
CIPD
We’re the CIPD — the professional body for HR and people development. We are the voice of a worldwide community of more than 150,000 members committed to championing better work and working lives.
Latest episodes

Mar 28, 2014 • 21min
Podcast 87: Barriers to leadership
Recent CIPD research has revealed that although £3.2 billion is annually invested in training for managers across the UK, 72% of organisations report a deficit of management and leadership skills.
In this round table podcast recording, we’ll be discussing why this is the case, and what to do about it. What are the barriers to effective leadership in modern organisations, and how can we overcome them?
We will discuss some of the findings from the research with CIPD’s Ksenia Zheltoukhova, while Kirstin Furber, People Director, BBC Worldwide, Louise Fisher, HR Director, Xerox and Andy Lancaster, formerly Learning and Development Manager, Hanover Housing and now Head of L&D at the CIPD, outline their personal experiences of organisational structures and leadership capability.

Mar 28, 2014 • 11min
Podcast 86: Look Ahead To 2014
The CIPD’s Chief Economist kicks off the first CIPD podcast of 2014, with a cautiously optimistic note for the next 12 months. Mark Beatson tells us that employment growth may well continue, but that with average earnings still falling in real terms, it’s the productivity deficit that employers really need to tackle.
We also look ahead with Peter Cheese, who discusses how he believes that the improved economic outlook gives HR professionals the space to think more strategically. Peter also rounds up some of the CIPD’s key priorities for 2014, including the ‘Valuing your Talent’ project, aiming to provide a framework for human capital measurement, and the CIPD’s commitment to providing clearer membership propositions for people management professionals at all stages of their career.

Mar 28, 2014 • 18min
Podcast 85: Social media: what's the point
With new CIPD survey results showing prevailing uncertainty that social media has any role to play in the workplace, we discuss ways in which social and digital technologies can and increasingly will have a real impact on the world of work. We discuss how employers can exploit the potential of a more networked workforce, and talk about the altered power dynamics that can result from a more ‘social business’.
HRD and prolific tweeter Gemma Reucroft (@HR_Gem) speaks about how she’s used social media to network and learn, and how her company is now building social technologies into its communications framework. DPG’s Head of Customer Experience Mike Collins (@MikeCollins007) talks about a networked approach to L&D. We also probe the findings with report author Jonny Gifford (@jonnygiff), who argues that the question is no longer ‘whether’ but ‘how’ you are going to use social media. The episode also includes the legal perspective from solicitor Ron Kane, including his suggestions for collaboratively developing a workable social media policy.

Mar 28, 2014 • 22min
Podcast 84: OD: taking the business with you?
In this podcast Martin Clarkson, Co-founder and Chairman, The Storytellers, Vilma Nikolaidou, Head of OD, Tate Galleries and Wilson Wong, Senior Researcher, OD Insight and Practice, discuss organisation development from the perspective of involving stakeholders in the design and development process, and examine the best ways to communicate OD throughout the organisation.

Mar 28, 2014 • 16min
Podcast 83: Pension auto-enrolment: the lessons for SMES
In this podcast Neal Blackshire, Benefits and Compensation Manager, McDonald’s, Kendra Osenton, Pensions Policy Manager, BT, and Andy Seed, Director of Tax and Pensions, KPMG discuss pension auto-enrolment for SMES.

Mar 28, 2014 • 15min
Podcast 82: Inspiring the future
For this podcast we travelled to a careers fair in north London to speak to some students who are exploring their career options. We also speak to some of the people involved in the project, including CIPD’s Kelly Duncan and Katerina Rudiger, and Nick Chambers, Director of the Education and Employers Taskforce. They discuss the importance of tackling the mismatch between young people and employers at the recruitment stage and explain how volunteer HR professionals can help by delivering CV and interview guidance.

Mar 28, 2014 • 23min
Podcast 81: Changing values and culture in the City
In this podcast Simon Lloyd, HR Director of Santander, Simon Thompson, Chief Executive of the Chartered Banker Institute, Andrea Eccles of the City HR Association and CIPD Head of Public Policy Ben Wilmot discuss the need to change the culture of the financial sector to repair the trust in it that has been lost.

Mar 28, 2014 • 18min
Podcast 80: Is coaching actually solving problems for organisations?
Coaching has become the generic solution to a plethora of HR development needs but is it always the right approach and are we using it effectively? John McGurk, CIPD Adviser, Learning & Talent, Peter Hawkins, Professor of Leadership, Henley Business School, Heather Townsend, Director, Excedia Group, and Neil Morrison, Group HR Director, Random House, discuss.

Mar 28, 2014 • 23min
Podcast 79: Female entrepreneurs
In this podcast two women, Naomi Timperley, Co Director of Enterprise Lab and Director of Social Media Boom and Claire Mason, Founder and Managing Director of Man Bites Dog, share how they started up their own businesses and Claire McCartney, CIPD Adviser, Resourcing & Talent Planning, discusses what her research has highlighted.

Mar 28, 2014 • 23min
Podcast 78: Have employers got the skills to employ young people?
In this podcast Katerina Rudiger, CIPD's Skills Policy Adviser, Jane Daly, Head of Learning and Development at Marks and Spencer and Elizabeth Eddy, Head of Skills for NHS employers, discuss the problem of youth unemployment and what employers should be doing to play their part in boosting work opportunities for young people.