By Jennifer O'Brien From an organisational perspective, engagement is the ‘engine of the vehicle’. It begins long before the employment contract is signed and continues right throughout the employee lifecycle. To give an overarching view on employee engagement, it can be carved into three areas; cogn...

By Jennifer O' Brien Recently, the concept of a traditional career is being challenged, which in turn is steering companies toward constant learning experiences that allow employees to build skills quickly, easily, and on their terms. These new learning models are challenging the traditional concept of a static ca...

By Jennifer O'Brien We have all heard the age-old saying that people leave managers, not organisations. Historic and recent literature both stress the need to hold Line Managers accountable for talent. But, is this the case? Should a portion of the blame not fall on the shoulders of HR, and the organisation alike?...

By Jennifer O' Brien A McKinsey Global Institute study predicted correctly that employers in North America and Europe will demand eighteen million more third-level educated workers than will be available in 2020. Even throughout the COVID pandemic, we can see the demand for highly skilled talent remains. This wi...

As part of our Fastnet blog series, I have been asked to share some insights with you from my recent master’s degree thesis in International Business, completed at Cork Institute of Technology in 2019. In 2017, I began the Master’s in International business as a part-time evening student, supported by ...

Last week, I began my series of articles to delve into the topic covered in my MA HRM thesis. The thesis focused on the extent to which Strategic Talent Management is understood, and properly utilised, in the Life Science Sector in Ireland. I chose this sector as the focus of the study due to the significant presence o...

In 2016, I began a Master’s Degree in Human Resource Management with Cork Institute of Technology, now Munster Technical University. Throughout my time in this degree programme, as well as my work with Fastnet – The Talent Group, I became very interested in the concept of Strategic Talent Management and how...

Eoin Burke-Kennedy had a recent article in The Irish Times captioned ‘Irish exports hit record €15.7bn in March as demand for medicines surges’. Quoting the latest figures from the CSO he went on to advise that: “goods exports rose by €4.3 billion or 38 per cent in the space of one month in ...

Our professional and personal lives were transformed by Leo Varadkar’s announcement on March 13th. Working in recruitment, I constantly have discussions with clients and candidates on traits such as flexibility, being adaptable or a self-starter, dealing with difficult situations; but I never would have thought t...