Best Practice develops an exciting new gender pay gap solution.
As part of our commitment to a fair future, we are using technology to provide employers with innovative solutions to their gender pay gaps. Our new tool, Equalise, will be launched with test clients later this year.
The UK has a gender pay gap of 8.3%. This means that for every £1 a male employee is paid, on average, a female employee only receives 91.7 pence. And despite laws requiring large employers to report their gender pay gap since 2017, progress has been slow. Employers agree that change is needed, but few have been able to identify effective solutions.
Equalise is an innovative platform for large employers that are struggling to make meaningful progress in closing their gender pay gap. The platform utilises algorithm-based machine learning to analyse readily accessible organisational data of the client (such as sector, workforce make-up, geographical location, recruitment practices, flexible working practices, etc.) against curated external data to establish root causes of gender pay gaps and provide tailored recommendations.
This is the first platform to utilise machine learning for this purpose and will give employers the tools to make meaningful improvements to their gender pay gap.
To find out more, go to equalyse.co.uk
Performance management: Horror to Hope
Ask a room of managers for their thoughts on tackling underperformance and you’ll usually see a tinge of fear in their eyes and hear phrases like; ‘it takes forever’, it’s too hard’ or even ‘you can’t! Many will have a war story to tell, often involving a grievance or an employment tribunal claim, and happy endings are few and far between.
As a result, for most employers, performance management is the exception not the rule.
The reasons for these negative perceptions are complex and long-standing but at the core is organisational culture. Very few organisations have a true high-performance culture. Whilst talk of ‘high performance’ is commonplace, the difficult conversations, that are needed to bring it to life are often lacking.
But it doesn’t have to be that way. Managers have the right to manage performance, and employees have the right to be developed and supported.
It’s akin to an underpayment; if an employee was paid 1% less of their salary, they’d be quick to ask for that 1% and yet employers regularly accept 5, 10, 15 or 20% less than what the business expects with no action or consequence.
So, what can be done…?
Well, the starting point it is tackling poor perceptions of performance management. Too often it is seen as a route to exit, used when the working relationship has broken down. Whereas it should be a path to progress. A tool to support, develop and retain. Unless and until that becomes the reality, performance management will inevitably be underutilised and organisations will continue to miss opportunities to support their employees to do better.
Successful performance review project
Client: A start-up tech business with a rapidly growing team.
Background: Best Practice were approached to assist with implementing a performance review process that aligned with the organisation’s values and ambitions.
Process: We worked closely with line managers to develop a process that was simple and flexible, in line with their existing practices. We also created a diagnostic tool to sit alongside the review process, which enabled managers to review each employee’s performance, assess their strengths and opportunities for improvement and develop and identify the support they would need to progress. Along with a communications plan developed with the marketing team, we were able to develop a positive energy around the process, ready for its launch.
Results: The first round of reviews was completed within 2 weeks as all managers were engaged with the process and saw the benefits for both them and their team. Although still in its infancy, the feedback from employees has also been positive with recognition of the focus on improvement and the opportunity for recognition.
New service offering
We are excited to share our new service offering; personalised performance management strategies along with hands-on implementation projects. Our full package of support can embed an effective performance management culture at every level of your organisation.
Each strategy is tailored to the organisations needs and values and can include performance audits, board level feedback, performance-based mission statements, management training, policy reviews and case- based support.
The benefits include improved productivity, improved well-being and engagement, better employee attraction and retention and empowered managers.
Digitation project for HR team
Client: GeoAmey, a government contractor providing prisoner transportation services.
Background: In Spring 2020 GEO Amey were moving offices but had accumulated extensive paper HR records (2500 files comprising 250,000 pages). The room where the files were stored was at capacity making access and organising the files challenging. Furthermore, the HR team were aware of the sensitive nature of some of the documents and wanted to ensure they complied with their data protection obligations.
The Process: Best Practice and Post Partner and turned out to be the perfect solution for GEO Amey given their combined employment law and digitisation expertise. All the files that GEO Amey needed to keep were cleansed, digitised and uploaded to their Sharepoint environment in less than a month. This allowed them to destroy all of the physical files and prevented them from wasting space in their new offices.
The Results:
- £1000’s saved in storage space
- Simplified employee file management
- All employee information in one place
- Easy to find an individual employee record quickly and efficiently
- Easier to comply with GDPR
Testimonial: “I can recommend the services of Best Practice and Post Partner very highly when it comes to digitisation projects requiring real care and attention. Their management team were quick to understand our requirements and the sensitivity of the data we hold. They were fully informed from a data protection point of view and were able to deliver the project efficiently. The job was done ahead of time, on budget and with a minimum of disruption to our operation.”
– Head of HR
A medium-sized employer based in the North-West
Client: A medium-sized employer based in the North-West and operating in the manufacturing sector.
The background
Best Practice were asked to support with a complex grievance. We provided advice and guidance to HR and the grievance hearing manager throughout the investigation and outcome process. This ensured that the complaints were addressed, and a satisfactory conclusion was reached for all involved. As part of the lessons learnt process that followed the grievance, we identified a failure to proactively manage a performance concern as one of the factors that had led to the grievance.
The process
As a follow-up to the lessons learnt, a performance audit was conducted which identified a number of areas for improvement with regard to both informal and formal performance management. Based on budget and resources, these areas were prioritised and understanding of the role, adequacy of policies and manager confidence, were identified as initial areas of focus. A project plan was developed to address each of these areas and rolled out with support from the Best Practice network.
The results
Within 8 weeks of the completion of the project, improvements were already being seen including:
- A number of instances of effective informal performance management;
- Positive feedback from individual employees regarding feedback approaches from managers that completed the training;
- 20% increase in the use of the performance management process.
Next steps: The audit will be repeated after 6 months, to formally assess the improvement made and identify further opportunities to improve the approach.
Harassment & Perception
The balance between intention and perception in harassment cases is always a difficult one. The Equality Act is clear that harassment can occur where the ‘effect’ of unwanted conduct is to violate dignity or cause offence.
In the case of Ali v Heathrow Express and Redline Assured Security Limited, the Employment Tribunal concluded that in light of the circumstances of the case, it was not reasonable for the conduct to have the effect alleged by the Claimant.
The case involved a security exercise whereby a suspicious box with the words ‘Allahu Akbar’ was placed in a bag to test the airport security officers. Following the test, an email was sent confirming what had taken place, along with an image of the box. Mr Ali claimed that these actions amounted to harassment on the grounds of religion, on the grounds that the language used on the box conflated Islam with terrorism and amounted stereotyping. Redline contended that the wording had been used in recent terrorist attacks and was therefore appropriate.
On appeal, the decision was upheld, and the Employment Appeal Tribunal confirmed that the Claimant’s perception is only one of the factors to be taken into account when assessing the effect of unwanted conduct.
This case provides some helpful clarity on the way in which the definition of harassment should be applied. However, perhaps more importantly it is a reminder of the need for sensitivity and awareness in the language used in the workplace. It may have been that with more awareness of the way in which this language could be perceived, the claim could have been avoided in the first place.
Unfair Dismissal & Covid-19
After the uncertainty of Covid-19 and what it meant for employers, we are starting to see the Tribunal assessing the fairness of the approach taken in the early stages.
It is too soon to draw any hard and fast rules but there is some recognition of the difficulties faced by all involved at the time.
In the case of Rodgers & Leeds Laser Cutting Limited, the Employment Appeal Tribunal considered whether a dismissal was automatically unfair when it resulted from an employee refusing to return to the workplace because of ‘serious and imminent danger’ if he were to contract Covid-19 and pass to his vulnerable children.
The EAT upheld the Tribunal’s decision to dismiss the claim, accepting that whilst an employee could believe that the workplace posed ‘serious and imminent danger’ in these circumstances, on the evidence, Mr Rodgers did not. They also concluded that if he had, he could have taken steps to avoid such danger by following the safety protocols that were widespread at the time.
Of note was the fact that Mr Rodgers had been willing to engage in other activities that posed a similar risk including driving a friend to the airport and working in a pub.
These cases will continue to provide useful guidance in respect of any future restrictions and health and safety concerns more generally.
Best Practice European Expansion
We are pleased to announce that we now have the option to operate from Portugal to allow us to continue to support clients across Europe post-Brexit.
We will continue to offer the same range of services and will be available for remote and on site for clients as appropriate.
For any client that requires a service provider within the European Union, please do not hesitate to get in touch.
We also have a network of partners across the EMEA region to provide regional guidance as required.