How HR Can Contribute to Organisational Brand Management Nowadays, employers are increasingly expected to deliver an excellent employee experience, treating their employees as they would customers. In doing so, companies may develop employee brand ambassadors who actively want to share their experiences and recommend the company.  On the other hand, if employees have a negative experience at a company, this could lead to reputational damage, especially in the age of the internet where information can be easily and [...]

Challenges and Opportunities of AI in R&D Bringing a drug to market is a hugely costly process. It is also becoming increasingly lengthier, and this is a major challenge for pharma companies. To stay competitive and meet market demands, improving the efficiency and productivity of their activities is an important priority.  AI and the ever-increasing availability of data present opportunities to do exactly that. Through technological developments and the aid of intelligent machines, it is believed that companies can [...]

Staying Healthy and Productive as Remote Work continues Everyone has experienced the shift to remote work differently, depending on their personal situation and preferences. Although people will weigh up the pros and cons differently, there are certain challenges that come with remote work, namely reduced in-person social contact and a lack of physical distinction between home and work. Now, with remote work continuing [...]

Why Emotional Intelligence is Vital for Successful Leaders Emotional intelligence (EQ) was named by LinkedIn as one of the Top 5 Soft Skills in 2020, defined in this study as “the ability to perceive, evaluate, and respond to your own emotions and the emotions of others.”  In recent years EQ has become increasingly recognised as a trait integral to excellent and desirable leadership. The stress and hardships inflicted by the Covid-19 crisis are also highlighting its importance, with leaders having [...]

Planning for Long-Term Hybrid Work Since the pandemic-driven transition to remote work, studies on remote work are in consensus that workforces can be productive and efficient without being co-located.   A hybrid working model - where teams comprise of employees working remotely and on-site - means less office space is needed and offers employees the possibility for flexible working, among other benefits. And although remote work can bring certain downsides, the home working ‘experiment’ has driven companies to consider alternatives to [...]

Encouraging Candid Employee Feedback Obtaining candid feedback from employees is not always an easy task. Employees may be reticent to give negative feedback, and leaders may be disinclined to expose themselves to criticism and put themselves in a position of potential vulnerability.  However, feedback can be hugely valuable to organisations. Gallup’s study of 469 business units, found that units with managers who received strengths feedback exhibited a higher profitability of 8.9% following intervention. Additionally, encouraging feedback could strengthen the employee voice, which research has linked with greater organisational employee engagement. So, how [...]

How to Achieve More Inclusive Remote Meetings Meetings help shape company culture and are thus an important component in building inclusive organisational cultures. However, according to a Harvard Business Review study at a global bank, only 35% of employees felt able to make a contribution at all times during meetings.  As many meetings are now taking place virtually, a new set of tools unique to [...]

The Growth of Telehealth and the Implications for Pharma Last year, largely driven by Covid-19, the use of telehealth services surged. According to the American Academy of Family Physicians, the term telehealth denotes “a broad collection of electronic and telecommunications technologies and services that support at-a-distance healthcare delivery and services.” Including virtual consultations, reminders, and mobile health, among other services, the rise of telehealth and [...]

Strategies for Succeeding under Pressure Managing pressure effectively is an important element of success at work. Indeed, high-pressure situations can be sites of learning, growth and professional development, as we feel pressure when the outcome is important to us, such as a critical mission or a public speaking event. In “Performing Under Pressure: The Science of Doing Your Best When It Matters Most,” Hendrie Weisinger and J.P. Pawliw-Fry argue that pressure itself in fact has a [...]

Technology to Support Workplace Wellbeing and Mental Health Mental health and wellbeing constitute a major challenge for organisations across the globe. According to the World Health Organisation, depression and anxiety cost the worldwide economy US$ 1 trillion per year due to lost productivity.   In recent years, technology-enabled mental health solutions have been on the rise in society more widely, and research suggests that this trend has reached the workplace. According to an Accenture study, 83% of employees [...]