Mentorn is advertising for a new editor for BBC's Question Time, which presumes that the current postholder Gerry Gay will be moving on from their base in Glasgow around September-time, after three years in the job.
You have until 15th May to construct up to 1000 words "on the challenges for the programme over the next two years and how you would meet that challenge."
There'll be a little bounce in the stride of the BBC's HR Massed Bands, after the culture report, conducted by an HR Director-turned-consultant, repeated concerns that their service had been 'hollowed out' and needs extra resource and capability. I'm not sure The Sun will agree.
Not covered by the report - the BBC's cumbersome Agreed Procedures, particularly the Grievance Policy and the Disciplinary Policy. These have been used over time by management, employees and unions, as quasi-judicial ways of delaying, and, often, avoiding decisions. Remember, Huw Edwards was still part way through one of these when he resigned 'on medical advice' last April, 10 months after he was first suspended.
So the report calls for a "Respond Unit", which, to this reader, relies on informal resolution that many staff and union reps will find unpredictable.... and looks just as expensive as the old ways.
We recommend the creation of a stand-alone Respond Team, sitting independently of other departments.
Its purpose is to bring wide-ranging improvements to the process of resolving critical issues and the end-to-end case management process.
We recommend the team is staffed with full-time employees from existing functions (including Manager Advice) and Support at Work, together with those deployed to the team for particular cases, including Hearing Managers, SCMF [Specialist Case Management Framework] and Corporate Investigations.
Over time, through the Respond Team, HR Business partnering and leadership and management capability development, leaders and managers will be equipped with the skills, and confidence to resolve issues. We believe this will increase trust in the process and speed of resolution in line with an appropriately higher risk appetite. Most of all, it will provide the parties involved with the support they deserve.
I note a suggestion firmly pointed at "Commissioning" in the BBC Workplace Culture Review...
In a survey for the Workplace Culture Review at the BBC, 30 % of freelancers said they had encountered inappropriate behaviour working on a BBC assignment; less than half (47%) said they would feel safe speaking-up at the BBC and less than half (47%) felt confident the BBC would deal with inappropriate behaviour if they reported it. The majority of freelancers (58%) did not believe that the BBC would hold people appropriately accountable for their behaviour.
Congratulations to Anthony Zurcher, honoured by the White House Correspondents Association with the the first "Center for Integrity in News" Reporting Award.
The BBC News website features the Texan's piece on Trump's First 100 Days co-written with Tom Geoghegan, with additional reporting by Mitch Labiak, Nicole Kolster, Gustavo Ocando Alex and Madeline Halpert.
Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy may be the justifiable victim of rumours about her competence as a Minister. Telling the Telegraph that the licence fee is 'unenforceable' is like popping an Alka-Seltzer in the bathroom mug of existing evasion levels.
She kicked the BBC's position further with repetition of the half-story about prosecutions for evasion 'targeting women'. No-one in the BBC or Capita has ever sat down and said "How many women can we get fined today ?". Still her language is unchanged: "I 've been concerned about the way it's been enforced in the past, with women - particularly vulnerable women - targeted for enforcement action, and the BBC itself has accepted that".
The BBC has explained, rather than accepted, this issue, Lisa, and tried to sort it. More than 60% of single adult households are female compared to less than 40% male, and the licence fee is tied to households. Single households are more likely to be in financial trouble; and financial support charities have identified a clear gender 'debt gap' flowing from unequal caring responsibilities, lower pay, and lower lifetime earnings.
Other areas where more women than men get in trouble with the courts - truancy, benefit fraud and Council Tax non-payment. The Government's favoured Single Justice Procedure has brought more out-of-court settlements, but also more 'not guilty pleas'.
The other thing Ms Nandy should be doing is steering the debate about future financing of the BBC towards a solution, rather than leaving all options open. What else is her department for ?
Oh dear. In the view of the editor of the Six O'Clock News on BBC1 last night, the second most important story in the UK was a teacher hitting another teacher with an adjustable spanner. The video was clearly so compelling it was shown twice in the reporter package. In the 60s and 70s court reporting of gruesome crime was a staple of the prim Daily Telegraph. Now it seems BBC News is following the same path.
Some headlines from the UK site this morning:
Gangster who ordered acid attacks caught after five-year hunt
Museum thieves jailed for cage fighter murder plot (London)
Man who killed estranged wife jailed for 27 years (Devon)
Man killed after 'long-standing grudge' - jury told (Kent)
Man jailed for life after murdering 'gentle giant' (Nottingham)
BBC staff might like this handy when they listen to DG Tim Davie and Chair Samir Shah explain how they're going to deal with bullying etc on Monday, in response to the Workplace Culture Review conducted by Change Associates.
In May 2013, Change Associates published their recommendations on how to restore "Respect at work", after the Jimmy Savile stuff. The BBC promised to implement them all.
What's it like to work in BBC News ? Every year the management bravely puts a series of statements in front of staff, and asks for marks. 54% answered the questionnaire this year, up 1% on the previous exercise.
HR put the figures through a magic machine and come up with an employee engagement score; News got 59%, down 1% from 2024. The BBC-wide score is 64%.
CEO Deborah Turness is frank about the negatives: "Our scores on how we handle bullying and harassment are not where they should be, with 48% thinking we deal with concerns appropriately and only 43% of people saying they have confidence in our whistleblowing policy."
"This year 30% of you say the BBC applies pay principles fairly and transparently, and 36% say total compensation is fair." The first figure is down from 33% in the previous year's exercise.
She doesn't give the figure on "confidence in the future direction and strategy of BBC News" - 42% backed the management in 2024.
The BBC HR team uses SAP Success Factors for recruitment, staff management and tracking performance. SAP Success Factors in turn is adding AI features. In the latest release of "Performance and Goals", the programme offers a manager text suggestions when writing performance reviews, such as:
Comment suggestions based on the skill and rating selected, helping evaluators provide constructive, growth-centric feedback
Performance insights for managers, which analyzes talent data and summarizes employee’s strengths, achievements, and areas for improvement
Sentiment analysis for 360-degree reviews to help employees quickly identify negative or mixed feedback, highlighting areas that need improvement and enabling focused professional development.
I'm sure Beeboids engaged in "My Conversation" will be thrilled to know their managers may be being bolstered by Artificial Intelligence.
