Intrawest’s Whistler and Blackcomb skiing resort needs 5,000 employees in the winter and only 400 throughout the rest of the year. Effective HR practices, however, help to ensure that a large percentage of the winter workforce is made up of returning hourly employees and volunteers. Moreover,...

An employee‐management system introduced by the support‐services management team at East Sussex Hospitals National Health Service (NHS) Trust, UK, has reduced administration time by 75 percent while providing up‐to‐the‐minute information on the status of employees for use with...

“We are just a tool in a structure. We are not people any more to those above us… You are kicked from above, you are kicked from below and you are the first one on the line to be dismissed if things go wrong. We all knew that when we took the job. I am not whinging, but I do not feel...

The average manager in the UK receives about five days’ training a year. Some 22 percent of managers get no training at all. But the experience of Granada plc reveals that the challenge of learning at work is well within the grasp of any organization. Granada HR and training representatives...

Some people are born to lead; lesser mortals, to follow. While historical events provide many examples of supposed naturally great leaders, it is equally evident that leadership skills born out of nurture rather than nature can be just as effective. Whether these skills are intrinsic or not, it is...

Just imagine … you are sitting down to a quiet, restful dinner after a hard day at the office. Your food is ready, and all thoughts of work are banished. Until the phone rings. To ignore it is out of the question. Why? Because you are a member of a hi‐tech, 24 hour virtual team who must be...

Team‐working is now regarded as essential to operational efficiency. Teams enable fast responses to internal and external change and provide individuals with an environment for effective contribution. However, while there is a large body of research into how teams form and function, less...

The enormous changes brought about by extensive downsizing from the 1980s and the boom and bust of the 1990s stimulated a transition from a hierarchical to a virtual workplace for many organizations. Significant changes in the structure of some work environments have been the increasing use of...

Fostering and managing innovation are now widely recognized as essential to a company’s growth and survival. There is a growing body of literature detailing ways to promote what is called corporate entrepreneurship, corporate venturing or intrapreneurship. However, for many organizations, an...

Today’s organizations have many more female employees than those in the past, so it is natural that there are many more mixed‐gender teams at work. How can they be made to function more effectively? Answering this question demands insight into what causes men and women to behave differently...