The pandemic has accelerated the change in the employee/employer dynamic. Employees’ career development priorities and expectations of their workplace and employer have shifted, with many of us demanding more from our place of work, its leaders and decision-makers.
HR is juggling all the traditional challenges along with these new expectations. Dropping the ball can mean failing to attract and retain the top talent or keep existing employees happy, motivated and productive.
Back in 2018, The Telegraph reported that cyber-attacks were one of the biggest threats to face schools. Since then, the use of digital systems has rapidly accelerated across the education sector - making data security a top priority.
One of the first things I would say is that school leaders need to accept the extent of the challenge. Cyber criminals are becoming increasingly sophisticated and a robust cyber security strategy must involve the whole school team.
- Topic:
- Education
Year-on-year data has told us that there are big challenges around employee wellbeing and workload in the school sector. Through the pandemic some of these challenges have definitely become even more acute.
- Topic:
- Education
Justin Smith, owner of Chameleon Consultancy and Training Limited, has 20 years’ experience working in secondary schools throughout Norfolk and Suffolk. Here, he shares his advice and tips on how to market your school efficiently using everything from student input to following the lead on successful charity fundraisers.
- Topic:
- Education
An experience shared by everyone
Did you know that the origin of the word ‘pandemic’ is rooted in Greek? The term comes from ‘pandēmos’, derived from ‘pan’ – ‘all’, and ‘dēmos’ – ‘people’. It’s a word that’s so familiar to everybody now, after a difficult and deeply strange 12 months. It aptly describes something huge, a phenomenon that has undoubtedly affected all people and transformed every personal and work life in some way.
The world is dramatically different. Face masks have become as much of a habit as the brushing of teeth. There’s a heightened focus on health and wellbeing, nature and hobbies. We’re binging on TV series (ok, perhaps that’s not totally different) and learning to keep our distance, with changed greeting customs and different forms of social recognition – memorably demonstrated by the clapping for key workers. Banking and shopping have altered too, with an exponential increase in online transactions. As a result, more people are tech-savvy, with digital screens of some description now even more common than they were before.
Looking at all of this from a HR perspective, it feels like employee experiences matter more than ever too.
- Topic:
- Human Resources
Against a backdrop of major global upheaval and unprecedented change in the workplace, it’s perhaps unsurprising that the type of aptitudes and abilities people are seeking out is changing. In tandem with this, there’s an apparent move away from more task-orientated skills, such as time management, towards more people-orientated skills instead. Indeed, recent research by LinkedIn helped to identify the top five soft skills predicted to be particularly in demand during 2021.So, a quick quiz: how many of these do you think you can guess (we’ll confirm them for you further below)?
This development hints at just how important it is to look ahead and ensure the health and long-term success of your business: in essence, to future-proof your workforce. Invariably, it comes back to the people and making sure that you’re supporting individuals, nurturing talent and navigating as a team through the usual terrain and uncertainty alike. Closing any skills gaps that your employees might have, to enable the business to grow and prosper, is a crucial part of achieving those aims.
