The People Skills programme (a UK pilot which ran from July 2015 to October 2016) provided small firms with HR assistance and advice. Supported by J.P. Morgan through the JPMorgan Chase Foundation, and delivered through the CIPD and local partners in Hackney (London), Stoke-on-Trent and Glasgow, a small group of independent HR consultants provided free employment and people management advice to small businesses on demand. The CIPD also made its HR Inform support system available to project participants.
A team from Manchester Metropolitan University Business School then evaluated the pilot through surveys and interviews with project stakeholders.
On 10 October 2018 we held a free event for small-medium business owners and discussed how they could improve productivity via better people management, communication, objective setting, performance appraisal, and training (all of which are fundamental to improved productivity and growth).
Our event drew on recent research by the CIPD People Skills Team People Skills – Building ambition and HR capability in small UK firms.
The CIPD has recommended a national rollout of the People Skills initiative as part of a renewed focus in industrial strategy on enhancing workplace productivity by boosting managerial quality, increasing investment in skills and strengthening the quality of business support through local level institutions.
Read the report here.
CIPD Manchester Branch 