April 21, 2016

Brexit referendum has not diminished demand for London office property ⁰

by Sara Bean • Facilities management, News, Property

Political uncertainty over the Brexit referendum has done little to diminish demand for London office property, despite it causing the commercial property market to experience a nervous start to the year. According to the latest research from Colliers, the number of vacant offices still remains low, with occupiers appearing to be relatively un-phased by external political and economic upheaval. There has been some high profile lettings and a healthy number of new large scale enquiries in the first quarter of this year – but transactions and searches have become protracted and supply shortages are undermining occupier expansion plans. However demand for office space amongst media and tech firms is diminishing in some locations. While Q1 2016 figures show that media and tech accounted for 38 percent of demand for office space across London, in the traditional media enclave of the West End, the figure fell to just 13 percent of demand, down from 45 percent in 2015.

April 20, 2016

Traditional performance management fails to match new digital workplace ⁰

by Sara Bean • News, Technology, Workplace

Performance management plays a key role in helping organisations measure how effectively their employees are contributing to business objectives. Yet despite 94 percent of workforce leaders in a global survey believing performance management improves business performance, only 39 percent of them think their current practices help to achieve their organisation’s business objectives. This isn’t just the employers’ view, within the workforce, 89 percent of people believe their performance would significantly improve if changes were made. The main reason for this credibility gap is the impact digital technologies are having on the nature of both work and the workforce. In the Accenture Strategy report, Is Performance Management Performing? – 92 percent of respondents report that work is faster, more networked and collaborative, and demands ever-evolving skills. This means that organisations need to innovate to keep pace.

April 19, 2016

UK Government extends groundbreaking One Public Sector Estate scheme ⁰

by Mark Eltringham • Facilities management, Flexible working, News, Public Sector, Workplace design

A groundbreaking scheme which encourages UK local authorities to reduce the space they occupy, share offices and cut the amount of property they own is to be extended. The Government is inviting new councils to join the One Public Sector Estate scheme which already has more than 100 participants including Derby City Council (pictured). It has allocated an additional £35 million to expand the programme with councils encouraged to apply for a share of funding. The Government hopes all councils will be signed up by 2018. Although the scheme is in its infancy and results are not yet fully known, the most recent 24 partnerships are expected to generate around £138m in property sales and save £56m in running costs over the next five years, as well as free up space for 16,500 new homes. The scheme is jointly delivered by the Local Government Association and the Cabinet Office’s Government Property Unit. Our special report on innovative approaches to public sector property can be found here.

April 19, 2016

Three day working week is ideal for the over 40s, claim researchers ⁰

by Mark Eltringham • Flexible working, Knowledge, News, Workplace

A new report from Australian academics suggests that workers aged over 40 perform better and have generally improved wellbeing if they enjoy a three day working week. Called Use It Too Much and Lose It? The Effect of Working Hours on Cognitive Ability, the study of 6,500 men and women was carried out by researchers at the Melbourne Institute of Applied Economics and Social Research at the University of Melbourne. They gauged a range of subjective and objective factors based on data drawn from the Australian government’s Household, Income and Labour Dynamics survey as well as looking at work habits and factors such as type of employment, lifestyle and family. The researchers asked participants in the study to take part in cognitive tests the results of which suggest that the optimum working week is around 25 hours. Conversely the study suggest that the cognitive ability of those working about 60 hours a week can be lower than those who are not employed at all.

April 19, 2016

‘Only’ a third of employees take part in corporate wellbeing programmes ⁰

by Mark Eltringham • News, Wellbeing, Workplace

Although the vast majority of employers (89 percent) say that the wellbeing of employees is important to them, participation in corporate mandated health programmes remains ‘low’ with only 38 percent of employees worldwide participating in any wellbeing activity or health-related management programmes in the last year, according to research from insurers Willis Towers Watson. In addition, 41 percent of European employers say they lack the budget and resources to deliver an effective programme. The research claims that the top five health related issues of most concern in Europe are stress (74 percent), sedentary lifestyles (45 percent), presenteeism (33 percent), obesity (32 percent) and nutrition (31 percent). In response to these issues, organisations have initiated a range of programmes, the most common of which are onsite vaccinations (62 percent), diet and exercise (61 percent), health risk assessments (58 percent) and biometric screening (53 percent).

April 19, 2016

Four in ten UK workers don’t feel they’re good enough for their job ⁰

by Sara Bean • News, Wellbeing, Workplace

Impostor syndrome – a fear of not deserving your job, is said to haunt even the most successful people. But according to new research, a lack of effective training is leading more and more ordinary workers to fear they’re not up to their job. According to the new study from the Association of Accounting Technicians (AAT), around four in ten UK workers don’t feel they measure up to the demands of their chosen profession. Sixty-seven percent admitted they were ‘out of their depth’ in their work situation, while 40 percent expressed fears they would be exposed at some point for not being that good at aspects of their job. Half of those who took part in the survey even went as far as to declare they felt they ‘chanced their luck’ on aspects of their job. A staggering 75 percent went as far as to admit they were ‘lucky’ to secure their job given the competitive nature of the current employment market and the quality of other candidates.

April 18, 2016

Great strides made towards fourth industrial revolution, but more to come ⁰

by Mark Eltringham • News, Technology

Many countries and organisations are making significant strides in the development of the fourth industrial revolution, but there is much work still to do. Those are the conclusion of two new studies into the preparedness of firms and national economies with regards to the emerging digital economy. The Cisco Digital Readiness report surveyed technology decision makers in eight countries and eight industries, categorising them as either ‘forwards’ and ‘laggers’. According to the report, globally, the ‘forwards’ have an average score of 77. The UK’s score is 75 placing it largely at the forefront of developments. According to a second report from PwC, Industry 4.0: Building the Digital Enterprise, the digitisation of businesses is progressing well, but with a lot of scope for development. The survey of more than 2,000 global companies found that 33 per cent of firms rate their digitisation levels as high, but the value will hit 72 percent over the next five years.

April 17, 2016

Stress and sedentary working remain the UK’s greatest productivity drains ⁰

by Mark Eltringham • News, Wellbeing, Workplace

The effects of stress and sedentary lifestyles mean that the average UK worker loses nearly 24 days of productivity each year, according to a major new report. The study, part of an initiative called Britain’s Healthiest Workplace from VitalityHealth, Mercer, the University of Cambridge and RAND Europe surveyed 32,538 workers and claims that these two factors alone account for an average of 23.5 days of lost productivity each year, equivalent to an annual loss in GDP of £ 57 billion. Stress remains a particularly important issue with three quarters of respondents (73 percent) saying they suffer some form of stress. The two sectors most affected overall also recorded higher incidences of stress. People working in the healthcare and financial services industries lost the most days (26.6 and 24.9 days per employee a year respectively), while tech workers claim to have lost only 18.9 days per employee per year.

April 15, 2016

Employers’ and workers’ views on an engaging workplace differ widely ⁰

by Sara Bean • Knowledge, News, Workplace

Business growth is radically redefining how employees are managed, especially as there is greater competition than ever to hire the best people from a much more demanding employee population. Yet employees report that a lack of development, outdated processes, and discontent with the role of their managers are causing them to feel dissatisfied according to Mercer’s 2016 Global Talent Trends Study, the first to take into account the perspective of both employers and employees. While 85 percent of organisations admit that their talent management programmes need an overhaul, 70 percent are confident about filling critical roles with internal candidates, 28 percent of employees say they plan to leave in the next 12 months even though they are satisfied with their current role. Managing these challenges requires support but only 4 percent of HR professionals feel that the HR function is viewed as a strategic business partner within their organisations.

April 15, 2016

Office demand prompts rise in level of London commercial construction ⁰

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

London has reached the highest level of commercial construction since 2008, with activity totalling £7.4 billion. According to JLL and Glenigan’s latest UK Commercial Construction Index the level of speculative office development under construction in Central London totalled 8.3 million sq ft at the end of Q1 2016, well ahead of the long term average (5 million sq ft) indicating that developers are continuing to respond to London’s burgeoning requirements for new office floor space. In the West End office market alone, construction started speculatively on nine schemes in the first quarter of this year totalling 596,997 sq ft; the highest level of commencements since the end of 2014. The largest starts were at Brunel, W2 at 241,000 sq ft, which is scheduled to complete in 2019 and The Foundry, W8, a refurbishment planned to complete by the end of this year totalling 110,000 sq ft.

April 14, 2016

Londoners work less flexibly than elsewhere, despite longer commutes ⁰

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

Londoners are less likely to work flexibly than the rest of the UK, despite having much longer commuting times. This is according to the results of new research by the CIPD which found that many Londoners are travelling for the equivalent of at least one full working day in a ‘typical’ week. They spend an average of 47 minutes travelling to work each way compared to the national average of 31 minutes, and their average travel to work time increases to 56 minutes each way, if you consider a combination of both employees who live in London and those that commute into the capital from outside the M25. The data also reveals that flexible workers in London are more satisfied with their jobs, feel under less pressure and have better work-life balance than those who don’t work flexibly. In its policy programme, Opportunity through work: A manifesto for London, the CIPD is calling for a campaign to increase the uptake of flexible working in the Capital.

April 13, 2016

IFMA and RICS join forces to establish a “global FM community” ⁰

by Sara Bean • Facilities management, News, Property

While the debate over the fate of FM bodies; from the role of the BIFM to the demise of its trade associations the Facilities Management Association, (FMA) and its successor the Building Futures Group (BFG), rolls on; the International Facility Management Association (IFMA) and the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) have gone ahead and organized their own “landmark” collaboration agreement. This aims to leverage both organizations’ existing resources in education, research, conferences and events, and external relations. IFMA and RICS also vow to work together to align credentials and qualifications to shape a single FM career path with “demonstrable professional status which is recognized and respected globally”. Another shot across the bow of the BIFM is that RICS professionals who have qualified in FM will automatically receive IFMA member benefits. In turn, IFMA members and credential holders will be able to attain RICS professional qualification and benefit from RICS’ international standards and global professional network.