Search Results for: employee experience

Global talent crunch will include UK workforce deficit of nearly 3 million employees by 2030

Global talent crunch will include UK workforce deficit of nearly 3 million employees by 2030

A shortage of skilled employees will continue to impede growth and if not addressed, could have a significant impact on major global economies by 2030, claims a new study. Korn Ferry’s Global Talent Crunch study estimated the gap between future talent supply and demand in 20 major economies at three milestones: 2020, 2025 and 2030, and across three sectors: financial and business services; technology, media and telecommunications (TMT); and manufacturing and found that a talent deficit issue could threaten economies and sectors across Europe. Germany could experience the largest deficit of 4.9 million workers and could lose out on $629.89 billion of annual revenue by 2030 if labour shortages are not addressed – equivalent to 14 percent of its economy.

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Faced with era of AI, employers focus on skills and employees crave jobs with purpose

Faced with era of AI, employers focus on skills and employees crave jobs with purpose

According to Mercer’s 2018 Global Talent Trends Study – Unlocking Growth in the Human Age, 96 percent of UK companies have innovation on their core agenda this year and 92 percent are planning organisation design changes. At the same time, employees are seeking control of their personal and professional lives, with more than half asking for more flexible work options. As the ability to change becomes a key differentiator for success in a competitive global climate, the challenge for organisations is to bring their people along on the journey, especially as the top ask from employees is for leaders who set clear direction, claims the report.

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Men and women experience workplace communications anxiety very differently

Men and women experience workplace communications anxiety very differently

There is a disparity between the causes of communications anxiety between men and women, claims new research conducted by RADA in business. Male employees are 45 percent more likely than women to feel anxious when socialising with their work colleagues, while women are most scared of giving a presentation. Team building events were also found to be more challenging for men, with almost a fifth (19 percent) reporting feelings of communications anxiety. Work social events followed, with 17 percent reporting the same feelings. In contrast, the report found that female employees experience greater levels of anxiety when giving presentations in front of a group, to colleagues, or to management. The evidence suggests that while men require more help with skills around spontaneous communication, for women it is about standing their ground and getting their voice heard when stepping into the spotlight – often in situations that may have a significant impact on their career path. Notably, the research shows that women are also 39 percent more likely to experience workplace anxiety than men when in a job interview, and 37 percent more likely when negotiating a pay rise.

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Overwhelming workloads tip the scales on work-life balance for UK employees

Overwhelming workloads tip the scales on work-life balance for UK employees

Almost half of UK workers (47 percent) spend the majority of their time feeling overwhelmed by their workloads, while 85 percent say that work is causing them stress, according to research from employee experience business Qualtrics. The Qualtrics Employee Pulse is a quarterly survey of more than 4,000 employees which claims to highlight the impact of burgeoning workloads on today’s workforce and reveals better support from businesses is needed to ensure the mental wellbeing of staff.

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Only half of organisations are committed to ensuring employees thrive at work

Only half of organisations are committed to ensuring employees thrive at work

Growth and development matter most to employees, followed closely by fair access to opportunities and equity in pay, yet only half (52 percent) of organisations worldwide have committed to help meet these aims claims new research. As advances in technology, like AI and robotics, disrupt industries and redefine value chains, organisations need to distinguish themselves from others in order to prevail. Thriving organisations – those that transform their work environment into a compelling experience – will be first in building the workforce for the future finds Mercer’s newest research, Thriving in an Age of Disruption. It suggests that exceptional organisations transform work into a compelling experience that meets all employees’ needs, unlocks their full potential and enables them to successfully transition into the future workforce. Employees who are energised and bring their authentic selves to work are 45 percent more invested in their role, while a trusting work environment, a feeling of personal accomplishment, faith in senior leadership, clarity around career paths and a strategy that is responsive to external market shifts and societal needs explain 79 percent of employee confidence in the company they work for.
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Bad managers who fail to support employees are driving talented staff away

Bad managers who fail to support employees are driving talented staff away

Bad managers who fail to support employees are driving talented staff away

A new survey suggests that bullying, aggressive behaviours and micro-management is endemic within the British workplace. The research by YouGov on behalf of MHR found that 80 percent of employees having experienced what they consider poor management, or a poor manager, at least once during their career; 73 percent of employees who have experienced poor management or a poor manager have considered leaving a job and, among these, a staggering 55 percent actually left their job because of bad management. When asked whether managers are equipped to deal with the human or emotional side of management, 58 percent of respondents said that they are not. Bad managers were described as often inexperienced, out of their depth, lacking the necessary people skills, expressing favouritism, failing to offer recognition and feedback and failing to communicate effectively. But the most shocking comments were around the subject of mental health, with several respondents citing a complete disregard or lack of awareness of issues surrounding mental health in the workplace. As well as failing to support employees suffering from anxiety or depression, several respondents claimed that their manager was directly responsible for causing the decline in their mental health.

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Over a quarter of black employees say racial discrimination hinders career

Over a quarter of black employees say racial discrimination hinders career

Over a quarter of black employees say racial discrimination hinders career

Three in ten (29 percent) black employees say racial discrimination is to blame for them failing to achieve their career expectations, almost three times as many as white British employees, according to a new survey by the CIPD. One in five BAME employees (20 percent) said that discrimination had played a part in a lack of career progression to date, compared to just one in ten (11 percent) white British employees. This comes despite the fact that significantly more BAME employees said career progression was an important part of their working life than those from a white British background (25 percent vs 10 percent). When asked what would improve their career progression, BAME employees were much more likely than white British employees to say that seeing other people like them that have progressed in the organisation, and a greater diversity of people at senior levels in their organisation would help boost their career progression. Additionally, the survey found that a quarter of BAME respondents (23 percent) whose organisations don’t provide mentoring said they would find it useful in achieving their potential at work.

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Employee engagement only captures a small part of what ‘work’ means

Employee engagement only captures a small part of what ‘work’ means

The biggest driver of a positive employee experience at work is ‘meaningful’ work, claims a new survey. According to the findings of the latest edition of ‘The Employee Experience Index around the Globe’ survey from Globoforce’s WorkHuman Research Institute in partnership with IBM’s Smarter Workforce Institute – in the UK, meaningful work emerged as the single largest contributor (30 percent) 3 points above the global average. Meaningful work ensures that employees’ skills and talents are being fully utilized and there is greater alignment to shared, core values. The survey also notes a shift away from employee engagement, which only captures a small portion what ‘work’ means, towards employee experience. Experience is seen as being broader and more holistic – capturing the entire set of perceptions that employees have about their experiences at work, matching the higher expectations that employees bring to the workplace.

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Employees are investing their own time and money to remain competitive in the changing workplace

Employees are investing their own time and money to remain competitive in the changing workplace

Capgemini and LinkedIn have published a new global report exploring the ‘digital talent gap’, which analyses the demand and supply of talent with specific digital skills and the availability of digital roles across multiple industries and countries. The report, The Digital Talent Gap—Are Companies Doing Enough? claims to reveal the concerns felt by employees when assessing their own digital skills and the lack of training resources currently available to them within their workplace. Highlights include the fact that nearly 50 percent of employees, rising to close to 60 percent for what the report calls digitally talented employees are investing their own money and additional time beyond office hours to develop digital skills on their own. Capgemini surveyed 753 employees and 501 executives at the director level or above, at large companies with reported revenue of more than $500 million for FY 2016 and more than 1,000 employees. The survey took place from June to July 2017, and covered nine countries – France, Germany, India, Italy, the Netherlands, Spain, Sweden, the United Kingdom and the United States and seven industry sectors.

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HR Directors turning their attention to workplace design and experience

HR Directors turning their attention to workplace design and experience

The role of HR Directors is going to change in the future as they will increasingly become “curators” of the office, charged with generating the right atmosphere to inspire millennial workers, according to a study of 100 HR Directors by Unispace. The study claims found that there will be greater HR ownership of the physical workplace in the future as human resources becomes more focused on the employee “experience”. A key to future success will be ensuring workers are “engaged with the workplace” and enable them to collaborate in better ways and become more productive. A recurring theme identified during the interviews was a change to the overall decision-making process around physical space. Previously the remit of property and facilities management, it now includes HR representation as standard practice in large organisations. Bringing HR to the table enables the working environment to embody organisational values and contribute towards achieving strategic “people-led” business objectives, such as better staff retention and productivity.

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Rising numbers of employees face demotion, disciplinary action or dismissal for disclosing mental health issues

Rising numbers of employees face demotion, disciplinary action or dismissal for disclosing mental health issues

Most UK employees have experienced mental health issues because of work yet over a million people face negative consequences after disclosing, according to a new report, Mental Health at Work published by the charity Business in the Community in advance of World Mental Health Day.  YouGov surveyed over 3,000 people in work across the UK for the study and found that three in five (60 percent) employees have experienced mental health issues in the past year because of work. Yet despite 53 percent of people feeling comfortable talking about mental health at work, a significant percentage of employees risk serious repercussions for disclosing a mental health issue. 15 percent of employees face dismissal, disciplinary action or demotion after disclosing a mental health issue at work (almost twice the number identified in similar research undertaken in 2016). Scaled up to the general working population, this could mean as many as 1.2 million people negatively affected for disclosing mental health problems.

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Ongoing drive to replace full-time employees with freelancers and contractors in US, claims report

According to a new report from software firm Mavenlink, over three quarters (79 percent) of US executives believe that the use of contracted white collar workers offers them a competitive advantage, while 63 percent of employees say they would quit their current job to take advantage of a freelance opportunity.  The study, On the Verge of a White Collar Gig Economy: On-Demand Workforce Trends According to Today’s Business Leaders claims to have uncovered significant trends in enterprise use of external contractors, an influx of highly skilled contractors into the workforce and increased individual interest in flexible working structures. This study conducted interviews with 300 professionals from different US based organisations with titles of director or above.

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