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Research on employee share plans and employee ownership has made an impact in the media and on government policy. Pendleton's research has influenced and increased media discussions of participation in share plans, financial knowledge, and plan outcomes in the specialist reward and financial press. Additionally, the research impacted upon government policy in two ways: one in informing a government decision not to remove the tax benefits connected with share ownership plans; and two, in contributing to an enquiry which has subsequently had a significant influence on the views of the main political parties towards employee ownership.
The impact of the Hull University Business School`s (HUBS) research on ESV emerged out of a project with Yorkshire Bank and Irwin Mitchell Solicitors (August 2010-July 2011) and a separate project with the Co-operative Group and the Federation of City Farms and Community Gardens (FCFCG) (February 2012 - January 2013). These led to wider impacts on:
1) Corporate ESV policies of the case study companies.
2) Hull and East Yorkshire Community Foundation (HEYCF) approaches to ESV and engagement with business.
3) Securing new funding from the ESRC Knowledge Exchange Opportunities Grants Scheme in partnership with HEYCF.
The Change Management Consortium (CMC) is a collaborative network of academics and organizations seeking to improve knowledge and practice on staff engagement in the strategic implementation of change. Research done at the University of Bath has helped organizational members of the CMC internally to improve employee trust and to build commitment to change. The CMC provides member organizations (including: Aviva, Ernst & Young, GKN, GlaxoSmithKline, Kraft Foods, the Ministry of Defence and T-Mobile) with opportunities to utilise highly relevant research findings in order to create cross-organizational dialogues on improving practice. The broad aim of the research is to move from strategies for change based on alignment with management requirements, to strategies for change informed by employee engagement. One of the CMC members, Her Majesty's Revenue and Custom's (HMRC) provides a specific case example of the benefits of this research, which led to acknowledged improvements in trust and employee engagement.
Research on employee ownership (EO) conducted by Professors Lampel and Bhalla at City University London has made a substantial contribution to the evidence base used by the UK government to formulate and introduce policies aimed at boosting employee ownership. Evidence on the resilience and flexibility of EO firms, as well as the barriers that they confront, played an important role in the launch on 4th July 2013 of a new government policy to make employee ownership more accessible, including the injection of £50M annually to support EO models. Greater adoption of the EO model in the private sector benefits employees and employers and improves the wider economy. The evidence provided by this research has also led to a greater focus on EO in the public sector, with government policies now being formulated to encourage greater adoption of EO, specifically in the areas of health and social care, benefiting additionally the recipients of services and their families.
The UK's adoption, and implementation in 2004, of the European Union's (EU) Information and Consultation of Employees (ICE) Directive had profound implications for industrial relations in the UK, which historically had no provision for works councils (a representative structure where management meet with employee representatives to discuss working conditions). Professor Mark Hall's research on the impact of the ICE Regulations on organisations has had an impact on both policy and implementation of the Regulations at the UK and European levels. The outputs from the research have helped to inform UK policy-making, and supported significant European reviews of the legislation as well as contributing to improving professional practice through training and information.
Research at Kingston University into employee engagement was taken up by the Chartered Institute of Personal Development (CIPD), a major international HR professional institute, which changed its policies and professional training offerings as a result of the research findings. This had a consequent effect on the practice of HR professionals.
Two large UK firms also made substantial changes to their HR practices as a result of engaging with the research, improving employee engagement and satisfaction and reducing staff turnover and absenteeism.
King's research on interactive service work changed understanding of the causes of absenteeism at the Metropolitan Police's Central Communications 999 emergency call centres in London. This led to the implementation of new human resource policy initiatives to tackle the problem and, as a result, reduced absenteeism by approximately one third, from 17.47 days per staff member in April 2011 to 11.13 days in April 2013 and saved the emergency 999 Service in excess of £1 million in sick leave payments. The Metropolitan Police commissioned this research on the basis of long-term, continuing research on interactive service work at King's. The human resources initiatives associated with the marked reduction in absenteeism included an extensive training programme to facilitate a more participative form of supervision and the introduction of new shift arrangements.
This research into treatment for employees with disabilities provides one of the UK's Equality Performance Indicators and recommendations from it have been incorporated into UK legislation. Hundreds of organisations have used the research to promote better treatment for employees with disabilities; public-sector employers, including government departments, have relied on it to meet their statutory duties and it has helped the UK to fulfil its international treaty and convention obligations in respect of people with disabilities. This research has helped the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) to fulfil its statutory role to promote equality and human rights.
Employee relations in Britain have undergone fundamental change in the last three decades. Research by Lewis, Upchurch, Croucher and other colleagues has tracked these changes identifying the decline of collective bargaining and the rise of alternative forms of employee voice. The impact of this programme of research has been evident in influencing the evolution of wider public debate on issues of employee voice and shaping the development of policy frameworks and specific policy initiatives in the UK and abroad, particularly concerning whistleblowing. Impact has been apparent through influencing the development of employment culture and the respective practices of employers, unions, and human resources/industrial relations practitioners.
Research by the University of Southampton's Work Futures Research Centre has contributed significantly to the design of management change processes and policies across a range of organizations in the UK and internationally. The Centre's research has informed a new training and qualifications framework and improved programme performance for healthcare workforces involved in digital innovation; led to new recommendations for sustainable workplace design to enhance employee well-being and productivity promoted by the British Council of Offices as part of their evidence base on office re-design; and influenced the development of organizational and professional guidelines for gender equality at work.