About Jayne Smith

Posts by Jayne Smith:

Office still valued by UK employees, providing space for productivity and collaboration

Office still valued by UK employees, providing space for productivity and collaboration

employeesNew research from Nespresso Professional claims that the office space is still highly valued by employees, with office workers naming seeing their colleagues (39 percent) as the thing they like most about being in the office. While a proper desk setup (31 percent) comes in second, office camaraderie (30 percent) took the third spot, showing the importance of the office environment for team building and relationships. More →

Net zero target will be missed by over half of organisations, claims report

Net zero target will be missed by over half of organisations, claims report

missing net zeroJust 41 percent of UK organisations are on track to meet the Government’s target for net zero carbon emissions by 2050, according to new research released by Dr Chris Brauer, Goldsmiths, University of London in partnership with Microsoft. The findings suggest strong ambition and strategic vision on sustainability within UK organisations, but most leaders are struggling to translate that intent into action, with almost three quarters (74 percent) described as having “one foot in and one foot out” on sustainability. More →

Activity climbs in third quarter for London office market

Activity climbs in third quarter for London office market

LondonThe latest research from Avison Young claims that the London office market’s recovery continued in the third quarter of 2021, with activity in the occupier market increasing to 2.4 million sq ft, 26 percent above the previous quarter and 1.1 percent above the 10-year quarterly average. More →

Three quarters of UK businesses think that remote workers pose a greater threat than office workers

Three quarters of UK businesses think that remote workers pose a greater threat than office workers

workersIn a survey of UK cyber security, IT and business professionals commissioned by WatchGuard Technologies, 75 percent of respondents believe that remote workers pose a greater IT security risk to their business than office workers.

More →

High hopes Gen Z will close the digital skills gap – but young people are in a confidence crisis

High hopes Gen Z will close the digital skills gap – but young people are in a confidence crisis

digital skillsThree-quarters of tech leaders think Gen Z will solve the digital skills shortage (72 percent), with an even higher number (77 percent) believing these ‘digital-natives’ have the best ability of any generation. However, while half of Gen Z have a career in tech or firm plans to pursue one in the next five years (46 percent), they have low confidence in their digital abilities. More →

People professionals boosted their skills in response to pandemic challenges

People professionals boosted their skills in response to pandemic challenges

professionalsNearly two thirds (61 percent) of HR and people professionals strengthened their skills – through either upskilling or reskilling – as a result of their organisation’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic, the latest People Profession survey report from the CIPD and Workday claims. More →

Impact of flexible work demonstrates a fragile post-pandemic business world

Impact of flexible work demonstrates a fragile post-pandemic business world

impactLucid and Vitreous World, have launched the results of new research that surveyed individuals across the UK to analyse employee sentiment and the impact of flexible work as a direct result of the pandemic. More →

HR leaders’ number one priority for 2022 is building critical skills and competencies

HR leaders’ number one priority for 2022 is building critical skills and competencies

critical skillsNearly 60 percent of HR leaders reported that building critical skills and competencies will be their number one priority in 2022, according to a survey by Gartner, Inc. The survey of more than 550 HR leaders in July 2021, claims the other top HR priorities for 2022 are: organisational design and change management (48 percent), current and future leadership bench (45 percent), the future of work (42 percent) and diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) (35 percent). More →

One in five Brits left in dark over return-to-office plans

One in five Brits left in dark over return-to-office plans

officeMillions of British workers face uncertainty as a snapshot of the nation’s work practices claims that one in five employees are unsure whether they’ll be expected to work remotely, onsite, or a mix of both in the future. Without having a clear decision from their employer, some employees are unsure about their organisations’ return-to-office plans. More →

Risk of generational progress grinding to a halt unless young job seekers can level up too

Risk of generational progress grinding to a halt unless young job seekers can level up too

youngA new report highlights a combination of regional disparities in access to jobs for young people, a shrinking youth labour market and an unequal recovery. This could result in young people being ill-equipped to meet the future demands of the labour market, further compounding skills shortages currently faced by employers. More →

Hybrid work attitudes – leadership still face challenges aligning their strategy

Hybrid work attitudes – leadership still face challenges aligning their strategy

leadershipResults from Howspace’s new global survey indicate that despite 94 percent of surveyed respondents feeling well-equipped to transition to a hybrid work model, leadership teams still do not have clarity for how to lead teams and work together with people as the results show very different preferences for sharing their thoughts and opinions within an organisation. More →

CMI calls on the Chancellor to invest in management and leadership or risk ‘levelling up’ failure

CMI calls on the Chancellor to invest in management and leadership or risk ‘levelling up’ failure

managementAhead of the Comprehensive Spending Review on 27th October, the Chartered Management Institute (CMI) is calling on the Government to commit to crucial investment in management and leadership as a central part of its ‘levelling up’ agenda. More →