Senior figures from the HR and business worlds are backing Personnel Today’s call for the government to include people information in forthcoming company reporting regulations.
Last week, we reported that employee information has been all but ignored in the draft Operating and Financial Review (OFR) regulations, which say public companies must produce a forward-looking analysis of their business.
HR professionals and industry experts are using the consultation period, open until 28 February, to vent their anger over the government’s lack of interest in the measurable impact that people can have on the success of business.
At the time of going to press, more than 150 HR professionals had signed a Personnel Today petition calling for people information to be included in the OFRs – as recommended by the government sponsored Accounting for People Taskforce.
One petitioner said: “No wonder British management is as abysmal as it is. There is no measurement that is recognised by anyone. Isn’t it about time we voted for a strategy that would prove what we keep saying – that our people are our greatest assets?”
Duncan Brown, assistant director general of the Chartered Institute of Personnel Development, said: “We have supported a lot of work that the DTI set off in this area, including the Accounting for People Taskforce. We have therefore been extremely disappointed that a lot of this work appears to have been ignored.”
The Chartered Management Institute (CMI) said it was “exceedingly disappointed” with the implementation guide, which has a lot on finance, but very little on employee measures.
Petra Cook, head of policy at CMI, said: “It comes up with morale and health and safety, which are not lead indicators. It does not talk about linking people measures to long-term strategic advantage.”
TUC deputy general secretary Frances O’Grady, said: “It’s no longer enough for employers simply to insert a paragraph in their annual report saying their staff are their greatest asset. Today they need to demonstrate their commitment by ensuring that they are systematically informing and consulting staff, taking steps to promote diversity in the workplace and using fair pay systems.”
To register your disapproval sign the Personnel Today petition now at www.personneltoday.com
Personnel Today calls for action
What a telling response. From right across the HR profession, practitioners are signing up to Personnel Today’s petition to ask the government to include meaningful people data in company reporting regulations.
Your feedback is a resounding rejection of plans to water down people reporting. But we need more support. The more people who sign the petition, the greater the potential influence on government thinking.
The regulations are out for consultation until 28 February, so there is still time to get your voice heard. If you believe HR is your organisation’s greatest asset rather than its greatest liability, as current government guidance would have it, then sign up to our petition now at www.personneltoday.com
HR feedback: your comments on our call for action
– “On the back of the good work Denise Kingsmill did [with] the Accounting for People’Taskforce, I urge the government to reconsider its draft regulations to reflect Kingsmill’s findings. I would like to see HR accounted for in all annual reports.”
– “When will the Government realise that people are the best asset in any company and should be reported? This could take HR backwards instead of [being at] the forefront for its company”
– “Effective people management is sadly lacking. HCM measures would have been a very effective way of ensuring that companies start to address this issue and ultimately gain the bottom-line results that a properly managed and motivated workforce are more likely to deliver.”
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– “When will the government recognise that people are the key to business performance?”
– “Come on Tony – pull your socks up! As an employment lawyer, surely you must see the value of people in the success of business?”
