All articles by Victoria Furness – Page 2

  • Analysis

    Employee perceptions of pensions restructures

    2008-03-03T00:00:00Z

    If handled correctly, staff can view a pensions restructure with positivity, says Victoria FurnessWith frequent reports of employers' multi-million pound pension fund deficits and the gloomy retirement predicted to be facing most of us, it's unsurprising most employees will respond negatively to the words 'pension restructure'.Matthew Blakstad, reward and pensions ...

  • Article

    Pare messages to emphasise partnership

    2008-02-04T00:00:00Z

    Managing global benefits centrally can create conflict with local reward teams so Victoria Furness advocates using diplomacy and clear communicationMultinational HR teams considering the best way to implement a global benefits policy would do well to remember HSBC's 'cultural collisions' advertising campaign, which first appeared in 2003. The series of ...

  • Analysis

    Construction firms are rethinking benefits

    2008-01-07T00:00:00Z

    Fierce competition for staff is forcing construction firms to rethink their benefits offering, says Victoria FurnessThese are boom times for the UK's construction industry. The housing market may not be experiencing the growth of a few years ago, but the 2012 Olympics has given a huge boost to the sector, ...

  • Case Studies

    BT prepares for legal changes around benefits

    2007-12-03T00:00:00Z

    In anticipation of next year's legislative changes, BT's reward team is focused on ensuring the structure of its benefits package is optimised to minimise risk.Jim McInally, HR director, reward and employee relations, explains: "The next area we are looking at is the tax changes in the pre-Budget report. I have ...

  • Analysis

    Look into 2008: legal update

    2007-12-03T00:00:00Z

    Corporate manslaughter and statutory holiday entitlement laws may hit employers in 2008, says Victoria FurnessWhile benefits managers have spent the last couple of years frantically preparing for pensions simplification and busily complying with a raft of family-focused legislation in the Work and Families Act 2006, many seem non-plussed by the ...

  • Analysis

    How banking firms use benefits to motivate

    2007-11-05T00:00:00Z

    Banking firms use benefits to motivate and boost engagement in the workforce, says Victoria FurnessThe banking sector is one of the largest industries in the UK - employing close to half a million people - but it is also one of the most innovative, whether through its adoption of new ...

  • Analysis

    Freshening up a flexible benefits plan

    2007-09-30T23:00:00Z

    Freshening up a flexible benefits plan can often involve as much ingenuity as a launch, says Victoria FurnessComing up with new ways of reviving employee interest in flexible benefits is arguably harder than implementing a scheme in the first place. Obviously, there isn’t the headache of administration or putting in ...

  • Analysis

    Benefits data analysis can help make HR strategy more effective

    2007-09-02T23:00:00Z

    Analysing benefits data can make HR strategy more effective and help provide more relevant benefits communication, says Victoria FurnessOver the past decade, there has been tremendous innovation in how employee benefits are managed. Absence management systems, flexible benefits systems and total reward statements are just a few of the new ...

  • Analysis

    Using perks to attract and retain staff in Romania

    2007-08-05T23:00:00Z

    Romania is experiencing another phase of emigration, so employers are considering how to best use perks to their advantage in a culture with a reliance on state-provided care, says Victoria FurnessIt is estimated that two million workers have left Romania to live abroad over the last few years, and the ...

  • Analysis

    The long-term trends likely to affect the future of benefits

    2007-07-01T23:00:00Z

    With demographic and technological evolution setting the pace,Victoria Furness looks at the long-term trends likely to affect the future of employees benefitsEinstein once said: "I never think of the future. It comes soon enough." But with some potentially seismic shifts in the way we live and work on the horizon, ...

  • Analysis

    Employee engagement: Financial education must cover staff's diverse needs

    2007-06-01T00:00:01Z

    Financial education can help all staff, from junior employees to top managers, but the key to a successful programme is understanding people’s diverse needs, says Victoria FurnessPersonal finance isn't a topic that causes most people to jump with enthusiasm, but a growing band of employers are using financial education in ...

  • Analysis

    Uncertainty among worksite marketing providers causes concern for employers

    2007-04-01T00:00:01Z

    With doubts being raised about provider commitment to workplace marketing, employers could be set for a series of dilemmas, says Victoria FurnessCase study - Malmaison and Hotel du VinArticle in fullThe proposition behind worksite marketing - the sale of financial products to people through their workplace - was once compelling ...

  • Analysis

    How to manage working parents

    2007-03-01T00:00:01Z

    Why should employers consider the needs of working parents? What should be covered in a strategy for working parents? What benefits are available to assist working parents? How do childcare vouchers work? What are the implications of providing nursery care? Preparing for an emergency How to help working parents achieve ...

  • Analysis

    Recruitment and retention hard in emerging markets

    2007-01-08T00:00:00Z

    Recruitment in emerging markets is difficult and employers find cash is a stronger motivator than other perks, says Victoria FurnessArticle in fullIf you read nothing else, read this ...Competition for talent in the emerging markets of China and India means that employers are fighting over the same labour pool. Employers ...

  • Analysis

    Macro economic indicators and the impact on employee benefits

    2006-09-30T23:00:00Z

    Macro-economic indicators, changes in the labour market and personal debt levels, can all influence the perks offered to staff, says Victoria FurnessCase study: Robert Gordon UniversityArticle in fullWhen the Bank of England unexpectedly raised interest rates from 4.5% to 4.75% in August, most people will have wondered what effect it ...

  • Article

    Employee Benefits Future Strategy 2006 - Feature: HCI mirrors shifting work patterns

    2006-02-01T00:00:00Z

    Article in fullBack in the late 1990s, the government was forced to face up to the fact that the UK was severely lagging behind the rest of the world in moving towards what it labelled an 'e-economy'. Since then, through a combination of regulation, new infrastructure and tax breaks, broadband ...

  • Analysis

    Future Strategy 2006 - Outsourcing

    2006-02-01T00:00:00Z

    Outsourcing individual HR processes is nothing new, but a fresh trend is emerging to outsource entire HR departments, says Victoria FurnessArticle in fullLike a controversial housing development, outsourcing is one of those contentious subjects that divides communities and provokes an emotive response from affected parties. Often the knee-jerk response when ...

  • Analysis

    Future Strategy 2006 - Communications get creative

    2006-02-01T00:00:00Z

    Organisations are engaging staff using increasingly creative content via mixed media to tailor make their message, says Victoria FurnessArticle in fullIt is hard to believe that the corporate intranet was once considered a state-of-the-art means of internal messaging. But now with most organisations using the medium to communicate benefits information, ...

  • Analysis

    Benchmarking the benefits package

    2005-11-01T00:00:00Z

    Defending salary increases has been one of the principal uses that HR has made of benchmarking, but that’s not the only hook, says Victoria FurnessWho hasn’t wondered how much a colleague’s remuneration package is worth? Or, lets be more candid, whether he or she receives more pay and benefits. But ...

  • Analysis

    Is your communication strategy geared up to cope in an emergency?

    2005-04-30T23:00:00Z

    Communicating emergency news to staff is vital for gaining their trust. Getting it wrong can impact badly on credibility, so the key lies in prior planning. Communications must also be legally compliant, says Victoria FurnessArticle in fullCommunicating with staff during an emergency situation will always be tricky, but it is ...