Publications

In terms of engagement and motivation, the evidence shows that well-managed flexibility elicits higher performance and the potential business benefits of flexible working on productivity, financial performance, quality, employee attraction, retention, commitment and reduced absence are well documented. This benchmark aims to provide data and a crucial insight into what is currently working in practice, what needs to work, and the direction of future organisational focus.

This report sets out findings from qualitative research with a range of higher education institutions in England to explore the impact of the new student support arrangements on the policies, planning and behaviour of universities and higher education colleges. It brings together findings from an initial investigation, prior to the introduction of the arrangements, with experiences after these had been in place for just over three years.

Revised equality duties covering seven equality strands were due to come into force in 2011 - at the time of the review the duties covered race, gender and disability. This report draws on 97 qualitative interviews with Jobcentre Plus staff to provide insight into staff perceptions of their individual and collective responsibilities for implementing the equality duties, views about the training and support they had received about the equality duties and to capture their experiences of working with customers, employers, other partners and colleagues in upholding this legislation.

This research report, produced for the IES HR Network, looks at the initiatives that HR functions took to reduce redundancy and protect skills during the recent recession. The aim of the research was to see whether organisations were responding to economic problems differently than in the past, and, if so, why there were adopting these strategies; and to consider whether such initiatives might have longer term beneficial impacts.

This report examines the measures used for anticipating and managing restructuring in the 27 Member States of the European Union at the end of the first decade of the 21st Century. Restructuring is defined here as any change in the structure of an organisation with an impact on the employment or working conditions of the workers.

A rapid evidence review was undertaken of literature relating to work-based assessment for the National Police Improvement Agency. A systematic search of the literature was conducted and the findings synthesised into a report, with a list of implications being identified for the NPIA.

Several organisations that realise the importance of a diverse senior team, and are attempting to address inequality at this level, have asked IES to investigate what is going on: what are the barriers stopping women from getting to the top, are HR systems and processes inadvertently discriminatory, and what actions should organisations take? Although the majority of this client work has explored the career paths of women and the obstacles and enablers they have encountered, many of the findings can be applied across all under-represented employee groups.

There can be no doubt now that the public sector is going to have to find significant savings over the coming years. HR will have to both play its part in facilitating that process but also find its own new ways of working. This may not be painless but, as many are recognising, a crisis can often also be an opportunity to go back to first principles and make more radical changes to ensure that the service is truly fit for purpose.

This research captures data on issues relating to the consultant practitioner role in clinical imaging. It explores their impact on service operations and service improvement, and hence their immediate impact on clinical imaging services at two National Health Service (NHS) trusts in England.

This report presents, for the first time, the career destinations and impact of research graduates three years after graduation. It shows that doctoral graduates feel their studies increase their capacity to contribute to innovation and make a real difference in the workplace. The report examines people’s motivations for undertaking doctoral study, the employment rates and occupations of graduates and the extent to which doctoral graduates have an impact in their job.