A multi-team culture has become the norm in UK workplaces Teamwork is replacing the contribution of individuals working in silos, with one in 10 employees working as part of 10 different teams. A study by OPP shows a multi-team culture has become ingrained in the UK, with professionals asked to play many roles in different teams. Read more...	Human Resources 4 March 2010
The buyer's guide to... Skills testing Pre-employment skills testing is available for general and specialist competencies and is considered to be one of the most effective and clear-cut ways of ensuring a candidate is being truthful about their aptitude(s). Read more...	Recruiter 3 March 2010
Managers make decisions about people based on gut instinct rather than objective data According to the results of a study by OPP, 71% of all line managers would change the people decisions they've made if given a second chance. It's an indictment on the ‘gut instinct' culture that costs UK businesses millions of pounds in performance issues each year. Read more...	Human Resources 16 February 2010
Why recruiters shouldn't rely on gut instinct Relying on your instincts at interview might sound like a curiously old-fashioned approach. But it’s still pretty common: almost four in ten line managers still consider gut instinct to be one of the most important factors when making any kind of decision about the people who work for them. Read more...	Management Today 16 February 2010

2009

Cult of personality Coaches are more frequently using personality assessments as an extra development tool says Jenny Kidby, managing consultant at workplace psychologist OPP. Read more...	People Management 8 October 2009
Cut from different cloth Assessment in Asia has a quite separate look from that in Europe. Betsy Kendall, executive director and head of consultancy and learning at OPP argues that one way of making sure people from different cultures are treated fairly is to give training in how to tackle assessment tasks. Read more...	People Management 8 October 2009
Time is of the essence Shorter, sharper, cheaper: assessment hasn’t disappeared during the recession but organisations are certainly being cost conscious about it. Professionals working in assessment report both lower overall numbers and tighter profit margins, says Ameet Thakkar, a principal consultant at business psychologists OPP. Read more...	People Management 8 October 2009
Education sector puts more emphasis on qualifications than personality when hiring Formal qualifications are dominating HR procedures in the education sector so that personality is ignored when making hiring decisions, according to workplace psychologists OPP. Read more...	Human Resources 16 September 2009
Health sector managers are disconnected from their people According to the results of a study by workplace psychologists OPP, more than a quarter (28%) of healthcare workers feel their managers don’t understand their skills, preferences and motivations. The findings come at a time when the healthcare sector is under increasing pressure to unlock the potential of its workforce. Read more...	Online Recruitment 10 August 2009
My manager doesn't understand me Do senior managers really not know their staff well and can this lead to them making poor decisions? More than a third of workers in the public sector feel their managers don't understand them, according to a survey undertaken by OPP Business Psychology Consultancy. Read more...	www.publicservice.co.uk 3 August 2009
Redundancy: It's a psychological thing Decisions in redundancy situations have a massive impact on those who stay as well as those who go. Used as part of a mix of tools, psychometric instruments such as the 16PF add greater validity to, and an evidence base for, such decisions. Read more...	HR Zone 28 July 2009
Women more analytical than men in building their own careers, but not when it comes to others A day after The Apprentice's all-female final, workplace psychologist OPP has revealed it is women who make better career decisions than men - but only when it comes to themselves. Read more...	Human Resources 8 June 2009
Sugar relies on gut instinct to pick new Apprentice Sir Alan Sugar relied on his instincts in plumping for underdog Yasmina. So why the 12-week interview? Read more... \| "The OPPrentice" - OPP's wry Apprentice blog	Management Today 5 June 2009
How do I motivate my ostrich workers? OPP's Ameet Thakar explains how to motivate workers who have become demotivated by stagnant business growth and lack of resources. Read more...	People Management 21 May 2009
Real work: Tried and tested Below is an example of a verbal reasoning test. Read the passage, then answer the questions that follow. Read more...	guardian.co.uk 18 April 2009
Real work: Tried and tested Verbal reasoning tests form a major part of the selection procedures used by many employers - a measure of how well someone can understand, evaluate and manipulate information that has been presented in words. Read more...	guardian.co.uk 4 April 2009
10 tips for managing difficult people Ten top tips for how to manage difficult people in the workplace. Read more...	The Times 1 April 2009
Real work: Tried and tested Employers often view a candidate's sense of responsibility when recruiting. Research shows this links to good job performance, especially when the worker is unsupervised, and may be an indicator of the candidate's potential to become a manager or leader. Read more...	guardian.co.uk 28 March 2009
Psychometric testing in L&D Psychometrics can be a key implement in the learning & development toolkit - what's more they're ever more easily available. Read more...	Training & Coaching Today 5 March 2009
Real work: Tried and tested The following questions are designed to measure your behaviour towards other people and the behaviours you want back from them. By highlighting the difference between the two, the FIRO-B questionnaire can explain difficult workplace relationship issues. Read more...	guardian.co.uk 7 February 2009
Real work: Tried and tested The following are taken from a questionnaire designed to help people identify how their personality makes them similar to some people, and different from others. The conclusions should enhance your understanding of others and of yourself ... your motivations, your natural strengths and your potential areas for growth. Read more...	guardian.co.uk 17 January 2009
A week in HR: Brown in cash boost to stem rising unemployment The key story this week is the 'golden hello' that Gordon Brown is offering to employers willing to take on the long-term unemployed. In other news, a new survey has found that HR managers see employee retention as the greatest challenge this year. By Annie Hayes. Read more...	HRZONE.co.uk 13 January 2009
Working over Christmas 'receives co-worker criticism' More than three quarters (77 per cent) of workers feel that their colleagues who worked over the Christmas period were being 'martyrs' or a 'Scrooge', new research has suggested. Read more...	Witan Jardine 13 January 2009
'Scrooge' epithet for those who worked at Christmas Nearly half (46%) of UK employees went to work over Christmas but more than three quarters of their colleagues reacted negatively, labelling them as 'martyrs to their employer' or a 'Scrooge'. Read more...	HumanResources 12 January 2009