THE HUB’S WEEKLY NEWS SNIPPETS

At The Hub, we always like a feel good story as well as informative ones that are relevant to our industry and to business more widely. Here’s our top stories this week that made us smile, frown, or pause.

WHAT A DIFFERENCE A DOG MAKES: A very special part of our business is Jack The Office Dog. The benefits of having a dog at work are immeasurable, but it’s still not a widespread practice. Australia is catching on with an initiative of helping people de-stress at work by cuddling a puppy. Read more about it below – but perhaps we’ll see more dogs at work this side of the equator.

http://www.employeebenefits.co.uk/puppies-help-de-stress-australian-workplaces/?cmpid=ebupdate_2065470

900,000 RETAIL JOBS TO GO: One of Monday’s big stories builds on the news we reported a couple of weeks ago – that huge job cuts are likely in the industry over the next few years. The British Retail Consortium’s report on this huge issue says that it’s not just digitalisation and the move to on-line shopping that will cause this, but also because of the national living wage, and shop rental rises. Sir Charlie Mayfield, chairman of John Lewis, gives an interview on these issues in the third link, including his view that the industry is being complacent about this very real and serious issue.

http://www.brc.org.uk/downloads/BRC_Press_Statement_Retail_2020_v.3.pdf

http://www.brc.org.uk/downloads/Retail_2020_(final).pdf

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-35683726

BUY YOUR WEEKLY SHOP FROM MORRISON’S – VIA AMAZON!: So Amazon is diversifying into food – and has signed a deal with Morrison’s to be its supplier, giving the supermarket a 6% lift in its shares. The deal has an adverse knock on effect for Ocado, whose share price tumbled by 8% as a consequence. This is a helpful article that explains the ins and outs.

http://www.theguardian.com/business/nils-pratley-on-finance/2016/feb/29/morrisons-pragmatic-deal-with-amazon-hard-to-argue-with

COLLABORATIVE RECRUITMENT – IT MEANS YOU’RE INVOLVED: You might be watching the new BBC2 programme Who’s The Boss. It’s a 3-part series that builds on a practice Steve Jobs really believed in, and which Pret for instance use extensively. It’s about getting people involved in recruiting their manager. And with vacancies on the rise, and poor recruitment decisions costing companies hugely in time and money, it’s bound to be a trend that’s growing. Here’s a link about it in more detail – and do watch the programme on BBC2 the next one is on Tuesday, but you can catch up on episodes 1 and 2 on iPlayer.

http://www.cipd.co.uk/pm/peoplemanagement/b/weblog/archive/2016/02/23/opinion-collaborative-hiring-worked-for-steve-jobs-and-it-could-work-for-you.aspx?utm_medium=email&utm_source=cipd&utm_campaign=cipdupdate&utm_term=68296&utm_content=020316-5093-6239–20160302085110-Opinion%3A%20Collaborative%20hiring%20worked%20for%20Steve%20Jobs%20-%20and%20it%20could%20work%20for%20you

At The Hub we hope you found these stories of interest. Do let us know what you think, and if there are any areas of interest you’d like to see included. Look out for our next Weekly Snippet on Wednesday 9th March.