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Prime Minister Theresa May has called a surprise general election for this summer, taking place on the 8th June, despite saying she wouldn’t in the past weeks. She said the change of heart came about because “the only way to guarantee certainty and security for years ahead is to hold this election”.
She will not have to overturn the Fixed-term Parliaments Act to call an early election. The Act reads: “The Act . . . makes provision to enable the holding of early parliamentary general elections . . . [if] a vote by at least two-thirds of all MPs [are] in favour of an early election.”
Despite breaking another promise – see below – May appears to have the one thing that other political parties do not have: unity. Before embarking on a change programme, all businesses, aided by an aligned HR department, should have the full backing of the workforce and, perhaps more importantly, the Board. Speaking to us earlier this year, Planet Organic’s HR Director Kim Gieske gave us her three tips to get Board buy-in, noticeably saying that communication is key.
She detailed her relationship with her CEO: “[I] speak to him all the time. Mine sits three metres away from me so I talk to him about ten times a day. And as a team of Directors there are only four of us and we are a very tight team. We meet and speak all the time and we work very closely together.”
This surprise announcement will also provide a lesson in crisis management for opposition parties – one only the public can decide the outcome of. Speaking to us last week, Dr Tim Sprakes, Practice Lead & Occupational Psychologist at Hudson, detailed what exactly is expected of a leader during a crisis. “A true leader must illustrate the ability to convince others that they’re the person to successfully steer the organisation through a crisis,” he said.
“Key to this are facets including persuastion, helpfulness (consideration for others’ problems) and motivation. Mike Ashley and Sir Philip Green have definitely exhibited strong leading mindsets in the past, but they could both be said to be lacking consideration for the problems of others in recent times.” He offered his tips to lead in a crisis. They were: take a moment to get your head around the situation; predict and counteract your employees’ emotions; act decisively; be honest; and post-scandal analysis. More detail can be found by following the link below.
For advice and guidance from a UK leading specialist in Employment law, HR and Health and Safety Services, please contact HPC.
Link to HR Grapevine article on this story: https://www.hrgrapevine.com/content/article/news-2017-04-18-theresa-may-calls-snap-general-election-the-value-of-unity