Management, and HR especially, often have a bad reaction towards new online technologies like social networking, SMS, blogging, online chat (MSN) and so on.

Online engagement tools appear to take up a lot of time, and cause staff to lose focus as they rapidly switch from one task to another.

After a year of non-stop bad news it is good to see little shards of light emerge from the darkness. The recent European Chamber Business Confidence Survey 2009, done in conjunction with Roland Berger Strategy Consultants, produces the necessary illumination.

Conflict is rife in the office environment right now, as players jockey for position.

No one wanted to be on the redundancy list last time around, and no one wants to be on the list next time round.

Getting to the root of a candidate’s experience, skills and motivations at interview is difficult at the best of times. It is especially so when you have a line manager that is clearly determined to block the candidate in front of you both, or even block the entire hiring process.

Like rats leaving a sinking ship, skilled and experienced employees who leave your company are often seen as less than ethical.

They’re not, but resignations hurt, and this makes it easy to be judgmental.