All articles by Louise Farrand – Page 2
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AnalysisHow to build a hybrid-working model that is right for an organisation
Need to know:Hybrid-working arrangements have become the norm; employees now favour organisations that offer it over those that do not.Creating a sense of fairness around flexible working is a challenge for employers, especially for those whose staff are not able to work remotely at all.Employers are now focusing on creating ...
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Case StudiesRaven Housing Association provides working carers with comprehensive wellbeing support
Raven Housing Association is one employer which has thought hard about how to better support carers within its workforce. Why? “We understand that to create a great customer experience, you have to create a great employee experience,” summarises Gayle Hunt, senior HR business partner at Raven, which employs around 300 ...
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AnalysisWhat targeted support can employers offer to meet the wellbeing needs of carers?
Need to know:The pandemic has triggered a cultural shift in how we work, with a newfound openness alongside a wider acceptance of flexible working. These are both welcome developments for working carers.However, we shouldn’t underestimate how challenging working life can be for carers. Employers should seek to address carers’ emotional, ...
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AnalysisHow can Covid-19 benefits survive and thrive in the long term?
Need to know:Benefits have evolved during the pandemic, with the initial care packages morphing into more structured benefits propositions. But what will we keep and what will fade away?For the employers that can offer it, flexible working is here to stay. The genie’s out the bottle and employers should realise ...
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Case StudiesHow Essex County Council is reimagining benefits post-pandemic
Essex County Council is thinking hard about what benefits look like after the pandemic, concentrating its efforts on flexible working and wellbeing for its employees.Pam Parkes, Essex County Council’s director of organisational development and people, says: “I think there is going to be more structured hybrid working, which is what ...
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AnalysisHas workplace menopause support improved in recent years?
Need to know:The menopause is one of very few issues in the workplace that people still feel awkward talking about.In the past five years, there has been a significant improvement in the support that’s available to women. Employers increasingly understand the many reasons why it’s so critical to help women ...
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Case StudiesHow Santander UK supports its people through the menopause
Santander UK started supporting its colleagues through the menopause in 2019. It began by raising awareness of the menopause and its implications among its 21,900-strong employee base.The financial services company updated its communications with menopause key facts and sources of support and conducted a survey to better understand the needs ...
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Case StudiesHachette is working to close the book on its gender pay gap
Hachette UK is a publisher which includes well-known divisions such as Hodder and Stoughton, Headline Publishing Group, and Quercus, with 1,700 employees spread across the UK. It has been working steadily to close its gender pay gap.Saskia Bewley, head of diversity and inclusion at Hachette UK, explains: “Before the pandemic, ...
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AnalysisHow can employers ensure their pay equality goals stay on the agenda in the current climate?
The pandemic has been the best and worst of times for women.More women have been furloughed than men since Covid-19 struck, according to HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) statistics published in February 2021, with 2.32 million women on the scheme at the end of January 2021, compared to 2.18 million ...
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AnalysisWhat type of support can employers give to expectant parents?
Need to know:Employers used to say goodbye to expectant mothers and welcome them back at the end of their maternity leave. But times are changing. Support for expectant parents is becoming more inclusive and comprehensive, thanks to the realisation that it benefits diversity and inclusion, productivity and retention in organisations, ...
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Case StudiesHow the CBI supports expectant parents
As a relatively small organisation which employs 250 people internationally, including 225 in the UK, the Confederation of British Industry (CBI) prides itself on its curiosity when considering the introduction of new benefits. It seems natural for an organisation which promotes and celebrates UK businesses.Millia Bosnjak, reward and benefit adviser ...
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Case StudiesGett invests in its people with choice of flexible working patterns
Gett is a ground travel platform for businesses that puts clients’ preferred ride-hailing apps and car services in one place. It introduced Gett Flexi in August 2020. Gett’s global workforce of just under 1,000 employees can now choose whether they work four or five days a week.Tyson Niemeyer, chief executive ...
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AnalysisCould a four-day working week become the norm?
Need to know:What’s the secret of better retention, higher productivity and improved wellbeing? Some employers think it’s a four-day working week.Four-day working weeks can help organisations to attract and keep the best talent, which employers like recruiters MRL Consulting Group have discovered. Employees also report that they are less stressed ...
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Case StudiesCity and Guilds Group prioritises employee financial education in challenging times
When the pandemic hit UK businesses, City and Guilds Group was quick to respond. The skills development organisation which offers qualifications and apprenticeships across a variety of sectors, employs just over 1,000 people in the UK.City and Guilds has taken advantage of the government’s furlough scheme, topping up people’s salaries ...
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AnalysisHow has the pandemic impacted employers' financial education strategies?
Need to know:Over half of UK employees worry about money at least once a week, and people’s mental health is suffering.The pandemic has heightened the financial stress people were already experiencing. Their priorities have shifted away from day-to-day financials and towards a need for emotionally-driven financial education.Although face-to-face support is ...
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Case StudiesFord seeks to address pay and pension gender inequalities through recruitment and retention policies
Ford Motor Company’s gender pay gap report reads differently to that of most employers. The organisation, which employs over 13,000 people in the UK, has a negative pay gap, in other words, women earn more than men on average. But the overall picture is much more nuanced than the headline ...
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AnalysisHow can employers address the gender pensions gap during the pandemic?
Need to know:While the gender pay gap is well understood, another income gap is much less publicised: the extremely stark gender pensions gap. On average, women are retiring on a fraction of the amount men accumulate during their working lives.The Covid-19 pandemic may worsen an already-widening gap. In difficult times, ...
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AnalysisWhat will the workplace of the future mean for reward strategies?
Need to know:The Covid-19 (Coronavirus) pandemic has tipped flexible working into the mainstream for the first time and office environments may never be the same again.We are likely to arrive at a middle ground, where office workers enjoy a combination of working from home and office days.In the aftermath of ...
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Case StudiesAccord Healthcare UK focuses on bringing employees together
Pharmaceutical company Accord Healthcare has had a busy pandemic. Accord, which employs 1,200 people in the UK, supplies medicines to the NHS. The organisation manages every step of the process, from buying the raw products through to manufacturing and distributing medication.Production went up in the early days of the pandemic, ...
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AnalysisWhere do the parameters of employers' responsibility to wellbeing lie?
Need to know: We live in a very open age, but employers must still tread carefully when it comes to employees’ personal lives.Physical, mental and financial wellbeing is all-important to employees' productivity and they will be looking to employers to help in the midst of the Covid-19 (Coronavirus) pandemic.Employers ...