers to have protected conversations about retirement plans and failing to review the Agency Workers Directive, which has been gold plated to include extra process costs for employers, not required under European law.

John Cridland, CBI director-general, said: “Traditionally when making employment law governments have tried to specify every last detail of what should go on in the workplace.

“With a strong base of employment rights already in place, we simply don’t need the state telling us how to manage every aspect of basic human relations.

“The Government should adopt a simpler approach to future employment law, one which maximises choice for employers and staff and plays up the strengths of our flexible labour market.

“Good communication helped companies and employees work together to make difficult changes to working patterns to get through the recession. These lessons are particularly important now the public sector is facing similar challenges as a result of measures to cut the deficit.”

Commenting on the benefits of greater workplace flexibility for staff, Alistair Cox, chief executive of Hays plc, added: “Flexibility is a key ingredient in driving future economic growth in the UK. It is also a key aspect that more and more professionals look for in their lives and careers, particularly at a time when we want to encourage employers to invest and create more jobs, despite today’s economic uncertainty.”

Via EPR Network
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Women Seen to Dominate the Corporate World in a Few Years Time

Professional women are going to dominate the workplace and the corporate world in just a few years. Six out of ten college graduates are women, so six out of ten new hires in corporate America are women. That means that six out of ten executives and six out of ten professionals in corporations will be women in the near future.

Women who want to succeed in this new environment will need to learn how to network with other professional women. That is why organizations such as the National Association of Professional Women are so important. Such groups provide professional women a framework for networking and communication.

Traditional male oriented business organizations do not. In fact, male oriented organizations often deliberately and systematically exclude women. Women who want to succeed will need to network to find the opportunities and develop the relationships necessary for success.

Men have succeeded in corporate America by building relationships and networks of relationships. Women are even better at creating relationships and networking so they should have a tremendous advantage entering the corporate arena.

The basis of success in business has always been networking. Those who are best at networking find the opportunities and create the networks. This is even more critical today because in today’s world, networking is business. As business becomes more networked and less hierarchical, women will have the advantage.

The old model of business was the hierarchal corporation of top down command. Today’s model of business is a network of people working together. It is based on communications technologies like the internet which give women the advantage. Those who are the most effective at communication will dominate the corporation of the future.

In this new corporate world, women have the advantage. They will be the dominant force and the future. Not only do women have the numbers they have the communications and networking skills to dominate the corporations of the future.

Via EPR Network
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All About The Women In Norway

toplanguagejobs.no, Europe ‘s Number 1 Specialist Provider of language jobs and translation jobs talks about how they have seen an increase in the last month.

Aytac Irfan of TopLanguageJobs commented: “Norwegian speaking jobs have always been in high demand, especially in London even more so in 2011 and moving into 2012.”

The demand is highly due to the EU parliament backing women for more corporate positions. The EU is backing sanctions to employ quotas for the top corporate jobs in the EU.

The term ‘golden’ skirts has been loosely associated with these corporate women and is being adopted throughout Norway .

Due to the backing Norway and women and getting throughout Europe this is having an effect on Norwegian speaking jobs throughout Europe. More and more people are looking for niche jobs in the UK and certainly London.

“..headhunters are starting to look to the boards and pick up women for executive jobs.” Helena Morrissey, London.

About TopLanguageJobs
Top Language Jobs, Europe’s No. 1 specialist language recruitment job portal.

We operate the largest European network of language jobs & multilingual jobs websites and have 1000’s of bilingual jobs available online from leading language recruitment agencies & employers in London, UK & Europe.

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Bilingual Fever

toplanguagejobs.co.uk, Europe ‘s Number 1 Specialist Provider of bilingual jobs and translation jobs talks about how they have seen an increase in the last month.

Aytac Irfan of TopLanguageJobs commented: “Over the last few weeks we have seen a surge of bilingual vacancies in UK and Europe . This is not surprising considering the quality of language speaking professionals available.”

June / July ’11 has seen an increase in the amount of bilingual job positions that have been made available throughout Europe and overseas.

This could be due to the US jobs report that was published a few days ago. Britain and Europe usually catches a cold when the US ‘sneezes’.

A lot of clients are looking for candidates with a bilingual or multilingual skill set. A lot of job specifications are now carrying the phrase ‘bilingual preferred, which is great for that particular niche and language speaking professionals.

For school and government positions these types of skill sets are in high demand. The wave of bilingual and multilingual language speakers across the world is increasing as countries continue to diversify.

“It depends upon the position … but if there were two candidates of equal abilities and backgrounds and qualifications and one was bilingual, that would give them the edge.” Gainesville City Schools Superintendent Merrianne Dyer said.

Via EPR Network
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Leadership Training is Vital to All Organizations

Leadership training is vital to all organizations, no matter what industry or field they operate in. Corporations, companies, nonprofit organizations and government agencies all need visionary leadership.

In today’s world of limited budgets and dwindling resources, every organization needs creative and effective leadership. The best way to create that leadership is to develop it from within. Bringing in a hired gun leader is only a stopgap solution that will not address long term problems.

The only way to develop a healthy and effective organization is through leadership development. Effective leadership development involves far more than just management training. It involves a sustained program of mentorship, training and continuing education for promising employees.

Only organizations that develop effective leadership teams can survive. Those entities that do not invest in leadership training and development will not be able to effectively compete for resources and funding. Nor will they be able in the face of the many other challenges in today’s world.

Change management is impossible without effective leaders to implement the changes. The first step in a change management strategy must be to implement an effective leadership development strategy. Without leadership, change is impossible and smart goals are nothing but words on paper.

Organizations must start their leadership development efforts as soon as possible because the challenges facing organizations are growing in complexity everyday. Resources are dwindling and funds are drying up but the problems are growing worse.

Visionary leadership is more critical than ever in today’s world. Every organization needs it and more importantly a strategy to develop it.

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The Washington Post Names Leadership IQ book HARD Goals Top 5 Business Title

HARD Goals, a new book by Leadership IQ CEO and author Mark Murphy, has been selected by The Washington Post as a top 5 business title of the week. The top 5 list is based one-third on Amazon sales ranking, one-third on rating and one-third on customer downloads. HARD Goals examines why most people never achieve their goals and how a HARD Goals approach (goals that are heartfelt, animated, required and difficult) to goal setting can help everyone reach their objectives.

The Washington Post review reinforces the HARD Goal view that the reason most people fail to achieve their goals is because they set goals that are so mediocre that they don’t pay attention to them, take them seriously or even remember them. The review also states that leadership consultant Mark Murphy suggests a vastly different approach: Make your goals as difficult as possible, and set objectives that are absolutely essential to your continued wellbeing. Such ambitious goals actively engage you and focus your mind, says Murphy.

In addition to HARD Goals, Murphy is the author of other best-selling books, includingHundred Percenters, Generation Y and the New Rules of Management , and The Deadly Sins of Employee Retention. His articles, studies and analysis of leadership trends appear in national publications including Fortune, Forbes and Business Week, news networks including ABC, CBS and Fox, and he lectures to organizations and universities including H arvard Business School and Yale University.

Murphy’s Leadership IQ is a top-rated research and management training firm, specializing in employee surveys, onsite training and e-learning for some of the world’s greatest organizations. Murphy’s clients include Microsoft, IBM, GE, MasterCard, Merck, AstraZeneca, MD Anderson Cancer Center, Johns Hopkins and hundreds more.

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Agility UK Launches New Website

Agility UK has launched a new website to promote its health and safety and employment law training and advisory services to businesses across the UK.

Indicating significant progress for the organisation, the launch of the new website better promotes the company’s range of cost-effective, flexible and solution-focused health and safety and employment law services.

In a triangulated initiative between a web development team, a leading digital agency, and a design agency, the new website offers refreshed branding, improved usability and more comprehensive information regarding each key area of service provision.

The website is also built upon strong SEO foundations and as such will enable further exposure for the business through more prominent positioning on the main search engines for targeted keywords.

Managing Director of Agility UK, Keith Townsend, commented on the launch of the new website: “The new website provides a better platform for Agility UK to showcase its range of services to prospective customers and to advertise a wide range of employment law and health and safety training courses across the UK. It is more attractive and user friendly than our previous website and provides a wealth of additional information to the reader.

“Across the Agility UK Group we have made a significant investment in online marketing of late in terms of time and money and we expect to receive a return on investment through better exposure on Google and an increase in conversion rates. Pleasingly, we have already seen some fantastic results with health and safety courses and seminar bookings in particular.”

Through the website users will be able to browse interactive training course calendars, offering clients easy access to when and where health and safety and employment law training courses are taking place nationwide. Courses can be booked online using a simple form or via the contact details displayed throughout the website.

Coinciding with the launch of the new website are the launches of the new Agility UK Facebook and Twitter pages, as the company’s marketing expands into the social web, and the launch of the new Windmill Leasing website – the company’s business car leasing division.

Agility UK now has a viable platform to syndicate news, blogs and key services within the online arena.

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MBA & Company Rides The Wave Of New Business Trends As MBA Employment Diversifies

Business specialist MBA & Company has stayed a step ahead of the industry with its approach to the changing nature of the MBA jobs market.

After the collapse of Lehman Brothers in 2008 and the expected shortfall of MBA job opportunities in traditionally large employers – such as Citigroup – many economists and industry experts suggested that the role of the business post-graduate, a staple of the financial booms in the 1980s and 1990s, was becoming irrelevant.

However, MBA & Company proved it was ahead of the trends by predicting the market’s response: the demand for MBA jobs may have diminished in the archetypal financial skyscrapers; however, a host of new employers, in new sectors, and new ways of working have arisen.

Amazon.co.uk, for instance, is now a huge employer of MBAs. As more and more companies go online; and as business strategy becomes crucial to all public services and commercial ventures in the recession, the role of the MBA has transformed to encompass freelancing, off-shore and consultancy opportunities in a wide range of sectors including retail, education, security and politics.

MBA & Company, established during the downturn and challenged to find a solution to the inevitable cut-backs in the multinationals, predicted this very trend. By responding to the diversity of employers’ requirements, and understanding how MBA knowledge can support their work, MBA & Company has developed reliable recruitment solutions for an unpredictable world.

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36 Months Of Jobs, No Not Steve The Other One…

toplanguagejobs.ie, Europe ‘s Number 1 Specialist Provider of bilingual jobs and multilingual jobs goes back through the last 12 months to sum up international markets.

Jan 2009 – Google to cut 1—recruitment jobs

Even though Google revenues being an estimated $ 23,650,563 and an improvement of 9% on 2008, Google cut 100 recruitment jobs in 2009. This was one of the most talked about items in Q4 of 2009 purely because a lot of people believed a small percentage of companies to be ‘recession proof’, apparently the recession hit everyone. Google also fell $13.35 or 4.3pc to $300.97 on the 15 th January 2009 in Nasdaq stock market trading.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/newsbysector/

February 2009 – U.S. lost 598,000 jobs in January

The second highest report story over the last three years was the gloomy financial impact of the recession on the U.S job market as a whole. Employment in the U.S. jumped by 7.6% in one month alone. Since the recession began in 2007, the US has lost 3.6 million jobs in total (until 2009)

“It’s also important to keep in mind that the job market is local – the most recent unemployment rates coming out of major metropolitan areas like Milwaukee, Baltimore, Boston and D.C., for example, reflect much brighter employment pictures than other regions of the country,” said Tig Gilliam, CEO of Adecco Group North America, in a statement. “Even more critical than where you live or what you do, educational accomplishments have the greatest impact on an individual’s ability to find a job.”

Manufacturing and construction were the hardest hit with a total in excess of a quarter of a million jobs. Los Angeles was also the hardest hit city in the recession losing 82,000 jobs in 2008.

http://www.bizjournals.com/losangeles/stories/2009/02/02/daily50.html

December 2009 – Europe stocks jump on US jobs data

In third place the most talked about story was that European stock markets looked to overtake recovery of due to lack of improvement In US employment that revived hopes of a total recovery. The FTSE gained 0.2% while the Paris rose 1.3% & 1.1% in Amsterdam.

European stocks gained slightly after the publication of the US job report. British Airways jumped 2.81% after Citigroup raised its recommendation on the share from ‘buy to ‘hold’.

Analysts cautioned that the improved but mixed labour picture could be a blip as unemployment continued to rise.

‘This report, despite its unevenness, will likely create some real euphoria in the investor community. It is the first time we can start thinking that the job situation may be turning around with some gusto,” said Joel Naroff of Naroff Economic Advisors.

Heidi Shierholz of the Economic Policy Institute said the report showed ‘‘finally some healing” but warned that ‘‘unemployment … is expected to continue on an upward trend until we start adding jobs in a healthy way, which will likely not happen until next spring or summer.’

http://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/business/europe-stocks-jump-on-us-jobs-data-20091205-kbdu.html

December 2010 – US loses 85,000 jobs in December

The fourth most talked about story was the US unemployment rate finally holding steady on 10.0% with renewed optimism from the government reporting a turnaround in the labour market.

Gains in jobs were key at this point showing a turnaround was possible. With a net gain of 4,000 jobs in November rather than the reported 11,000 loss was the first positive month after 22 months of losses.

“We’re getting a steady but very slow improvement in the job market,” said Robert MacIntosh, economist at Eaton Vance.

Most notable mention – Government sector employment fell by 21,000 in the month.

http://news.ninemsn.com.au/business/992102/us-loses-85000-jobs-in-december

January 2011 – Obama to recast agenda to focus on jobs, deficit

President Barack Obama recast his high-stakes address to the American people on 27 th January 2011 to address jobs and the economic deficit that has been plaguing the west since 2007.

The main purpose of the address was to convince his ‘prime-time’ audience that he understands the economic pain and blight that is being inflicted on them and his proposals for a new job-creation push.

The overall deficit for the US is was estimated at $1.35 trillion in 2010.

http://mobile.reuters.com/article/topNews/idUSTRE60L4MC20100127?p=1

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New Staff Development Program Takes a Different Approach with Startling Results

93% of study participants reported an improved sense of wellbeing at work after completing Life Code Matrix, a new program that takes a fresh approach to staff development.

Dr Kathryn Owler who conducted independent research on Life Code Matrix, found the program differed from other wellness programs in that it appeared to create intrinsic motivation and the potential for sustainable change.

“People came out of the program with a clearer sense of identity and were able to align themselves more positively with their work” she said.

“They experienced their work more creatively with a sense of discovery. They were being fully ‘there’ at work.”

Unique aspects of Life Code Matrix that Dr Owler identified were that the process did not require mental effort; rather participants once they had identified who they were through the process were able to effortlessly be that person.

It was also efficient in that the process did not require constant repetition or reinforcement to create sustainable changes in behavior and attitude.

Life Code Matrix was initially developed by experienced business and life coach Cilla Sturt as a result of identity issues she experienced growing up in a different culture. Limitations she observed professionally with traditional coaching and staff development models led to the programs unique approach.

For more information go to http://www.lifecodematrix.com/research-results/.

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Hays and The Times Name Louisa James as PA of the Year 2011

Hays and The Times have announced that Louisa James, of Wandsworth, London, has triumphed in the Hays and The Times PA of the Year Award 2011, being named the country’s top PA. Her energy and enthusiasm have seen her expand her role, embracing significant project management and organisational leadership such as being actively involved in the ‘Jamie’s 30-minute meals’ award-winning app, helping her secure the top spot.

PA to the managing director at Jamie Oliver Ltd, Louisa was announced as the winner at an awards ceremony held by Hays, the leading recruiting expert, at Flemings Hotel, Mayfair, London on the 19th of May. Louisa has won a five night break for two in Prague, courtesy of Portman Travel. She will also receive a place on The PA Retreat, an intensive residential training programme for management PAs, courtesy of Castalia Coaching & Training.

Louisa said: “I feel so honoured to be chosen as the PA of the Year. I give my job my all, and to be recognised like this is a wonderful feeling. People often don’t realise the huge impact PAs can have in an organisation, so it’s wonderful to be acknowledged like this.”

Second place was awarded to Christopher Juliff, diary, visits and events manager to the NHS chief executive. The judges praised Christopher’s passion for his career and his expertise, along with his outstanding attention to detail in a high pressured environment. They also noted his strong personal commitment to the diversity agenda.

Third place went to Zara Dyer, PA to the managing director at Liverpool Football Club. The judges were impressed by her passion for developing a PA network in the North and skill in being able to support her boss in a way that maximises her time and effectiveness.

As well as the three finalists, the three runners up were: Jennifer Batty, executive assistant to associate and executive directors of Russell Reynolds Associates; Lisa Partridge, PA to Michael Caines MBE and Sharon Walsh, executive assistant to the HR director at Channel 4

The awards were presented by Michelle Mone founder and co-owner of MJM International and creator of Ultimo, the UK’s leading designer lingerie brand.

Michelle declared: “Congratulations to Louisa, who has fought off some stiff competition to claim this year’s Award. She and all the finalists have shown just how valued the roles of PAs and executive assistants really are. People in this role make a considerable contribution to businesses across the country, so it’s great to be putting the spotlight on them.”

This year’s judging panel consisted of: Susie Barron-Stubley, managing director of Castalia, the coaching and training company; Gareth Osborne, director general of the Association for Personal Assistants (APA); Laura Richardson, last year’s winner; and Geoff Sims, managing director of Hays PA & Secretarial.

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US Recruiters Launch Ezra Penland Actuarial Recruitment

Claude Penland and Sally Ezra, two global leaders in the international actuarial recruiting industry, today as partners announce the launch of their company, Ezra Penland Actuarial Recruitment (“Ezra Penland”) in Chicago, Illinois.

Joining Sally and Claude at Ezra Penland are five outstanding employees. They include Debbie Charbonneau, Kevin Elliott, Dana Kelly, Yvonne McArdle and Emily Moss. To read more about their top quality staff, see EzraPenland.com/recruiters.

Initially, the Group of Seven will be focused on the North American actuarial recruitment market, and then rapidly expand into the global market. It is Ezra Penland’s plan to be the market leader in their niche, as Sally Ezra has spent nearly two decades recruiting actuaries, has developed strong professional relationships and a vast network of clientele. They value her commitment, resourcefulness, her personal attention and, above all, her high level of professional ethics.

Claude Penland is an Associate of the Casualty Actuarial Society and a Member of the American Academy of Actuaries. He has over twenty years of experience as a casualty actuary and as a web strategist for actuarial recruitment organizations.

Ezra Penland additionally announces the timely publishing of their 2011 industry standard United States actuarial salary surveys at EzraPenland.com/salary. These 11 salary surveys include unprecedented detail on compensation for Property and Casualty, Life, Pension and Health actuaries. The details further break salaries down by consulting, reinsurance and insurance/all other employers of actuaries. An Adobe Acrobat file of all surveys is immediately available to be downloaded, printed and shared.

Ezra Penland is becoming known as the publisher of C-level insurance and reinsurance US salary surveys at EzraPenland.com/c-level. These CEO / CFO / CRO / etc. studies can also be found at LifeSalarySurvey.com, HealthSalarySurvey.com,  CasualtySalarySurvey.com and ReinsuranceSalarySurvey.com.

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Is It Too Little Too Late For UK Education Reform?

TopLanguageJobs, Europe’s Number 1 Specialist Provider of bilingual jobs and multilingual jobs vacancies rounds up what’s going wrong in the EU and students language job market.

Many Brits become complacent when considering learning foreign languages as opportunities are missed for jobs in the European Union.

Learning a foreign language for GCSE students is still not compulsory and may be hampering opportunities for further study and learning another language. Studies show that students taking language GCSEs has fallen from 61% in 2005 to 44% in 2010.

In Canada there is a growth of interest in students looking to learn a foreign language. Mandarin Chinese and Spanish are becoming popular, two of the world’s most spoken languages.

Michael Gove who is secretary of state for Education in the UK wants a ‘risky’ reform to the school system, but is this too little too late?

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Major UK Retailers Added To Employee Savings Programme

Four more major UK retailers have been added to Edenred’s extensive employee savings platform, enabling businesses to offer their staff even more opportunities to save money.

The latest retailers to offer discounts on their lifestyle products are award-winning hairdressers Toni&Guy; beauty retailer Crabtree & Evelyn; online wine retailer Naked Wines and Virgin Experience Days which offer gifts from fine-dining restaurants, spa breaks, theatre trips and holidays.

These companies boost the existing portfolio of discounted vouchers and reloadable cards to more than 50 major retail names, while at the same time helping employers to motivate staff with incentives and flexible benefits.

Each employee registers on a dedicated website and can tailor their requirements to ensure they receive discounts that fit their lifestyle and interest. These special offers can also be passed on to family, ensuring that the benefit is spread further.

Wayne Harrington, product manager at Edenred, comments: “We’re pleased to be working with these major UK retailers to add a wide range of discounts to our employee savings platform which in turn provides businesses with a valuable tool in their motivation and engagement strategy.

“In the current economic climate and with VAT increases and tax changes in full force, there is pressure on disposable incomes. Employers who join employee savings schemes can effectively give their staff a pay rise of almost £1000 a year pre tax, at minimal cost to the business.”

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Hays Survey Reveals Public Sector Job Cuts Will Damage Frontline Service Delivery

According to new research published by Hays, the leading recruiting expert, the public sector is facing a critical loss of employees, with almost half (45%) of staff in the sector facing redundancy or actively seeking work in the private sector.

Although the public sector is faced with the need to make cuts, pay, career development and job security are all seen to be better in the private sector, resulting in a severe skills loss, which will impact on its ability to deliver frontline services effectively.

The Hays Public Sector Survey 2011 finds that some public sector employers are struggling to recruit staff with the right skills to manage frontline services. Since the Comprehensive Spending Review 18% of employers say it is harder to attract skilled job candidates. Over 80% of employers say uncertainty around job security is the primary factor stopping people looking for work in the sector, followed by changes to benefits (51%) and scrutiny over pay (39%).

Furthermore, headcount reduction schemes and cuts may be draining the public sector of its most vauable employees. 60% of employers and the same level of workers believe voluntary redundancy and early retirement schemes are resulting in the loss of the best talent. Over 60% of staff say they fear the sector will be unable to attract the staff needed to manage the transformation and change ahead.

Andy Robling, public services director of Hays, said: “With such a widespread exodus of staff, it is highly likely that frontline services will be affected. Employers have to make cuts and drive cost savings, but they are also faced with increased demand for many frontline services, such as healthcare and education. The combination of pay scrutiny, fears around job security and critical media headlines means a stigma has started to develop around public sector careers. Many public sector workers are feeling demotivated, devalued and stuck in less challenging careers. The public sector needs to act now to address this before it is too late.”

Asked what areas they would improve to help attract professional staff to the public sector, employers and employees both reported pay and career development as the top two factors. Almost 70% of employers agree they need to review what they have to offer jobseekers so they are perceived more positively, with over a third (38%) saying this is an urgent priority.

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Hays and LCCI Reveal The Private Sector Needs Government Support

Hays, the leading recruiting expert, and The London Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI) have partnered to produce a report called “The Challenges of transition: from public to private”.

As the government’s cost cutting measures continue to impact on workers, more needs to be done to support workers through the transition to the private sector, according to the new report.

Around 330,000 people are expected to lose their public sector jobs over the next four years. While both sectors have many similarities, the perceptions the sectors have about each other could limit the ability of ex-public sector employees to quickly return to the labour market thereby risking longer term joblessness.

Through this report, which surveyed the views of public sector employees and private sector employers, the LCCI and Hays have identified six critical steps to ensure the successful transition of the workforce from the public to the private sector: encourage better understanding; incentivise the private sector; identify regional skills gaps; review onboarding procedures; enhance existing support programmes; and promote self-reliance and resourcefulness.

Mark Staniland, director at Hays said: “As the government cuts begin to take effect there is a growing pressure on the private sector to create new jobs. There is no doubt that public sector employees have many skills in need right across the private sector. However, it is unreasonable to believe that transferring a large proportion of the workforce will not need specialist help to progress smoothly. The government must act now and put provisions in place to support the workers and both sectors need to work together to make sure the skills available are used to their full advantage.”

Colin Stanbridge, chief executive of the LCCI added: “We hope this report will make a meaningful contribution to this important debate, which in turn will help get people in to new jobs while giving a shot in the arm to the London and UK economies. In the months to come there will be many talented individuals from the public sector coming on to the job market which is a great opportunity for employers looking to bring in new skills and ideas to their business.”

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Hays Plc Calls For G20 Action On Global Jobs Creation

Hays plc, the global specialist recruiting firm, has called on governments and industries across the world to take joined-up action to tackle the looming threat of increased global unemployment as the world’s working population is set to increase dramatically. With many countries already at record levels of unemployment, co-ordinated action needs to be taken now to avert future labour crises as significantly more people are set to join the global labour force. To this end Hays has developed a Five Point Plan.

Hays, which placed more than 230,000 people in work across 30 countries in 2010, has published a seminal report; Creating Jobs in a Global Economy, compiled in partnership with economic forecaster, Oxford Economics, illustrating the challenges ahead for employers, employees and governments across the world.

The report forecasts the dramatic movements of workforce, power and wealth across the globe over the next 20 years. The world’s working-age population is expected to increase by over a billion people in this timeframe. However, all of this growth will be developing economies. The developed world will see its workforce shrink and age.

Governments and industries must start to plan now how they will deal with this imbalance, both to harness the economic potential that this larger workforce can provide as well as creating the skills that will otherwise become in increasingly short supply in many areas. Developing markets will face a period of rapid industrialisation and infrastructure construction which will require access to skilled and experienced workers currently unavailable in sufficient numbers domestically. Similarly, the developed markets will need to find ways of maintaining their competitive edge in key industries by investing in the future skills required, albeit against a backdrop of a smaller and older pool of workers.

Alistair Cox, CEO, Hays, said: “Our report illustrates the profound and stark challenges our world will face in the future both to create employment opportunities for a billion more people and balance the mismatch we are already seeing between supply and demand of key skills. Only by thinking globally can governments and companies put in place the environment to solve these conflicting challenges and create the basis for full employment and a sound global economy.”

The report demonstrates the need for employment policy to be discussed at the G20 in Mexico and at the WEF next year. Cox added: “Everyone is talking about the growth in the Chinese population. The fact is that China’s working age population is set to plateau and then decline in our generation, just like many countries in the West. No one is yet talking about how industries will employ the extra billion people who will soon be looking for work in India, Africa and South America. That is a huge opportunity if governments and businesses get it right, but a big social problem if we get it wrong.”

‘Creating Jobs in a Global Economy 2011-2030’ follows the publication last year of ‘Action on Skills and Jobs: The Hays Manifesto for Employment’ which outlined the actions needed to create a healthy employment market in the UK.

Via EPR Network
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Top Language Jobs Set To Smash 300,000th Registered Candidates Within Days

TopLanguageJobs, Europe’s Number 1 Specialist Provider of bilingual jobs and multilingual job vacancies gears up for celebrations for the 300,000 th registered candidate.

Aytac Irfan of TopLanguageJobs commented: “There’s no doubt that TopLanguageJobs has become the forefront for bilingual and multilingual jobs throughout the UK and overseas. We are very excited about reaching our 500,000 th registered candidate and will no doubt be celebrating.”

It’s a fantastic landmark for the company and really cements their position as leading bilingual and multilingual job board. With 16 regional websites and more on the way, TopLanguageJobs is sure to grow from strength to strength over the coming months.

With new specialist hires in marketing, development, sales and more we are likely to see the 300,000 th registered candidate very soon.

Look out for celebrations online from TopLanguageJobs once this target is met.

About TopLanguageJobs
Top Language Jobs, Europe’s No. 1 specialist language recruitment job portal.

We operate the largest European network of bilingual jobs & multilingual jobs websites and have 1000’s of bilingual jobs available online from leading language recruitment agencies & employers in London, UK & Europe.

Via EPR Network
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