A second significant shift towards human capital analysis becoming mainstream has been announced as Rolls Royce revealed the results of an activity audit, to illustrate its impact on the UK economy beyond the basic P/L figures ... read more

The plan by the UK Government to abolish the default retirement age may prompt a huge upsurge of interest in human capital reporting. Age will no longer be a reason for someone stopping work, which could mean a fundamental shift ... read more

The Mail reports that Cadbury executives are losing key executives. It follows the news in June that Felicity Loudon, the Cadbury heiress so upset by the sale that in June she put her £27 million mansion up for sale to launch a ... read more

Scandals concerning suicides of Chinese workers have started to affect investors in the west, while raising concern over cosy assumptions about low-inflation growth.
Nothing has highlighted the delicate inter-dependency of human ... read more

In a further indication of consolidation within the human capital supply industry, Aon Corporation and Hewitt Associates have announced a merger between Hewitt and Aon Consulting, a subsidiary of Aon Corporation.

It will ... read more

A decade of organizational crises, from the dotcom crash, through the banking crisis to BP’s blow-out in the Gulf of Mexico, indicate that there are some fundamental flaws with short-termism in management, and the need for a ... read more

Michael Reddy of Human Potential Accounting will address the 30 September Human Capital Forum conference on how human capital analysis has helped real organisations, and why managers need to start following these examples and the ... read more

The Chartered Management Institute is backing the inaugural Human Capital Forum conference, to take place on 30 September (www.humancapitalforum.com/conference... read more

Human capital entrepreneur Michael Reddy has set up a specialist online library. HubCap Digital (HCD) is at alpha phase (http://alpha.hubcapdigital.com)
Users can ... read more

Mercer has announced that it has signed an agreement to acquire ORC Worldwide, to create one of the world’s largest providers of human capital intelligence. It is similar in nature to the tie-up between PricewaterhouseCoopers and ... read more

Five senior Cadbury executives are quitting the firm following its takeover by US food giant Kraft earlier this year.

The brain drain, a common feature of hostile takeovers, puts a question mark over projections of cost savings... read more

Sentiment is moving sharply against seeing mergers as the route to business growth. A survey of senior managers found that ‘pursuing organic growth’ was the favoured priority for UK plcs for the next year, cited by 34% of ... read more

Julie Bodman, systems analyst at Companies House, told the Human Capital Forum Executive Briefing on 28 April how reducing staff absence has been an early priority as the public sector organisation moves towards more advanced ... read more

An HR function without human capital analysis is like an aircraft without navigation instruments, Rick Emslie, human capital adviser, told the Human Capital Forum/COA Solutions Executive Briefing on 28 April. ‘Suppose the crew in ... read more

There needs to be a radical shift in perception of the importance of human capital in organisations and the economy, following a decade of crises caused by reliance on financial indicators, Philip Whiteley, chair of the Human ... read more

The Institute of Directors has made a policy announcement acknowledging that hostile takeovers ‘destroy value’ for shareholders of the acquiring firm, according to academic studies. It said the practice, while a ‘source of ... read more

Party manifestos make little direct reference to governance and human capital, while indirectly acknowledging their huge impact.

All parties claim to have identified ‘efficiency savings’ in the operation of public services, but... read more

Kraft’s hostile takeover of Cadbury has generated more controversy. Despite confining itself largely to financial due diligence, rather than human capital analysis, it overlooked an expensive clause in the pension scheme. ... read more

An agenda-setting conference on the future of management has been confirmed for 30th September, by the Human Capital Forum. To be held in central London, leading speakers on governance, leadership and human capital analysis will ... read more

Banks will have to draw up more comprehensive public details on pay, following an announcement by the Chancellor, Alistair Darling, in the Budget.

The announcement follows the Walker Review, which highlighted perverse ... read more

British MPs branded Kraft executives as ‘Vikings’ over the US food giant’s decision to proceed with the closure of Cadbury’s Somerdale factory in western England. Prior to its takeover of the British confectioner, it had indicated... read more

Rotherham Council, one of the pioneers of human capital analytics in the public sector, has ordered specialist organisational planning technology. The OrgPlus system will be used ‘to enable visibility of its organisational ... read more

A fundamental review of people management is a priority for a huge majority of chief executives interviewed by consultancy PricewaterhouseCoopers. More than eight out of ten (85%) of CEOs ‘expect to overhaul the way their ... read more

Leading, successful companies have to go against the prevailing culture in order to succeed, a recent paper from a leadership adviser claims.
Stephen Archer, director of Spring Partnerships, points to the British companies that ... read more

Amid fall-out of the past 18 months or so, since September 2008, the fall of Lehman Brothers and the re-thinking of regulation and of capitalism that is – or rather, should be – taking place, many commentators are commenting on ... read more

A manifesto for human capital with a bold five-point action for reform saw its London launch on 10 February. Michael Reddy, chief executive of new-launch Human Potential Accounting, told the audience that the treatment of people ... read more

Only a small minority of businesses link employee engagement measures to the impact on the business, according to a report by the Ochre House Network think-tank which includes over 650 major employers including Axa, Balfour Beatty... read more

New research by Melbourne Business School indicates that the impact on business of staff retention is even greater than commonly supposed. When one customer-facing member of staff leaves a company, the fall in custom can be 30%.
... read more

Leo Apotheker has been forced to resign as chief executive of software giant SAP in part due to poor opinion poll ratings from employees. The Financial Times cited falling software licence fees, an unpopular attempt to increase ... read more

Specialist human capital analysis company Infohrm has announced its sale of Infohrm to a company called SuccessFactors, a NASDAQ-listed firm based in San Mateo, near San Francisco, California.

With the acquisition, ... read more

The risk profile of banks’ activity, rather than the size of the bonuses, is the most important matter for banks and regulators, a leading management blogger has advised.
Matt Rogan of the advisory company Lane4, headed by Adrian... read more

The banks were ignoring some of the principles of sound leadership in the run-up to the credit crisis, a leading business commentator has claimed.
Robert Heller, writing in the online magazine Management Issues, asked why Peter ... read more

The Cadbury board may have failed to observe company law by agreeing to the Kraft takeover bid, a leading management author has warned.
Gordon Pearson, author of The Rise and Fall of Management, reported in his blog that ... read more

Vivendi has lost a class-action lawsuit in the United States over misleading financial information during the $46bn three-way merger with Seagram and Canal Plus a decade ago. The case highlights the high risk of relying on ... read more

Effectively engaging and aligning employees was credited for successfully carrying businesses through the recession at a recent round table discussion held in Manchester.

Comprising business leaders from the north west of ... read more

The Human Capital Forum will hold an Executive Briefing, in association with COA Solutions, on Wednesday 28th April. The venue is to be confirmed, but is likely to be in Docklands, east London. Attendance is free to qualifying ... read more

More than a third of British employees say their employer takes no interest in enhancing their skills through training, according to research released in January. The survey, conducted by Home Learning College, a provider of ... read more

One third of UK employees say they have not felt valued by their employer during the recession and would leave for another job if they could, according to a poll of around 950 workers commissioned by PricewaterhouseCoopers. Of ... read more

Employers should look to better management of temporary staff, rather than more surveillance, according to the company de Poel, a major supplier of temporary labour in the UK.
The firm, whose clients include major retailers, said... read more

Payroll and HR managers can transform their status and role by being prepared to develop presentational skills, Mary Louise Angoujard and Fiona Coleman of the agency Rapporta told the last meeting of the Human Capital Forum in ... read more

Further evidence that a focus on the accountancy-based bottom line does not maximise financial results has come in new US research. The Universities of Pennsylvania and Arizona State West and the Thunderbird School of Global ... read more

The Chartered Management Institute is launching a major research on human capital, with the Human Capital Forum as a partner.

The research forms part of an ambitious ‘Manifesto for a Better Managed Britain’, launched in ... read more

Businesses have begun setting out ‘skills roadmaps’ as they plan for demographic changes and belatedly recognise the importance of strategic workforce planning. A major new report by the Confederation of British Industry says the ... read more

Sixty-eight per cent of managers have told a survey by the Chartered Management Institute that they fell into a managerial role by chance, and 40% said they had not wanted the responsibility of managing people at all. Only a small... read more

An estimated 1.4 million Britons have taken time off work in the last 12 months to deal with money worries, according to a survey by insurance company AXA.

More than a third of respondents, equivalent to 10 million of the ... read more

Poor customer service costs UK businesses £15.3bn a year, and improved human capital development is at the heart of the problem, a major report has found.
Consumers were asked to identify the factors that make the biggest ... read more

Executives still have a marked tendency to look at easily measurable costs, such as salaries, rather than indirect costs, such as missed opportunities – even though the latter can be far greater in magnitude.
A new metric posted ... read more

A new survey has found that most employers believe that employee engagement affects employee retention and organisational performance, but almost half (49 per cent) don’t understand the level of engagement of their employees. A ... read more

Human capital analytics is the deployment of real business intelligence, which opens up a great opportunity for organisations, and for the HR function, Penny de Valk, chief executive of the Institute of Leadership & Management, ... read more

Human capital methodology and technology exist to illustrate value, and to reduce the guesswork in business decisions, said Laurence Collins, human capital analyst at Logica, at the 23 September seminar.

‘Not many people can ... read more

People represent a different type of asset from that which is owned by the business; they are hired through compensation and benefits, but this does not make them 'intangible', said Philip Whiteley, chair of the Human Capital ... read more

Some leading football clubs had begun assessing the value of their leading players, who earn considerable wages; and analysing further which combinations of players links to better results.

This revelation came during the ... read more

A major study has confirmed that most organisations neglect human capital, despite growing awareness of its fundamental importance to project management.

The survey, carried out by Lane4, has revealed that 88 per cent of ... read more

A major research project by the Human Capital Forum with technology firm Logica has revealed huge gaps in employers’ ability to match workforce planning to business needs – but also the emergence of an elite of employers that are ... read more

The Equalities & Human Rights Commission made a business case for greater equality for women, after its report revealed huge differences between men’s and women’s pay in the financial services sector.

‘For business to thrive in... read more

Organisations have to confront the impact of rapidly ageing population profile on their workforce planning, a major report has warned. The World Economic Forum, in association with HR consultancy Mercer and the Organisation for ... read more

Investment in human capital products has helped technology specialist COA Solutions defy the recession and post improved financial results.

Reporting revenues increasing by 7.4% to £59.8m for year ending 31 March, and earnings ... read more

The UK Financial Services Authority has trimmed its expected code of guidance on bankers’ pay, dropping expected rules requiring a certain proportion of bonuses is deferred. While insisting that it will require banks to hold more ... read more

Online gambling specialist Betfair has reported savings of £1.65m by increasing its direct hires from 40% to 86%.
Internal research at Betfair shows that ‘directly hired candidates stay in their posts three times longer than ... read more

Investing in people in a recession can lead to significant market gains, and employers should think carefully before making redundancies, according to a paper by leadership advisory
firm Lane 4.
‘There are many examples of the ... read more

The Financial Times published a letter from Philip Whiteley, chair of the Human Capital Forum, questioning the dominance of accountancy as the guiding force in merger activity.

'It is assumed that assets owned by the business ... read more

The concluding session of the unique collaboration between the Human Capital Forum and Logica will take place on 23rd September with a free half-day seminar.
The initiative is part of an on-going dialogue of peer-to-peer learning... read more

The publication of the Walker Review will prompt changes in corporate governance, and ought to promote a much higher profile to human capital management in the banks.
Sir David Walker, who was asked to review bank governance by ... read more

Leading manufacturer WL Gore has had to make no more than a couple of dozen compulsory redundancies globally throughout the recession, despite being heavily exposed to the downturn in consumer electronics.
The global company, ... read more

Liam Byrne, Cabinet Office Minister, has signaled a shift in Government policy away from the target culture, as evidence mounts that it has had a devastating effect on customers of public services.

But he did not commit to a ... read more

‘Dumb-sizing’ – thoughtless cutting of costs and headcount without consideration of people-related risks, is a feature of the recession and was a contributory factor, according to governance expert Bob Garratt.
In an interview ... read more

Adoption in Europe of workforce planning is on the rise and is leading to the HR function taking on a more strategic role, according to some promising research findings published by Infohrm – a provider of workforce planning, ... read more

Opposition is mounting to the shock decision of The Observer to drop one of the few dedicated columns on organisational management in the national media. It made a cost-cutting decision to end the weekly Simon Caulkin column just ... read more

By Philip Whiteley – In the strange world of management theory, it seems that some influential thinkers are coming round to the point of view that organisations consist of people. It’s been a long battle, lasting most of the ... read more

Anglian Water has reported a marked increase in operational efficiency through a radical overhaul of workforce planning systems, geared to matching human capital requirements more closely to demand. Work backlog has been reduced ‘... read more

The median pay settlement level has fallen sharply to 2 per cent, down from 3 per cent, the latest figures from the IDS Pay Databank, for the three months to the end of April, show.
April is a key bargaining month, and the latest... read more

Public sector workforce planning may be more advanced and long-term than in the private sector, according to research by Dr Peter Samuel of Nottingham University Business School.
‘Regular workforce analysis across a range of ... read more

Employers are falling into the trap of seeing employee engagement as an all-powerful indicator, guaranteeing company success, leading human capital specialist Rick Emslie has warned.
In an interview with the Human Capital Forum, ... read more

Logica has joined with the Human Capital Forum to announce a programme of workshops to help its clients develop advanced human capital tools. The aim of the initiative is to encourage a transformation in business culture and ... read more

The Human Capital Forum has linked with Sheppard Moscow, a leading international provider of coaching, leadership and organisational development, for the next Forum meeting.
Previous meetings have focused on human capital ... read more

Local authorities need to move towards systems thinking, away from simply following Government targets, a major report for the consultancy Vanguard has argued. Public sector organisations need to apply the principles of teamwork ... read more

Jack Welch, the former darling of the US corporate world and prince of the concept of ‘shareholder value’, has turned against the idea in one of the most dramatic u-turns in management history. He recently described the concept of... read more

Belatedly, the UK authorities are beginning to recognise the fundamental importance of people management. Lord Turner, in his recent report on banking reform, cited remuneration policies that were ‘counter to sound risk management... read more

The decision in 2005 of the then UK Chancellor Gordon Brown to cancel the requirement for an Operating & Finance Review was ‘an inexplicable mistake’, Anglo American chair Sir Mark Moody-Stuart told delegates at a lecture hosted ... read more

The Human Capital Forum has linked with ACI Europe to promote the Global HR – Change Management, Restructuring and Reorganisation conference, to be held in Brussels on 29-30 April.
It features speakers from leading organisations ... read more

Human resources directors recognise the need for improved human capital analytics, but are weighed down by a huge workload caused by the economic downturn, according to Patricia Taylor, director of global HR outsourcing at Logica... read more

EXCLUSIVE
Sponsors of the London Olympics are planning to boost employee engagement as part of their investment. The ground-breaking move has been pioneered by Olympic Gold Medal winner Adrian Moorhouse, who now runs the coaching... read more

EXCLUSIVE
There should be an end to quarterly reporting, and a cultural and behavioural transformation in business governance, Bob Garratt told an audience of business leaders at the Human Capital Forum Leadership Seminar on 5 ... read more

US health insurer WellPoint has identified massive areas for saving through analysis of staff turnover. It had suffered over 30% turnover of new hires in service operations within their first year. Typically, employees departing ... read more

A personal services company has recorded consistently higher sales performance, across all levels of tenure, for employees that have undergone training, specialist provider Infohrm has reported.

This company, which takes a ... read more

Business units at ABC Telco are creating their own human capital analysis each month and using the reports to fine-tune people strategies and improve performance.
The approach features single-page colour-coded reports with charts... read more

The controversy that has erupted over bonuses at UK banks highlights the extent to which business leaders, shareholders and the Government ignored human capital in the run-up to the credit crisis, the Human Capital Forum has ... read more

Institutional investors in the UK are starting to ask probing questions about companies’ human capital strategies in the wake of the credit crisis. In a marked turn-around from the boom years, where matters such as market ... read more

The consultancy Leadership IQ has highlighted a genuine memo announcing lay-offs as a classic example of poor communication likely to lead to low morale among survivors.

The publishing company’s CEO sent a message to all staff... read more

Skills are even more important during tough economic times, according to a report published on 21 January by the Confederation of British Industry.
In a major report the Confederation has highlighted how one employer has saved £5... read more

Employers are considering alternatives to compulsory redundancies during the recession, according to the Chartered Institute of Personnel & Development and consulting giant KPMG.
The data is based on initial findings from the ... read more

Redundancy programmes are running at the highest level for 14 years, but companies need to take care of staff who survive the cut-backs, according to a survey by one of the leading employee opinion survey specialists.
Sirota ... read more

Most employers do not know the cost of employee absence due to a lack of good data, according to Mercer’s annual pan-European Health & Benefit report, published this month.
As the economic downturn deepens and affects all regions... read more

Professor Bob Garratt will address a Leadership Breakfast Meeting hosted by the Human Capital Forum on Thursday, March 5 in central London.
Well before the banking crisis broke, Professor Garratt was warning of systemic ... read more

The cost of making an employee redundant can be more than £15,000, even without taking hidden costs such as impact on engagement and productivity, according to the Chartered Institute of Personnel & Development.
John Philpott, ... read more

Most boardrooms see employee engagement as a key priority, but are struggling to achieve better results, according to a major UK survey by consultancy the Engage Group.
The survey of more than 23,000 directors, including 2,500 at... read more

In a further indication that the economic downturn is causing an increase in interest in human capital reporting, Mercer HR has reported higher activity by corporate clients in core elements of human capital management.
‘We see ... read more

Key human capital measures, such as staff turnover and use of agency workers, should be used as risk indicators in child protection, a leading social services academic has recommended.
Ray Jones, professor of social work at ... read more

Human resources and payroll managers, and IT providers, need to be prepared for investors making requests for human capital reporting, according to the Human Capital Forum.
Forum member Richard Bishop-Laggett told a session at ... read more

The economic downturn could see an increase in human capital reporting, the latest meeting of the Human Capital Forum heard.
Paul Aldrich, senior consultant at CT Partners and author of Talent Portfolio Management, told the Forum... read more

A deadline of 31 October has been set for the next Best Companies to Work For competition. The contest, one of the few high-profile measures that assesses organizations on how they develop their human capital, has seen spectacular... read more

Data security is forcing employers to pay more attention to business intelligence and human capital reporting, according to a major supplier.

Patricia Taylor, director HR outsourcing services business of Logica, says that fears... read more

There continues to be resistance to assessing the impact of payroll and other people-related expenditure – even though it is the largest single item on the balance sheet, a human capital expert has claimed.

Dr Max Blumberg of ... read more

Members of the Payroll World Human Capital Forum have achieved significant business returns from improvement in HR and payroll-related measures, the latest meeting revealed.

Information on matters such as the retention and ... read more

A strategic approach to people management is key to making mergers and acquisitions effective, research by the Chartered Institute of Personnel & Development has found.

Satish Pradhan, executive vice president of group HR at ... read more