Editor: Stephen Pilbeam Fellow HEA MSc Chartered FCIPD stephen.pilbeam@port.ac.uk

Editorial Team: Mark Power MCMI MSc Chartered FCIPD Marjorie Corbridge BA (Hons) Chartered MCIPD

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The HR Bulletin: an introduction from the editor

HR Bulletin – content of this edition

The Aster Group is tackling bullying head-on through appointing Anti-Bullying Advisors; Talent Management practice is explored in BAT; Nigeria, further insights into international assignments are generated in the Cayman Islands; Learning on-demand continues to blossom, and there are reflections on the Equality Bill, 2009 - due to be enacted in 2010.

The war for talent or a war on talent?

The second CIPD report on the ‘War on Talent’, published in 2009 (‘Fighting back through talent innovation’) explores how talent management practices are being affected by uncertain economic conditions. It identifies that organisations are adopting more creative talent responses and highlights innovative ideas, which are summarised in the model below:

Why not become a contributor and an author – your HR Bulletin needs you!

If you would like to write a 2000 word article on a current HR initiative then contact me by e-mail and for the HR Bulletin Contributor Guidelines. We are happy to work on a draft with you; indeed we are becoming expert at helping you – so you do not have to deliver the finished product, only a draft which we will edit with you and put into the house style.

HR Bulletin Sponsorship

The inside front and back covers are available to promote your organisation and its professional or educational services at £500 and £250, plus VAT, respectively. Contact the Editor if you are interested - the next publication of the HR Bulletin is April 2010.

Stephen Pilbeam stephen.pilbeam@port.ac.uk

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The Aster Group tackles bullying and harassment head on

Sacha Harris

The Aster Group is a partnership providing homes and housing related services in central southern and south west England. Group companies have assets exceeding £570 million, annual turnover of over £80 million and between them employ over 900 colleagues. Aster Group holds an annual staff conference and in 2008 used this opportunity to gain feedback on ‘Equality and Diversity’ issues.

Definition of bullying

There are many different definitions of bullying and many organisations use their own definition in their policies and procedures. ACAS (2009) highlight that those making a complaint regarding bullying or harassment define it as something that has happened to them that is ‘unwelcome, unwarranted and causes a detrimental effect’. Diana Lamplugh OBE (Director, The Suzy Lamplugh Trust) suggests that workplace bullying constitutes ‘unwanted, offensive, humiliating, undermining behaviour towards an individual or groups of employees’. Most definitions have similarities and centre on the experience of treatment by someone else, and therefore it is about behaviours (Rayner et al: 2002).

What Aster did and why

The equality and diversity champions at Aster Group looked at whether they were doing everything they could do to make sure the workplace was free from bullying and intimidation. This included a series of questions asked at the employee conference and bullying and harassment being included as a subject for discussion in all appraisals. In order to gain feedback on current perceptions of bullying and harassment, one of the questions asked at the staff conference was: Have you in the last six months, been the subject of bullying or harassment or witnessed colleagues being bullied or harassed? Employees gave an anonymous response and the results are detailed in Table 1 below. A follow up survey was carried out because it was recognised that the original question needed to include the qualifying statement: ‘whilst working at the Aster Group’. The question was reworded and the anonymous results of the follow up survey are also included in Table 1.

Table 1

Have you in the last six months and whilst working for the Aster Group, been the subject of bullying or harassment or witnessed colleagues being bullied or harassed?

No

No

Unsure

UnsureYes

Yes

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

80%

90%

100%

Staff conference Follow up survey

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Between the two surveys, although the number of respondents answering ‘yes’ had reduced, the Group Management Team and the Equality and Diversity Group felt that there was still an issue that needed to be tackled. The Group Management Team acknowledged the importance of the issue and approved the subject to form part of the Management Academy, a key element of the management training programme within Aster Group.

Managers who were participating in the Aster Group Management Academy workshop were asked to consider possible solutions to this “intractable problem”. Proposed ideas were then evaluated by the Equality and Diversity Group, which developed the ideas into an Anti-Bullying programme. The programme included the development of a policy and the launch of Anti-Bullying Advisors (ABAs). The aim of the initiatives was to spread the word to the organisation that any form of bullying or harassment would not be tolerated within Aster Group. When Aster Group gathered the information on bullying and harassment it did not research into the types of bullying experienced by employees. The only information available to the Equality and Diversity Group were the employee grievances related to bullying and harassment. For many organisations formal grievances are often the first time they find out about incidents of this nature. Aster Group intends to gather more data about the types of bullying and harassment that is occurring through the introduction of the Anti-Bullying Advisors.

Developing a policy

There were various policies relating to bullying and harassment across the organisation, but not one comprehensive and consistent policy for the whole Group. With this in mind, a Group-wide bullying and harassment policy was written, but with the title of ‘Dignity at Work’. However, the Group Management Team felt the name could be misleading for some employees and the decision was taken to rename the policy the ‘Bullying and Harassment Policy’.

Appointing Anti-Bullying Advisors (ABAs)

With the aim of tackling issues of possible bullying by offering direct support to employees, the Aster Group established voluntary roles for employees who demonstrated a genuine empathy and interest in helping to support others within the organisation. The support was to be offered to those who may be suffering from anxiety and distress as a result of harassment and bullying, or because of an allegation of harassment or bullying being made against them. The role did not require the ABA to take responsibility for addressing the allegations, but to act as a supporter and adviser to the employee concerned.

The recruitment of ABAs was achieved either through employees directly applying or by managers approaching the employees they considered had the necessary qualities to undertake the role; qualities such as highly effective communication skills, logical thinking and the ability to demonstrate objectivity and impartiality. The need to be non-judgemental was also crucial as the ABA may be supporting an employee who is accused of bullying. The decision was ultimately made by the project group, but it was down to the applicant to self-assess against the specified qualities.

All appointed ABAs and all of the HR teams had training which covered the ABAs role, and current legislation relating bullying and harassment. The first day of training also covered the new Bullying and Harassment Policy, as the ABA would need to understand the associated formal processes. The second day of training was delivered externally and worked on building the confidence of ABAs. Actors were used to recreate possible scenarios, thereby allaying delegates concerns about the ‘dreaded’ role-play! Feedback from those who attended was positive and they felt ready to use their skills should an employee seek their support. In conjunction with the training, Aster issued ABAs with guidelines, which covered the management of meetings, and issues of personal safety. The launch of the Anti-Bullying Advisors scheme delivered a message that bullying and harassment would not be tolerated. Material was designed in the form of posters, payslip attachments and advertisements on the

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intranet. The faces of the ABAs were advertised to make them recognisable. The role of the ABAs was discussed at team meetings and company briefing sessions to show the role was supported by Senior Management. Email groups were also set up for all the ABAs to enable them to build a support network.

The measurement of success

Aster Group needs to ensure it measures the success of the Anti-Bullying initiatives. This may prove difficult, as the problem may not be as considerable as indicated in the survey. To measure the success of the use of ABAs, an ABA is required to complete a monitoring form (anonymously) and return it to a central point after each session with an employee. These will be reviewed by the Group HR Director. Aster Group then plans to re-run the email poll in six to 12 months time to see whether cases have increased or decreased. This should give some indication, but will not conclusively confirm, that the ABAs are helping. Aster Group will also measure progress through the Best Companies survey it participates in each year. The ABAs will meet every six months to network and support each other.

Learning points

Looking to tackle the issue Aster Group is being proactive in dealing with a subject that many organisations may choose to ignore, or may deny. Organisations should look at tackling bullying in the workplace as soon as it occurs, or is alleged, and before there is a problem. A culture that does not tolerate bullying and deals with it immediately will be sending out a clear cultural message and should find it easier to tackle the issue. New employees assimilate the culture around them and learn what is acceptable from others. Therefore, clear and effective training, anti-bullying programmes, policies and procedures are all important. Senior Management should lead by example and expect to be dealt with in the same way as other employees.

Gaining buy in from the top Some organisations may have more difficulty securing buy in from Senior Management, especially if there is no hard evidence to justify any associated spend. Organisations should not assume that 'no complaints' means there are no problems (Andrea Adams Trust) and should look to being proactive, as the Aster Group has.

Having clear policies and procedures All employers should have a comprehensive bullying and harassment policy, as even the best organisations may have the occasional case. A good employer will not only have developed and implemented a progressive policy, but will also ensure its provisions are widely understood and embedded at all levels of the organisation. Clearly, such a policy must demonstrate zero tolerance and enable swift and decisive action to be taken whenever bullying or harassment is alleged or witnessed. The difference between a good employer and a bad employer is not that good employers do not have cases of harassment, but that the good employers have a policy in place and will investigate and deal promptly, thoroughly and fairly with incidences of alleged bullying and harassment according to recognised and agreed procedures. The policy will state that reprehensible behaviour is not acceptable and will provide both a clear statement to all employees and recognised and agreed courses of action to be taken should any employee behave in an unacceptable manner. The existence and implementation of such a policy also means that the employer is less likely to be involved in employment tribunals and, if they are, will be in a better position to defend themselves (Action to tackle bullying at work, 2005).

ACAS (2009) Bullying and harassment at work: Guidance for employees. www.acas.org.uk/index.aspx?articleid=797Bully Online (2005) Action to tackle bullying at work. www.bullyonline.org/action/policy.htmRayner, C., Hoel, H and Cooper, C. (2002) Workplace Bullying. London: Taylor and Francis. Suzy Lamplugh Trust www.suzylamplugh.org/

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Talent Management practice in British American Tobacco, Nigeria.

Monsurat Omotayo

Nigeria is among 54 developing countries considered by the International Finance Corporation to be ‘emerging economies’. A democracy since 1999, the country is experiencing growing political stability, combined with Foreign Direct Investment. Nigeria’s transition to democracy, its relative political stability and pro-market economy policies have rekindled foreign interest (Anakwe, 2002). Ranking as the world’s sixth largest exporter of oil, Nigeria produces an estimated three per cent of global output of petroleum and supplies eight per cent of US imports (Rotberg, 2004:1; 2007:3), thus adding to its world significance. Nigeria has potential beyond oil and is one of the fastest growing telecoms market in the world. With a thriving stock market, it is home to over 200 multinational companies. These current prevailing economic conditions are raising the importance of ensuring the effective strategic management of the country’s workforce.

British American Tobacco Plc

Talent Management (TM) is a contemporary HRM issue but there is limited research into TM in developing countries and emerging markets. This research explored TM practice in a multinational company operating in Nigeria. British American Tobacco (BAT) plc operates in 180 markets, has a global market share of 17 per cent and employs 75,000 people. BAT Nigeria is a ‘Top 10’ contributor to the global target and therefore has a significant role to play in enabling BAT plc to achieve its leadership vision of being the world’s leader in the tobacco industry. BAT Nigeria recruits 95 per cent of employees locally, with expatriates occupying just five per cent of all positions. Although specified at a global level, employment principles are applied with due regard for local legislative, practical and cultural frameworks. With staff turnover rising by 50 per cent in 2008 talent retention is a strategic issue in BAT. There are also issues relating to succession planning and the leadership pipeline, with few ready replacements being available when senior managers leave.

Talent management

‘If great talent is hard to find, it’s even harder to keep. In today’s world you need the best and the brightest on your team in order to stay competitive’ (Harvard Business Review, 2008). Growing skills shortages; changing demographics of the labour market; an increasingly ageing workforce; a shift in the nature of work from manufacturing to service; a globalised world; advanced internet technology; and, virtual work environments (CIPD, 2006, 2007; Pilbeam and Corbridge, 2006) have brought about increased competition amongst organisations, both nationally and internationally.

This has contributed to the “war for talent” (Chambers et al, 1998) resulting in an increasing need to hire the best talent as a source of competitive advantage. Barney (2001) argued that an organisation’s human resources that are ‘valuable, rare and inimitable’ generate greater organisational performance, which cannot be easily duplicated by competitors. Therefore, to stay competitive, organisations are adopting HR practices that enhance their ability to attract, develop, engage and retain talent for high business performance and growth. Retaining talent has emerged as a key issue, cutting across global boundaries with globalisation, e-commerce, changing technology, generational and demographic change observed as key drivers influencing the struggle for talent.

The Nigerian context

Nigeria experiences skills shortages created by low quality of education, ‘brain drain’ and migration. In emerging markets like Asia, studies highlight serious competition amongst organisations to attract and retain the best talent. These markets, led by China and India, expanded by an estimated six per cent in 2007, which explains the rising need for talented individuals within such countries. Conceptually, HRM practice in Nigeria has exhibited a dual

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system, which seeks to integrate foreign and traditional practices. However, in multinationals which include banks, oil firms, telecom and FMCGs, the foreign practices are seen as being dominant. A study conducted by Okpara and Wynn (2008) showed that Nigerian organisations exhibit HRM practices such as recruitment, selection and performance appraisal, but are faced with larger issues relating to external environment such as corruption, poaching, brain drain and low skill. Lack of skilled labour has been identified as a major challenge faced by Nigerian organisations. The literature reveals few studies conducted on the effectiveness of HRM practices outside western economies. Little research has been undertaken on HRM practice in Nigeria and none on talent management and retention. Indeed, it can be argued that the Nigerian terrain has been neglected by management researchers, thus creating a gap in the understanding of HRM and TM in Nigeria.

Research results

Primary data was collected using a mixed method approach in order to gain an in-depth understanding of the BAT talent retention issues. The three perspectives were: five interviews with the HR talent management team, 41 employee questionnaires and five telephone interviews with recent leavers. Three research areas were addressed:

The strategic importance and challenges of TM and retention practices at BAT, Nigeria

Talent management practice exists in BAT and it is aligned to the overall strategy of the organisation. Using the CIPD (2006) levels of talent management BAT sits high up, on the fourth level – ‘TM strategy designed to deliver corporate and HRM strategies’ and ‘Formal talent management initiatives linked horizontally to HRM and vertically to corporate strategy-making processes’. However, the talent management strategy does not yet fully address talent retention issues. To achieve leadership of the tobacco industry, BAT needs to make sure talent loss is reduced and aim to move to the fifth TM level – ‘TM strategy informs and is informed by corporate strategy’ and ‘Individual and pooled talent understood and taken into consideration in the strategic process’.

BAT may also need to focus on further developing as a learning organisation where knowledge sharing becomes an even higher strategic priority. A primary area of focus needs to be on scanning the dynamic external environment, because this will continue to generate challenges in relation to new market entrants, low skill levels, talent shortages, and the poaching and head-hunting of talented employees.

Levels of maturity of organisational Talent Management (CIPD: 2006)

1

No TM strategies, policies or formally developed practices.

Where talent is managed, it is informal or incidental

2

Isolated, tactical, local ‘pockets’ of TM activities.

No overall strategy or plans for TM

3

Integrated and co-ordinated TM activities for a particular segment of the organisation

5

TM strategy informs and is informed by corporate strategy.

Individual and pooled talent understood and taken into consideration in the strategic process

4

TM strategy designed to deliver corporate and HRM strategies.

Formal TM initiatives linked horizontally to HRM and vertically to corporate strategy-making processes

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The key drivers of talent mobility at BAT, Nigeria

This second research question was aimed at identifying the key factors that are driving talent mobility at BAT. Some concerns were evident in relation to career advancement and self-development opportunities and this was also evident amongst ex-employees as a contributory reason for their exit, together with some concerns about achieving a work-life balance. This was in line with the challenges identified in interviews with the TM team.

The extent to which the mobility drivers are influenced by the Nigerian context

The Nigerian external environment has impacted on talent retention at BAT. This is largely due to increased competition arising from influx of new Foreign Direct investment and the growth of indigenous companies, as well as low skills causing talent shortages. Issues affecting the Nigerian economy such as standard of living, poor infrastructure and poor health care facilities make pay and benefits more significant as a point of attraction when compared to the work-life balance concerns, which are more evident in developed countries.

As Reiche (2008:677) contends, the home-country context has a significant impact on the way multinational companies behave abroad. He argues that economic activities such as labour market trends and market structure vary from country to country; as such, retention practices are likely to vary across different national origin. This follows Anakwe’s (2002:1043) argument that HRM practices are more effective in a country’s context and organisations should seek to recognise specific factors relating to country of operation.

Conclusions

BAT is clearly viewed as a good employer and offers many attractions for the retention of talented employees. This research highlights areas of potential development in talent management practices in order to further strengthen the brand and competitive advantage. Although the global recession of 2009 has focused attention on corporate survival, attracting and retaining talented employees remains a significant issue for multi-national organisations. Organisations will benefit from assessing their ability to attract and retain talent as the global economy emerges from recession and the war for talent resumes in earnest.

Anakwe, U.P. (2002). ‘Human Resources Management Practices in Nigeria: challenges and insights’. The International Journal of Human Resources Management, 13(7), 1042-1059. Barney, J. B. (2001). ‘Resource-based theories of competitive advantage: A ten-year retrospective on the resource-based view’. Journal of Management. 27(6), 643-650. Chambers, E. G., Foulon, M., Hanfield-Jones, H., Hankin, S.M., and Michael III, E. G. (1998) ‘The War for Talent’. McKinsey Quarterly. 3, 44- 57. CIPD (2006) Talent Management: Understanding the Dimensions. www.cipd.co.uk/subjects/recruitmen/general/_tlmtmgtdim.htm. CIPD (2007) Talent Management. www.cipd.co.uk/subjects/recruitmen/general/_tlntmgnt.htm.Okpara, J. O., and Wynn, P. (2008) ‘Human Resources Management practice in a transition economy: challenges and prospects’. Management Research News. 31(1), 57-76. Pilbeam, S. and Corbridge, M. (2006). People Resourcing: Contemporary HRM in practice. Harlow: Prentice Hall. Reiche, B. S. (2008) ‘The configuration of employee retention practices in multinational corporations’ foreign subsidiaries’. International Business Review. 17, 676–687. Rotberg, R. I. (2004) Crafting the new Nigeria: confronting the challenges. London: Rienner.

This research was undertaken for an MSc HRM at the University of Portsmouth and was Supervised by Dr Emma Brown.

Alternatives to internationaCayman Islands.

Liza Howe-Walsh and Ceili F

The Cayman Islands

The Cayman Islands, consisand Little Cayman is a relatdiscovered by Columbus in British possession recogniseTerritory, Cayman has a GLegislative Assembly which The latest population estimatemore than 100 nationalities. Ovast majority of the populationis George Town, Grand Caym

Cayman is one of the leading offshore financial secentres. The Cayman financial services inencompasses banking, funds, captive insurance, vessaircraft registration, companiepartnerships incorporation, structured finance and the CIslands Stock Exchange.

Over 70,000 companiesincorporated on the CIslands, including 430 banktrust companies, 720 cinsurance firms and more7,000 funds.

International assignments

Self-initiated expatriates (SIEassociated with this category providing a summary of resesubsequently been publisheexperiences of female managwho have chosen to work in a

The role of international as‘Managing international assignboth the key reasons for usingcommonly used. Since the reof assignments change. Thisexpatriate assignment.

What is a self-initiated expa

SIEs are international workersof employment, rather than research indicates that womeconventional company-initiate

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al assignments – female self-initiated e

FitzGerald

sting of the three islands of Grand Caymtively young country. Cayman, as it is collec 1503 with settlement commencing in the d by the Treaty of Madrid in 1670. As a

Governor, as the Queen’s representative, performs many of the functions of the

e of the Cayman Islands is about 55,000, reOut of that number, about half are of Cayman resides on Grand Cayman. The capital of t

man.

world's ervices Islands ndustry mutual sel and es and trusts,

Cayman

s are Cayman ks and captive e than

Es) are becoming more common and thereof employees. Within this article, we discusarch undertaken as part of a Master’s dissed. The research explored the self-ingers. The aim was to gain insights into careeanother country.

ssignments was explored in a previous nments’ (Howe-Walsh, 2008). That particulag an expatriate assignment and the types ofeasons for using expatriates may change, sos will influence the prevalence of SIE’s, as a

triate?

s who, of their own volition, move abroad tobeing sent to a foreign location by their en constitute a higher proportion of SIEs

ed approach. For the purposes of this stud

xpatriation in the

man, Cayman Brac ctively known, was 17th century and

a British Overseas and also its own British Parliament. presenting a mix of anian descent. The he Cayman Islands

e is scant research ss the role of SIEs, ertation, which has itiated expatriation er issues of women

HR bulletin article ar article considered f assignments most o too may the types an alternative to an

o take up a positionemployer. Existing compared with the dy an expatriate is

9

taken to mean “someone who left their homeland to live or work in another country, usually for a long period of time” (Vance: 2005, p375).

Much of the existing literature on expatriation focuses on the organisational perspective, for example the reasons why multi-national companies use expatriates. However, there is an increasing interest in the experiences of expatriate staff, particularly women, who are often under-represented in international assignments. Therefore, this study sought to contribute to the existing knowledge about SIEs, and in particular the motivations and experiences of female workers.

The research

The research was conducted via ten face-to-face semi structured interviews of female SIEs. All the interviewees work in the Cayman Islands. The sample is deliberately small in order to allow rich and meaningful data to be collected and interpreted. The findings from the interviews were analysed on a case-by-case basis, using an interpretative approach.

The findings

The findings indicated that, with respect to the decision to embark upon international work experience, a number of factors were relevant. Career development was the main reason why the women opted to undertake self-initiated expatriation and work in an international context. It is a common perception that undertaking an international work experience will both enhance career progression on return and provide opportunities in the host country for advanced promotion and additional responsibility.

The location was a further contributory factor, with the lure of working in a warm and sunny climate being a draw for many Europeans. Furthermore, the Cayman destination was familiar to some and was not their first international work experience. Additionally, the desirability of initiating a lifestyle change was a major draw, combined with lifestyle timing - many of the women were independent and able to act upon opportunistic positions. The desire to opt out of the ‘rat race’ and benefit from an easier commute to work was identified as reason enough to pursue an international experience in a desirable location.

There were a number of other contributory factors stemming from pro-active behaviours. The most common behaviours included professional networking, seeking job opportunities, and visiting the location prior to moving. In some cases a combined holiday and job search led to securing a position, resulting in a relatively short lead-time between informal and exploratory discussions regarding a position and starting the job.

Undoubtedly, another contributory factor was the desire to pursue outside leisure interests, such as scuba diving and other water sports, available in abundance on the Islands. Some of the respondents had initially searched for positions on line using ‘careers in the sun’ as key search words. However, they did face some challenges once they had taken up their positions. Difficulty in adapting to the prevailing work culture and environment was the most significant problem, since their high work ethic was often identified as different to their local work colleagues. Other factors within the work environment included ambiguous job descriptions and the challenges associated with working with a multitude of nationalities. Outside of work, for the most part, the SIEs coped by forming and participating in social networks, often with other expatriates, demonstrating proactive attitudes towards seeking activities and clubs to join. However, the very high cost of living had surprised some of the expatriates and led them to feel there was a divide between locals and expatriates, financially.

Generally, the women reported little evidence of gender discrimination; discriminatory treatment was linked to their identity as expatriates rather than as women. Efforts by the Cayman Islands government to ensure that indigenous workers are not excluded from the

10

labour force, including the operation of a work permit system which limits most foreigners to a maximum period of seven years’ residency, generated some feelings of anxiety among the self-initiated expatriate women. Respondents reported feeling ‘scared to say anything’, for fear that their work permit would be withdrawn, thus terminating their employment, and were therefore ‘living with some kind of threat over their heads’ (Fitzgerald and Howe-Walsh 2008: 167).

Overall, however, the negative features of their experience as SIEs were significantly outweighed by the positive benefits that accrued from working in an international environment, not least the high potential for career development. Overall, the women viewed their international experience positively, and thought ‘it would benefit their career prospects and employability’ (Fitzgerald and Howe-Walsh 2008: 169).

HR implications

HR can aid the SIE’s own effort to adapt to their new workplace and country, ultimately leading to successful adjustment. Thus, consideration of interventions aimed at aiding such adjustment, such as providing opportunities for training and mentoring, and support in non-work issues can promote SIE effectiveness within a shorter period. A recruitment strategy that acknowledges the advantages of SIE can provide the organisation with a strategic advantage over other companies, in that it will be able to attract quality candidates globally, thereby meeting the growing challenge of managing talent. SIEs are therefore an attractive alternative to expensive expatriate assignments. In all cases, a clear and transparent international policy is required to ensure consistent treatment of employees.

Conclusions

A defining feature of this research sample was that the participants demonstrated highly desirable competencies across all levels of global leadership. This provides some useful insights to HR during the recruitment and selection process, because the female SIEs offer ‘ready-made’ candidates to multinational organisations (FitzGerald and Howe-Walsh, 2008 p169). The fact that the respondents had a positive attitude towards international work experience, as well as the receptivity to working overseas, forms part of the core competencies to a successful expatriation, and therefore enhances employability in the future. Furthermore, all of the participants expressed how they had personally grown, both professionally and on a personal level, as well as gaining technical and organisational skills, which will only enhance their future career prospects.

Caligiuri. P.M. and Colakoglu, S. (2007) ‘A strategic contingency approach to expatriate assignment management’. Human Resource Management Journal. (17) 4, 393-410. CIPD (2009) ‘Managing International Assignments’. CIPD Factsheet. www.cipd.co.uk/subjects/intlhr/manageia.htm Fitzgerald, C. and Howe-Walsh, L. (2008. ‘Self-initiated expatriates: an interpretative phenomenological analysis of professional female expatriates’. International Journal of Business and Management. (3) 10, 156-75. Howe-Walsh, L. (2007) ‘Managing International Assignments: selection of assignees, types of assignments and assignee support.’ HR Bulletin. 2 (2). Vance, C. M (2005) ‘The personal quest for building global competence: A taxonomy of self-initiating career path strategies for gaining business experience aboard’. Journal of World Business. 40, 374 – 385.

This research was undertaken for an MSc HRM at the University of Portsmouth and was Supervised by Liza Howe-Walsh.

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Learning on-demand

Natalie Macaulay and Marjorie Corbridge

Video on demand, TV on demand, Publishing on Demand - are these terms you are familiar with? Gone are the days of only four TV channels operating within set hours. Our lives are an ongoing exercise in customisation to meet our own unique needs, wants and desires and technology is helping us. How then might ‘customisation’ be revealing itself in learning and development?

This article takes a brief look at the history of learning supported by technology. It looks at how learning budgets are fairing in the current economic conditions, what constitutes good learning with technology and shares a recent application of ‘learning on-demand’ in one organisation. The goal is to promote thinking about how easy or easier it could be to implement technology into your organisational learning.

Resilience in learning

The global recession produced some interesting trends in training budgets. In the UK the CIPD Learning and Development Survey (2009) reported that the average training spend per employee was £220. Overall, training spend was declining, but in absolute terms by only seven to ten per cent - far less than in other recessions. Have organisations finally understood the benefit of learning? What might this ‘resilience’ in learning budgets be attributed to? Half of the respondents to the Learning and Development Survey confirmed that funds for learning and development remained the same in 2008. Three quarters of respondents agreed that learning and development continued to be perceived as an important part of business improvement, despite the challenging economic times. The areas within the learning and development budget experiencing the most significant growth are in-house development and e-learning, with more than half of respondents reporting a greater focus on in-house development and 42 per cent responding that the use of e-learning had also increased.

The evolution of e-learning

The 1980s saw the introduction of Computer Based Training (CBT). This was a genuine attempt to harness the potential of technology, with the technology movement leading the charge, but often with learning interventions that were poorly designed, and slow. In the 1990s e-learning progressed with instructors taking back the role of designing learning online, in order to ensure that the content reflected learning needs. Over the past ten years learning specialists have begun to harness the capabilities of modern technology to enhance the response to user needs and create better learning experiences.

The advent of Web 2.0 and social media has spawned Learning 2.0 and ‘learning on-demand’. No longer is e-learning available solely on the computer terminal - we are now able to access learning on the go and from virtually anywhere in the world. Individuals can now ‘demand’ how they want their learning delivered - online, classroom based, blended or mobile. Regardless of how learning is delivered, one constant exists - it has to be delivered quickly. Design, development and delivery of learning life cycles have been dramatically reduced. People want customised learning delivered using a variety of media and they want it NOW! Given the resilience of learning budgets in organisations and the growth of e-learning, how has technology enabled this?

Learning on-demand

Howard (2008) highlights the changing requirements for training by stating that: “learning on-demand sets the stage for a new role for corporate learning and development organisations that allows a more rapid and flexible approach to enhancing corporate performance”.

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The development of Web collaboration technologies allows the organisation to facilitate the exchange of information and ideas between employees, customers and partners in real-time, using readily accessible media such as blogs; wikis; podcasts and streaming media; discussion rooms; communities of practice; and, social networking tools. Learning on-demand is different from other e-learning approaches in that it relies heavily on the following key features identified by Howard:

The portal as the gateway: the portal provides the ‘place to go’ for the training resources and the flexibility that was not available with earlier technology.

Flexible technology architecture: a content management system alone is not sufficient to maximise the benefits of learning on-demand. Rather, a collaborative network is required to enable the learning community to exchange information, as well as to capture knowledge about relevant subjects.

Personalisation: allows the capture of user data, such as geographical location or language, to ensure the appropriate learning is delivered in the language of the user.

Contribution from the learning community: learning on-demand enables a contribution to be made to the collective knowledge on a course or topic. Learning on-demand is one way for an organisation to capture the collective knowledge that would otherwise disappear as experienced workers leave the organisation.

Ownership of the content: the content of the learning on-demand is assigned to ‘content stewards’, who are responsible for the accuracy and relevance of the content, as well as the personalisation and monitoring of usage.

Rapid, relevant, and real easy…

One such company that has recently embraced learning on-demand did so as a way to disseminate new sales product information to their sales teams. The organisation has a collection of 8 companies spread across the EU, operating in multiple markets, segments and languages. These companies experience relatively high staff turnover amongst their sales teams. A major challenge is that the markets are changing rapidly and in order to remain competitive they need to constantly develop new products and bring them to markets quickly. The new products require intensive sales training in order to capitalise on their introduction, and the logistics involved in training individuals on a traditional face-to-face basis was proving too costly and too slow. The ability to leverage the route to market was being compromised by local differentiation caused by the highly subjective involvement of local training teams.

The organisation wanted to maximise access to learning online, thereby enabling the sales staff to undertake the training whenever and from wherever they choose. This means that the requirement to be ‘off the job’ was not necessary to complete the learning. Even though there was a clear need to embrace learning on-demand there also had to be a clear and robust financial business case. This was achieved by a learning on-demand return on investment plan developed using existing training metrics and costs. The plan generated a strong financial case to embrace learning on-demand.

The organisation started with its first product to be designed centrally. This made sense as the product was not to be further differentiated for its different markets, which meant the learning strategy could also be set. The design of the learning began by capturing the input from a cross-cultural group of subject matter experts. An instructional designer took the inputs and created the detailed instructional design to provide the detailed framework for the transfer of learning objectives to the learner.

The primary benefit of this project was the functionality to discover, design and deliver the learning rapidly. Advances in access to e-learning authoring tools enabled fast distribution of

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learning to learners. The online authoring tool adopted as the input method used PowerPoint, but simply placing PowerPoint presentations into an authoring tool does not constitute learning design. While good technology is now widely available, good instructional design remains elusive. Good instructional design requires a combination of context, challenge, activity and feedback. An instructional designer can make the learning fun and when learning is fun it can also be engaging. An effective way to engage people in terms of learning on-demand is to ensure the learning is interactive.

Once the learning modules were created, the challenge was then how to disseminate them across eight geographical locations, each with disparate HR Information Systems and different IT architectures. However, there was no budget for the purchase of a custom-built learning management system. This was resolved using a freeware, open source learning content management system. Open source resources have their base code ‘unlocked’ to enable developer collaboration, globally. The owner unlocks the code in the hope that others will enhance and contribute to the product. This freeware is easy to use and can be customised to look and feel like a bespoke built system for the organisation.

The development and accessibility of these platforms generates opportunities for rapid and engaging dissemination of learning and development to small and medium companies, and enables larger organisations to bring a significant proportion of their development in-house. Learning and development professionals now have the opportunity to design and deliver their own materials, rather than having to rely on project managing expensive IT support to programme their content on slow and inflexible learning or content management systems.

The organisation’s first two modules were delivered in multiple languages to eight different European countries, and from inception to delivery the whole project took just six weeks. The success of the first two modules meant that a further two modules were commissioned, with the third module taking just four weeks to design and deliver. In six months the organisation has moved from reliance on a traditional model of training delivery to one that now harnesses the rapid ability to deploy learning on-demand. Further modules are planned for early in 2010, and having trained internal people to use the authoring tool, the organisation is now only relying on external support for their instructional design, and technical support for the freeware.

The future

Is this the end of traditional classroom based delivery? Not at all. Learning on-demand is even more powerful when used as part of a blended learning strategy. This is a cost effective way to deliver learning, whilst harnessing the benefits of both e-learning and face-to-face presentation, and it is becoming increasingly popular as a total learning solution. Whether learning strategy has driven the growing trend for learning on-demand or vice versa, is irrelevant. What is important is that learning and development professionals have an unrivalled opportunity to deliver great learning in their organisations; to make it engaging and interactive, customised when, where and how it fits for learners, which in turn means a better return on results for the organisation and greater demand. Try it … you may be amazed at the response.

CIPD (2009) Learning and development: annual survey report. London: CIPD. Hartley, D. E. (2000) On-Demand Learning: Training in the New Millennium. HRD Press. www.amazon.com/Demand-Learning-Training-New-Millennium/dp/0874255392#reader_0874255392 Howard, C. (2008) Learning On-Demand: A New Role for Enterprise Learning.www.hrzone.co.uk/files/siftmedia-hrzone/bersin.pdf Meawad, F. and Stubbs, G (2008) ‘A framework for enabling on-demand personalised mobile learning’. International Journal of Mobile Learning and Organisation 2 (2), 133 – 148. Tapscott, D. (2006) Winning with the Enterprise 2.0. New Paradigm Learning Corporation. www.newparadigm.comhttp://joshbersin.com/2007/10/01/a-new-organizational-learning-model-learning-on-demand/

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Reflections on the Equality Bill, 2009

Marjorie Corbridge and Stephen Pilbeam

The Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) took over the roles of the Equal Opportunities Commission, Commission for Racial Equality and Disability Rights Commission in October 2007. The EHRC assumed the powers of the previous commissions as well as taking on the additional responsibility for policing discrimination on the grounds of sexual orientation, religion or belief and age. The establishment of a single commission paved the way for an extensive overhaul of discrimination legislation, which has resulted in the Equality Bill 2009. The legislation is due to come into force in the Autumn of 2010. The Government Equalities Office (2008) sets out the reasons for de-cluttering the discrimination laws in an Equality Bill by explaining that: “The development of the discrimination legislation over a period of 40 years has led to legal complexity with nine major pieces of discrimination legislation, around 100 statutory instruments setting out the connecting rules and regulations and more than 2,500 pages of guidance and statutory codes of practice”.

Protected characteristics and new duties

The Bill establishes the concept of ‘protected characteristics’ and these are identified as: age, disability, gender reassignment, marriage and civil partnership, pregnancy and maternity, race, religion or belief, sex, sexual orientation and protection is provided against unreasonable or unfavourable treatment through direct and indirect discrimination on the basis of a protected characteristic. It will be unlawful for an employer to discriminate on the basis of a protected characteristic:

• in deciding to whom to offer employment • in the terms on which employment is offered • by not offering employment • by not affording access to opportunities for promotion, transfer or training or for

receiving any other benefit, facility or service. • by dismissing the employee • by subjecting the employee to any other detriment.

The Bill also aims to strengthen the law to enable greater equality progress. Some of the measures are familiar to UK employers, whereas others impose new and challenging duties.

1. Gender pay gap: Public sector employers will be required to publish information about the differences in pay between male and female employees. This obligation may also apply to larger private sector employers from 2013.

2. Secrecy clauses: These restrict employees from discussing pay with colleagues on pain of disciplinary action. Such clauses will be outlawed to promote greater openness and understanding of equality in the workplace (see equal pay section below).

3. Equality duties: Public bodies will be obligated to eliminate discrimination, harassment and victimisation in contractual relationships. This includes choice of suppliers and business partners. Private sector organisations tendering for public sector contracts will need to demonstrate transparency in workplace equality.

4. Positive discrimination: Positive discrimination in selection is permitted in 'a genuine tiebreak situation’. If two candidates are equal in all material respects, the employer may have regard to the personal characteristics of one candidate if he or she is from a group that is under-represented in the organisation.

5. Discrimination by association: Unlawful discrimination or harassment will take place not only when related to the protected characteristic of the employee, but also of someone with whom the employee is connected. For example, if an employee is dismissed due to excessive absence for looking after a disabled dependent this could constitute disability discrimination against the employee even though he or she is not disabled.

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6. Harassment by third parties: The scope of protection against harassment is extended to oblige employers to protect staff against harassment, not just from their colleagues, but also third parties such as customers and suppliers.

Definitions of discrimination

The Equality Bill defines discrimination as potentially being direct or indirect in relation to the protected characteristics. The Bill defines direct discrimination as occurring when:

13(1) A person (A) discriminates against another (B) if, because of a protected characteristic, A treats B less favourably than A treats or would treat others.

Examples of direct discrimination include:

• If an employer recruits a man rather than a woman because they assume that women do not have the strength to do the job, this would be direct sex discrimination.

• If a Muslim shopkeeper refuses to serve a Muslim woman because she is married to a Christian, this would be direct religious or belief-related discrimination on the basis of her association with her husband.

• If an employer rejects a job application form from a white man, whom he wrongly thinks is black, because the applicant has an African-sounding name, this would constitute direct race discrimination based on the employer’s mistaken perception.

• If an employer advertising a vacancy makes it clear in the advert that Roma need not apply, this would amount to direct race discrimination against a Roma who might reasonably have considered applying for the job but was deterred from doing so because of the advertisement.

Except in the case of age discrimination, it would appear that direct discrimination cannot be objectively justified as ‘a proportionate means of achieving a legitimate aim’. There is special treatment of disability discrimination – see below. This replaces the current definition of discrimination and is considered sufficiently broad to include discrimination by association, as it does not require the person being discriminated against to personally have the protected characteristic. For example, in Coleman v Attridge Law, Mrs. Coleman, who had a disabled child, had to go to the ECJ to obtain a ruling that she experienced discrimination, not because she had a disability but because her child did. The definition will now encompass that situation, as well as perceptions that a person has a protected characteristic.

The Bill defines indirect discrimination as occurring when:

18(1) A person (A) discriminates against another person (B) if A applies to B a provision, criterion or practice which is discriminatory in relation to a relevant protected characteristic of B’s.

18(2) For the purposes (of 18.1) a provision, criterion or practice is discriminatory in relation to a relevant protected characteristic if: a) A applies, or would apply, it to persons with whom B does not share the

characteristic, b) it puts, or would put, persons with whom B shares the characteristic at a particular

disadvantage when compared with persons with whom B does not share it, c) it puts, or would put, B at that disadvantage, and d) A cannot show it to be a proportionate means of achieving a legitimate aim.

This definition permits indirect discrimination to be objectively justified by the employer as ‘a proportionate means of achieving a legitimate aim’. Further explanations of this definition of indirect discrimination are provided below. It is anticipated that it will have a significant impact on disability discrimination, as it introduces the concept of indirect discrimination to disability for the first time; there remains a duty to make reasonable adjustments. However, indirect discrimination will not apply to pregnancy and maternity, because discrimination on these grounds will normally constitute direct discrimination.

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Indirect discrimination applies to all the protected characteristics, apart from pregnancy and maternity. Indirect discrimination occurs when a provision, criterion or practice (PCP) which applies in the same way for everybody has an effect which particularly disadvantages people with a protected characteristic because they have that characteristic. Where a particular group is disadvantaged in this way, a person in that group is indirectly discriminated against if he or she is put at that disadvantage, unless the person applying the PCP can justify it. Indirect discrimination can also occur when a PCP would put a person at a disadvantage if it were applied. This means, for example, that where a person is deterred from doing something, such as applying for a job or taking up an offer of service, because a PCP which would be applied would result in his or her disadvantage, this may also be indirect discrimination. This definition replaces similar provisions in previous legislation. It applies the EU definition of indirect discrimination, replacing pre-existing domestic definitions in the Sex Discrimination Act 1975 and the Race Relations Act 1976, to ensure uniformity of protection across all the protected characteristics in all areas where it applies.

Examples of indirect discrimination include: • A woman is forced to leave her job because her employer operates a practice that staff

must work in a shift pattern which she is unable to comply with because she needs to look after her children at particular times of day, and no allowances are made because of those needs. This would put women (who are shown to be more likely to be responsible for childcare) at a disadvantage, and the employer will have indirectly discriminated against the woman unless the practice can be justified.

• An observant Jewish engineer who is seeking an advanced diploma decides (even though he is sufficiently qualified to do so) not to apply to a specialist training company because it invariably undertakes the selection exercises for the relevant course on Saturdays. The company will have indirectly discriminated against the engineer unless the practice can be justified.

The Bill singles out disability discrimination for special treatment by creating a new prohibition on discrimination arising from a disability, defined as:

14(1) A person (A) discriminates against a disabled person (B) if: a) A treats B in a particular way, b) because of B’s disability, the treatment amounts to a detriment, and c) A cannot show that the treatment is a proportionate means of achieving a legitimate

aim. 14(2) (This) does not apply if A shows that A did not know, and could not reasonably have

been expected to know, that B had the disability. 14(3) It does not matter whether A had complied with a duty to make reasonable adjustments

in relation to B.

The legislation will provide protection in cases of multiple discrimination. The disparate nature of previous legislation meant that it was problematic to get a satisfactory legal outcome where a person with more than one protected characteristic experienced discrimination where it was difficult to determine whether the discrimination was related to, for example, race, age or sex. The Equality Bill will enable claims for multiple discrimination and this will enable direct discrimination claims to be brought in relation to a combination of any two of the following protected characteristics: age, disability, gender reassignment, race, religion or belief, sex and sexual orientation. For example; when an older woman applies for a job as a driving instructor she is told that she is unsuccessful. When she asks why, she is told that the employer does not think it is a suitable job for an older woman because the employer does not think she has sufficient strength to deal with a potential emergency, or that she could brake quickly. She has clearly experienced discrimination, but is it because she is a woman or because she is older? Under previous legislation, she would have had to select one of the relevant acts to bring her case.

Equality Bill (2009) London: HMSO. www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm200809/cmbills/085/09085_iw/09085_iw_en_1.htm

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Portsmouth Group of the CIPD

HR Bulletin 2010 – Volume 5 Issue 1

The articles and contributors

Aster Group tackle bullying and harassment head on Sacha Harris PgDip HRM Graduate CIPD HR Advisor, Aster Property Management, Aster Group

Talent Management practice in British American Tobacco, Nigeria Monsurat Omotayo BSc MSc HRM Graduate CIPD HR Consultant, Salat Nigeria Ltd

Alternatives to international assignments – female self-initiated expatriation in the Cayman Islands Liza Howe-Walsh BA (Hons) MSc HRM Chartered MCIPD Senior Lecturer in HRM, University of Portsmouth and Ceili FitzGerald BA (Hons) MSc HRM Graduate CIPD Senior Associate - People Consultant, Human Resources Ernst and Young

Learning on-demand Natalie Macaulay BSc MSc Chartered MCIPD CHRP Managing Director, Emerge Learning UK www.emergelearning.co.ukand Marjorie Corbridge BA (Hons) Chartered MCIPD Principal Lecturer in HRM, University of Portsmouth

Reflections on the Equality Bill, 2009 Marjorie Corbridge BA (Hons) Chartered MCIPD Principal Lecturer in HRM, University of Portsmouthand Stephen Pilbeam MSc Fellow HEA Chartered FCIPD Principal Lecturer in HRM, University of Portsmouth

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