CIPD

A new year presents new challenges, but what are the key business issues your organisation should prepare for? From providing support and stability to employees following the UK’s withdrawal from the EU, to tackling workplace inequality and addressing diversity and inclusion at all levels of business, our guests discuss the crucial topics set to change the landscape of work. Join business journalist Josie Cox and CIPD’s David D’Souza and Edward Houghton as they ponder the year ahead, explore what organisations need to prepare for and offer top tips to help you tackle these key business issues.

Critical thinking is a key skill for HR and all people professionals - it is the ability think well and to critically reflect on the ideas, opinions and arguments of others. It can help us solve complex problems and make better decisions, bringing clarity to confusion. and increasing our potential to succeed when others look to us and our teams for answers that work. Join Warren Howlett and Tim Coburn discussing why critical thinking is important, and how you can learn to reason well.

The concept of “learning in-the-flow of work”, coined by Josh Bersin, is a simple notion; learners can access learning at their point of need in the workplace. See Bersin’s article “A New Paradigm For Corporate Training: Learning In The Flow of Work” (Bersin, 2018) available at: https://joshbersin.com/2018/06/a-new-paradigm-for-corporate-training-learning-in-the-flow-of-work/. He cites the 2018 LinkedIn Learning survey of over 4000 L&D leaders and business professionals that highlighted the biggest barrier to learning is that employees simply don’t have enough time for learning; respondents want to learn at their own pace (58%) and in-the-flow of work (49%) (LinkedIn, 2018). This is further supported by Towards Maturity’s “Learner Voice” research (Towards Maturity, 2016) which found that 91% of learners want to learn at their own pace. See https://towardsmaturity.org/2016/11/03/learner-voice-part-3/. However, learning in-the-flow of work requires learning practitioners to design and facilitate learning close to the workface and that requires new thinking and tactics. We can no longer rely on “the course”. Andy Lancaster, Head of Learning at CIPD, David James, Chief Learning Officer at Looop Learning, and Kate Graham, Head Of Content at Fosway Group discuss this and more.

Neurodiversity refers to the fact that all our brains function differently. In the workplace it’s an essential area of diversity and inclusion that refers to alternative thinking styles, including autism, dyslexia, dyscalculia and dyspraxia. Without an appreciation of neurodiverse conditions and considering how individuals can be enabled to perform at their best at work, employers will miss out on the sought-after skills of a large talent pool and potentially neglect a significant proportion of their customer base. In this episode, Margaret Malpas, Vice President of the British Dyslexia Association, and the CIPD’s Diversity and Inclusion Adviser, Dr Jill Miller, explain why it’s so important for employers to understand neurodiversity. They also share ideas on how to create a neurodiversity-friendly workplace where people with alternative thinking styles can thrive. Kirsty Wilson, Lead International Job Coach at Auticon, an IT consultancy that exclusively hires adults on the autism spectrum, gives insights and practical examples of how to create an inclusive environment where people can fully use their talents.

All listed companies in the UK with more than 250 people must now report the ratio between their CEO pay and the median pay of their employees. But will that make much difference to the widening gap, and are big, complex reward packages, much of a motivator anyway? In this podcast, our speakers discuss the existing models of executive pay and incentive plans, what motivates top earners and the importance of fairness in reward, as well as the future role of Remuneration Committees. We hear from Sandy Pepper, Professor of Management Practice at the London School , Professor of Management Practice at the London School of Economics, Charles Cotton, CIPD’s Senior Adviser Pay and Reward, and Julia Hanna of Verditer Consulting.

Many organisations still shy away from this important combined business practice and HR led strategy as it can appear to be too complicated a task. This podcast encourages organisations of all sizes to start small and build on the data and analysis that will inform the practices and key skills required for talent acquisition and management, succession planning and change.

In this podcast we explore how organisations can support ethical behaviour at work through their people management practices, job design, and through building ethics into the way they do business.

Fads, anecdotes, fake news and gut instinct aren't reliable tools for HR practitioners. In this episode we explore evidence-based practice, and discuss what it is, how it works, and why it is important for people professionals.

Women over the age of 50 are the fastest growing segment of the workforce, and most will go through the menopause transition during their working lives. For every ten women experiencing menopausal symptoms, six say it has a negative impact on their work. Yet it remains a taboo topic in many workplaces. Women will continue to suffer in silence unless we break the stigma and start talking openly about the menopause at work. In this episode Deborah Garlick, from Henpicked: Menopause in the Workplace and the CIPD’s Senior Employment Relations Adviser, Rachel Suff share their ideas and insights. We also hear from Janet Trowse at Network Rail who has first-hand experience of working within an organisation that does all it can to support menopausal women in the workplace.

Flexible working includes various working arrangements such as part time, flexitime, compressed hours and working from home to name but a few. With UK Prime Minister Theresa May’s support the Flexible Working Taskforce was established to widen the availability and take-up of flexible working and is chaired by the CIPD. In this episode we’ll explore the work of the Taskforce and the CIPD’s investigations into flexible working including design, availability, visibility, and productivity. We capture ideas and insights from Peter Cheese and Claire McCartney from the CIPD, Kamal Shergill, Dan Kieran, Christine Armstrong, and Margaret Heffernan.