The UK’s ninth‐largest law firm has changed over the last five years from being regarded in legal circles as the “rottweilers from the north”, with a “revolving‐door culture”, to being a great place to work. DLA was 35th in the 2004 Sunday Times Great Place to Work table – its...

For 21st century companies, the imperative to reduce costs while providing better service is never far from view. In their search for HR solutions to this challenge, many are making outsourcing an integral and permanent part of their human‐resource strategies. Of 125 companies surveyed for HR...

Organizational energy at first can appear to be an obvious business concept. Any organization you care to pick only has a finite amount of human energy that it can muster to deliver its business goals. Energy, rather than time, is the commodity leaders are realizing they need to value. You could...

A major restructuring program helped a developer and manufacturer of advanced scientific instrumentation to reduce its huge backlog of work, improve on‐time delivery and regain its place as a world leader in its field. Central to the restructuring at the UK’s 420‐employee Oxford...

Supermarket chain Tesco is piloting a scheme aimed at reducing unplanned leave of absence by its employees. The 12‐month pilot, running in 20 stores across the UK, involves giving staff three extra days of paid leave each year, but banning sick pay for the first three days of any illness,...

In the world of hospitality the customer reigns supreme. In order to remain competitive it is essential for hoteliers not only to meet consumer expectations, but also to exceed them. Hilton International – the hotel part of The Hilton Group plc that also includes betting and gaming, and Living...

How does a company like Nestlé – the world’s largest food and beverage business with around 250,000 people employed in some 500 factories and offices across the globe – provide the targeted, consistent and continuous training and development needed to ensure that it maintains its market...

With more than 50,000 employees at 16 factories in nine countries, and research and development facilities in 11 countries, Finnish‐based Nokia is the largest maker of mobile telephones in the world. Nokia’s people policies have played a key role in helping the company to reach its 40...

A survey carried out among all 3,800 employees of a UK logistics and distribution business revealed generally high levels of employee satisfaction, but also opportunities to improve the working lives of employees and the profitability of the company. Founded in 1925, Palmer and Harvey, of Hove,...

In the wake of plunging share prices, airline collapses and global security threats over the past few years, the travel industry has not been a breeding ground for success stories. Tragedies such as 11 September, the Bali bombing and Sars have contributed to the demise of many travel companies,...