XpertHR's Employment Intelligence blog

Doug Shaw: Encouraging HR to participate in social media

XpertHR - Employment Intelligence — Fri, 10 Feb 2012 07:00:00 GMT

HR professionals have much to gain from engaging with social media. But what's the best way to encourage the 'social media-curious' in HR to take part in social media? This is the subject of a brilliant mini report entitled Social Media for...(read more)

Why the story of inflation in 2012 could get complicated

XpertHR - Employment Intelligence — Wed, 08 Feb 2012 07:00:00 GMT

Inflation would at last appear to have embarked on a downward path, which could signal an easing of the income squeeze that is currently affecting UK households (See XpertHR's February 2012 economic commentary for more on this topic). But how likely...(read more)

Statutory redundancy pay

XpertHR - Employment Intelligence — Tue, 07 Feb 2012 09:57:17 GMT

Recent figures issued by the Office for National Statistics ( on its website ) show that UK unemployment rose by 118,000 in the three months to November 2011, to a total of 2.68 million. With redundancy still very much in the news, it is important that...(read more)

Pay forecasts for 2012 - take part

XpertHR - Employment Intelligence — Tue, 07 Feb 2012 09:25:25 GMT

Pay award levels fell to historically low levels during 2009 and 2010, and didn't recover much during 2011. However, data for pay settlements effective in 2012 has revealed a significant increase in the level of pay rises . But will this continue...(read more)

Quantitative easing: What can we expect in 2012?

XpertHR - Employment Intelligence — Mon, 06 Feb 2012 07:00:00 GMT

With the UK economy back in negative territory , many commentators expect to see an extension to the Bank of England's programme of quantitative easing in the near future, in order to attempt to boost growth (See links at the bottom of this page for...(read more)

HR people should focus more on results and less on being "passionate"

XpertHR - Employment Intelligence — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 14:03:39 GMT

There's been much discussion online lately on the evolving role of HR so I have made this the theme of my latest fortnightly round up of articles and links on HR strategy. Key messages are: Show a causal link between HR activities and results. Show...(read more)

Is there life after HR?

XpertHR - Employment Intelligence — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 07:00:00 GMT

Do you believe in life after HR? This is a very interesting topic raised earlier this week by @bettybblonde on Twitter, who originally asked the following question: "What do people do 'after HR'? How many people manage full career changes...(read more)

Bank of England sees 'uncertain' outlook for UK household incomes in 2012

XpertHR - Employment Intelligence — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 07:00:00 GMT

A majority of UK households experienced an "income squeeze" in 2011, and the outlook for incomes in 2012 is "uncertain" as economic austerity measures take hold, Bank of England research finds. UK households' disposable incomes...(read more)

What's the going rate for a graduate?

XpertHR - Employment Intelligence — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 10:58:33 GMT

New XpertHR research presents salary prospects for graduates in the 2011/12 hiring round - and finds that salary levels are frozen for the third consecutive year. The 22nd XpertHR survey of graduate recruitment covers 182 employers collectively employing...(read more)

The UK economy in February 2012: Waiting for something very bad to happen?

XpertHR - Employment Intelligence — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 07:00:00 GMT

One month into 2012, and the UK economy finds itself back in negative territory . Economic uncertainty abounds, making recovery ever more difficult. "Everyone is waiting for something very bad to happen," according to one CFO surveyed by Deloitte...(read more)

Best of the HR blogs: 12 great HR blog posts from January 2012

XpertHR - Employment Intelligence — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 07:00:00 GMT

I'm delighted to report that 2012 has got off to a cracking start in the world of HR blogs. Following on from last month's post, in which I rounded up my favourite 10 HR blogs posts published during 2011 , I thought it might be interesting to...(read more)

Refer-a-friend recruitment pays dividends

XpertHR - Employment Intelligence — Mon, 30 Jan 2012 14:13:53 GMT

New XpertHR research shows that the vast majority of employers view their "bounty schemes", whereby an existing employee recommends a friend for a vacancy, as well worth the time, money and effort as they help employers find good quality recruits...(read more)

Would you choose HR again?

XpertHR - Employment Intelligence — Mon, 30 Jan 2012 07:00:00 GMT

Has the recent arrival of the New Year prompted you to consider whether you want to remain in your current role, or perhaps try something new? Indeed, if you could have your whole career over, would you choose HR as your profession again ? This latter...(read more)

Is the national minimum wage 'a machine to destroy jobs'?

XpertHR - Employment Intelligence — Fri, 27 Jan 2012 08:40:00 GMT

Given the current backdrop of ongoing economic uncertainty, subdued pay awards, rising unemployment and falling inflation, news of the annual increase to the national minimum wage for 2012/2013 (due to come into effect on Monday 1 October 2012) will be...(read more)