If the article is TL:DR, here's the executive summary: Organisations recruit clever people, but then discourage them from using their intelligence. It could easily have been written about my former employer (one of the Big 4 global professional services firms). And it's one of the things that consistently bugged me the most.
If the article is TL:DR, here's the executive summary: Organisations recruit clever people, but then discourage them from using their intelligence. It could easily have been written about my former employer (one of the Big 4 global professional services firms). And it's one of the things that consistently bugged me the most.
“Horrible HR Policies to Nuke in 2015”
Jan. 14th, 2015 10:09 pmI came across this article on Linkedin. If you’re on Linkedin, here’s the link: https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/horrible-hr-policies-nuke-2015-liz-ryan If you aren’t, well sorry but I couldn’t find it anywhere else (including the author’s blog) so I assume it’s a Linkedin exclusive.
Clearly I’m not going to copy it, but I think it’s reasonable to discuss it here.
Basically, it’s a list of terrible HR policies that are nevertheless common. One of the best things about being your own boss is not having HR policies. And I suspect that these, despite being terrible, are very common, especially among larger organisations. Put it this way, my previous employer, the giant professional services firm referred to on these pages (for reasons that are sort of apparent to anyone who has seen or read ‘2001: A Space Odyssey’) as ‘JOLF’ was regularly in the top five in the Sunday Times ‘Best Big Company to Work For’ Survey. And I’ve encountered maybe nine of the ten practices listed here at that paragon employer.
( Read more... )Phligm Phlagm 1
Dec. 2nd, 2014 11:23 pmTen stupid workplace rules that drive people away.
How well do you think idiots like this would be treated in the Islamic State...?
In economic terms, how big are African countries in relation to English counties?
Pretentious (but funny) Amazon reviews of Mr Men books.
Real men don't shave off their moustache on the 1st December.
Unemployment is now really (surprisingly even) low. But not so low for 16-20 year olds. This is why.
A look at the legalities of shooting people in the US, and how it differs for police officers.
When applied to dead buffalo, five thousand is a very big number.
I know this is a joke, but I would actually love this to happen.
Mobile phones AKICOLJ
Sep. 28th, 2012 11:36 pmI make very infrequent calls. How infrequent? Put it this way, when I had to separate out personal calls on my monthly bills, they usually came to less than £1. Still, it's useful to have a mobile phone handy for emergencies like old ladies collapsing and falling off walls as you're driving past*.
I quite like the portable internet browser and ability to play games while sitting waiting for stuff to happen when out and about of my iPhone, so some sort of smartphone would be preferred.
So how do I get a decent smartphone without spending lots on line rental? Tariffs? Network? Handset?
One option would be to pay off my work iPhone. I think I can do this for £100. And then presumably get a SIM-only deal.
A second option would be to dust off the ancient Blackberry and use that, although I don't know how good the battery is, and it's old enough to not have 3G.
* Something that happened in Tavistock a couple of Saturdays ago.
Third and last Phligm Phlagm of the night
Mar. 13th, 2012 11:49 pmClimate deniers give sceptics a bad name.
Gabe Newell is the 854th richest man on the planet.
Private auditors will be 40% cheaper than the Audit Commission.
Women now empowered by everything a woman does.
Of course you want a BMW-designed gaming mouse.
What exactly is the point of the Scottish Conservative party?
How not to do web advertising placement. (I like 5 the best.)
How bringing gods into politics created the politics of today - in Iran and the USA.
Phligm Phlagm Special Egotism Edition
Feb. 18th, 2012 08:01 pmI thought I’d do something a little different with this Phligm Phlagm post. Instead of using links grabbed from Twitter or andrewducker, I thought I’d put up links to some of my own favourite LiveJournal posts. And by that I mean ones that I wrote.
Sort of a ‘Phlegmatic Greatest Hits’, or at least a ‘The Best of Philmo Phlegm’ compilation.( Read more... )
The Basque Country
Real tennis
Lord Mountbatten
Any British prime minister before Margaret Thatcher, with the exception of Winston Churchill
Any US president before Bill Clinton, with the exception of FDR
Eric Clapton
Carlos Santana
Laurence Olivier
Alec Guinness
John Gielgud
Kim Basinger
* Or at least they went to university. God** knows what they were educated in if they've never heard of Alec Guinness.
** AKA the sixth entry on this list of course.
Phligm Phlagm
Oct. 16th, 2011 05:55 pmPhligm Phlagm
Sep. 14th, 2011 11:42 pmSomething to show your boss next time he asks you to work lots of overtime (I wish...)
Should the state step in to stop people saying nasty things online?
How an auditor's trick could have caught out the Greek government's fraudulent accounting
This seems such an obvious idea, why has nobody thought of it before?
That means that it is almost ten years since the attacks on the World Trade Centre and the Pentagon. At the time I remember thinking two things. The first was something along the lines of "The world changed today". The second was that this would be one of those events that people are supposed to "remember where they were when they heard".
So that's the meme.
Where were you when you heard that planes had flown into the World Trade Centre? No reaction, no emotion, no comment; just simply where were you and what were you doing when you heard the news? Comment below, and if you like the idea reproduce on your own blog.
Me: At a conference centre in Gloucestershire chairing a week-long JOLF graduate induction course.
Phligm Phlagm
Mar. 7th, 2011 11:46 pmDavid Baddiel on fashionable anti-semitism
What a surprise - the BBC ignores SF & fantasy books
One Conservative MP's theory of how to get called by the Speaker
New Unreal Engine tech previewed at the GDC (on THREE GTX 580s!)
How much do you value your time?
What the Barnsley by-election means for the sixth-placed Lib Dems and the second-placed UKIP
Would this be a bad time to admit that I really liked Gabriel Knight 3...?
"Sarkozy admits French language a hoax..."
Bluff your way through chick lit
Your guide to the Chirac corruption trial
More from the Museum of Bad Web Design...
KPMG extends school leaver programme to Exeter and Birmingham Universities
Do you know how much you earn?
Mar. 7th, 2011 09:49 pmPer hour?
When I sold computer and role-playing games in the Virgin Games Centre in the Westgate Centre, I knew the answer to this, sort of. Basic pay was £4.20 an hour. I didn't get much in the way of perks. I worked the hours I was paid for, plus a bit extra, and it took me about half an hour each way to walk to and from work.
Nowadays, I get an annual salary plus bonus, allowance for not having a company car, lunch allowance, pension contributions, allowance for being a first aider, allowance for being an evacuation marshal and allowance for being a workplace assessor. But I work a very variable amount of unpaid overtime. My commute is about 40 minutes each way. And I often have nights away from home in glamorous locations like Watford.
So, although I could work out most of my remuneration from sources like my P60, and I could have a good stab at working out my total hours, it wouldn't be easy. I'm guessing that this is probably the case for most full-time, salaried employees.
And I wonder whether that is deliberate on the part of employers.
Phligm Phlagm
Feb. 22nd, 2011 03:21 pmAre work suits on the way out?
University elite forced to take on quotas of state school pupils
Xavi: "Paul Scholes is the best midfielder of the last 20 years"
The industry guide to UK tax legislation is now twice as long as it was in 1997
"30,000 pigs floating downriver..."
"Science bloggers are all lefties", says the Guardian
Whatever happened to Eddie 'the Eagle' Edwards?
I can't resist a good meme...
Jan. 27th, 2011 03:33 pm1. When you looked at yourself in the mirror today, what was the first thing you thought?
I like my new coat.
2. How much cash do you have on you?
£35.00
3. What’s a word that rhymes with DOOR?
Floor
4. Favorite planet?
Athfuashhok'k (or however it was spelt)
( Read more )
Quite an offer. Hopefully it will be expanded to other offices after the first year.
My only concern (and it's a big one) is that it will narrow the skills possessed by JOLF employees because most of them will do the same degree course (in Accountancy).
http://rd.kpmg.co.uk/24661.htm
Bit of a Christmas review
Jan. 11th, 2011 01:25 am( Read more )