March 15, 2019

Management skills are the key to solving the productivity puzzle

New research from the Chartered Management Institute (CMI) claims that recently trained managers use on average 50 percent more of the structured management practices associated with increased labour productivity than those not trained within the last 12 months. The research, involving 940 managers, revealed that managers who received management training in 2018 used an average of 6 management practices, compared to an average of 4 practices for those who had received no management training over the same period. The impact of recent training on management practices can be seen across businesses of all sizes. (more…)

March 14, 2019

Neither bosses nor staff feel confident about future UK business environment

by Sara Bean • AI, News, Technology, Workplace

Two new reports published this week, show a lack of confidence amongst employers and employees within the UK business environment. The latest data in Gartner’s Global Talent Monitor report shows employee confidence in near-term business conditions and long-term economic prospects reaching an index score of 55.6 for the last quarter of 2018, a decline of 7.5 percent from an index score of 60.09 in 3Q18. These results follow a worldwide trend that has seen global business confidence sink to its lowest point since the fourth quarter of 2017. Meanwhile a survey of business leaders in the UK by management consultancy Lane4 found that bosses do not feel prepared to lead through future challenges like artificial intelligence and political volatility. (more…)

March 12, 2019

Workers are pessimistic about employment prospects in post Brexit era

by Neil Franklin • News, Workplace

A new report from Personal Group claims that British workers increasingly concerned with Brexit’s potential impact on their employment. The data suggests that with just one month to go, more than a third (34.25 percent) of UK residents believe that Brexit would affect their current employment in a negative way, an increase of nearly 4 percent (+3.82 percent) when compared to survey results from 2018. Only a negligible 3 percent of respondents think that Brexit will positively affect their current employment.

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March 12, 2019

UK jobs boom set to end as finance and business sectors lose confidence

by Sara Bean • Cities, Facilities management, News, Workplace

The boom in the UK jobs market is coming to an end just as the Brexit countdown reaches its final stages. According to the latest ManpowerGroup Employment Outlook Survey, the national Outlook for the second quarter of 2019 has fallen to +4 percent, on a par with the weakest levels of confidence seen in recent years. More worryingly, the negative Outlook in the Business and Financial services sector – which employs nearly a fifth of all UK workers – suggests jobs are set to be lost in Britain’s most important sector. The report found that the Finance and Business Services sector has fallen five points to -1 percent, only the second time in the last decade it has been in negative territory.

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March 11, 2019

Revisiting Maslow and the quest for self-actualisation

by Christian Jarrett • Features, Wellbeing, Workplace

Abraham Maslow was the 20th-century American psychologist best-known for explaining motivation through his hierarchy of needs, which he represented in a pyramid. At the base, our physiological needs include food, water, warmth and rest. Moving up the ladder, Maslow mentions safety, love, and self-esteem and accomplishment. But after all those have been satisfied, the motivating factor at the top of the pyramid involves striving to achieve our full potential and satisfy creative goals. As one of the founders of humanistic psychology, Maslow proposed that the path to self-transcendence and, ultimately, greater compassion for all of humanity requires the ‘self-actualisation’ at the top of his pyramid – fulfilling your true potential, and becoming your authentic self. (more…)

March 11, 2019

UK employers struggling with recruitment and retention of service workers

by Sara Bean • Facilities management, Flexible working, Workplace

The recruitment and retention of manual and elementary service workers has become a significant challenge for UK employers, claims a new study. The research by Quinyx in collaboration with Development Economics and Censuswide, found that factors such as low pay and a lack of flexibility are key issue, resulting in nearly half (49 percent) of UK employers finding it difficult to recruit these workers, and the same percentage reporting challenges around retention. Issues with recruitment and retention were discovered to be most acute in industries such as hospitality, catering & leisure and retail. In addition, larger businesses (those with a workforce of 250 to 500) are more likely to face challenges compared to smaller-sized businesses. Regionally, businesses in London and the East of England are most likely to struggle to recruit workers into manual or elementary service roles. The findings come at a time when UK employers are expressing growing concern around access to manual and elementary service workers post-Brexit.

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March 8, 2019

On International Woman’s Day – why advancing women is still not a business priority

by Sara Bean • Comment, Legal news, News, Workplace

It has probably not escaped your notice that today is International Woman’s Day, which for Workplace Insight means a plethora of studies on the topic of women/jobs/salaries and ways women might work differently to men. We’ve decided not to waste anyone’s time and ignored most of them (particularly the patronizing ones on how ladies are so intuitive) but managed to find a few kernels of information. First, the good news that women have doubled their share of top jobs at technology companies, pulling in higher salaries than men last year, according to executive search firm Odgers Berndtson. (more…)

March 8, 2019

RICS and CIBRE to publish new book on diversity in the real estate sector

by Sara Bean • Company news, Facilities management, News, Property, Workplace

RICS and CBRE have announced the publication of a new book: Managing Diversity and Inclusion in the Real Estate Sector, which will be launched at MIPIM 2019 in Cannes. Co-authored by real estate veterans, Amanda Clack, Head of Strategic Advisory at CBRE and Judith Gabler, Acting Managing Director, Europe for RICS, the book places diversity and inclusion (D&I) at the centre of successful real estate and construction organisations. The book provides guidance to, and most importantly actions for professionals in the sector who want to make D&I an inherent part of the culture of their organisation. The book aims to educate the real estate sector about what D&I entails and how a D&I strategy can be implemented to secure future success. It presents a practical and easy-to-read guide that can help organisations and their leaders engage with and apply this agenda to win the war for talent in real estate and construction. It seeks to be about action not words and help those in the sector #BeTheChange.

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March 7, 2019

Firms must break bad habits if they want to improve relationship with employees

by Neil Franklin • News, Workplace

To select, engage and retain the best talent, companies are going to have to break their entrenched bad habits, according to a new report from The Myers-Briggs Company. It claims that its Global Trends Report (registration) sets out how businesses can select the best employees, provide effective leadership and help their people to work together efficiently and harmoniously, despite a rapidly changing and increasingly complex business landscape. (more…)

March 6, 2019

It’s not a skills gap, it’s a diversity gap

by Agata Nowakowska • Comment, Workplace

As digital transformation impacts organisations in every industry, the workplace as we know it is evolving fast. For IT leaders, the accelerated rate of technological change means the pressure is on to deliver, manage and secure new platforms. But the wider ramifications of digitalisation projects are proving profound, leaving business executives facing a dilemma. (more…)

March 5, 2019

Employees want good tech and flexibility but stick with their own fixed desk

by Sara Bean • AI, Facilities management, Flexible working, News, Technology, Workplace

Almost two-thirds of those staff (60 percent) say inadequate technology is the biggest productivity blocker at work and by failing to do its job properly it is making life difficult for employees. This frustration trumps unnecessary bureaucracy, inefficient processes and annoying colleagues – other factors that stop employees from being productive, claims research from Cloudbooking. The research suggests that the digital piece of the employee experience puzzle is more prominent and important than expected – it is in fact the single most important factor with 90 percent of UK office workers who said efficient technology is important to their overall experience. Currently fewer than one in ten UK employees are “extremely satisfied” with their workplace experience, indicating there is significant room for employers to improve it by delivering better technological resources. However, despite wanting to embrace more flexible working, staff still prefer their own fixed desk.

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March 1, 2019

Overworking staff hurts productivity, says TUC on ‘work your proper hours day’

by Sara Bean • Flexible working, News, Wellbeing, Workplace

Today is the TUC’s 15th annual Work Your Proper Hours Day, marking the fact that, according to the union, the average person doing unpaid overtime has effectively worked the year so far for free. A new analysis of official statistics published today by the TUC argues that UK companies claimed £32.7 billion of free labour last year because of workers’ doing unpaid overtime with more than 5 million people putting in an average of 7.5 hours a week in unpaid overtime during 2018. TUC General Secretary Frances O’Grady said: “It’s not okay for bosses to steal their workers’ time. L (more…)