Powerchex - Pre-employment screening newsletter

ISSUE 44 APRIL 2009	www.powerchex.co.uk

Welcome to this month's Powerchex update:


	Also in this issue • Articles of interest • FSA News • CIFAS Fraudscape • Conferences & Events

Reading all the recent press one can easily forget that spring is finally here. The FSA is telling us to be very frightened and the IMF is predicting a prolonged and painful recession. It is a worrying time for many people and a particularly gloomy time for HR professionals who have to communicate so many unpopular decisions.

Is there a good way to communicate bad news? Martin Hennessey, the chief executive of leading tone of voice consultancy, The Writer, is an expert in communications. I am delighted that he has agreed to give us some guidance on this thorny and topical subject. Martin claims that there is an opportunity that can be gained from this experience, what do you think?

So how do you give bad news?
By Martin Hennessey, The Writer

The HR director’s chair is one of the hottest seats in corporate life right now. You face difficult decisions almost daily. You’re slashing budgets left, right and centre. You’re balancing the future employment of many hundreds, if not tens of thousands, in your hands.

And as part of the senior management team, every day, every week, every month, you must consider and advise the board on how to solve that, now ubiquitous, corporate riddle: how to do more with less.

In unguarded moments, HR directors admit it is stressful, too. These aren’t just the ‘human resources’ you’re moving around like pawns on a corporate chessboard, these are real people. People with lives and families – and mortgages – outside work. People who you might just need to sack.

And in case you’d forgotten that you’re part of the same cash-strapped organisation – and therefore part of the potential overhead problem, too – you’re also living with the knowledge that your own name is probably on a cost-reduction list somewhere.

But amid all the grimness and pressure, if you ever have a chance to take a deep breath, you might also be aware that this could be one of the most important, exciting and potentially career-defining moments in your professional life.

It’s a time when the reputations of HR directors and managers could soar. There will be some among you whose standing will be set for the rest of their career. They will be the ones who are holding it together now, at the height of economic adversity. The ones keeping employees motivated and engaged, while still playing a critical part in one of the biggest periods of cost-cutting in a century.

Read this article in full

		About Martin Hennessey Martin Hennessey is a former print and broadcast journalist - so he loves bad news. He founded The Writer in 2000. He has worked on communication strategy for the likes of BT, Barclays, Deutsche Bank and Close Brothers. He's also a founder member of business writers' group 26, and a former judge of the Writing for Design category at the D&AD Awards. He is co-author of the Investor Relations Handbook and was oh-so-nearly a scriptwriter on the first Bridget Jones movie (just don’t get him started on what he thought of the final film).

Articles of interest

Call to scrap 'illegal databases' BBC news, 23 March 2009 IT contractors in greater demand from financial institutions Recruiter, 23 March 2009 Temporary appointments are on the up but financial services firms shy away from permanent hires Press Release, 19 March 2009 Debt defaults rise 4% as downturn worsens Times Online, 18 March 2009 Recruitment blacklists: Are you complying with data protection laws? Bond Pearce, 11 March 2009 Could it be things are starting to look up for IT contractors? eFinancial Careers, 9 March 2009 Websites sell fake Aussie passports The Australian, 9 March 2009 Crime In The Workplace - How should HR deal with an employee who is suspected of wrongdoing? freshbusinessthinking.com, March 2009 “Show respect for personal data” warns pre-employment screening company Powerchex Press Release, 6 March 2009 Mosley case prompts MPs' review BBC news, 5 March 2009 Experienced candidates may be tempted to lie on CV HR Review, 24 February 2009 Vetting through social networking sites: weekly dilemma Personneltoday.com, 24 June 2008

FSA News

Be afraid... be very afraid Times Online, March 2009 The Turner Review A regulatory response to the global banking crisis FSA, March 2009 Reforming remuneration practices in financial services The Financial Services Authority (FSA) has published a consultation paper (CP) which formally consults on whether to incorporate its Code of practice on remuneration into the Handbook and its application to large banks and broker dealers. The Code has a general requirement that ‘a firm must establish, implement and maintain remuneration policies, procedures and practices that are consistent with and promote effective risk management’. This would become a Handbook rule. The CP will also propose that the Code’s remaining 10 principles are put into the Handbook to help guide firms on the evidence the FSA will focus on when assessing compliance. FSA, March 2009 Delivering intensive supervision and credible deterrence FSA, 12 March 2009 FSA code of practice on remuneration policies - bye bye bonus? FSA, 11 March 2009

CIFAS Fraudscape

The CIFAS Staff Fraud Database is a data-sharing scheme that enables responsible employers to file proven cases of staff fraud in order to prevent the perpetrator moving unchallenged to a new employer to commit further fraud. An employer accesses the database in order to: - file data about identified staff fraud cases - check staff fraud records filed by other CIFAS Members. This can be done either to pre-screen applicants or to screen current employees. Almost 120 employers already share information in this way. As a member of the Staff Fraud Database, Powerchex can access the database on behalf of CIFAS members. Click on the link below for an analysis of the cases of staff fraud filed to the CIFAS Staff Fraud Database by those organisations. http://www.cifas.org.uk/download/fraudscape.pdf

Conferences & Events

Honesty, decency & good behaviour - are you fit to conduct business in the current financial climate?
Securities & Investment Institute, Bristol, 8 April 2009

Putting employment law into practice
Croner Training, Kensington Close Hotel, London, 21 April 2009

Dealing with sensitive issues in employment
Croner Training, Kensington Close Hotel, London, 22 April 2009

Financial Crime & Fraud Conference: Fighting financial crime in a recession
Securities & Investment Institute, London, 23 April 2009

Annual Financial Crime Conference
FSA, The Brewery, London, 27 April 2009

Managing personal information - Getting the balance right between protecting privacy and processing and sharing personal data
Beever and Struthers, Manchester, 30 April 2009

Discipline, Grievances and Dismissal
JSB, London, 6-7 May 2009

Annual Conference 2009: Surviving the storm - preparing for recovery
Securities & Investment Institute, London, 7 May 2009

European HR Leaders Summit
Prague, Thursday 14th till Friday 15th May 2009

How to win at employment tribunals
Croner Training, London, 19 May 2009

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