Employers ‘fail to keep pace’ with social media

Third of organisations report disciplinary issues with use of sites like Facebook.

Nearly a third of employers have disciplined staff for inappropriate behaviour on social media sites, according to a report suggesting employers are “failing to keep up” with online developments.

The report ‘Knowing your tweet from your trend: keeping pace with social media in the workplace’ from law firm DLA Piper, found that most organisations recognise the value of a presence on sites like Facebook (86 per cent) LinkedIn (78 per cent) and Twitter (62 per cent).

In addition, 65 per cent of employers actively encourage staff to use it for work.

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Olympics build ‘exemplary’ on health and safety

‘No scapegoating’ approach key to success, says HSE

Britain’s safety watchdog has praised the construction of the London 2012 Olympics venues, saying that the whole industry could learn from its exemplary health and safety record.

The Olympics Delivery Authority has adopted an inclusive, “no scapegoating” approach to managing risks which should be adopted by projects of any size, according to a new report from the Health and Safety Executive (HSE).

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Medium-sized employers are a ‘forgotten army’ warns CBI

Business group calls for more support for major UK job creators

The CBI has called on government to unlock the potential of the “forgotten army” of medium-sized UK employers, which generate 16 per cent of all jobs.

In its “Future Champions Report”, the business lobby group said that firms with a turnover of between £10 million and £100 million represent less than 1 per cent of businesses but generate 22 per cent of economic revenue in the UK.

With the potential to inject between £20bn and £50bn into the economy by 2020, this group of employers could play a vital role in rebalancing the economy, and could also create new jobs in areas most affected by public spending cuts, according to the CBI.

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Encourage staff to take responsibility, says Sir Terry Leahy

Tesco “had thousands of leaders, not just one”

Encouraging leadership and people management skills at every level of an organisation is key to success, says Sir Terry Leahy. This he commented upon ahead of next months presentation in Manchester where the former chief executive of Tesco, after 14 years at the helm of the retailer will be sharing his experiences .

Speaking ahead of the event, he said that while strong leaders can be an inspiration – citing Sir Ernest Shackleton and Sir Alex Ferguson among those he admires – the key to organisational success is for people from every rung of the corporate ladder to take responsibility.

“Leadership matters everywhere,” said Leahy. “The great thing that we always tried to achieve at Tesco was to have thousands of leaders, not just one. It might just be somebody working in a depot who steps forward when there is a problem with a delivery and takes it upon themselves to sort it out. You’ve got to empower people to take responsibility – that really is the kind of leadership that works.”

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Bolstering skills vital to UK competitiveness, says Letwin

Graphene technology ‘demonstrates UK technical excellence’

The future growth of UK plc depends on the country getting the full value from its most skilled workers and reforming welfare services to “make work pay”, cabinet office minister Oliver Letwin told delegates at the Conservative party conference.

Speaking at a fringe event organised by the Social Market Foundation, Letwin said that it was vital that the UK jobs recovery was bolstered by “strong fiscal arithmetic” bringing market confidence. This is why the government is sticking to its deficit reduction plans, he said.

However, as well as short-term measures, the minister said that there are long term challenges to address to ensure job and economic growth.

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