Search Results for: benefits

Yahoo is not the only firm that doesn’t like flexible working

by • Comment, Facilities management, Technology, Workplace, Workplace design

Yahoo! Sunnyvale headquarters. October 28, 2001 (Y! Photo / Brian McGuiness)As news emerged over the weekend from Silicon Valley that Yahoo had introduced a new policy that insisted employees work from the company’s HQ, a survey from O2 in the UK highlighted just how many firms are not as keen on the practice of flexible working as they might claim in theory. The question we need to ask is whether this represents a genuine shift away from the assumption that we are moving towards more agile working practices, or is this just the last knockings of the old guard?

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Tips for small businesses on their first office search

by • Comment, Property

search buttonFinding a great office can be a hugely important step on the road to success for a small business. Business can not only outgrow their existing space, but even for those who want to remain small, escaping the distractions of a home-working environment by moving into a space specifically designed for working can give a real boost to productivity and provide a great sense of identity. Of course, when you’re searching it’s essential for small business owners to do all the most common-sense things: including shopping around, getting out to view properties and so on. But it’s also worth bearing in mind a few of the following pointers:

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Companies failing to communicate flexible working policies

by • News, Technology, Workplace

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Less than one fifth of staff are being encouraged to work flexibly, with businesses failing to reap the rewards of increased productivity and employee well-being resulting from modern work practices and technology. New research by O2 reveals that whilst staff are ready to embrace new ways of working and understand the benefits, it is employers who are holding them back. More than three quarters (77 per cent) of employers say that flexible working is actively encouraged across their organisation but less than a fifth (19 per cent) of staff say their company encourages them to work flexibly. More →

US Federal government confirms green-building requirements

by • Architecture, Environment, Facilities management, Property, Public Sector

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A new study prepared for the United States Department of Defense (DoD) by the National Research Council has given the seal of approval on the importance of green-building certification programs as tools to reduce energy use and other operational costs. “This reaffirmed what we’ve been saying all along – that LEED makes good economic sense,” said Fleming Roberts, Associate, Policy & Advocacy at the US Building Council. “The report recommended that the Department of Defense should require its new buildings or major renovations to be designed to achieve at least LEED Silver certification.” More →

UK employment rises but pay rates are squeezed

by • News, Workplace

pay squeeze

The UK employment rate is now higher than in the United States and is well above that in the Eurozone. However, pay levels remain low, with basic pay inflation now at just 1.3 per cent. According to the latest figures from the Office for National Statistics long-term unemployment fell by 15,000 this quarter to its lowest level for nearly a year. Nigel Meager, Director at the Institute for Employment Studies, commented: “The UK stands in contrast to developments in the Eurozone, where employment and unemployment figures are continuing to deteriorate.” More →

Model new site announced for BIM aficionados

by • Architecture, News, Property, Technology

BIM

The UK’s BIM (Building Information Modelling) Task Group is launching a Digital Plans of Work site on February 28. The latest phase in the government’s plans to make the UK the world leader in BIM, the site will enable users to keep an online version of their work. BIM is also attracting support worldwide. Today, US construction giant ZMG Construction threw its weight behind the technology saying: “New technological developments continue to revolutionize the construction and design industries — and building information modelling, or BIM, is foremost on the list of these major technological advances.” More →

Flexible working seen as of more benefit to employers than staff

by • Knowledge, Legal news, News, Technology, Workplace

Flexible working

Nine in ten UK professionals think that flexible working will become the dominant employment model – but half think it will be adopted for business reasons rather than to benefit the workforce. According to research from specialist HR recruiter Ortus, just one in ten professionals (12 per cent) actually deem flexible working to be a vital benefit – lower than the proportion who said a free company mobile phone is vital to them. And just 1 in 10 said they thought it was being implemented to help with gender equality. In the survey conducted among 450 professionals across a variety of sectors, 51 one per cent felt the reason behind the growth of flexible working is efficiency and productivity – not to help people manage the number of hours they work. More →

Report shows global range of policy on BYOD

by • Knowledge, News, Technology, Workplace

BYODA new report from Dell has indicated the differing approaches firms take to Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) strategies around the world.  According to the survey of 1,500 senior IT managers in 10 countries including the US, UK, Spain, Germany, Singapore, India and China, companies in Singapore are the most proactive in using digital rights to manage the dissemination of potentially sensitive company information. Nearly two thirds of respondents in Singapore said their firms focus more on the management of users than devices, an approach seen as the best way of ensuring the benefits of BYOD. More →

Net-Zero buildings top measure of sustainability success

by • Architecture, Environment, News, Property, Workplace design

the Crystal

Net-zero commercial buildings, i.e. those that produce at least as much energy as they consume should be the long-term aim of corporate energy strategies, says a CoreNet Global statement. “Smart and responsible energy policies and practices reduce corporate carbon footprints and greenhouse gas emissions, (and) we encourage our members’ companies to drive energy efficiency to optimal levels with net-zero buildings as a top measure of long-term success.” The global real estate association calls on governments around the world to incentivise building owners, investors and occupiers who proactively reduce their carbon footprints. More →

Whatever the office of the future is, it should be there to serve people

Whatever the office of the future is, it should be there to serve people

by • Comment, Facilities management, Furniture, Technology, Workplace, Workplace design

Larkin BuildingFuturology is notoriously a mug’s game. Especially when it comes to making predictions about technology. Just ask Ken Olson, the founder of DEC who in 1977 pronounced that ‘there is no reason anyone would want a computer in their home’. Or Bill Gates himself who once claimed that Microsoft ‘will never make a 32 bit operating system’. But that shouldn’t make us blind to those predictions that we know will largely come true, not least those based on what we know is happening in the present. This is typified by research carried out by Cass Business School and Henley Business School and presented in a book called Future Work: How Businesses Can Adapt and Thrive in the New World of Work. It found that two-thirds of the 360 managers it surveyed believe that there would be a revolution in working practices over the coming decade. Ninety per cent said that staff were more productive when empowered to decide when and where and how to work.

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Consolidation of state properties boosts London economy by £3.5bn

by • Property, Public Sector

Whitehall,_LondonAccording to a new report from property consultancy Knight Frank into the impact of the Government’s policy of consolidating and improving the management of the public sector estate in London, the economy has been boosted by as much as £3.5 billion. The study has reviewed the results of the work carried out by the Cabinet Office’s Efficiency and Reform Group at 16 properties in central London including the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills, the Department for International Development, the Land Registry and the Crown Prosecution Service. Many of these sites were seen as dated and have now been redeveloped for use by other organisations. More →

What Ronald McDonald can teach us about office design

by • Comment, Furniture, Workplace design

McDonalds1As the UK continues to agonise over the potentially equine provenance of many of its beef products, one firm that has managed to stay above it all is McDonald’s. While rivals Burger King quickly became embroiled in the scandal after traces of horsemeat were found in its Burgers, McDonalds ramped up its claims in the national media that it only uses 100 per cent beef. McDonald’s has had a pretty good couple of years, and not all of it is down to the food. During 2012, the company spent $1.45bn this year on giving 2,400 stores a makeover. It claims that it has now revamped 90 per cent of its UK stores. More →

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