Examples of Strategic HR in Practice

Created as a result of a major restructuring across the British Telecom Group, Openreach is a new organisation which represents the biggest transformation of the UK telecoms industry since privatisation in the 1980s. This article looks at the challenges that were faced by the HR function in implementing a business partnering model and how HR was instrumental in supporting transformational change.

Badly designed workplaces can lower productivity and disengage employees. However, some employers do get workplace design right, and are reaping the benefits of improved performance and higher productivity. This article showcases the innovative workplace design approaches taken by a range of forward thinking employers including Google, PriceWaterhouseCoopers and Corinthian Television. Each of the featured employers uses workplace design to its advantage, and is succeeding in keeping new generations of employees engaged, inspired and productive.

Home improvement retailer B&Q has experienced an unprecedented improvement in employee engagement, which has led to increased sales and greater customer satisfaction. This article profiles how B&Q has used the Gallup Q12 employee engagement survey tool to measure employee engagement and provide a clear link to business performance.

When an offshoring programme led to the redundancy of around 2000 staff, Prudential UK forged a creative new path in redundancy management and redeployment. This study looks at some of the industry-leading approaches that were developed by the Pru in its efforts to support its employees through a period of difficult change.

The Body Shop provides an excellent example of an organisation which did its utmost to handle a large-scale downsizing process with sensitivity and respect, both for the employees who were leaving, and for those who remained with the organisation. This case study examines some of the innovative solutions that were developed.

BT is recognised for its pioneering approach to retirement, and has helped many other organisations realise the benefits of introducing flexible retirement options. This article examines how BT’s flexible retirement scheme has changed deep-seated stereotyping of older workers.

This case study looks at the innovative structural changes that have occurred at Dell, the world’s fastest-growing computer sales company, and the ways in which HR has been instrumental in supporting those changes and the organisation’s ongoing growth.

A look at how innovative HR initiatives have led Sears back to extremely high profitability, and made a striking difference to employee commitment along the way.

Read about the response from Royal Mail’s HR function to the £1.5 million per day losses in 2003, and the key role the HR function played in returning the Royal Mail to a profitable organisation.

Details of how the Halifax–Bank of Scotland (HBOS) merger has demanded a radical new approach to HR. Former Group Human Resources Director Peter Cabrelli explains that by devolving procedural HR responsibilities to their business units, HBOS has created a match between fit and flexibility that is really adding value to its business.

BAE have backed up a bold decision to outsource transactional HR with two leadership programmes ensuring that HR professionals in the internal function are now both freed up and equipped to lead strategically. This case study looks at the importance of maximising on structural and outsourcing changes to HR.

North Tees and Hartlepool NHS Trust made vast improvements to SAS doctors’ morale and motivation through designing and implementing a highly successful SAS committee and charter.

When pressure is on to reduce non-core costs, HR finds it challenging to justify its value to the organisation. The Leeds Teaching Hospital NHS Trust tackled this issue head on by undertaking a comprehensive audit and review of its HR function. This case study outlines how they did this.

How the RBS group pooled global HR data to create an effective human capital model that demonstrably links its people strategies to business performance.

Read about how a new health and social care worker role has impacted patient satisfaction and made real differences to the day-to-day functioning of the Gwent Healthcare NHS Trust.

This article summarises the high performance working practices being used in 10 companies which were included in The Sunday Times Top 100 Companies to Work For 2004.

This case study looks at the way in which IntroNet, an organisation offering high impact eHR solutions, has enabled IBM’s HR professionals to make a strategic contribution to the global technology business.

South Staffordshire NHS Trust has a strong commitment to listening and responding to the needs of service users and carers. This principle has been put into practice in a very real way through the Trust’s Associate Director Scheme.