Newsletter

How an in-house doctor affects absenteeism
HR Best Practices article by the CRF Institute

Ill health of employees is the second largest cost to employers after wages. As health and wellness become an area of increased focus in the workplace, some employers are not waiting for their people to get sick; they are bringing the doctors into the house themselves.

From our international research into the HR policies and practices of Top Employers, we found that having an in-house doctor has a significant effect on absenteeism. This article, part of the HR Best Practices series by the CRF Institute, explains how an in-house doctor affects absenteeism, illustrated by the ‘Best Practice in HR’ example of Dutch Top Employer Essent.

Read the Best Practices article.


How do you manage stress in your organisation?
Article by Edmund Tirbitt - HR Magazine

The latest research shows that 41% of employees describe themselves as stressed or very stressed at work. With relentless negative news about the economy, cut budgets, and increasing workloads, these stress levels are likely to continue rising. Have you got a plan to help your people get through this?

Read this article from HR Magazine.


To talk or not to talk  
Mental health issues in the workplace - People Management magazine

Talking about mental health is still a major workplace taboo, with line managers often lacking the confidence to discuss it one-to-one. But what should really scare employers is the cost – in both human and financial terms – of ignoring this issue.

Read this article from People Management.


Britain's Top Employers 2012

This year the CRF Institute will be awarding 67 companies with our Britain’s Top Employers certification for their excellence in HR. The evening event, which will be held at the Park Plaza Westminster Bridge on March 22nd, will see many returning organisations receive the certification alongside some fantastic newcomers.

We are proud to work with these companies who lead the way in the UK for high-quality HR practices and employee offerings. Don’t forget to check out the full list of newly certified organisations on www.britainstopemployers.co.uk on March 23rd. Contact us for information on how your company can take part in Britain’s Top Employers.


The latest in HR and Employer Branding
Follow Britain's Top Employers on Twitter

Stay up-to-date on all the latest in the field of HR. Be the first to learn about developments in employer branding, interesting videos and white papers. Be inspired by our HR best practices and research outcomes.

Follow us on Twitter: @BritainsTop

Maximise your Employee Value Proposition
Best practices article by the CRF Institute

Your Employee Value Proposition (EVP) is defined by what you offer your employees. What do they get from you in return for their time, their effort and their engagement? Perhaps a well-defined career path, working in a prime location, excellent pay or top-notch secondary benefits?

Based on our international research, we identified a best practice of four different steps to maximise the effect of your EVP on the attraction, retention and engagement of your staff. Find out what you can do to get the most from your EVP.

Read the full article.

Watch the new EVP video by the CRF Institute.


How do you control your Employer Brand?
Article by Calum Di Lieto, Executive Grapevine magazine

If your Employer Brand is like a boulder at the top of a hill, what’s your strategy to make sure that it rolls down to where you want it? In this month’s Executive Grapevine magazine, employee engagement and employer branding are explored in a series of articles.

Read this article from Executive Grapevine magazine.


Britain's Top Employers 2012 
Last chance to join!

We are in the last few weeks of accepting applications for Britain’s Top Employers 2012. Our certification can help you to benchmark and showcase your excellence in HR. Our recent research shows that 61% of young professionals state that their perception of a company becomes more positive when it carries our Top Employers seal. More than 45% said that when looking for a new job, it’s important to them that the company has a certification seal for being a good employer.

Think you’ve got what it takes to be one of Britain’s Top Employers? Please contact us to find out more about the selection process and the possible benefits to you and your organisation.


Is your company using Twitter?
Help us to follow you!

Britain’s Top Employers recently joined Twitter and we LOVE shouting about the great companies in our project, passing around interesting research and articles, or conversing with like-minded HR people. You know where to find us on Twitter, but do we know where to find you? Send us a hello tweet to @BritainsTop because we’d love to follow you and see what you’re up to!

Follow us on Twitter: @BritainsTop

Feedback Invitation
Please give your opinion in our survey

The CRF Institute is constantly looking at ways to improve and innovate the Top Employers projects. In our opinion putting our participants first is critical. That is what we have been doing for the past 20 years. And that is why we would like to invite you to give your feedback. This will be used in further developing our projects
 
Please give your opinion in our survey. This will take 6-8 minutes. We appreciate your feedback greatly. (Every 100th participant in the survey will receive the book ‘The Employer Brand: Bringing the Best of Brand Management to People at Work by Simon Barrow and Richard Mosley’).

Start the survey.

 
Best regards,
The CRF Team   

European HR Best Practices Report – Part 2
Receive the complimentary report

What primary benefits do UK Top Employers offer their people? What is the average staff turnover in Spain? And what can we learn from employee engagement strategies of Top Employers in Germany?

For the third consecutive year, the CRF Institute presents its research report on Top Employers in Europe. This report gives insight into the best practices, differences and similarities in HR policy across Europe. It also compares the results with last year’s outcomes.

Part one of the report was published in April 2011. Part two, covering new HR topics, is available from mid-September.

Pre-register now to receive your complimentary copy.


Employee Value Proposition
Best practices video by the CRF Institute

What do your employees get in return for their time, efforts and most importantly, their engagement? The best pay and benefits? Outstanding career opportunituies, or progressive training and development programmes? Your Employee Value Proposition (EVP) is defined by what you offer your employees, and taking the time to make sure that it’s right for your people is a best practice that forward-thinking employers can’t afford to miss.

Based on our international research, we identified four steps to maximise the effect of your EVP on the attraction, retention and engagement of your staff.

Watch the best practices video by the CRF Institute.


Join the social club: Is Social Media part of your HR Strategy? 
Article by Catherine Gutsell, HR Director magazine

Love it or hate it, social media is here, at least for the foreseeable future, and chances are that the bulk of your employees love it. So what’s your company’s approach to facebook, twitter, and LinkedIn? Do you ban it? Strictly limit use to break times? Or are you joining the increasing number of companies who are opening up the social club doors and inviting your employees in?

In her article for HR Director magazine, Catherine Gutsell talks about how social media is being embraced by forward-thinking organisations as a creative way to attract, engage and retain top talent. 

Read this feature from HR Director magazine.


Britain's Top Employers 2012
Are you in?

We are now extending invitations to organisations that take their HR policies and strategies seriously, to join Britain's Top Employers 2012. Does your organisation set up conditions to retain and attract talent? Please contact us to find out more about the selection process and the possible benefits to you and your organisation.


The latest in HR and Employer Branding
Follow the CRF Institute on Twitter

Stay up-to-date on all the latest in the field of HR. Be the first to learn about developments in employer branding, interesting videos and white papers. Be inspired by our HR best practices and research outcomes.

Follow us on Twitter

Cafeteria model – video on secondary benefits
Top Employers Best Practices - first in a series

If you want to offer a competitive range of secondary benefits, allow employees to choose for themselves. This allows staff to mix and match benefits according to their individual needs. It also enables employers to offer the maximum number of benefits without having to offer everything to everyone (with the associated costs of doing this).

The advantages are clear: freedom of choice, higher employee satisfaction and engagement. But best of all, international research from the CRF Institute found that companies that apply the cafeteria model have a significantly lower staff turnover.

Watch the new video here.


Social mobility as an employer brand attribute
The unmeasured missing ingredient in diversity

This month’s post from Simon Barrow, co-author of “The Employer Brand: Bringing the Best of Brand Management to People at Work”, focuses on social mobility and education in the UK.

This is an aspect of diversity hidden under the general commitment to meritocracy. In Simon’s view, it has a greater impact on an employer’s employer brand than the usual constituents of gender, race, sexual orientation and disability.

Read Simon’s blog entry and reply to him at: simonbarrow@pib.co.uk

Leadership: The bland leading the bland? Time to get radical
Article by Peter Crush, HR magazine

Is leadership a procession of passing fads, or a rare bird HR can never capture? From Sony to Yell, companies are seeking to create waves.

Forming their rock bands from scratch (and in just 48 hours) was probably the easy bit. It was promoting them online and then trying to secure the most Facebook followers that really tested the skills of people you would least expect to be doing such a task: Sony Europe’s 250-strong ‘future leaders’ talent pool.

Read this feature from HR magazine.


Britain's Top Employers 2012
Are you in?

We are now extending invitations to organisations that take their HR policies and strategies seriously, to join Britain's Top Employers 2012. Does your organisation set up conditions to retain and attract talent? Please contact us to find out more about the selection process and the possible benefits to you and your organisation.


The latest in HR and Employer Branding
Follow the CRF Institute on Twitter

Stay up-to-date on all the latest in the field of HR. Be the first to learn about developments in employer branding, interesting videos and white papers. Be inspired by our HR best practices and research outcomes.

Follow us on Twitter: twitter.com/crfinstitute