The new role of HR, championing diversity, & the ideal size of an HR team
I read a lot of HR-related emails and articles, and sometimes I strike gold. Here are the top five articles of the many I’ve read over the past couple of months or so.
Please do let me know if any of these spark inspiration, make you think twice, or teach you something new.
Experts reveal HR’s role for ‘Lockdown 2.0’
As Lockdown 2.0 continues, this article reiterates just how much change HR teams are continually having to manage.
HR is at the centre of the newest changes with wellbeing, engagement, working structures and job support schemes top of the business agenda.
HR practitioners are expected to manage ‘mood, morale and motivation’ as well as supporting and guiding organisations through these challenging times. HR has always been an essential part of any organisation’s success but now more than ever.
What the C-suite needs to rethink in the age of Covid-19
Businesses across all industries took a hit during the lockdown, but as they begin to recover, they have a rare opportunity to make improvements in the ways that they operate.
When we are all going about our business, we’re less inclined to consider change, and sometimes it takes crises to force us to reconsider our preconceptions.
If the C-suite can seize this opportunity today, they can rebuild their businesses to be stronger, more inclusive, and more resilient than they were at the beginning of the year.
Senior recruitment has a diversity issue
A new report from the CIPD and Omni found that a quarter of employers make no effort to attract and recruit more diverse candidates for top-level jobs.
Here’s another snippet taken directly from this article, which is why I’m sharing it as we all need to do our bit to create more diverse teams that prioritise inclusion.
“According to the data, only 37% monitor their recruitment to obtain data on protected characteristics, while just 27% remove certain biographical details from initial selection process. 33% ensure they have a diverse interview panel or hiring team and only 23% check recruitment tests used are valid, reliable and objective.”
This absolutely has to change.
What’s your organisation doing to improve diversity in the boardroom?
Zurich show how LGBT+ pay gap reporting drives inclusivity
This is a great article on how Zurich Insurance has kept Diversity and Inclusion at the top of its agenda throughout the pandemic. It’s championing LGBT+ rights in the UK by sharing its pay data for the first time in 2020.
The fact that the pandemic has clearly impacted different employee groups in different ways is even more reason that more companies should be championing diversity in order to support every person in the way they should be supported.
And finally… How big should an HR team be?
This is a question I’ve come across many times. Although there’s no real ‘optimum number’ (which is acknowledged in the article), this piece from People Management helpfully talks through various scenarios and expert opinions.
That’s all for now. Please connect with me on LinkedIn for more articles and insights that I regularly share with my network.