Search Results for: employee experience

January 10, 2017

Report calls for ‘workplace guardians’ to support employee wellbeing ⁰

by Sara Bean • Facilities management, News, Wellbeing, Workplace, Workplace design

Businesses need to shift their focus away from functional issues, such as cost per square metre, and towards the productivity boost that can be delivered through well-designed work spaces which engage employees and make them feel valued. This is according to a new study produced by Interserve, Designing and delivering effective workplace experiences – a practical guide, which argues employers should adopt teams of ‘workplace guardians’ to curate work spaces that support employee wellbeing and overall business performance. The report sets out a six-stage programme for businesses to create effective workplace experiences which it says should be led by a team of experienced workplace coordinators or ‘guardians’ – a process that sees workplaces shaped by employees, for employees. More →

December 12, 2016

Can an organisation simply buy employee motivation? ⁰

by Matias Rodsevich • Comment, Workplace

It’s the end of the year and like in most companies it’s probably time to start calculating and reassessing your employee’s compensation. But can you actually use money to motivate and retain your employees? A study by Willis Towers Watson found that only 20 percent of employers in North America actually believe merit pay is effective in driving high performance. Traditionally money was seen as the main incentive used to motivate employees. Higher productivity results in higher salaries and bonuses. For companies, it’s been used as the main tool to attract, retain and engage their people. Today we’ve learned that the key to motivation is much more complex than that.

November 29, 2016

Organisations that invest in creativity have happier and more productive employees ⁰

by Mark Eltringham • News, Workplace design

Adobe has released the State of Create: 2016, the latest edition of its global survey of some 5,000 people worldwide to assess the state of the creative sector and gauge the impact of creativity on businesses. The headline finding of the latest study is that organisations that invest in creativity are more likely to increase employee productivity (78 percent) and have happier employees (76 percent). The report also claims that respondents believe that those employers who invest in creativity are more likely to foster innovation (83 percent), be competitive (79 percent), provide better customer experience (78 percent), have satisfied customers (80 percent) and be financially successful (73 percent). Around three quarters (74 percent) of respondents also claim that it is important for businesses to focus on good design, with another 70 percent feeling that design drives a strong brand experience. 45 percent claimed that in the past year they had paid more for a product or service that had good design.

November 12, 2016

Flexible working more important to employees than a company car, claims new BT research ⁰

by Mark Eltringham • Flexible working, News, Technology

Flexible working and great mobile devices top employees’ list of perks but businesses are struggling to make it a reality, according to a new study from BT. Two thirds (67 percent) of UK office workers say mobile working is more important than a company car, and half now carry most of what they need to do their job in their bag, according to our latest research. However, despite their employees’ appetite for new flexible ways of working, organisations are still struggling with technology and budget limitations to make it a reality. ‘The mobile multiplier’ research, which independently surveyed 1,500 office workers in large organisations in France, Germany, Spain and the UK, claims we are already in a new era in which mobile and flexible working is no longer a perk but a staple requirement. Results show workers are keen to break away from the static office: Today’s office workers put flexible working top of a benefits package from the ideal employer, with 76 percent including it in their top three priorities.

October 14, 2016

Many employees remain reluctant to approach bosses for flexible working, claims study ⁰

by Mark Eltringham • Flexible working, News

The sluggish uptake of flexible working following the introduction of new parental leave rights last year, may be down to the reluctance of many employees to ask for it. That is one of the conclusions of a new report from flexible working consultancy My Family Care and recruitment firm Hydrogen. It found that over half (54 percent) UK employees surveyed would like to work from home, but just a third (34 percent) actually do. The report surveyed 1,587 UK employees and 310 UK employers to gauge their attitudes towards and experience of flexible working. It found that over a quarter (28 percent) of employees said they did not feel comfortable even talking to their employer about the subject. Respondents claimed their wariness was down to appearing less committed and the implications for the careers and pay.

September 21, 2016

Innovative and ambitious disabled employees still face discrimination ⁰

by Sara Bean • Facilities management, Flexible working, Wellbeing, Workplace

Disabled employees outperform all other groups in terms of innovation and professional ambition, according to new data from the Chartered Institute of Personnel Development (CIPD) in its paper, Attitudes to Employability and Talent. The report, which explores attitudes towards employability and responsibilities for career development in the UK, includes the attributes associated with employment and career success. Individuals with disabilities ranked more highly than any other group in the categories of ‘Brings new and innovative ideas’ and ‘A great desire to develop’. The group also scored particularly highly in the categories of ‘Fits with organisational values’, ‘Good work ethic’, ‘Reliable’, and ‘Positive attitude to work’. However, when quizzed on current approaches to recruiting from diverse workforce groups, only 11 percent of respondents said they actively target individuals with disabilities during recruitment. This is despite the fact that over half (51 percent) currently employ professionals with physical and mental health conditions. More →

September 20, 2016

If you want to improve the workplace, let employees procrastinate ⁰

by Neil Franklin • Flexible working, News, Wellbeing

An analysis of workplace habits carried out by office supplies firm Viking claims that the biggest causes of worker procrastination are internal problems within an organisation, and that restricting social media usage could make employees less productive. The survey of over 1,500 office workers claims that almost half of workers (48 percent) procrastinate while waiting for other people’s work to be completed and 40 percent procrastinated in order to take a break from work and reduce their stress levels. The study also claims that people who work in an office experience more stress then those who work from home, which the study concludes is because working from home allows employees to take breaks more frequently. Although the Flexible Working Regulations introduced in the UK in 2014 suggests we’re working towards a more lenient workplace, survey findings suggest that in-office cultures are still struggling to find their footing when balancing work and relaxation.

August 16, 2016

How to save a sinking ship: lessons from Marissa Mayer’s experience at Yahoo ⁰

by Andrea Hak • Case studies, Features, Flexible working, Technology, Work&Place

When former Google employee Marissa Mayer joined Yahoo as its CEO in 2012, she inherited the company’s vast problems. Though it was once seen as one of the first tech behemoths, Yahoo’s inability to come up with ground breaking products like Google and others, put it in a slow, steady decline. Mayer was immediately tasked with trying to reinvigorate the stagnating company. Her focus was to find a way to identify and retain talent, while phasing out ineffective employees. However, Yahoo’s new management policies have brought about much debate and criticism from HR experts. A controversial book by journalist Nicholas Carlson titled “Marissa Mayer and the Fight to Save Yahoo!” paints a highly critical view of Mayer’s first years as CEO. In response others have defended her, arguing that she has done the best she can with the resources available, but has become a scapegoat for poor management, like so many other women in powerful positions.

July 27, 2016

A third of people have experienced mental health issues while working ⁰

by Neil Franklin • News, Wellbeing, Workplace

According to new research from the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development, the number of people saying that they have experienced mental health issues while in employment has climbed from a quarter to a third over the last five years. Despite this, the majority of employees still don’t feel that people experiencing mental health issues are supported well enough at work. In response, the CIPD is calling on organisations to take a more preventative approach to employees’ mental wellbeing, encouraging a culture of openness in their workplace, whilst at the same time, training line managers to provide and signpost support for employees, in order to create healthier, more engaged and more productive workplaces. The new research from the CIPD claims that in 2016, almost a third (31 percent) of the over 2,000 employees surveyed said they have experienced a mental health problem at some point during their working life, compared with a quarter (26 percent) in 2011.

July 22, 2016

Employees in high performing organisations four times more engaged ⁰

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

Whether or not you raise an eyebrow every time you hear about the need for employee engagement, there is a growing body of research which links engagement to performance. A new report claims that 80 percent of UK employees who say they work for high performing organisations are engaged compared to only 20 percent of those working for low performing organisations. And 80 percent of employees who think their organisation is customer-centric are engaged. This is five times more than employees who don’t think their organisation is customer-centric (17 percent). The highest performing employees are twice as engaged as the lowest, the survey by ORC International suggests. The survey found that overall employee engagement in the UK remained steady at 58 percent his year but the trends show that personal and organisational performance make a difference to engagement.

May 24, 2016

A fifth of staff experience more stress at home than in the workplace ⁰

by Neil Franklin • Flexible working, News, Wellbeing

Home may not be the haven we might assume, meaning that employers who encourage staff to work from home may actually be adding to their stress levels. Around a fifth of employees find their domestic lives more stressful than their working lives and many either don’t want to discuss it with managers or feel unable to, claims a new report from MetLife Employee Benefits. According to Building Resilience in the Workplace, 19 percent of employees overall are more stressed at home than at work, with slightly more female respondents to the study claiming to be stressed more by their home lives than the workplace. Around 21 percent of women say their home life is more stressful compared to 15 percent of men. The research claims that 67 percent of employees say domestic issues – including childcare, looking after elderly parents and financial pressures – are having an impact on their work performance.

April 27, 2016

Half of employees say mobile working makes them more productive ⁰

by Sara Bean • Facilities management, Flexible working, News, Technology

Most employees now have access to mobile devices in the workplace and this ability to work anytime anywhere means that 49 percent of respondents in a new global study by the Economist Intelligent Unit (EIU) say mobile working has the greatest impact on productivity, while for 38 percent it determines how satisfied they are with their employer. The study, sponsored by Aruba, claims that companies rated by employees as ‘pioneers’ in how they support mobile technology saw a rise in productivity (16 percent), creativity (18 percent), satisfaction (23 percent), and loyalty (21 percent) when compared to organisations that were poorly rated at supporting mobile tech. While a respondent’s age was not found to be a factor of how mobile technology impacts their performance and engagement, four out of ten Millennials did admit they would never work for a company that didn’t allow them to use their own devices for work, compared to 22 percent of all employees.