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Here’s a lesson on how not to hold on to your top talent: the BBC Ross/Brand fiasco.

After a week of bad headlines and public condemnation, both Russell Brand and Lesley Douglas, controller of Radio 2, have resigned and the future of Jonathan Ross looks doubtful as he serves out his three-month unpaid suspension.

While not to everyone’s taste, in my mind these are two of the best comedians around at the moment, and if the situation had been better managed or the correct procedures been there to prevent the broadcast going out in the first place, they would still be on the BBC’s airwaves. You only have to look at their viewing figures and the fact that they can command such high salaries to realise their worth.

But who can blame Brand for quitting? If my employer publicly shamed what I do and gave me no support whatsoever I’d be pretty annoyed too. This is definitely the BBC’s loss as I’m sure Brand will continue a flourishing career elsewhere.

For Ross things are a bit more complicated. His age and salary tie him to the Beeb a bit more, but having been warned by director general Mark Thompson that this is his last chance, I wouldn’t blame him if he also got fed up. I’m sure he’ll be looking to the other broadcasters as soon as his £18 million three-year contract is up. As for his current suspension – this feels like a schoolboy punishment at the expense of the BBC’s audience. I love Friday Night with Jonathan Ross and certainly won’t be watching Speed tonight (its replacement, and not even a halfway decent horror film for Halloween, have they really lost touch this much with what people want to watch?). To me, given that Sachs has accepted their apologies, this action was completely unnecessary. The BBC’s mantra of ‘creating content that the audience loves’ has totally gone to pot.

So where does the buck stop? With whoever allowed this piece of rubbish to go out on air. What on earth were they thinking? Comedians will naturally push the boundaries and in this case someone needed to intervene.

Lesley Douglas showed great integrity in her resignation and wish that junior staff should not be blamed. But she played no part in the decision to broadcast the phone calls and therefore should have stayed. Credited with turning around and modernising sleepy Radio 2, she is a huge loss of talent for the BBC and, ultimately, its audience.

In addition to investigating the details of what went wrong on the night, surely the BBC needs to ask some deeper questions about their communications strategy as the slow response, mixed messages and long silence after the event only served to compound the situation. For one of the world’s largest media organisations to fuel bad press in this way is particularly shameful.

Ironically the person most likely to benefit from this whole debacle is the least talented of all: Andrew Sachs’ granddaughter. I suspect the bookies are already taking bets on the likelihood of Georgina Baillie being on the next Celebrity Big Brother. And the worst part is that this will only go on to further erase people’s memories of Sachs’ wonderfully funny portrayal of Manuel on Fawlty Towers.


See also Tim Smedley's blog, 'BBC's self-flagellation must end'Comments [0] Recent postings
I was disappointed by today’s announcement that Ruth Kelly is to leave the Cabinet. Not because I think she’s a fantastic minister (there are very few of those about at the moment), but I was sad to hear her reasons behind the decision. Stepping back to spend more time with her family sends out a message that it is not possible to combine motherhood with a senior government position. While I applaud her for lasting this long (combining taking care of four children under the age of 11 and such a high-profile position is no mean feat), her resignation says much about female career progression and the gender pay gap associated with it. If the government can’t put its own house in order and allow women the flexibility required to combine a top job and a family, what hope do other employers have? Undoubtedly, business needs more female role models and, unfortunately, women MPs have just lost a major one. For this reason, I can only hope that her family was the real reason behind her exit, and not any rift with the leadership or policy direction as some commentators have indicated. It would be a cruel blow to women’s rights otherwise.Comments [0]

Given the CIPD has been holding its annual conference and exhibition in Harrogate for 60 years, the fact that this is my third time here is hardly a triumph. But for me, and I’m sure many others, the place has become almost synonymous with HR and all that comes with attending a CIPD conference.

While I have seen some great speakers and witnessed industry-leading debate in the conference halls, the event extends well beyond these walls. I’m sure Carrington’s nightclub, the many Indian restaurants and the Holiday Inn bar will leave long-lasting memories among much of the HR profession (and with a few journalists too!).

And of course there’s Betty’s. Whose trip to Harrogate is complete without a trip to the world-renowned tea rooms? Even if delegates don’t have time for the full works at breakfast or tea time (and judging by the queues they usually do), few suitcases are complete without some tasty treats to take home.

But it’s now time to say goodbye to Harrogate and all that comes with this lovely Yorkshire town, and hello to Manchester in 2009. A new venue will undoubtedly bring excitement and fresh discoveries, but watch out Manchester – HR is on its way en masse!

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The importance of good leadership has come into the political spotlight more than ever over recent months. In times of uncertainty we look to our leaders for encouragement and guidance, but instead we have been presented with tales of infighting and plots to takeover. The polls even indicate that bringing back Tony Blair is the only way to increase Labour’s popularity and I’m sure the attractiveness of David Miliband is partly down to his similarities in style to the former PM. But is this a case of the public simply harking back to the good times (economically, at least, let’s not forgot about the divisive nature of the war in Iraq and the near meltdown of the party towards the end of Blair’s tenure) or is there a genuine recognition that right now we need a strong leader more than ever before?

My insight into the leadership styles of both Blair and Brown is somewhat limited, but recent events reminded me of something Alistair Campbell said at this year’s CIPD HRD conference. The former director of communications and strategy for Blair called his old boss one of the most impressive leaders of modern times. He said he was a natural communicator who trusted his staff to get on with their jobs. Compare this to the anecdotes about Brown being a control freak, as well as his lacklustre way of communicating. It therefore comes as little surprise that the nation –– and his own team – lack confidence in their PM in difficult times. David Cameron, like Blair, comes across as a natural communicator and the pair definitely have a charismatic edge that Brown lacks. (You can vote in our latest online poll about this very subject!) It will therefore be interesting to watch the outcome of the party conferences which take place later this month. The People Management news desk will be attending them so look out for articles in the magazine and online.

Leadership is also currently a massive issue on the other side of the Atlantic, as Americans prepare to decide on their next president. What I find most interesting is the importance both parties have placed on their choice of vice president. Was John Prescott or Harriet Harman ever the deciding factor in our elections? Sarah Palin on the other hand might well be. Is this because, as many of the commentators have so kindly put it – she is just one 72-year old’s heartbeat away from becoming president – or is it because she’s a woman and the American’s are ready for change?

A vote for Democrat Obama clearly spells change too – but is this all simply change for change’s sake? I urge the Americans to look beyond race and gender to their genuine leadership qualities. There’s no denying the next few years are going to be tough on an economic level and we don’t know what other new challenges the future holds. The role of the leader to support, guide and inspire their people has therefore never been more important.

After almost eight years with George Bush in charge, I genuinely feel the American people deserve change for the better. But I hope that their first black president or female vice president is voted in for the right reasons.Comments [0]
Am I alone in feeling sorry for the kids caught up in the middle of all this debate surrounding the new 14 to 19 diplomas?

As a thirteen-year-old I remember the difficulty I had in choosing my GCSE options, even though the school had conveniently already decided most of them for me. I was presented with the same quagmire again two years later for my A-levels, but at least for me they were the only qualifications on offer. Now added to that choice are Pre-Us, the IB, IGCSEs and of course, from September, the new diplomas.

If they were simply a vocational route, or a single overarching diploma that replaced everything as recommended by the Tomlinson review, the problems over their value would not have occurred and they would not pose such a risk to the young people who choose them.

Tomlinson’s motives were noble – putting an end to claims that vocational qualifications were inferior to academic ones, and at the same time creating better routes from the classroom to the workplace. But in an attempt to preserve the ‘gold standard’ of A-levels the government has delivered a half baked version, and diploma students will have to hope that they are not left out in the cold by both universities and employers. Worse still, whichever route they take, they will be judged against those taking GSCEs and A-levels. In a society that is so biased towards traditional education, can they really be given a fair trial?

It’s just another case of the government asking for expert advice – Sir Mike was the former chief inspector of schools – and then not having the guts to go through with it. But this time innocent teenagers, alongside bewildered parents and teachers, are caught in the middle.

For the sake of the kids I hope that the new diplomas prove valuable and I urge employers to give them a chance. Given the bad press, one skill that all of the 20,000 teenagers who sit the qualifications in September will have is balls, and in the workplace that’s not something to be ignored.Comments [2]