John Philpott, CIPD’s Chief Economic Advisor, gives his new year forecast and Jean Tomlin, HR Director for The London 2012 Organising Committee of the Olympic Games and Paralympic Games (LOCOG), tells us about running the HR side of the Olympics.
Philippa Lamb talks to John Philpott, about his predictions for 2012. Last year John got it right; it was a difficult year for businesses. 2012 will be a year of very slow growth and high unemployment.
Philippa wonders how the public sector will fare compared with the private sector. Listen to John’s analysis and his predictions for both sectors and his estimates for unemployment numbers and for wages. Is there anything to be cheerful about? John thinks possibly not until 2014, but there are a couple of events which may have a positive effect on the economy.
John observes that all this gloom and squeeze will mean that HR people will need to have a good think about HR’s role in the recovery. He has some poignant remarks on the capability of HR to prove their worth in difficult times. What do you think?
Philippa asks some HR professionals about their agendas for 2012. Listen to their ideas to gain some practical help.
The Olympics and any successes the UK can garner may lift our spirits, but the logistics of the organisation falls on one HR professional particularly: Jean Tomlin. For the past six years she has been the HR Director for The London 2012 Organising Committee of the Olympic Games and Paralympic Games (LOCOG). It’s the biggest mobilisation of people since the second World War so how did Jean start to plan for the event? Listen to Jean explain how she set about putting the effort in place, and what she considers the most important elements. She talks inspiringly about the achievements of people who are motivated and fully empowered.
Not only has Jean been concentrating on keeping all her staff focused, but she is also looking at what will happen to them beyond the end of the contract. How will they settle back into family life and find other jobs? Listen to what she has been putting in place for them. Jean firmly believes that HR is the heart of the business.
Philippa asks Jean what her approach would be to the Olympics if she were an HR professional in a UK company. There are some very practical thoughts and it is not too late to take away some ideas for your workplace.
Further information
If you would like to read the Labour Market survey which appear on our website regularly you can see if John's predictions come true.
John talked about wages and how they would fare in 2012. You might be intserested in our Reward Management page.
You might also be interested in the CIPD's fourth annual Employee Attitudes to Pay report, published on 1st January 2012
Next time Philippa will be discussing business savvy and why it is so important to HR. Join us then. Meanwhile, a very happy and successful new year to you all.