April 30, 2019
HOK has released the second volume of HOK Forward, its annual report exploring a crucial issue in workplace design. HOK Forward: Tech Workplace Takes Center Stage investigates the distinct threats and challenges facing the tech sector and explores how these same challenges are affecting all companies, regardless of the industry in which they operate. More →
April 30, 2019
Last week, news emerged that an automated system at Amazon had started firing low performing workers, highlighting the new role of AI and automation in traditional HR practices. Now a new report from the CIPD claims that the use of such systems will have a widespread but mixed impact on jobs. According to the study, the introduction of these new technologies at work will see job opportunities grow, by enhancing roles, employee skills and their pay. However, lack of thought and planning on how people and technology work together is reducing productivity improvements and increasing the risk of people being left behind.
April 29, 2019
Only half of UK employees consider their organisations to be effective at creating a positive work environment and only two fifths consider their employer to be effective at creating meaningful work. With 84 percent of workers stating that employee engagement and productivity are linked and 68 percent say their organisations do not measure the correlation between employee engagement and productivity – suggests UK business leaders need to think differently to prevent productivity slumps. The findings are from the Deloitte Human Capital Trends 2019 survey, which tracks the top trends shaping the agenda for HR and business leaders both in the UK and globally. Employee experience, leadership and learning, respectively, led this year’s top 10 UK trends.
April 29, 2019
Governments need to overhaul their approach to employment and jobs to reduce further social and economic tensions, according to a new report from the OECD which explores the future of work. Without rapid action, many people, particularly the low skilled, will be left behind in the fast-changing world of work. The OECD Employment Outlook 2019 is part of the OECD’s Future of Work initiative and the “I am the Future of Work” campaign, which aims to make the future of work better for all, helping to transform learning and social protection systems and reduce inequalities between people and across regions.
April 26, 2019
The UK Government has unveiled new qualifications which it claims will help to give adults the digital skills they need to succeed in the modern world. Free courses will be offered to thousands of people to help the 1 in 5 UK adults with no or low basic digital skills learn how to thrive in an increasingly digital world. The new qualifications, unveiled by Apprenticeship and Skills Minister Anne Milton, will be based on new national standards and will be available for free to anyone over the age of 19 from 2020. They have been designed to help adults learn the essential skills, such as sending emails, completing online forms or using a tablet, that many people take for granted. More →
April 17, 2019
Siemens has launched a new web-based application which reveals the readiness and potential of six major cities to embrace digitalization and develop new ways of living, working and interacting. The Atlas of Digitalization is based around the interconnected themes of Expo 2020 Dubai – Mobility, Sustainability and Opportunity – and assesses how the fourth industrial revolution has already impacted urban life around the world, and the potential it could have in the future. More →
April 17, 2019
According to the latest report by Nielsen Norman Group, Office 365 is one of the most popular platforms for intranets. Providing a rich toolset, it helps to build multifunctional and eye-catching corporate intranets that improve employee collaboration and communication and streamline business processes. Let’s see whether an Office 365 intranet is as good as described and try to look through its reported benefits with a cool head. More →
April 15, 2019
BSRIA has launched a new guide that aims to inform those involved in the design, construction and operation of a building about how an effective Business-Focused Maintenance (BFM) regime can be developed and achieved through the Soft Landings approach. The topic guide on Soft Landings and BFM is written as an ‘at a glance publication’ to give readers a glimpse of the subject and recommends further reading. More →
April 12, 2019
Away from you know what, one of the most talked about issues this week was the news that the smart devices we’re voluntarily incorporating into our homes are not just obeying us but acting as microphones on our lives. This is happening in the context of growing mistrust of the world’s tech giants, uncertainty about our relationship with technology and taps into a primal fear about control and surveillance. All of this is complicated by the fact that these systems of surveillance are not the telescreens of 1984 but the products of private sector firms who currently often exhibit ‘power without responsibility’, as Kipling once said about the media. More →
April 12, 2019
The UK’s regional cities are competing harder than ever with London to become the location of choice for the tech sector. According to CBRE’s report ‘Tech Cities: Exploring tech hotspots in the UK regions’ Manchester ranks number one amongst the top 10 UK tech location outside of London, but Scotland features highly with Glasgow and Edinburgh in second and third position respectively. Birmingham has risen three places, from seventh to fourth position but smaller conurbations such as such as Reading, Oxford, Cambridge, Southampton, Brighton and Bracknell also feature, based on their concentrations of tech employment, tech businesses and high education levels. More cities are competing for the very top spots in the ranking
April 10, 2019
More than half of employees are confused about the true meaning of ‘digital transformation’ and have a high degree of scepticism about their employers’ appetite for digital innovation, a new poll suggests. The research into employees’ attitudes toward digital transformation, innovation and cutting-edge technologies such as artificial intelligence, conducted by YouGov amongst employees at 500 businesses with 50 or more employees, on behalf of Cherwell Software, found that 57 percent of employees don’t know the correct meaning of ‘digital transformation’: 20 percent of respondents couldn’t hazard a guess at its meaning and 12 percent thought it meant moving to a paperless office.
April 8, 2019
Navigating organisations through digital transformation
by Ian Tickle • Comment, Technology
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