Strategic HR
With budgets increasingly stretched, learning and development may be falling to the bottom of HR's to-do list. But new research shows that the best-performing organisations have a strong L&D programme, explains Paula Flores, and this gives them a competitive edge.
Knowledge workers - who typically sit at a desk and work on a computer - have a high level of access to flexible and hybrid working arrangements. What can organisations do to provide their deskless or frontline peers with similar benefits that will lead to a higher level of engagement? Sue Willcock has some suggestions for re-engaging this crucial but increasingly disaffected part of the workforce.
The development of UK Artificial Intelligence law is at a crossroads. The EU's AI Act, approved on 21 May 2024, will affect UK-based companies if their AI systems are sold or used within the EU. Meanwhile the general election on 4 July 2024 may reshape the UK Government's approach to AI regulation significantly. As Tessa Hilson-Greener explains, understanding these dynamics is key for anyone involved in AI in the UK.
On 21 May 2024, the Council of the EU approved the first comprehensive Regulation on Artificial Intelligence (AI) (known as the "EU AI Act"). Once fully in force, it is expected to have far-reaching implications for global employers using AI systems. Here we set out what HR departments need to know, whether or not their organisations are based in the EU.
In March 2024, we conducted research exploring the use of AI at UK organisations, with a focus on how HR were using the new technologies. In this article, we explore some of the unexpected results.
Every year it's the same: January rolls around and suggested priorities for HR abound. But with teams increasingly stretched, important issues then get cast aside or neglected. Here, as organisations find themselves deep into Q2, we draw attention to three themes that HR professionals are likely to overlook, based on what they have told us in our surveys. But, for the reasons explained here, they really shouldn't!
Careers are "squigglier" than ever. Where traditional professional development tended to be linear, individuals now often trace more zigzag-shaped paths as they acquire new skills to adapt to rapidly changing workplace needs. Career mentor and expert Laurie Macpherson sets out four ways in which HR can support employees to upskill, grow their network and track their achievements - so allowing organisations to retain talented members of their workforce rather than losing them to opportunities elsewhere.
The AI revolution is upon us, but data reveals that organisations are struggling to develop practices to integrate the new technology fully and safely into their business. Reporting from the US, Natasha K.A. Wiebusch identifies three key focus areas that employers with AI ambitions should prioritise.
Hearing that you are supposed to "be strategic" and create a strategy in your HR role can be incredibly daunting. That's probably because you've never been taught what it means or how to do it. Here, Fay Wallis offers clear, actionable steps to create a strategy that adds real value.
Employee feedback is one of the most effective tools to assess the internal operations of an organisation. And it becomes especially important as organisations get larger, says Victoria Kelleher, XpertHR lead survey specialist in the US.
Commentary and insights: HR and legal information and guidance relating to strategic HR.