CIPD's Annual report on Ireland’s HR Practices offers an in-depth look at the issues and trends shaping the world of work across the country. The 2024 survey captures the experiences and challenges faced by HR professionals in a diverse range of industries, focusing on key areas such as workforce expectations, leadership gaps, and the evolving role of AI in the workplace.In this episode, we’re joined by Mary Connaughton, Director of CIPD Ireland, to discuss the latest findings. Mary will shar...

Welcome to this episode of the HRLocker Podcast, specially tailored for HR managers and business owners keen on advancing their workplace environments. Today, we will discuss essential strategies for nurturing psychological safety and enhancing communication in your organisation. Our focus will include practical methods for creating a supportive environment where staff feel comfortable expressing themselves, effective, respectful communication, preventative approaches to conflict, maximising ...

Welcome to the HRLocker Podcast, your go-to source for insightful discussions on the latest HR developments. Today, we delve into the realm of corporate responsibility and ESG, with a particular focus on the new Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive and its implications for companies across Ireland.Joining us is Patrick Meskell from the Skillnet Climate Ready Academy—an authority in guiding companies of varying sizes through the intricacies of strategic sustainability. Patrick, an ESG ...

Welcome to the HRLocker Podcast, we are joined by Sinead McNamara from the National Menopause Summit. In this episode, we dive into menopause, a subject that impacts many yet remains under-discussed in professional circles.  Sinead shares details of the upcoming National Menopause Summit at the Aviva Stadium on April 11th and 12th. Emphasising that the event isn't exclusively for women in midlife, but open to anyone interested in understanding peri-menopause and menopause. With her...

Welcome to HRLocker Podcast, where we bring you conversations with experts in their field. To highlight International Women's Day we were delighted to have Caroline O'Driscoll, partner with Deloitte and co-founder of I Wish as our most recent guest. In this podcast, we had an amazing conversation about women in leadership, the importance of gender diversity in teams and how to increase female representation in the more male-dominated roles. Throughout her career, Caroline had recognised a...

The Government of Ireland has introduced domestic violence leave under the Work-Life Balance and Miscellaneous Provisions Act 2023. On Monday, 27 November 2023, it became a legal requirement for employers to offer up to five days of paid leave over 12 months to employees affected by domestic violence. It is recommended that employers embed support measures with an organisational response to domestic abuse.  In this episode,  we are joined by Sarah Benson, CEO of Women's Aid.  We will...

On this podcast episode, we are joined by Terence Morgan, Director of Business Development and Ruairi Guckian, Owner of GHR Consulting.  We run through the new legislation updates in Ireland, focusing on the new unpaid leave entitlements under the work-life balance Act 2023. During this show, we mention and discuss unpaid leave for Medical Appointments and Caregiving, extended Breastfeeding Entitlements, anticipated measures for Domestic Violence leave, the right to request Remote or...

In this podcast episode, we speak with Siobhan Sweeney, Senior Global Director for Diversity, Equity and Inclusion at Element. We explore the key challenges that companies face when embarking on DEI initiatives and discuss effective strategies to overcome them. As well, we approach the role of the senior management in driving cultural change and fostering an inclusive environment that resonates throughout the organisation. For your company to thrive in the world of Diversity, Equity and...

In this episode, we are joined by Shane Conneely to discuss remote, hybrid and flexible working, the return to the office full-time, recent layoffs and how management styles may have to change due to the ever-changing workforce. Shane Conneely is the Director of Policy and Communications at Chambers Ireland, Ireland's largest business lobbying organisation representing business interests locally, regionally and nationally. Their mission is to represent the views of businesses and understand...

In this ever-changing world, the experience that your employees have during their employee lifecycle in your organisation has never been more important.  Great employee experience is built on trust, support, and collaboration and most of all, communication, in a meaningful, productive way. We asked Belinda Gannaway from Fathom XP, an award-winning employee experience and culture activation agency to talk us through the best way to implement an EX strategy in any organisation. Belinda’s...

Latest news reports can be daunting, budget cuts, recession and cost savings are at the fore. Many companies are looking for innovative ways of making cost savings and increasing productivity in their businesses. Sometimes, by taking a look at current processes within your company, you can save time and money by planning effectively, and it doesn't always have to be an additional cost.   On today's show, we talk to Gareth Purdy, a leader in the field of Project Management. Gareth is an...

Recruitment can lie within the HR dept in many companies and can often be a time-consuming and costly process. Finding potential candidates is only the beginning of the journey. The next step? The Interview. But how do you hire for success and is there a process that can help you fill that position with the best candidate possible?  On today’s show, we have our very own Adam Colman, CEO of HRLocker.   As a CEO of a scaling company that has tripled in size over the last 2 years, recruitment...

On today’s show, we have Phil Byrne, Managing Partner at Enable ISO,  a company that specialises in consulting for organisations working toward ISO certification. We ask Phil on the show to talk about all things compliance, in particular, GDPR. GDPR often falls under the remit of HR in companies. We ask Phil what he thinks are the most common GDPR misconceptions in HR, what exactly is the role of the Data Protection Officer (DPO) and does this responsibility sit with HR? We also talk about...

Approx. 600,000 women in Ireland are affected by menopause and other women’s health related issues at any one time.  These issues can undermine women’s confidence, and recent surveys show, that up to 8% of women affected, exit the workforce as a result of womens health related issues.  Research shows that companies that are taking affirmative action by having supports in place, help greatly with recruitment & retention as employees feel supported in their workplace.  Katie give us some...

On this week's show, we have Andrew Bartlow,  managing partner of Series B Consulting.    Over the course of his career, Andrew has participated in 6 significant scale-ups, as well as multiple IPOs, and has been a part of several successful private equity exits.  He has advised dozens of C-level executives and learned from the very best during his formative years at Pepsi and General Electric.   His book scaling for success is a definitive guide for leaders of high-growth organizations...

About the pod We chat with Jim Frawley, founder of Bellwether, a company that helps organisations adapt to change and build resiliency in not only their company but in their people.  In the podcast, we ask Jim about the steps companies should take in the midst of constant change, how important is learning and development in a competitive employee marketplace and what are the biggest mistakes organisations make when implementing learning & development plans.  Jim also gives us 5 top tips...

With many calling it a life-work revolution, covid inadvertently brought about a huge work experiment, where people have had to juggle home and work life and boundaries became less defined. As a result, employees are now choosing to work for companies that are willing to offer a more flexible working arrangement. The Wanderlust Group has operated on a 4-day workweek over the last 18 months,  and since shifting to that model has grown revenue by 100% year over year. We invited Meghan Keany...

With 2022 just over the horizon, closing out the end of the year can often be a daunting task for many HR or office managers.  One of those tasks is completing end of year reviews to make sure each department have hit their goals, KPI’s and OKR’s for the year.  In today's podcast, we asked CEO of HRLocker, Adam Coleman the importance of performance reviews, how necessary they are for managing remote teams, how often they should take place and what should managers measure to ensure...

On today’s show, we welcome back Katie Ridge, head of employer relations at Adare Human resource management.  With changes in restrictions underway and many people returning to the workplace, we ask Katie some topical questions around remote and flexible working such as  contracts of employment, do you need to update them if you are facilitating flexible working? And – do employers have the right to refuse full-time remote working?   Also up today, we have seen some reports of companies...

On today's show, we have Elizabeth Bolger, Director of People & Programmes at The Wheel - the National association of charities, community & voluntary organisations & social enterprises.  In this show,  we ask Elizabeth if non-profits face different challenges to their public sector counterparts, and if so, what can they do to attract talent.  The importance of employer branding, and the benefits of working with non-profits. We also discuss the topic of burnout and stress, and...

Our guest today is Rosanne Edger from Edger HR Consulting.  Rosanne is an HR Professional with over 15 years experience in HR and has a proven track record in delivering HR support, advice, management coaching, and strategy setting. With the latest release of the updated Work safety protocol document, Crystel chats with Rosanne about the considerations employers should be thinking about if they are returning people to the office, what companies need to think about when preparing a flexible...

In this podcast, we draw on Katie's vast experience to ask her some hot topics in HR today,  such as :  -        Vaccinations & the Workplace - what can/ can't employers do? -        Managing remote working requests & Right to Disconnect Bill -        The Code of Practice on Determining Employment Status    With Hybrid working on the horizon, it is so important to make sure that you are up to date with new bills and legislation such as the right to disconnect. 

In today’s podcast, we have over 20 years of experience in the room with Dave Chaplin, CEO of IR35Shield and Colin Morley, Director at Hays Technology. HRLocker recently ran a webinar on the subject of ‘contractors or employees, what’s best for your business’. It was a very popular webinar and illicit many questions around IR35 and the uncertainty around hiring contractors and contractor management, so we decided to get 2 experts on the show to continue the conversation. Colin Morely...

In the world of HR, people are the core of every organisation. Sasha talks to us about her role as an Employee Experience Designer and how she helps companies build positive HR and people Transformation initiatives. With people working from their front room, companies need to redesign their workplace to create a positive and productive workplace to keep their employees happy and engaged. Sasha breaks it down for us and gives us some great actionable steps to begin building an EX framework.