HR News Roundup - June 2023

Welcome to our June news roundup! Can you believe we are almost halfway through the year? Where did that time go?

Mid-year is always a poignant time to stop and reflect on what you’ve achieved and the skills and knowledge you want to work on developing over the next six months. Our first story below offers an interesting take on the role of learning in recruiting, retaining and motivating employees.

If there are areas you or your team members would like to work on, please get in touch for a chat. In the meantime, here are your monthly learning nuggets from the world of HR.

Can learning stop employees from leaving?

As businesses continue to seek ways of improving employee attraction and retention, 44% of people agree that additional training and development opportunities would keep them motivated and prevent them from leaving. The survey of more than 900 job seekers, carried out by Aspire, also highlights flexible working arrangements, additional benefits, and frequent pay reviews as the most popular reasons to remain with an organisation.

Bill Richards, MD at Indeed, insists learning and development is one of the most crucial considerations for employees who might be thinking about leaving their role. He adds that the quality of an employer’s development provision can be a “major differentiator for attraction and retention purposes.”

How to make your learning and development offer stand out from the crowd?

• Signpost learning opportunities more clearly

• Offer re-skilling or upskilling in addition to development programmes

• Keep training provision relevant

• Make programmes interactive, practical and engaging

Half of women in tech drop out by the age of 35

On the subject of talent retention, research by Code First Girls and Tech Talent Charter uncovered this worrying statistic about the growing skills and gender gap in the tech sector. The joint report identifies maternity leave, double standards between men and women, and work-life balance as the biggest blockers for female progression.

Flexible working policies are having a positive impact and advertising these clearly on job ads is shown to increase the number of female applicants. Some of the flexible working options being offered by tech companies include part-time working, job shares, condensed hours and remote working. All present opportunities for a more balanced work/family life and are attractive to female applicants.

Other recommendations to retain women in tech include enhanced parental leave policies, and reproductive healthcare benefits such as menopause leave.

Anna Brailsford, CEO of Code First Girls said: “It is no secret that the tech industry has for too long been a boy’s club – but the dial is shifting and we want to accelerate that progress. With the UK continuing to suffer from a glaring skills gap, improving family leave and reproductive healthcare policies should be a first step to helping retain women in this vital industry.

Guidance on working in a heatwave

Fans at the ready! The Health & Safety Executive has issued a timely reminder that heat is classed as a workplace hazard and should be included in your workplace assessments. With heatwave alerts increasing in frequency, the effects of climate change are becoming more noticeable every year. Take a look at the HSE’s guide to temperature in the workplace.

EU moves to give employee rights to gig workers

In an interesting legal development across the Channel, the European Council has announced plans to give gig workers in Europe the same rights as employees. The move would mean people working as delivery drivers, taxi drivers and cleaners have labour rights and social protection under EU law. While the law change will not impact anyone working in the UK directly, employers would be wise to keep an eye on this story and the possible repercussions for UK gig workers.

Anxiety is a growing workplace issue

According to EAP provider, Health Assured, an estimated 17 million days were lost to workplace stress, depression and anxiety in 2021/22. Anxiety can arise from all sorts of situations, from work overload to personal or family matters. Recognising the signs and knowing what action to take are key to tackling one of the UK’s biggest drains on employee mental health. Check out this HR News article for further guidance on signs, symptoms and how to provide support for anxiety.

Government funding to help disabled into work

The Government has announced £58m of funding to support disabled people and people with health conditions in England to find and stay in work. The programme of support is expected to encourage inactive people back to work, such as those who have been forced into early retirement through long-term sickness. Experts suggest those in the 50-64 age group will benefit most.

UK’s largest companies sharpen focus on mental health

The UK’s largest employers are making progress in performance on workplace health. The likes of Centrica, Experian, HSBC and Serco came out on top in the CCLA Corporate Mental Health Benchmark- UK 100, and 24 companies have moved up the rankings since last year.

43% of companies in this year’s survey have published a formal policy explicitly acknowledging the link between financial well-being and mental health. Despite encouraging improvements, there are still areas that need addressing. One of the biggest is public leadership on workplace mental health. Fewer than 1 in 4 CEOs are formalising their commitment and must take action to become the drivers of change.

Highlights from the CIPD Festival of Work

The CIPD Festival of Work took place in London on 7-8 June. Delegates were treated to insights on the latest trends in employee engagement, flexible working and wellbeing, including talks from comedian Kathryn Ryan and a keynote from Kanya King CBE, CEO of MOBO Group, who spoke about the importance of ‘lifting each other up’. Self-care was a key theme throughout the talks and activities. The Wellbeing village featured yoga, meditation, massage, and puppy therapy - one to think about for Bring your dog to work day?

If you missed out on attending and would like to catch up on some of the talks, head over to www.festivalofwork.com

Further reading

To delve deeper into some of the subjects discussed in this post, take a look at our blogs on Financial Wellbeing, Recruitment, and our eBook on Recruitment and Retention.

How we can help you

If you’d like to discuss any of the issues raised in this blog, get in touch with us today on 0161 941 2426. We’re here to help.