Search Results for: office of the future

November 9, 2015

Last chance to book next week’s Worktech London at a discounted rate ⁰

by Mark Eltringham • Events, Facilities management, Flexible working, News, Technology, Workplace design

In just over a week’s time, Worktech, the international conference series on the future of work, workplace and technology will return to Level 39 – Europe’s largest technology accelerator space. The event will bring together over 350 of the biggest and brightest names to debate, discuss and divulge the latest thinking on the future of work. Companies booked to attend include ANZ, AON, Allen & Overy, Arup, Barclays, Cabinet Office, Catlin, Central Working, Cisco, Deloitte, Deutsche Bank, Diageo, Discovery, Ebay, EE, Ernst & Young, GlaxoSmithKline, Goldman Sachs, IKEA, ITV, International Group for Environment and Development, Kings College London, Lenovo, McKinsey, Microsoft, National Grid, Royal Bank of Scotland, Schroders, Sonos, UBS, Vasakronan and Vodafone. Worktech15 takes place on 17th and 18th November and Insight readers can enjoy discounted tickets.

November 5, 2015

Design for performance study looks to improve energy performance ⁰

by Sara Bean • Architecture, Environment, Facilities management, News

Developers, owners and occupiers of buildings might expect that compliance with regulations will produce a building that is energy efficient in operation and well on its way towards the 2020 nearly-zero energy target mandated by a European Directive. In practice, the actual performance of most buildings falls well short of the design intent – the so-called performance gap. In Australia, this chronic problem has been eliminated for new office building projects in which clients and their teams sign up to – and then follow – a “Commitment Agreement” protocol to design, construct and manage their buildings to achieve agreed levels of actual in-use performance. Now with the backing of the Better Buildings Partnership, a four month study to develop a prototype UK scheme which embraces Australia’s ‘design for performance’ approach has been launched by a team led by Verco and including BSRIA, Arup and UBT.

November 5, 2015

Lacklustre recruitment processes can lead workers to turn down jobs ⁰

by Sara Bean • News, Workplace

A third (34 percent) of UK workers have changed their mind in the last two years after accepting a job offer, choosing not to go ahead with the new role. Research from Office Angels, analysing the effectiveness of recruitment processes in the post-recession economy, found that nearly half (48 percent) of workers have received multiple job offers at the same time in the last 24 months. At the point of resignation, half (50 percent) received a counter offer from their existing employer. The research asked both hiring managers and job seekers their views on what makes an effective recruitment process. Almost all (96 percent) of workers view the speed of a job offer as a decisive factor when choosing between job opportunities at competing companies, two-fifths (41 percent) stated the most important part of being successfully recruited was a clearly defined recruitment process and 28 percent of workers consider cultural fit in making a decision.

November 4, 2015

Commercial property owners not keeping up with changing needs of tenants ⁰

by Mark Eltringham • Flexible working, News, Property, Workplace design

A new study from Northumbria University, sponsored by serviced office provider Citibase, claims that the owners of commercial property in the UK stand to lose out on £4.8 billion over the next decade because they are failing to adapt to the changing needs of tenants for more agile spaces. The study claims that property owners in 27 towns and cities in England, Wales and Scotland are already missing out on £325 million annually and paying out another £170 million on holding cost and there are stark differences between the prime and secondary office sectors. The report, Taking Stock: Secondary opportunities and the agile future, claims that out of all total empty stock calculated, only 10 percent of vacant office space is prime, the other 90 percent is secondary. The secondary sector currently has an estimated 26.4m sq ft of office space vacant compared to just 3m sq ft of empty stock in the prime market.

November 1, 2015

Firms use workplace improvements to invest in their human capital ⁰

by Neil Franklin • News, Workplace, Workplace design

A survey by CoreNet Global and Cushman & Wakefield claims that 88 percent of EMEA corporate real estate professionals are actively investing in workplace improvements, and 95 percent are addressing workplace technology as part of those upgrades. The results emphasise the importance of human capital, suggesting that factors such as office environment, flexible working and company culture continue to be seen as critical to attracting and retaining talent. The global Talent Agenda Survey, completed by 250 respondents, addresses how occupiers are managing their talent pool against an ever-changing and unpredictable business environment. The survey focused on categories such as the cost of human capital and its value; the key challenges relating to talent access, assembly and retention and the critical role that real estate plays in workplace innovation, efficiency and talent retention.

October 6, 2015

Commercial property markets in world cities are evolving rapidly ⁰

by Mark Eltringham • Cities, News, Property

The commercial property markets in the world’s major cities are evolving against a backdrop of ongoing economic and political uncertainty, according to the new 12 Cities Report from Savills. The authors suggest that the main consequence of this since 2008 has been for investors to switch their focus from paper assets to property. This in turn has led to a number of developments in local commercial property markets including global investors looking for alternatives to the major cities within key national economies. One of the key developments is that major tech firms are now willing to spend as much on their real estate as the previously dominant financial giants. One other interesting issue raised in the report is the growing inability of people to afford to live and work in the same place, especially in cities with restrictions on the amount of space available for development.

October 5, 2015

Collaborative work goes hand in hand with better talent retention ⁰

by Neil Franklin • Flexible working, News, Technology

Companies are rethinking the tools they use to keep employees engaged and loyal – especially at a time when flexibility and choice are increasingly important to an workforce that craves mobility and choice. A newly released survey from Jive Software claims that as the workforce continues to evolve and new future of work trends emerge, seven out of ten (72 percent) employees want to use more technology in the workplace that enables them to work from anywhere. Furthermore, the same percentage state that the freedom to try tools make them more effective in their job, with 43 percent finding it a powerful loyalty driver. According to the study of 1,000 US based employees, firms are also catching on to future of work trends and the impact that technology can have for employee retention. Eighty-four percent of employers want to implement technology that enable workplace flexibility.

September 29, 2015

Generation Z is the smart generation that will redefine work, claims report ⁰

by Mark Eltringham • Facilities management, Knowledge, Property, Wellbeing

The trade association BSRIA has launched a White Paper called Products and Systems for Generation Z in Reduced Carbon Buildings to explore the future needs of buildings designed for what it calls the ‘smart generation’. It considers ways in which the value of buildings might be improved in order to raise productivity and wellbeing for occupiers and at the same time generate new revenue streams for suppliers. Authored by Jeremy Towler and based on data collected in March of this year, it suggests that Generation Z are the “first tribe of true digital natives” and are ‘smarter and more prudent than Generation Y. They are empowered, have more job choices, seek freedom of movement and flexible working policies. They are the ‘see it – want it’, ‘touch it – get it now’ generation.’ The report claims this will define their relationship with work and drive demand for flexible working and on-demand offices.

September 21, 2015

New study highlights the key roles of real estate at UK’s top law firms ⁰

by Mark Eltringham • Case studies, Facilities management, News, Property, Workplace design

The UK’s top law firms are spending more on their real estate and allocating more space to staff, following years of reductions. Those are two of the key findings of a new report from The Lawyer magazine and property consultants JLL. Around half of the UK’s Top 200 law firms shared detailed data with the study, which also incorporates publicly available information on transactions. The study also takes into account the links between real estate strategy and broader strategic, management and human resources issues. While the report says the amount of space dedicated to each lawyer has risen by 7 percent over the last two years and the costs of owning real estate have also risen markedly, it also describes how many firms are now actively using flexible working to reduce real estate costs.The report concludes with a speculative look at future trends, including the uptake of coworking space.

August 20, 2015

81 percent of women and over half of men experience sexism at work ⁰

by Sara Bean • Comment, News, Workplace

What’s the difference between office banter and comments which can make people feel uncomfortable at work? That’s the issue which has plagued the workplace for aeons, and the age of so-called political correctness has not made the situation any clearer. Legislation may be in place to protect staff from discrimination or victimisation, but as some well documented cases have demonstrated sexism is still rife in many white collar professions. But it’s worth noting that it’s not only women who can feel that a colleague has crossed the line. A new survey has found that well over three quarters of women (81 percent) have been victims of sexist jokes at work. However, men are not immune to feeling uncomfortable, as according to the survey by Peninsula, well over half of men (63 percent) feel uneasy when female colleagues make indecent remarks about their physical appearance.

August 6, 2015

Government publishes details of £118 bn pipeline of construction projects ⁰

by Mark Eltringham • Facilities management, Knowledge, News, Property, Public Sector

The UK Government, in conjunction with construction industry data specialist Barbour ABI, has published a full detailed list of around £118 billion of publicly funded building projects scheduled for the next five years. You can find the pipeline as a spreadsheet here, with the data broken down by sector and including some basic data for each project. The Government has also introduced a dedicated website with details of the projects with updates to the raw data available via both the central government website and at data.gov.uk. The government construction pipeline is now updated twice a year which the Government claims will ‘extend its reach beyond the major construction spending departments and improve the integrity of the data’ and demonstrate its commitment ‘to continuous engagement with industry and government clients on current use and future improvements’.

July 28, 2015

Millennial ‘job hopping’ is the new normal according to US research

by Sara Bean • Flexible working, News, Workplace

Following a recent survey claiming that Millennials comprise more than one-in-three US workers, comes new evidence on the impact this could have on recruitment and retention. Over 1,000 US full-time Millennials who were questioned on their careers by RecruitiFi confirmed that ‘job hopping’ had become the norm. During the course of their careers, 53 percent have held three or more jobs. And while many have plans to stay in their current jobs for 3-5 years (33 percent), many respondents plan to leave after 1-2 years (20 percent). 34 percent acknowledged falling levels of employee morale in the office and 22 percent explained that their clients/customers have taken notice. While 83 percent of millennials acknowledge that job hopping on their CV could be negatively perceived by employers, 86 percent say that it would not prevent them from pursuing their professional or personal passions.