Blog
All the latest ideas from the impact of the Equality Bill to new ways to count the cost of conflict.
The details of an interesting ET case were published last week, involving a Royal Mail employee and his line manager. After a perceived ‘inappropriate joke’ and provocation, the employee threw a cup of hot coffee over his manager, abused him verbally, and tipped plate of toast over his head.
After the incident was investigated, the decision was taken that the employee’s actions were gross misconduct and he was later dismissed upon those grounds. During an appeal case, however, the investigator found that whilst the employee’s actions warranted dismissal, they did not constitute gross misconduct. The reason for this appears to be the provocation from the line manager, and that the joke in question was regarding learning disabilities – which the employee had been affected by. This detail hadn’t been uncovered in the original investigation and therefore not taken into consideration until the appeal stage, when the decision was changed.
A case like this is a prime example of the need for robust and consistent investigations procedures within an organisation. That nobody asked the employee why he reacted as he did could have landed Royal Mail in the middle of an unfair dismissal case.
As part of a fair and robust investigation, employers should always ask employees facing misconduct allegations what their reasons were for their actions, and take into account any mitigating factors. Those reasons will rarely excuse the misconduct but may lead to a less severe sanction. In cases like this it seems the old adage is correct: ‘Not everything is as it seems’.
Fit for work? GPs may know for 3 years before you...
Written by Carly FordhamA recent study carried out by Glasgow University showed compelling evidence that GPs can spot who might go on incapacity benefit for mental health issues up to 3 YEARS before they stop working.
The last few months have been a whirlwind of behind-the-scenes IT development on our knowledge portal, HubCap.
For those not familiar with HubCap, it is a resource library (free) and community of HR professionals looking for the latest thinking in human resources best practice, with a large focus on human capital - the measurement, management and reporting of people in organisations.
Returning visitors will notice an immediate difference in design and navigation when visiting the homepage, which now features a dashboard to discover new thinking in Human Resources and Human Capital Management. Updated hourly, new documents, forum discussions, blog posts and tweets are published in the Latest sections to give you something fresh every time you come back.
As an example, our most recent Crystalline has been published on HCD - Ryan Offutt's The True Value of an Organisation, that we blogged about last week and added to HPA's series of research-driven whitepapers. You'll find more knowledge articles and essays in the HCD Library, all free to access so please dive in!
In response to member demand, we've also added private discussions that allow for hidden conversation threads in the Forum. If you'd like to suggest any themes that only selected members can access, please contact This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .
As always, we actively encourage any feedback about our websites - please direct your comments to This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .
People Resolutions' online arm resurrects the 2003-05 UK Government led Accounting for People initiative, but in a radically different way. 
[For background on HubCap's game-changing HR movement, see here: http://www.peopleresolutions.com/about/accounting-for-people-20.]
The first thing to point out is that Task Force 2 is a broader, global Task Force of HR, Finance, psychologists, academics, journalists and politicians. This core working group will work collaboratively to develop their ideas taking into account the prerequisite human capital metrics and changes in leadership and management practices needed for a new human capital or narrative reporting to succeed. AfP 2.0’s goal is not to just make recommendations, but demonstrate clearly how human capital reporting changes can significantly enhance the success and sustainability of the organisation as a whole, not to mention governments and nations.
AfP 2.0 welcomes the advent and broad context of triple line reporting, as also the Government’s recent Consultation initiative to reinstate Operating and Financial Reviews (OFR), and wholeheartedly support both. In AfP 2.0 we have chosen to focus for the time being on the corporate benefits of enhanced and transparent financial reporting that lie within the wider CSR prospectus, and indeed within the wider global context. Throughout the world accounting practices, government dispositions, and new approaches to a capitalist framework vary enormously. Our intention in choosing the narrower focus is not to privilege the prototype anglo-american capitalism which has been prevalent in the West and shown to be significantly defective in structure and function. On the contrary, it is rather to begin the process of shaping its successor.
Important links and the Accounting for People 2.0 timetable:
- June-July 2010, we personally canvassed the views of the original Task Force - the second step, drawing together Task Force 2, is now well underway
- August, the Accounting for People 2.0 website, www.accountingforpeople.org was launched to act as an information resource for those involved
- Human capital network, HubCap, http://www.hubcapdigital.com/ is now giving and will continue to give Task Force members, interested followers and the AfP 2.0 movement definition, visibility, participation and momentum
- The Accounting for People 2.0 Manifesto, co-created by the Task Force, will be the signature piece of a free ebook, The Human Capital Handbook 2011, http://www.humancapitalhandbook.com/
- October 21st 2010, the Handbook, the new Task Force and the AfP 2.0 Manifesto will be premiered to a select audience of business leaders and media at London’s five star Soho Hotel
If you would like more information about AfP 2.0, please contact Michael at
This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
. For more information about the launch event, please contact Natalia
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Earlier this year our sister company, Human Potential Accounting (HPA), launched a new service providing Business Intelligence. Crystalline services allows our customers to access qualified and experienced HPA researchers to get in-depth knowledge about the changing and growing Human Capital arena, in a format that suits you.
‘One of the most critical issues facing investors and corporate stakeholders is the challenge of ensuring the relevance, timeliness, reliability, consistency and comparability of information and its impact on the ability to truly measure the value of an enterprise in the New Economy.’
So begins Ryan Offutt's Crystalline that goes on to explore in some depth the theoretical underpinnings of human capital management, as well as current and future challenges in this emerging area. Newly published on our knowledge network, HubCap Digital, you can access the full works (and download for free) by clicking here.
Ryan's Crystalline marks the second in a new series of thought pieces written by our sister company, Human Potential Accounting's Business Intelligence team and selected guest writers. The expertly crafted documents are designed to keep you abreast of the latest thinking in human capital and sample the quality of our research output. As well as our own publishing schedule, HPA also invites organisations to commission their own bespoke Crystalline for targeted business intelligence - learn more about our services here.
About the Author
Ryan Offutt is currently studying towards an MSc in Occupational Psychology at Sheffield University. Before making a career change to occupational psychology, Ryan worked as a professional editor and writer for AGCAS, producing online and print content for the Prospects graduate careers site (www.prospects.ac.uk). He has a BA (2002) from the University of Maryland (USA) and an MA (2004) in English Literature from Sheffield University, and has also worked as a graduate tax consultant at PriceWaterhouse Coopers LLP. You can reach him at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .
At times of a recession, organisations typically cut back on investment in people – training and management development are often the first to be affected as programmes are delayed or cancelled as they are seen as being non-essential in times of hardship. However, this time round there is some evidence that a few far-sighted organisations are managing to secure funds for development purposes where they see the longer term benefit of training as a vehicle to retain or increase employee engagement when traditional reward, such as salary increases, are likely to be very low or non-existent. They see investment in this area as a way of reducing costs longer term, and also preparing themselves for post-recession recovery.
With HR being all about the management of people, we thought it was about time to take a closer look at the ‘people’ part. Psychology and HR have always been interlinked – it’s all about behaviour in some way, shape or form. But it seems that one highly recognised phenomenon from the psychology world could have a real impact on conflict within the workplace, particularly in the field of bullying and harassment.
The Bystander Effect is a psychological phenomenon that occurs when an ‘emergency situation’ is presented to a group of people. The larger the group or the more people that are present during the emergency, the less likely it is that anyone will try to help or intervene. The causes of this effect are thought to be three-fold:
- Diffusion of Responsibility (each individual assumes someone else will handle the situation)
- Pluralistic Ignorance (people see that everyone else isn’t doing anything to help and therefore assume that there is no need to help)
- Audience Inhibition (people fear making a mistake in front of others, so they don’t act)
Now let’s take a look at this information, and put it into the context of workplace bullying and/or harassment. So what might bystander situations look like in the workplace? Some examples include:
- Rude or inconsiderate behaviour
- Bullying or harassment
- Inappropriate or offensive humour
According to a study by Rowe, Wilcox & Gadlin in 2009, the causes of bystander behaviour in the workplace are very similar to the more general bystander effect including fear of losing friendships, loss of privacy, getting too involved, embarrassing others or retaliation.
So, how do we solve this problem? A number of organisations have tried to tackle this issue within the workplace by providing training to provide so called ‘active bystanders’. These individuals are trained to identify and interrupt inappropriate behaviour, give public support to a victim and to defuse a situation where possible.
However this training must take place within an organisational culture that accepts, supports and promotes this intervening behaviour. The bottom line is that we should all be empowered to stop bullying and harassment within our organisation; it is our shared responsibility and an important one.
Take a look at your organisation; does it promote intervention in these situations, or do people just look the other way? More pointedly, what would you do in this situation? Try to help? Or just walk on by?
The vast majority of men will experience some degree of hair loss at some point in their lives. However you wouldn’t usually expect to be turned down for a job because of a lack of luscious locks, would you?
It turns out; certain professions view having hair as a necessity. So what kind profession would be so hard on the bald population – male models, TV presenters?
How about the coppers? The Police Service of Northern Ireland have got themselves in hot water after rejecting a candidate from the recruitment process due to him being unable to submit a hair sample for drugs testing.
After taking his case to the high court, the Service back-tracked, saying that they would re-instate the candidate and amend its application process to facilitate analysis of DNA from other sources.
So, is this a victory for baldys everywhere? Or is it a sign of things to come? Whatever the future holds for discrimination claims, let’s hope that common sense wins out. Fairness goes far beyond skin colour, gender or ethnicity. In my experience, a diverse and fairly treated workforce is a more constructive one; whether you have flowing locks like Farrah Fawcett or an alfresco noggin like Harry Hill.
Besides, to quote my father: “I’m not bald, I’m follically challenged”.
When you hear the word 'workplace investigation', you'd be forgiven for imagining a broken relationship between colleagues, intimidating suits marching in to dish out verdicts of guilt, and the sense that it's the grim conclusion of a nasty situation in the office.
This couldn't be further from the truth, but the reality is many HR specialists and business line managers are left feeling immobilised when faced with having to conduct an investigation - and no wonder if they carry such an ominous association.
It's about time we overturned some of the (many) untruths about workplace investigations:
“Workplace investigations are akin to police investigations.”
Workplace investigations do not place any blame or label the parties ‘innocent’ or ‘guilty’. They are constructive, not damaging.
“They are heavy, final and create negative feeling.”
They do in fact clear the air, clarify the situation and empower the line manager to take appropriate action.
“I need the report as a formality but it won’t actually do anything.”
Far from being critical, the investigator is driven to finding the truth and, if requested, taking on the significant responsibility of concluding whether the allegation is upheld, not upheld (or possibly that there is not sufficient evidence either way).
“Our situation is more complex than most.”
The first step for our investigator is to unscramble the allegations; there may be more than one in a case and we handle each one completely independently, so that you have the fullest picture and can make sure you act on each in the most appropriate way.
“The investigator might not be sensitive to the delicacy of the situation.”
We ensure that our investigators’ are not only capable of seeking the truth and producing the report, but in carefully dealing with the parties, calming them and not letting the situation escalate further.
“I have to wait until a grievance has been raised before I can conduct an investigation.”
If you have any concerns that an issue is developing between employees (and have ruled out mediation as an alternative course of action), you can investigate at any point to get to the bottom of the situation, with the chance to resolve it before it gets out of hand.
“I have to choose between conducting the investigation in-house or using a third party.”
We offer an Investigator Support Service whereby one of our experts supports your internal investigator through the process until they are proficient.
“Our culture is very specific that somebody external won’t understand.”
Our investigators are security vetted to work in sensitive environments, and come from all backgrounds so we can source someone of a particular ethnicity if it is more appropriate.
“We would like to decide whether the allegation is upheld or not.”
A straightforward Fact Find investigation simply sets out to establish the facts of the case, nothing more, leaving the door open for you and all parties to find a way forward.
Hopefully that's cleared up a few misconceptions you may have had - for more clarification on how investigations work, when they can and should be used, etc., we'll be hosting an hour's free webinar on Tues 3rd August. Sign up here on our sister media site, HubCap Digital.
The World Cup and the Workplace – a match made in heaven?
Written by Natalia Reddy
It’s four years since England reached the finals stage of a football tournament (let’s not talk about the 2008 Euros non-starter), so you can hardly blame people for getting excited. Next Wednesday afternoon, workers the length of the country will be finding any way to get out of the office and to the nearest pub to watch the match against Slovenia, which, if we can predict anything, will be a critical decider for England. World Cup fever has well and truly hit, and it can turn even the most conscientious employee into a skiving, rattle-waving lunatic.
Needless to say this will have a dramatic effect on employee absence and productivity, whether it be through missing work or continual distraction through conversation. A survey by the Chartered Management Institute (CMI) estimates a cost of up to £1bn in lost working hours for UK businesses.
Either way, a tournament like this brings about sudden change in normal working output and organisational leaders are having to find a way to bear the costs or act on it (if they’re not sneaking off to watch the match themselves). According to legal firm DLA Piper, 51% of employers are investigating the option of flexible working for staff during the World Cup. We ourselves are on hand to help companies quickly assess their absence management policies and consult on how to turn the situation to their advantage.
Some positive-thinking leaders regard the football as a welcome injection of morale and high-energy atmosphere in the office, sorely lacking since before the economic downturn, with many setting up screens in the workplace to watch the key matches.
How do you plan to manage your team through the World Cup tournament? Let us know what you think.