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Former Aegon HR chief honoured with award for Outstanding Contribution to Scottish HR
Former Aegon HR chief honoured with award for Outstanding Contribution to Scottish HR
The winners of this year’s hugely exciting and much anticipated Hr NETWORK National Awards 2022 in partnership with Roffey Park Institute were announced at the ‘star-studded’ annual Gala Dinner, held at the impressive Hilton Glasgow on Thursday evening.
The event, the largest of its kind for HR professionals anywhere in Scotland, which historically attracts around 800 guests, attracted a post-COVID guest list of around 700+ guests on Thursday evening to recognise, acknowledge and reward the champions of the Scottish HR profession showcased winners including: Business Stream (Corporate Responsibility Award) VisitScotland (HR Team) and Aegon UK’s former HR Director Gill Scott, who was presented with the Award for Outstanding Contribution to Scottish HR.
The Gala Dinner theme was a remembrance theme in recognition of the Armistice Day with Poppies scattered throughout the design on the evening and the flagship event for HR professionals across the whole of Scotland was once again hosted by radio & TV presenter and broadcaster Stephen Jardine.
The coveted Outstanding Contribution to Scottish HR award was presented to Gill Scott for her commitment and dedication to the HR Director role she took up in 2010.
A full review of the evening including all the pics and highlights from the event will be published in the next issue of Hr NETWORK Magazine.
Category winners of the Hr NETWORK National Awards for 2022 are:
- Learning & Development Award of the Year, sponsored by Search Consultancy – Webhelp UK
- HR Project of the Year – Multrees Investor Services
- HR Graduate of the Year, sponsored by Brodies LLP – Sarah Lawson, Strathclyde Business School
- Attraction & Resourcing Award of the Year, sponsored by Be-IT Resourcing – Gleneagles
- Corporate Responsibility Award of the Year – Business Stream
- Diversity & Inclusion Award of the Year, sponsored by Three UK – Tata Consultancy Services
- HR Business Partner of the Year, sponsored by Right Management – Rachael Tochel, Webhelp UK
- Employee Engagement Award of the Year – Zero Waste Scotland
- Organisational Development Award of the Year, sponsored by Roffey Park Institute – Barclays Scotland
- Health and Wellbeing Award of the Year, sponsored by Love Your Employees – Scottish Water
- HR Team of the Year, sponsored by Navigator Employment Law – VisitScotland
- Best Employer/Workplace of the Year, sponsored by Jobtrain – Barclays Scotland
- CEO of the Year: Jim Gillespie, Kibble Education & Care Centre
- HR Director of the Year sponsored by LHH – Kevin Staunton, Turning Point Scotland
- Outstanding Contribution to Scottish HR – Gill Scott, Aegon UK (Retired)
Further information regarding the winners and the gala dinner, including all the photographs from the evening will be available in due course. For details regarding Nominating in 2023, Sponsorship and Table Hosting, please contact the Awards Planning Team on Tel: 0131 625 3267 or email: awards@hrnetworkscotland.co.uk
OUT TODAY! – NOVEMBER Issue of Hr NETWORK Magazine
OUT TODAY! – NOVEMBER 2022 Issue of Hr NETWORK Magazine
Hr NETWORK is ‘The Hub’ of Scottish HR and people development with an ‘Access All Areas’ pass to Scotland’s most influential human resource and business professionals across all sectors in Scotland. As well as readers from the world of HR, the magazine is also extremely popular within SME (Small and Medium Enterprise) organisations and is very useful for line managers, heads of department, senior management, managing directors and other professionals throughout the country who play a vital role in the development of people within all industry sectors in Scotland. Published bi-monthly, Hr NETWORK Magazine is informative and a ‘must have’ for its readers, and brings with it in every issue, great opportunities and benefits for advertisers and sponsors too.
In-Work Poverty: The Pursuit of Happiness
What steps can employers and HR practitioners take to address the current cost of living crisis on employees? Faced with escalating living costs, in-work poverty is hitting the pockets of more workforces than ever across Scotland. Andy Moore finds out how HR can help…
Also in the latest issue:
- The regular sections of the magazine include: Stats, EXTRA and The Bookshop
- The ‘Insights’ section features first class comment from those in the know on a range of subjects including: Work-life Balance; Diversity & Inclusion; Cancer in the Workplace; War For Talent
Click the front cover below to read the latest issue:
Hybrid working has almost tripled, but staff want more flexibility in the office
Hybrid working has almost tripled, but staff want more flexibility in the office
A study has revealed that despite the rise of hybrid working preferences, the office still has a valuable role to play, but flexibility around hours is crucial in the modern world of work. That’s according to The future of flexible working, published by global leader in creating bespoke workplaces, Unispace.
In its report – which surveyed 3,000 office workers – Unispace found that hybrid working has almost tripled since the pandemic, with 63% of those surveyed now working in a hybrid way. The report also revealed that over three quarters (77%) said that flexible start times would encourage them back to the workplace, indicating that employees seek not only flexibility in where they work, but also when they work.
Flexible working demand is higher among certain demographics, with the report revealing that 86% of those with caring responsibilities desired flexible start times, compared to 71% of those with no caring responsibilities.
When analysed by life stage, the data revealed that 80% of individuals living as part of a couple with dependent children and 76% of single parents wanted flexi-hours. Similarly, those with housemates were most likely to be attracted by flexi-working, with 90% of this group admitting that the freedom to choose their own hours would entice them back to the office. This is compared to 70% of those living alone and 76% of those living with parents.
Ranking employees hinders creativity
Ranking employees hinders creativity
Forced rankings do not improve employee performance, according to new research by Tilburg University and Vienna University of Economics and Business. The study, conducted by Eddy Cardinaels and Christoph Feichter, looked at the effect of rating employee performance and analysed forced and free rating systems on both employee reactions and supervisor rating behaviour.
Cardinaels and Feichter found that forced ratings are unlikely to improve employee performance over free performance ratings, and instead increases their stress levels – this then negatively affects employee creativity. This is especially the case in jobs where performance is difficult to capture via objective measures such as consulting, auditing, and communications. But even in jobs in which objective criteria do exist (e.g., sales), performance evaluation ratings still heavily rely on the subjective judgment of superiors. In all these situations, forced ratings might lead to problems for employees and superiors.
The study revealed the lack of creativity stems from people ‘choking under pressure’ as a result of the forced ratings.
“It is really important that firms are aware of potential costs and side effects, such as higher stress and supervisors not assigning appropriate ratings. Especially as these can lead other long-time side effects, such as higher turnover rates, health problems, and lack of motivation,” says Professor Christoph Feichter.
On the other hand, forced rankings also negatively impact employees because supervisors’ game the system, and focus on other aspects other than the true performance when evaluating employees.
“In our study, supervisors with forced rankings tend to incorporate aspects in their ratings that have no relation to the real performance of employees, but seem easier to justify towards employees. Moreover, supervisor strategically switch ranks of employees across periods, to assure each employee receives the highest rank at some point in time (although this cannot be explained by their real performance). Supervisors feel uncomfortable with the rankings and want to appear fairer towards the employees. Therefore, they start to game the system,” says Professor Feichter.
The study was published in the Journal of Accounting Research.
British women suffer from 180 ‘OFF DAYS’ a year, according to new research
British women suffer from 180 ‘Off Days’ a year, according to new research
A new report reveals modern women have more off days than good ones, feeling tired or uncomfortable in their skin, on average 15 days a month (a staggering 180 days a year). Six in ten say these days affect their sex life and relationships, while a fifth cancel social plans if they are not feeling their best. Yet, according to the poll by Symprove, women only feel genuinely good about themselves eight days a month (96 a year on average).
As many as 71 percent cite feeling tired as the main contributor to a lack of body confidence, with clothes not fitting properly (62 percent), and feeling bloated (60 percent) following closely behind. Bad hair days (43 percent), bad skin days (40 percent) and making comparisons to other people on social media (30 percent) also knock confidence on a daily basis, according to the report.
As many as three quarters (74 percent) said their stomach was the physical feature they felt least confident about. Shockingly, just 6 percent of women described themselves as body confident on a day-to-day basis, while half (50 percent) said they were not body confident at all.
The research, conducted by gut health brand Symprove, found that two thirds (62 percent) of women suffer ‘off days’ on a weekly basis, with the percentage rising significantly to 73 percent for women who live with IBS. While over a third (37 percent) of all women surveyed admitted to experiencing days where they feel bloated and their clothes do not fit properly, resulting in an average of four outfit changes before leaving the house.
Beyond physical insecurities, women are experiencing a host of gut-related issues including fatigue (66 percent), regular bloating (65 percent), cramping (40 percent), and constipation (39 percent). Despite this, more than a third (37 percent) are not comfortable talking to a partner, friends, or family about gut health, with 55 percent saying talking about bloating or general gut health in front of their partner would be ‘embarrassing’. Nine in ten British females (89 percent) believe there needs to be more information about taking care of your gut available.
Sammie Gill, Gastroenterology Dietitian at Symprove said: “Our latest research shines a light on the gut challenges women face and how this affects daily body confidence. We know that feeling your best starts with your gut. Bloating is not something women should put up with, there are many strategies available to help alleviate it – including diet and taking a targeted science backed probiotic.”
In partnership with TV personality Lisa Snowdown, Symprove has launched ‘The Gut Couture Collection’; a fashion line designed to highlight the painful realities of IBS and gut issues, through three outfits – the Flatulence Frock, the Loo Roll Dress, and the No Bloat Ball Gown, representing some of the most common symptoms.
Lisa Snowdon said “With so many women suffering gut health issues, it is time we started talking about it more openly. The Gut Couture Collection by Symprove combines full-on fashion attitude with an actual understanding of what people with IBS and gut issues can experience. I loved wearing all the looks; not only were they very comfortable, but the fact that nothing was too tight or restrictive around the stomach made them a joy to wear.”
Cancer Support UK introduces new workplace course to train businesses to support employees affected by cancer
Cancer Support UK introduces new workplace course to train businesses to support employees affected by cancer
If a work colleague told you they had cancer how would you respond? This scenario is fast becoming a reality, as by 2030 it is estimated that 1.5million people of working age will be living with cancer. The impact that a cancer diagnosis can have on an individual’s mental health is significant, yet 85% of employees with a cancer diagnosis want to carry on working. Knowing how to conduct a difficult conversation about cancer, and support those with cancer in the workplace, is at the heart of a new training programme – the Cancer Support Ambassador course – introduced by cancer wellbeing experts Cancer Support UK.
Developed by Cancer Support UK specifically to give individuals in an organisation the confidence and skills to support colleagues facing cancer, the Cancer Support Ambassador training provides a high-level introduction to cancer and cancer treatments. The half day course covers the physical and emotional side effects of both cancer and cancer treatments.
Most importantly, it contains tools and strategies that equip workplace cancer support ambassadors with the necessary skills and principles to have supportive conversations with individuals experiencing emotional turmoil due to or caused by the effects of cancer.
Marie Gardner, who works as a Cancer Coach volunteer for Cancer Support UK, has been key in developing the Ambassador training. She says: “When you are supporting someone going through cancer, it’s vital that you work with the other person’s agenda. You need to recognise that for many, having a conversation in the workplace about their illness can be challenging. The ability to listen is absolutely key and understanding where the person is in their thought process allows you to work out how best to help them. As a Cancer UK Ambassador, you don’t need to have the answers. The best support you can give is to listen deeply, question sensitively and show empathy.”
Mark Guymer, Cancer Support UK’s CEO, said: “With at least 85% of employees saying how important it is for them to keep working after a cancer diagnosis, there is an urgent requirement for employers to understand the needs of colleagues affected by cancer and to support them appropriately.
“We know through feedback from our Cancer Coach groups that there is a lack of support for people either returning to work following cancer treatment or even for those who have just been diagnosed. Our Cancer Support Ambassador training applies the principles of the extensive knowledge gained through our highly successful Cancer Coach course. The skills covered in the training will enable people who are fulfilling an extra-curricular or voluntary role within an organisation to emotionally support and signpost colleagues, which can only bring significant benefit to the workplace as a whole.”
Key benefits
- Strategies to manage structured supportive conversations
- Confidence to support someone who has cancer
- Understanding the difference between empathy and sympathy
- An understanding of the change process that people go through when receiving a diagnosis and/or treatment
- Learning the skill of high level listening and how to ask the right questions
- Using the right language
- Self-care tips
- Helps address the issues of isolation in the workplace caused by cancer