About Neil Franklin

Neil Franklin is Insight's news editor

Posts by Neil Franklin:

EU issues mandate on standard charging port. The UK and Apple moan about it

EU issues mandate on standard charging port. The UK and Apple moan about it

charging portsBy autumn 2024, USB Type-C will become the common charging port for all mobile phones, tablets and cameras in the EU, Parliament and Council negotiators have agreed. The provisional agreement on the amended Radio Equipment Directive, establishes a single charging solution for certain electronic devices. This law is a part of a broader EU effort to make products in the bloc more sustainable, to reduce electronic waste, and make consumers’ lives easier. More →

Strategic workforce planning blocked by lack of data and defined employee responsibilities

Strategic workforce planning blocked by lack of data and defined employee responsibilities

strategic workforce planningPoor data quality and a lack of clearly defined roles and responsibilities within the organisation are amongst the key challenges management faces when implementing vital strategic workforce planning (SWP), according to new academic research. The researchers also claim that a lack of methodology to execute a strategic workforce plan and the lack of support across all organisational units of the firm were contributing to a slower and less efficient strategic workforce planning. More →

Recruitment challenges are rooted in geopolitical unrest

Recruitment challenges are rooted in geopolitical unrest

recruitment challengesAccording to a new poll from SumTotal Systems 60 percent of learning and development professionals think the current wave of recruitment challenges have their roots in wider political and economic  upheavals. The report also claims that 65 percent of L&D professionals are concerned about their organisation’s ability to meet skills demand over the next 24 months, given the current UK economic outlook. More →

Are these the best countries in Europe for work-life balance?

Are these the best countries in Europe for work-life balance?

work-life balanceA new study from recruitment firm Remote claims to analyse how European countries are looking after the work-life balance of their employees. The report sets out to take an ‘holistic’ view on work-life balance taking into account of factors such as minimum wage, maternity leave, statutory annual leave, sick pay, the country’s healthcare system and the country’s overall happiness level to help workers determine the best locations for life-work balance. The UK comes in a lowly 28th place, in case you didn’t want to click on the report link. More →

Employers must do more to encourage active travel and cycling to work, says charity

Employers must do more to encourage active travel and cycling to work, says charity

cycling to workNew research carried out by YouGov on behalf of Cycling UK claims that 43 percent of young people (18-24-year-olds) are considering changing their method of travel to include more public transport and cycling to work due to expected increases in transport costs. The findings are published as the reduction in disposable income forces households to tighten budgets and workers are forking out a greater proportion of their income simply to get to work. More →

Working from home means half of remote employees have never met colleagues

Working from home means half of remote employees have never met colleagues

working from homeThe recent surge in the number of people working from home in the US means that more than half of remote working employees have never met their colleagues, according to a new report from Green Building Elements. The figure was highest in Nebraska, where 89 percent hadn’t met their workmates face to face. For those in Kentucky and Montana, only 17 percent haven’t met their colleagues properly. The survey also claims that just 41 percent of employees said their company regularly organises online social events which can also help bonding. More →

Demand for a four-day week continues to grow

Demand for a four-day week continues to grow

four-day weekAccording to a new report from ADP exploring employees’ attitudes towards the current world of work, six-in-ten (60 percent) UK workers would like more flexibility as to when they work, such as condensing hours into a four-day week. This number increased to two-thirds (67 percent) in Greater London. The report claims that this desire for great flexibility comes at a time when there is a mental health “ticking timebomb” in workplaces. Over half (51 percent) of men and 45 percent of women believe that their work is suffering due to their poor mental health. This is leading to over a quarter (29 percent) of workers actively trying to change their job and/or move into another industry. More →

Change can make employees cynical so must be managed by effective communication

Change can make employees cynical so must be managed by effective communication

changeProviding clear, timely explanations and implementing an effective communications strategy can help minimise the damage to employee morale in the wake of adverse or significant change, new research from Aalto University School of Business and others suggests. Professor Marjo-Riitta Diehl and colleagues from Vlerick Business School, Católica-Lisbon School of Business and Economics, and University of Waterloo, discovered that workers vary in their level of attachment to the organisation that employs them and this affects how they react to major changes. More →

A third of UK office workers have no dedicated workspace at home

A third of UK office workers have no dedicated workspace at home

workspace at homeOver a third of UK office workers have no dedicated workspace at home, and only 6 percent have been trained for hybrid meetings, claims a new report from Leeds University Business School. The report is an interactive tool and suggests practical measures based on evaluation of stakeholders and employee interviews, industry workshops, cross-industry surveys of UK office workers, employee diaries and case study corporations. More →

Decarbonisation of buildings key to cities hitting net zero targets

Decarbonisation of buildings key to cities hitting net zero targets

decarbonisation of buildingsCity governments are setting ambitious sustainability targets, often well ahead of national goals; yet plans to tackle the carbon emissions from buildings are frequently given insufficient attention. To deliver an effective plan for the decarbonisation of buildings, partnerships with landlords, investors, developers and occupiers are essential, the report claims. In a study of 32 global urban centres, Decarbonising Cities and Real Estate, JLL’s research claims that real estate’s contribution to emissions averages 60 percent, even higher in the world’s largest business centres – as much as 78 percent in London, 73 percent in Tokyo, 71 percent in Washington, DC, 70 percent in Paris and 66 percent in New York. More →

Office occupiers should invest in neurodiversity, report argues

Office occupiers should invest in neurodiversity, report argues

office occupiers neurodiversityA new report from the British Council for Offices urges landlords and office occupiers to invest in design for neurodiversity, as disabling workspaces continue to hinder wellbeing. The report examines how the neurodiverse community remains underserved and often unsupported in the current employment ecosystem, and in turn, outlines the considerations that built environment practitioners can take to make offices enabling environments, and the crucial role of more inclusive designs. More →

Only a quarter of remote workers feel connected to company culture

Only a quarter of remote workers feel connected to company culture

remote workersThree quarters of HR leaders feel that hybrid work challenges employees’ connection to organisational culture, according to a survey from Gartner. The poll of more than 200 HR leaders claims the most challenging aspect of setting their hybrid strategy is adjusting the current organisational culture to support a hybrid workforce. While 40 percent of HR leaders reported they have increased their culture budget since the beginning of the pandemic, the survey of more than 3,900 hybrid / remote workers in December 2021 suggests only one in four are connected to their organisation’s culture. More →