Hourglass

Hourglass was launched in August 2005, with the aim of filling a gap in the market for strategic thought leadership for senior HR players. Developed in conjunction with Croner, the leading publisher of information on HR and employment, it has been specifically designed to distil key issues and add new insights into areas of interest for HR professionals.

Each edition addresses a range of current HR issues that are affecting businesses in Europe and the wider world.

Below are a number of article contributions from PricewaterhouseCoopers taken from recent issues of Hourglass.

Past the sell
We can't afford the financial burden that the next generation of retirees will represent - and we can't afford to lose their skills either.

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Not my department
Taxes are not traditionally an area of concern for the HR department, but they nevertheless represent a significant business risk. Facing up to the pitfalls will help HR improve its commercial profile.

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The Russians are coming
Stimulating, stressful and unpredictable - the business climate and HR issues around working in Russia are not enough to deter talented and determined executives from home and abroad.

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Facing the public
A disconnect between reward and performance and an over-reliance on central pay bargaining: the costly wage bill for public services in the UK could be addressed by looking at bonus and performance related pay measures.

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Lost in action
International assignments are increasingly popular as a means of developing talented individuals and addressing business needs in overseas locations. However, they are no longer a certain means of generating long-term loyalty and often represent a poor return on investment. George Yeandle and Alan Johnson, of our international mobility team, discuss some of the issues.

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Winner takes all
It is not just market forces that determine pay and reward. Cultural factors and dynamics play a strong part according to a new book by Sandy Pepper, senior partner in PwC's HR services practice

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People on their minds
An extensive survey of the attitude of CEOs worldwide, carried out by PricewaterhouseCoopers, identified a number of business trends with far-reaching HR implications. As CEO of PwC International Ltd, Samuel A. DiPiazza Jr. recognises some of their concerns.

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A personal interest
Jon Terry, leader of the human resource services reward practice at PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP, believes that we can all learn something from the way private equity firms motivate management by encouraging them to make a personal investment in their business.

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The prisoner's dilemma
Warfare, sport, diplomacy and business are all areas that have made use of game theory as a means of evaluation risk. Yet, it has only been put to limited use in the field of human capital management. Sandy Pepper suggests some scenarios where it could help.

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A time of reckoning
Neville McKay discusses how HR directors in the UK must negotiate the potentially conflicting agendas of their main Board on the one hand and their company pension trustees on the other.

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Information in an overloaded world
How do you get your employees to listen to you, and talk back? Making yourself heard in the modern world demands skill in both content development and message delivery. Michael Rendell looks at capturing the interest of employees

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Peacemakers
HR directors needn't call in sick in the face of the current pensions conundrum. Richard Farr believes that they are ideally placed to bring the technical wizards and different interest groups together in search of the right solution.

View / print now (212K PDF)