It seems that the drastic rise in unemployment figures is causing a strain on resources within the Civil Service. 115 staff have already been assigned to the dole offices to cope with backlogs. It is now expected that more staff will need to be assigned. The total unemployed in Ireland has now hit 277,200 and delays in processing new claims can be up to 8 weeks. This is incredible that those losing their jobs have to wait this long for financial support. When you consider that many losing jobs have no other form of financial support to get by. According the Brian Cowen this strain on the dole offices will get worse as he expects unemployment figures to exceed 300,000 to at least 320,000 meaning an additional 70,000 job losses in 2009. Some politicians believe that this figure is conservative.
Posts Tagged ‘Staff’
Civil Service cannot cope with high unemployment
Tuesday, January 6th, 2009Corporate Property Letting in Ireland
Thursday, December 11th, 2008Below is a description about how Coldwell Banker Corporate supported IBM and Xerox through a major training and development project in Ireland.
IBM and Xerox ran a joint training program here in Dublin over the past 6 months. The program utilised the Irish centres expertise to train up staff in new European and Indian support centers. At its peak 160 staff were here and that posed an accommodation and budget challenge.
The project was put out to tender and Coldwell Banker Corporate Services winning out on the basis of a fixed cost, single source offer. This indigenous relocation company rented out high spec housing within the area and provided all ancillary services – utilities, broadband, transport, welcome packs etc.
According to Gerry Grimes of Coldwell Banker Corporate Services, 22,000 bed nights were provided over the 6 months and their solution cut 60% off anticipated hotel costs.
All staff are now at their new desks and the support centers are running ahead of schedule.
Gerry Grimes can be contacted at – corporate@coldwellbanker.ie
HR, Training & Recruitment Survey
Friday, November 28th, 2008SHL Ireland completed a survey with organisations in Ireland and there were some interesting findings. I have outlined the key points below. As expected there is an air of consolidation and getting more out of existing staff resources through up-skilling and redeployment initiatives.
59pc of companies surveyed indicated that redefining how staff will need to operate was ‘critical’ to 2009 HR strategy.
47.6pc indicated that redeployment of staff as an important strategy to implement in the current economic climate.
67.9pc of companies surveyed indicated that succession planning would be key in identifying who within their organisation would be retrained in 2009.
57.9pc reported cut back of 25pc or less in recruitment, training and development budgets.
16.2pc identified an immediate requirement to cut staff through voluntary or forced redundancy. Is this your organisation? Outplacement Services can support.
44.7pc of organisations surveyed revealing they have no immediate plans to reduce the intake on their graduate/management development programmes.
Outplacement Services – Do Irish firms support staff during redundancy?
Sunday, February 10th, 2008Employers will go to great lengths to attract staff and treat them well on the way in BUT when things are not going so good do employers treat their staff as well on the way out. Redundancy is a big topic in the Irish economy as is the subject of Outplacement Services.
What are Outplacement Services?
Basically outplacement is about providing support to staff through the difficult period of redundancy. Most emphasis will be on the employees displaced or losing their jobs with career coaching and other services.
How can Outplacement Services help your company?
Outplacement services send out the right message to staff, investors and the general public. It shows that you care. Many organisations introduce support because they care BUT I am sure others want to be seen to care. To be honest the latter is ok because employees are getting much needed support. Redundancy is a difficult time with staff emotions running high and support can help reduced anger and resentment. Helping staff losing their jobs will send out the right message to the staff remaining. This will reduce staff exiting the company and will get operations and productivity back in swing quicker.
How much will Outplacement Services cost?
Not as much as you think. Most providers will build a program for you within your budget. If you are interested and want a quote why not enquire now.
Want to read some positive job news and new job announcements.
HR should focus on Work-life Balance NOT Bank Balance when recruiting.
Saturday, February 2nd, 2008Ask your typical worker at 6.00pm on a Monday evening what do they value most – money or work-life balance and you will get the similar response – easy!! Why do so many organisations focus on salary when attempting to attract new staff? If you are an employer and you don’t already know money is no longer the most import factor in career or job decisions (in fact it never really was). If your emphasis is on salary when recruiting you are missing a trick. Progressive organisations have departed from traditional packages and are now offering creative options to attract and retain good staff.
These include;
Compact working week – Thank crunchie it’s Thursday. Some organisations are letting staff work 4 longer days and to get the fifth day off. I never liked Friday’s so I love this option.
Flexi-time – M50, M50, M50. Do I have to say any more?
Job sharing – Been around for a while but increasing in popularity.
Remote working or Tele-working – The biggest fear employers have is control of productivity. FACT: Research has proven that remote workers actually work harder and longer.
Duvet days – No matter how much your staff love their job they will have a day when they just can’t be bothered. Duvet days provide the option to call in and say – not today thanks.
Note: Work-Balance issues affect existing staff. If you are not currently recruiting staff you soon could be if you do not put some focus on this area. Embracing work-life balance will complement attraction and retention strategies.
Internet – Networking sites like Bebo & Facebook are costing firms 700m a year.
Friday, February 1st, 2008Rising inflation, poor exchange rates and rising costs are making survival difficult for many companies in Ireland. But just when you thought that things can’t get any worse, the latest research has indicated that staff misuse of office technology such as internet and email is costing a fortune. Staff using networking sites during work is costing companies about 700m annually. It is estimated that workers are logging on for 30 minutes a day which works out at about 3 weeks a year per employee at a cost of 700m. Internet abuse is now a huge problem for employers but what is the solution.
I was discussing this topic with my neighbor (he works in IT) and he informed me how his company combats internet abuse. It was the old reliable name and shame. If organisations want a potential fix to the problem they might consider this option. Produce a daily or weekly internet usage report and email it to all employees. I might add the report is not on what sites they are visiting but how long they are using the internet. This will be one league table your employees will not want to be top off. Alternatively you could hire people like me – I don’t see the attraction with these networking sites.
HR and Recruitment – New office jargon.
Friday, January 25th, 2008The working environment is continually changing as is the language we use during the working day. Management need to stay on top of these new terms to really know what is happening. I have identified some new terms below that managers and HR professionals should be aware of to keep ahead of the game.
“Workspace-specific perceptual abstraction” – Most HR or managers will not want this creeping into the organisation as it can often lead to reduced production and may be the result of an employee not in the right role. So what is it? Daydreaming.
“Boss–spasm” – Ever wonder why sales and performance is dropping but whenever you are among your staff or in the office that there is a flurry of activity. Perhaps your staff are suffering from boss-spasm. So what is it? Staff suddenly looking busy when the boss enters the room.
“Blame-storming” – This is an off shoot from the term brainstorming. So what is it? Basically instead of your staff investing energies on identifying ways to improve performance they are now debating and identifying ideas to cover their backs.
“Interdepartmental liaison facilitation” – So what is it? A more complex term for lunch.
