June 9, 2014

The boardroom knows tech is important but leaves IT decisions to others, claims report

There is a recognition within the boardroom of the importance of information and communications technology (ICT), but business leaders see tech as something for technology managers to worry about and many are unable to make effective decisions anyway because they are digitally illiterate (and some are proud of the fact). Those are some of the findings of a new report from Sunguard Availability Services, published in partnership with Professor Joe Peppard of the European School of Management and Technology in Berlin. The study claims that the growing strategic role of technology offers chief information officers (CIOs) a chance to elevate their position and drive the wider business agenda. But also that this can be held back by a lack of engagement, or even the boardroom taking no account of ICT whatsoever, with strategic IT alignment remaining an afterthought for many organisations.

March 1, 2024

Siemens, Enlighted, and Zumtobel Group partner to advance smart building solutions

by Freddie Steele • Company news, Lighting

Siemens and Enlighted, a property technology company owned by Siemens, announce a strategic partnership with Zumtobel Group, the lighting provider, to advance the adoption of smart building technologies including intelligent IoT lighting, setting new standards for efficiency and sustainability in building operations worldwide. At the core of the partnership lies the technical integration of Enlighted’s industry-leading smart sensors into Zumtobel Group’s lighting portfolio, both under Zumtobel and Thorn brands. More →

January 26, 2024

Age gaps between colleagues linked to lower productivity

by Jayne Smith • News

Employees who are much younger than their managers report lower productivity than those closer in age due to a lack of collaboration between employees of different generations, according to new research from the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE) in collaboration with consulting firm, Protiviti. An external survey conducted by LSE of 1,450 employees in the finance, technology and professional services industries in the UK and USA, found that friction between different generations was driving down productivity and that firms need to develop intergenerationally inclusive work practices. More →

January 23, 2024

Landlords and occupiers don’t see eye to eye on the decarbonisation of real estate

by Neil Franklin • Environment, Facilities management, News, Property

Progress on the decarbonisation of real estate portfolios is being held back by a lack of understanding and collaboration between property owners and occupiers, according to a new report from the Urban Land Institute C Change programme. If better alignment between the two parties is not prioritised, it has the potential to increase total emissions from the built environment over the medium to long-term as real estate decisions are often medium to long-term commitments, according to the authors. More →

December 12, 2023

Government brings forward plans to relocate 22,000 jobs away from London

by Neil Franklin • News, Property, Public Sector

The UK Government is bringing forward its target to relocate 22,000 civil service roles out of London. It comes as new figures today show that 16,061 roles have already been moved out of London, exceeding the commitment to relocate 15,000 roles by 2025 as part of the Places for Growth programme. Under the newly announced plans, Aberdeen, Darlington and Greater Manchester are to host second headquarters for major departments. Darlington is already the Treasury’s second headquarters.

October 1, 2023

Three days in the office seems to be the ‘sweet spot’ for hybrid working

by Neil Franklin • Flexible working, News

A new survey concludes that three days a week in the office appears to be optimal for many people to optimise key aspects of workplace culture and performance. The report claims to provide empirical analysis into the impact that remote and hybrid working are having on employee experience, culture and productivity. The report commissioned by Ipsos Karian and Box is based on a survey of 1,400 full-time UK office workers. More →

July 18, 2023

We need better evidence to help protect people at work

by Sarah Cumbers • Comment, Workplace

We make decisions at work every day and for those in complex roles or in fast-changing situations, it can feel like a continuous process. In business, of course, the choices we make can have a significant impact on the bottom line and, more importantly, our people, the environment and the communities we’re operating in. With so much riding on what we choose to do, our decision-making processes must be designed to maximise our chances of successful outcomes. This is especially so when our decisions involve how to protect people at work so can be literally a matter of life or death. More →

June 29, 2023

Business leader express concerns about ethics and implementation of artificial intelligence

by Jayne Smith • News, Technology

A new survey of 1,000 global business leaders claims that although leaders say they understand how valuable artificial intelligence can be to their business, over two-thirds (69 percent) say their organisation lacks the skills to fully implement artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML). The report – AI IQ: Insights on Artificial Intelligence in the Enterprise [registration] – also suggests that the majority of business leaders believe humans should be involved in AI decision-making, citing ethical and data concerns. More →

April 25, 2023

People responding to artificial intelligence by focussing on their ‘human skills’

by Neil Franklin • News, Technology, Workplace

Globally, workers are focused on developing their human skills, even as they see a future dominated by technology-driven work, artificial intelligence and automation, according to a new study from Pearson. For the latest edition of the Pearson Skills Outlook series [registration], Pearson partnered with Google to examine how and why people in the US, UK, India, and Brazil are looking to upskill as they face a rapidly changing economy. More →

April 4, 2023

Flexible working is the new “work-life currency”, claims new report

by Neil Franklin • Flexible working, News, Technology

A new report, Future of Work Life, from Ericsson Consumer & IndustryLab explores the ways in which employees and employers navigate the current work environment and their views on the future of work shaped by the pandemic, digitalisation and the fluctuating labour market. Almost half (48 percent) of the employees in the study say that they enjoy increased flexibility at work. 52 percent consider flexible work hours or locations as key requirements, and 25 percent say that flexibility is the top priority if they would start to look for a new job. Doing work rather than going to work is seen as central in this new way of thinking about work life. More →

February 14, 2023

Flexible working has been an ‘unexpected gift’ for employers

by Neil Franklin • Flexible working, News

A survey from CBRE claims that the imposition of more hybrid and flexible working has been an ‘unexpected gift’ for both employers and employees. The poll of 20,000 employees worldwide suggests that flexibility plays an important role for both employee and employer decision making. Other benefits include increased productivity and more innovative thinking. Flexibility about where and when work takes place was particularly important to workers. Around 40 percent of workers both globally and in the UK, noted flexibility as the primary factor in assessing job opportunities, with a company’s commitment to work-life balance another crucial factor. More →

February 2, 2023

Do you walk or talk people centric change for success?

by Jennifer Bryan • Comment, JB, Workplace

In previous articles, I shared that there is a McKinsey report that states that 75 percent of the organisations that were listed at the time on the S&P would no longer exist by 2025 – they would either merge, be bought out or go bankrupt. This all means that organisations have to change and adapt or die. That is now less than 2 years away, so some organisations are now gone, some are struggling and some have adapted. With that said, organisations can no longer afford to get change wrong – they have to get it right and right now. And one way of doing this is to focus on people centric change. More →