Blog - Employee Engagement
Why would anyone want to work for you and your business?
29th Oct 2019Employee Engagement, Human Resources, Leadership, RecruitmentTraining
As an employer, it’s inevitable that you might often find yourself wondering whether you risk losing a member of staff to a larger, wealthier, trendier or more conveniently located competitor. But is such paranoia simply looking at that fear the wrong way around? Instead of wondering whether you might lose employees – usually just when you’ve invested your time and trust in getting them well trained and equipped for your...
Read More
HR Heroes Training Courses are here to save you
29th Mar 2019Absence Management, Change Management, Employee Benefits, Employee Engagement, Employment Law, Events, Human Resources, Leadership, RecruitmentTraining
MAD-HR are delighted to announce the launch of the HR HEROES workshop series to be delivered in Suffolk in 2019. With constantly evolving employment laws, and successfully growing businesses with increasing employee numbers, comes added responsibility and a need for a greater understanding of HR practises. These HR Heroes training opportunities will offer practical solutions for managers and HR professionals alike. Our senior consultants at MAD-HR have developed a series...
Read More
Meetings, Meetings and More Meetings
9th Mar 2019Business, Employee Engagement, Human ResourcesLeadership
Most meetings fail to get going from the start. The group is kept waiting for people to arrive. Others want to keep chatting about "important" but unrelated topics. The dreaded "since I have you here" move that turns the group's agenda into a personal one. Still others keep texting and emailing while the leader struggles to get everyone focused. That's a big problem. Have you ever considered the cost of a meeting? Take a look...
Read More
Mental Health and Well-Being at Work
9th Nov 2018Absence Management, Employee Benefits, Employee Engagement, Employment Law, Human ResourcesTraining
Mental health problems are common, experienced by up to one in four of the population. Problems are often hidden, stigma is still widespread and many people do not receive adequate support from services. Mental health problems often start early in life and can be prevented through creating mentally healthy environments in schools, neighbourhoods and workplaces and in providing services to individuals and families that promote mental health, help identify signs...
Read More
Giving Notice To Leave A Job is Not Always A Letter Of Resignation
22nd Oct 2018Employee Engagement, Employment LawHuman Resources
A letter that gives one month’s notice should not automatically be interpreted as a letter of resignation, an employment appeal tribunal judgment has confirmed. The Facts The claimant, Mrs Levy, was employed in the Records Department by East Kent Hospital University NHS Foundation Trust (the Trust). Mrs Levy successfully applied for an internal position in the Trust's Radiology Department, subject to pre-appointment checks. After having been given the conditional offer,...
Read More
Planning for Paternity
15th Aug 2018Employee Engagement, Employment LawHuman Resources
Why Less Men Are Taking Leave…And What Employers Need to Know When you’re male employee skips into work after the summer holidays and proudly proclaims he’s going to be a Daddy, do you: A – Leap across the office, shake his hand and offer to take him for a pint? B – Immediately start recalling the sleepless nights which you experienced when your own first-born landed several years ago? C...
Read More
When The Temperatures Climb, The Responsibilities Soar
25th Jul 2018Employee Benefits, Employee Engagement, Human ResourcesLeadership
We can plan for all kinds of scenarios as HR advisors. We’re often waiting like a coiled spring for the next recruitment wave for one of our clients, or their sudden requirement on a tricky dismissal, or responding when a member of staff walks in the office and announces they’re seven months pregnant! Weather is such a tricky one. While many of us are, for the most part, delighted to...
Read More
Lessons In Management From Southgate
16th Jul 2018Business, Employee Engagement, Human Resources, LeadershipTraining
One of our clients recently invited us to a celebration for an employee who’d been with them 20 years. Perhaps not a long time, when compared with the 35-plus years for which some staff used to pick up watches and clocks and tie-pins in generations gone by, but today, without a shadow of a doubt, two decades is a long time to stay on the same ‘team’. It doesn’t take...
Read More
When Football Comes Home Does That Mean Your Staff Will Stay Home Too?
11th Jul 2018Employee Benefits, Employee Engagement, Employment LawHuman Resources
Absenteeism after World Cup matches is well known phenomenon and has historically cost British businesses millions. So what about this year? How has this affected you? Gareth Southgate has been turning us on with his snazzy waistcoats and ace management style but now that it's all over (bar the game for 3rd place) have hungover staff cost you business money in lost revenue? Have you been tackling employee absences in...
Read More
Summertime and Retention Protection
9th Jul 2018Employee Engagement, Human Resources, LeadershipRecruitment
What’s more infectious than a common cold in the workplace? What’s likely to set the jungle-drums of workplace gossip on fire more so than when the guy from sales disappeared with the woman from finance at the Christmas party? Answer? A plague of summertime resignations. Okay, it’s not necessarily the case that scores of staff will go handing in their notice during the summer period, but as it’s likely to...
Read More
What’s the Solution to Finding and Keeping the Best Talent?
10th Jun 2018Business, Change Management, Employee Benefits, Employee Engagement, Employment Law, Human Resources, Leadership, RecruitmentTraining
If I could name one question which gets asked of me most among new and existing clients, it’s along the lines of ‘how do I find and keep the best talent?’ As consultants in the HR world, there’s not a week goes by where we’re not asked to help a company who are losing a key member of staff, wanting to recruit that ‘Superstar Employee’, or once again battling their...
Read More
Succession Planning & Talent Spotting are the Key to Diversity
5th Jun 2018Employee Engagement, Employment Law, Human Resources, Leadership, RecruitmentTraining
For our latest blog, MAD-HR founder Carole Burman discusses talent-spotting, board diversity, and succession planning. Last week saw reaction travel far and wide, over a new report which revealed major companies had some pretty dire excuses as to why they’re not appointing women to the board. The findings of the government-backed Hampton-Alexander Review were that CEOs at some FTSE 350 companies were still of the belief that women would not...
Read More
Managing the World Cup 2018 and potential disruption
17th May 2018Absence Management, Employee EngagementHuman Resources
The FIFA World Cup is due to start on 14th June, with 60 matches being played in Russia over the course of a four weeks before the final on 15th July. With some matches taking place during or close to many employees’ normal working hours, we look at ways to support you in managing any disruption that may be arising. 1. Deal fairly with competing requests for time off Employers may...
Read More
How To Get The Best Out of Your Appraisal Process
21st Nov 2017Business, Employee EngagementHuman Resources
Appraisals are like marmite: employees and employers alike either love them or hate them. But like Marmite, performance appraisals are here to stay. If managed in the correct way they can be a fantastic tool to motivate your team, maximise the return on training and development, build robust succession plans, retain talent, and open up communication. So what is the best way to approach your appraisal process to maximise the...
Read More
How To Create a Great Culture and How Can You Measure It
31st Oct 2017Business, Employee Engagement, Human ResourcesLeadership
If you can create a great culture in your organisation, everything else will fall into place. Great culture results in a happy and stable workforce, reliable teamwork, high productivity, increased profits and the realisation of business plans. So how to achieve it…… Listen and Respond to your team. Your employees are your most important asset and when they feel valued, they will be loyal, perform at their very best and...
Read More
Growing Your Business with a Winning Team
16th Oct 2017Business, Employee Engagement, Human ResourcesLeadership
Your business will only be as successful as your team. A simple fact and possibly the biggest challenge facing entrepreneurs. The market can be open, your product or service optimally priced and of the desired quality, yet you will only reach your growth potential if you have the right team working with you. You want a team who cares; who are committed and are skilled in performing the tasks needed...
Read More
Why Should Every Employer Care About The Culture of Their Business?
26th Sep 2017Employee Engagement, Employment LawHuman Resources
Culture can be hard to define. It can be considered how organisation’s conduct their business – “how we do things around here”. It is the system of shared assumptions, values, and beliefs, which have a strong influence on the people in the organisation and dictate how they act and perform their roles. So why be concerned with your culture? Because very simply, the organisation’s culture is the foundation of its success. A...
Read More
What is the first thing you should do when your star performer resigns?
20th Sep 2017Employee Engagement, Employment Law, Human ResourcesRecruitment
There is no longer an expectation of a job for life with the average Briton having six different employers during their career. It can be an upheaval in the largest of organisations, but for an SME, having your star performer resign can leave you feeling overwhelmed and concerned with the future of your organisation. It can be difficult to process and initial reactions often include wondering if you have done...
Read More
Leading by Example – Maintaining Your Edge
4th Aug 2017Change Management, Employee Engagement, Human Resources, LeadershipTraining
A growing, forward thinking company will have strong leadership to drive the organisation’s strategic programme forward and ensure their team have the skills and abilities to meet their challenges. You can read more about leadership skills here. To continue to grow and be successful it is vital that your leadership team maintains their edge through continual development. The business world is constantly evolving and the leadership team needs to evolve...
Read More
The Christmas Party – How to Keep it Professional
4th Aug 2017Employee EngagementHuman Resources
Whilst you may be thinking about staff scheduling to cover the peak summer holiday period, or dreaming of your own week away on the beach, August is the busiest month for the hospitality industry in relation to Christmas bookings. If you haven’t confirmed your Christmas celebration by August Bank Holiday weekend you may miss out on the location or date that you want. Ridiculous when we are (hopefully) enjoying the...
Read More