Search Results for: business

Economic recovery may be constrained by lack of skills and office space

by • Property, Technology, Workplace

Supply and demandThere are signs that the nascent recovery in the UK economy is already starting to put pressure on the availability of skilled employees and appropriate commercial property for the most rapidly growing sectors. While the Government has announced that the UK’s economy has been growing at its fastest rate since 2007, a new survey published by the UK Commission for Employment and Skills (UKCES ) has claimed that nearly a quarter of vacancies in the UK have gone unfilled because of a shortage of much-needed skills. At the same time, claims a new report from DTZ, demand for commercial property is strengthening with take-up growing across the country while the availability of Grade A office space is declining rapidly.

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RICS global research charts ways for FMs to prove strategic worth

by • Facilities management, Knowledge, News, Property

RICS global research finds new steps to help FMs 'raise the bar'

Facilities managers across the globe need to prove the value of FM to board level directors and establish their role as a strategic and essential business function. A new global RICS Research report Raising the Bar: City Roundtables (Phase II), launched in Washington DC this week, calls for innovative new dimensions of measurement to prove FM’s effectiveness and its impact on productivity and profitability. Authored by Occupiers Journal Ltd, the report builds on findings from RICS’ 2012 research Raising the Bar: Enhancing the Strategic Role of Facilities Management (Phase I), which provided robust evidence for high-performing organisations to introduce FM as a strategic management discipline. The research also provided recommendations to support leading FM practitioners in becoming more strategic. More →

Modern romance: advice to employers on managing workplace relationships

by • Workplace

Managing workplace breakups

 

Despite all the cautionary tales regarding the dangers of office romance, countless employees start up relationships with co-workers every year. Whether sparks fly over the work photocopier or more likely, on a Friday night in the pub after work, the workplace still beats the internet for finding romance. The sheer number of hours we spend with colleagues together with the stresses and strains of work, can lead to close friendships that may go on to become a relationship further down the line. Research shows that couples who met at work are most likely to marry. However, the fact is that many relationships can and do fail and this is no less so for workplace relationships. Whilst clearly there are issues for the people involved to manage, it can also create headaches for employers. More →

Green Building Council slams PM’s plans to slash environmental guidance

by • Environment, Facilities management, Legal news, Property

Plans to slash environmental guidance

The UK Green Building Council has condemned Prime Minister David Cameron’s pledge to scrap realms of environmental guidance. In a speech to the Federation of Small Businesses earlier this week, the Prime Minister said that by March 2015 Defra will have slashed 80,000 pages of environmental guidance, saving businesses around £100 million per year; “to make it vastly easier and cheaper for businesses to meet environmental obligations.” However Paul King, Chief Executive at the UK Green Building Council, branded the move utterly reprehensible. He said: “The Prime Minister’s boasts of ‘slashing 80,000 pages’ of environmental guidance is. It is the same poisonous political rhetoric from Number 10, devaluing environmental regulation in a slash and burn manner. These words are not only damaging and irresponsible, but misrepresent the wishes of so many modern businesses, both large and small.”  More →

International serviced office provider in first single floor letting for ‘Cheesegrater’

by • Company news, News, Property

CheesegrateretcBritish Land and Oxford Properties have announced the Leadenhall Building in the City of London – known as the ‘Cheesegrater’  due to its distinctive tapered profile – has been let to serviced office business Servcorp. The Sydney-based firm already provides businesses with flexible space in some of the world’s most famous buildings, including The Seagram Building, Park Avenue, New York, IFC 2 Hong Kong, Trust Tower Marunouchi, Tokyo and Emirates Towers, Dubai. This, the first single floor letting in the building, is on the 30th floor, which provides 11,851 sq ft of space. Because of the building’s design, floorplates  range from 21,000 sq ft on level 5 to 6,200 sq ft on the top floor (level 45). More →

New data suggests parents are frustrated at lack of flexible working

by • Flexible working, Legal news

No entryFollowing last week’s revelation that the planned extension of Flexible Working Rights to all UK employees would be delayed beyond the proposed implementation date in April, new statistics released by the Department for Business Innovation and Skills (BIS) and a new report from the Working Families charity have revealed some of the disparities that exist in flexible working arrangements across the country. The Working Families survey of a little over 1,000 adults with dependent children, found that almost a third claim there are no flexible arrangements on offer where they work, leading many to feel resentful against their employers, with young fathers twice as likely to strongly resent the lack of flexible working affects their lives.

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Latest generation Y survey reflects characteristically idealistic thinking of youth

by • Comment, News, Workplace

Maybe it’s the cynicism of middle age, but the most recent exploration of arguably, the most over-analysed cohort of workers in history – Generation Y – seems to reflect the archetypal idealistic thinking of youth. For example, while most Millennials (74%) believe business is having a positive impact on society by generating jobs (48%) and increasing prosperity (71%), they think it can do much more to address society’s challenges in the areas of most concern: resource scarcity (68%), climate change (65%) and income equality (64%). And quelle surprise, 50 per cent of Millennials surveyed wanted to work for a business with ethical practices. You have to wonder wouldn’t an examination of the hopes and aspirations of the last couple of generations of younger workers reveal similar ideologies, albeit without the benefit of their digital sophistication? More →

Working from Home Week: good idea, but it doesn’t suit everyone

by • Comment, Flexible working, Workplace

Meeting the management challenges of caring for home workers

Yesterday was hyped as the most depressing day of the year, but it also marked the beginning of Working from Home Week (20-26 January 2014). The idea will resonate with anyone struggling to get out of bed and join the January commute. There are many advantages to home working; but depending on your personality and personal circumstances there are also disadvantages. Yes, you’ll avoid traffic jams/crowded trains, take the dog for a walk when you fancy and can concentrate on a project without annoying interruptions. But working from home has its disadvantages too; including feeling isolated and finding it difficult to remain motivated. Rather like those who decide to move to the country but find it’s too quiet – for some people the buzz of the workplace is vital to their productivity and wellbeing. More →

Largest single office floor plate unveiled in Leeds as demand for space increases

by • Company news, News, Property

No 1 Whiteall RiversideThe largest single office floor plate currently available in Leeds city centre has been unveiled, following the completion of a £1million refurbishment programme at one of the city’s landmark office schemes. The NFU Mutual insurance firm, which owns No 1 Whitehall Riverside, has refurbished 34,000 sq ft of space within the building to transform the 4th and 5th floors. In a first for the Leeds office market, 100 per cent LED lighting has been installed on both floors, to provide low maintenance, good quality lighting which will reduce CO2 emissions for future occupiers. Joint letting agents Jones Lang LaSalle and DTZ say that the building, which provides 127,731 sq ft of office accommodation over eight floors, helps to meet increasing demand for quality office space in the centre of Leeds. More →

BIM learning opportunities expand in new RICS and Salford University agreement

by • Architecture, Facilities management, News, Property, Technology

BIM learning opportunities expand in new RICS and Salford University agreementA distance learning version of a Certificate in BIM Implementation and Management, available online to professionals across the world is being offered by the University of Salford’s School of the Built Environment.  The Certificate is designed to offer those working within the built environment the fundamental knowledge and understanding of BIM principles, terminologies, tools and techniques, including the technology, process and people needs for the successful adoption of BIM on construction projects. A range of new Continuous Professional Development programmes have been agreed with the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS), which includes a one-day Introduction to BIM Implementation and Management and a five-day Certificate in BIM Implementation and Management. More →

Workplace is in a state of flux, with many more changes to come

by • Flexible working, News, Workplace

Workplace is in a state of flux with many more changes to come

Although we remain wary of predicting the workplace of the future, it is useful to discover what managers think is likely to happen, even if some of it is pretty obvious.  In a new survey, HR decision-makers forecast the workforce of 2018 will look fundamentally different from that of 2013; including more workers opting to work part-time rather than retire (92%), managing an older workforce (88%), individuals maintaining and developing skill sets in multiple simultaneous careers (79%) and more than half of all workers being temporary / on contract or freelance (60%). A whopping 98 per cent of organisations have already experienced some kind of major organisational change over the last five years – the most common being restructuring (74%), a change in leadership (64%) and downsizing (64%).  More →

Legal update – Employment Law changes ahead in 2014

by • Facilities management, Flexible working, Legal news, Workplace

Employment Law changes ahead in 2014

Some of the most hotly debated employment law issues from last year; including flexible working, workplace wellbeing and the contractual rights of employees look set to make more headlines this year, because 2014 is shaping up to be another year of significant change in UK employment law. While the timetable is subject to amendment, currently the Government is intending to introduce a number of revisions. The key employment law events and cases to watch out for in 2014 will include changes to TUPE, flexible working, flexible parental leave, employment tribunal procedures, redundancy consultation, Acas conciliation, calculation of holiday pay and post-employment victimisation;  which we list below in the date order in which they are proposed. More →

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