Human Resources
Talent, pay, policy and culture, chosen for the HR leader who has to answer for them on Monday.
Human Resources at The First Click is written for the people who own the workforce question: talent and hiring, compensation and benefits, workplace policy, and culture and engagement. Three stories a weekday at 11, each summarised in our own words and linked to the publisher. We favour the story that changes a decision over the story that confirms one: a survey with a number a compensation head will be asked about, a policy experiment that will be copied badly, a departure that says something about retention at the top. Artificial intelligence runs through most of them now, as a tool the workforce already uses whether or not the policy has caught up. The editor’s note under the day’s lead says why we chose it, and the Friday Funny lane keeps the stories that prove the point by making you laugh.
Every story we have kept in Human Resources, newest first. Headlines link to the publisher; the tags below narrow the list.
Why redesigning a job takes more than the equipment that prompted it
ICFM's operations head argues facilities-management automation should begin with the operating model: robots handle strenuous cleaning, while staff shift to inspection, defect reporting and cross-skilled work, set against Singapore's slower labour-force growth.
Editor's noteRedesigning a job to accommodate automation is not just about replacing equipment, but about redefining the role of staff. Watch whether ICFM's operating model, which shifts staff from manual tasks to inspection and defect reporting, becomes a template for the industry, and whether it can be scaled to meet Singapore's productivity demands.
Elite B2C Marketing Processes Operate Like Spain’s National Soccer (Football) Teams
Forrester analyst Jessica Liu argues B2C marketing excellence requires disciplined, standardized processes before technology adoption, comparing high-performing marketing organizations to Spain's coordinated, continuously adjusting World Cup-winning soccer teams.
25 Employee Performance Metrics Every HR Leader Should Track
Only 45% of organizations use consistent performance-management tools, creating inconsistent raise, promotion and termination decisions; the piece sets out standardized metrics for defensible evaluation.
Editor's noteFewer than half of organisations measure performance the same way twice, and the same organisations still hand out raises, promotions and terminations on those measurements. That gap is the whole story: the decisions are consequential and legally exposed, and the instrument producing them is inconsistent by the employer's own admission.
Say Please! Or Not, It Could Be Causing Workplace Productivity to Slow Down
A workplace communication study found that requests framed with excessive politeness or urgency were more likely to be completed late, while clear ownership, explicit deadlines, and direct task assignment improved on-time delivery rates.
