Search Results for: development

July 30, 2018

The satisfaction of self-employed people depends on skills development rather than business growth

Developing skills and knowledge is more important for self-employed people’s sense of career progression than increasing their rate of pay, a new report by IPSE (the Association of Independent Professionals and the Self-Employed) and the IPA (the Involvement and Participation Association) claims. The report, Working well for yourself: What makes for good self-employment?, surveyed 800 people across the country about what constituted ‘good work’ for them. First of all, it found that work satisfaction levels are remarkably high among the self-employed. This reinforces the findings of a 2015 CIPD Employee Outlook survey, which showed that general work satisfaction is higher among the self-employed (81 percent) than employees (61 percent).

July 3, 2018

Call for action within the built environment to help meet sustainable development goals

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

Built environment organisations are calling for urgent action on issues such as consumption, innovation and infrastructure to prevent the UK slipping behind other nations on poverty, equality and the environment as a new report released today (3 July 2018) highlights the UK’s inadequate performance against the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), including those for the built environment. The report, Measuring up, from the UK Stakeholders for Sustainable Development (UKSSD), is the first comprehensive assessment of the UK’s performance against all 17 SDGs and highlights a significant danger that quality of life in the UK will worsen if action is not taken. Just some of the findings of the report include; that the UK is performing well (green) on only 24 percent of its targets; no industry, innovation and infrastructure targets have achieved a ‘good’ performance rating, with gaps in policy coverage and inadequate or deteriorating performance and large scale, sustained investment in replacing ageing infrastructure and creating additional resilient and low carbon infrastructure of all kinds is required.

April 18, 2018

Business leaders struggling to keep up with demands of individuals and technological developments in the workplace

by Mark Eltringham • Flexible working, News, Technology, Workplace

Organisations are struggling to keep pace with workplace shifts including skills gaps, the development of artificial intelligence, the demands of employees and new social expectations, according to the latest Human Capital Trends report from Deloitte. In its 2018 edition, The Rise of the Social Enterprise, Deloitte focuses on the growing expectations of individuals and the pace at which technology is shaping organisations’ human capital priorities.

March 29, 2018

Local authorities and developers must work together to boost the quality of new developments, says Green Building Council

by Mark Eltringham • News, Property

The UK Green Building Council (UKGBC) has launched two new resources for developers and local authorities designed to help boost construction standards and improve ‘social value outcomes’. The first resource is related to residential developments while the second is directly relevant to commercial property. The resource, Social Value in New Development, provides guidance for developers and local authorities to help deliver social value outcomes in new residential and commercial developments. The guidance looks at social value, its stakeholders, strategies for driving positive outcomes and measuring success, and the current barriers to delivery.

January 22, 2018

US workers increasingly prioritise flexible working and personal development over status

by Neil Franklin • News, Wellbeing, Workplace

A new survey from LinkedIn and Harris claims that the priorities of US workers are shifting in the new world of work. Where once they would have craved the status of a corner office, they now hanker for personal development, flexible working and autonomy and many see work largely as a means to pay bills. A growing number of professionals are also keen on developing side projects away from work that they believe are more closely aligned with their personality and interests, according o the study of 2,000 people.

September 8, 2017

Mixed use development at Victoria Station named as the UK’s worst new building

by Mark Eltringham • Architecture, News, Property

A mixed use scheme featuring two prominent towers next to London’s Victoria station has been named the UK’s worst new building from the last year. The Nova Victoria development, designed by PLP Architecture, was awarded the 2017 Carbuncle Cup – an annual competition organised by architecture website Building Design (BD) that recognises the ugliest buildings completed in the UK over the previous year. The project was named as winner of this year’s unwanted accolade by a panel of judges comprising BD editor Thomas Lane and assistant editor Elizabeth Hopkirk, as well as Twentieth Century Society director Catherine Croft and urbanist David Rudlin who also took into account comments from readers.

June 9, 2017

Job satisfaction is high but more focus is needed on employee development ⁰

by Claire McCartney • Comment, Wellbeing, Workplace

The CIPD/ Halogen’s Employee Outlook survey of over 2,000 employees has been tracking employee perceptions of work and working lives since 2009. In this article we explore trends in employee satisfaction with their jobs and broader engagement measures, as well as views on managers and satisfaction with learning and employee development opportunities and career fulfilment. Job satisfaction has increased since 2016, with 64 percent of employees now saying they are satisfied with their jobs, compared to just 16 percent who are dissatisfied. What is particularly interesting, though, is that job satisfaction continues to rise in the public sector at levels not seen before in this survey series. Seventy-two per cent of public sector workers are now satisfied with their jobs, compared to just 13 percent who are dissatisfied. While it’s not clear from this research exactly why such improvements have been made, it is part of an overall improvement in scores for the public sector which include attitudes to senior leaders, opportunities for voice in the workplace, as well as increased opportunities to learn and grow.

February 13, 2017

Neuroscience can function as a management tool for personal development ⁰

by Mike James • Comment, Workplace

More and more employers, especially big corporates, are looking at ways to improve employee satisfaction, creativity and productivity. The business of managing change in the workplace has received much attention. It’s a clever game, and one that’s fuelling a booming growth in neuroscientific consulting. Coaching staff to embrace change and think about personal growth, alongside individualised learning programmes are hot topics in the business world. Brain science is a growth industry and it’s providing interesting answers to many important questions about why affecting change in the workplace has historically suffered low success rates, and how that can change.

February 9, 2017

Birmingham creates city development blueprint with global dimension ⁰

by Mark Eltringham • Cities, News

Researchers at the University of Birmingham have developed a way of investigating or diagnosing the challenges facing their home city that could be used to help improve the lives of city dwellers around the world. And the blueprint they are working with could help city policy makers and other countries to take more effective actions to boost the quality of life for residents by providing better outcomes. Project leaders are already looking at how the work might be applied in countries like India, Brazil and South Africa. The first part of the Urban Living Birmingham pilot project used a wide range of data and evidence used by city leaders to inform policy combined with an analysis of 248 datasets – identifying the challenges facing Birmingham.

August 9, 2016

UK and Australia lead the world in tech use for sustainable development ⁰

by Mark Eltringham • Environment, News, Wellbeing

A new report from the United Nations claims to identify the world’s leading nations in the use of the Internet to support sustainable development. The E-Government Survey 2016, assesses how e-government principles are applied to support the UN’s 15 year plan to use sustainable development to end poverty, boost growth and tackle climate change. The report highlights how the application of new technology can make government institutions more transparent, accountable and effective, encourage democratic participation, improve the delivery of services and allow policy makers to take account of the big picture when coming to decisions. The report claims that the UK government is setting worldwide standards for other countries to emulate. The model is replicated in Australia, Europe and New Zealand. South Korea was placed third and the report highlights successes in countries like Turkey and China, but states that many regions are not taking advantage of the opportunities offered them by the Internet.

June 30, 2016

Lack of leadership development undermines organisational agility ⁰

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

Employers are failing to address weaknesses in leadership development, and this is compromising their organisational agility, according to a report published by Orion Partners. The report, Agile HR: Mindset Not Methodology found that those questioned understood the importance of agility, with 67 percent of HR professionals describing it as “business critical.” Yet despite 59 percent agreeing that the people management practice that has the greatest impact on organisational agility is leadership development, none of the senior HR professionals polled rated their organisations as highly effective at building versatile leaders and 75 percent believed they were no more than moderately effective in this area. Attempts to make their companies more agile with the introduction of flexible working are not being focused correctly either, which the authors suggest is reaping the consequences of failing to sell the wider business benefits of effective HR management.

April 26, 2016

New agreement to drive sustainable property development in Europe ⁰

by Sara Bean • Cities, Environment, Facilities management, News, Property

The World Green Building Council (WGBC) – a network of national green building councils aimed at influencing the green building marketplace – has announced that its Europe Regional Network has signed a Memorandum of Understanding to help drive sustainable property development with the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD). The EBRD works to support the development of the private sector across Europe, the Southern and Eastern Mediterranean and Central Asia, and the provision of modern real estate infrastructure is essential to support economic expansion and diversification in these regions. The new agreement provides a framework to cooperate on a number of areas of sustainable building practices, including promoting best industry standards and practices for energy and resource efficiency, climate resilience and building sustainability; promoting innovative zero-waste design, green urban planning and low carbon emissions; engaging in policy dialogue; and mobilisation of financial resources.