May 31, 2022

A great employee experience depends on great technology

So often, organizations that excel on delivering value for customers, fall short when it comes to delivering the same for their employees. In fact, we can often be guilty of failing to value our employees’ time full stop. Given that we’re living through what’s been dubbed ‘the Great Resignation,’ that’s a major gamble. Companies need to take a step back and understand exactly why employee experience (EX) should be a priority. Plus, how technology can be a key enabler in doing so. More →

May 29, 2022

Office occupiers should invest in neurodiversity, report argues

by Neil Franklin • News, Property, Wellbeing

A new report from the British Council for Offices urges landlords and office occupiers to invest in design for neurodiversity, as disabling workspaces continue to hinder wellbeing. The report examines how the neurodiverse community remains underserved and often unsupported in the current employment ecosystem, and in turn, outlines the considerations that built environment practitioners can take to make offices enabling environments, and the crucial role of more inclusive designs. More →

May 26, 2022

Extraverts don’t always make the best leaders

by Blaine Landis • Comment, Workplace

The ‘extraverted leadership advantage’ is a well-recognised phrase among researchers which describes how the characteristics of an extraverted personality create an advantage in the workplace when it comes to leadership roles. Extraverts are typically outgoing, loud, assertive, and high energy, so if you’re in a meeting with them they tend to speak up often. They can be hard to miss, which is what leads to many extraverts naturally taking on the role of a leader. More →

May 24, 2022

Disabled workers to get their own mentor programme from World Economic Forum

by Neil Franklin • News, Workplace

The Valuable 500, which claims to be the largest network of global CEOs committed to disability inclusion, has announced the launch of Generation Valuable, a programme designed to accelerate opportunities for disabled workers to join the boardroom. Generation Valuable plans to connect and incubate C-Suite talent with disabled talent. Over 1.3 billion people across the world live with some form of disability yet, according to Return on Disability, only 4 percent of businesses are focused on making offerings inclusive of disabled people. Moreover, research shows that minority talent faces promotion barricades just below the Executive rung. More →

May 19, 2022

How to prepare your business for the German Supply Chain Due Diligence Act

by Jessica McGoverne • Business, News, Works Magazine

Global supply chains are incredibly complex, crossing multiple countries and borders. This complexity brings many challenges for businesses, including managing overseas suppliers, maintaining the flow of goods, and navigating currency fluctuations. One of the biggest challenges is the growing number of supply chain laws that companies need to understand and meet. More →

May 11, 2022

The truth about motivation, engagement and the employment of motivated idiots

by Mark Eltringham • Comment, Facilities management, Workplace, Workplace design

The current obsession with engagement and motivation is evident every time you read the business media these days. This is understandable in many ways, not least because it seems true that firms and employees are often working in an atmosphere of mistrust. But one thing that is often noticeable when a profession such as HR gets itself into a debate of this nature is the gap that can exist between practitioners and everybody else offering a view. So while academics can talk about definitions and suppliers seek to apply their solutions to the issue, it is often down to those who work at the sharp end to dish up the truth, however unpalatable or cynical that can seem to be. More →

May 11, 2022

Job dissatisfaction is rife among senior executives – and hybrid working doesn’t help

by Neil Franklin • Flexible working, News, Wellbeing, Workplace

Widespread job dissatisfaction means a large proportion of senior executives from top US companies plan to leave their organisations in the next two years, according to a new report from KellyOCG. According to the 2022 KellyOCG Global Workforce Report – Re:work – there’s a significant disconnect between employees’ expectations and the support employers provide. Through a survey of C-suite leaders, board members, department heads, directors, and managers in 12 countries, including the United States and Canada, the report claims that 78 percent of US executives and 52 percent of Canadian executives, compared to 72 percent of leaders globally, aim to leave their jobs by 2024. More →

May 9, 2022

Human resources professionals should focus on boardroom partnerships

by Jeanette Wheeler • Comment, Workplace

The future of Human Resources remains a hotly debated topic, with conversations often focusing on whether the term is still accurate and how internal and external changes often put HR in a state of flux. As working models shift and new post-pandemic challenges emerge, the focus should be on what skills today’s HR leaders need to support the business and ensure its continuity and success in an evolving landscape. This includes embracing imminent changes to the HR strategy to develop additional skills and capabilities whilst ensuring compliance with new regulations, overcoming staff shortages and meeting heightened candidate expectations. More →

May 3, 2022

Get ready for the artificial intelligence revolution

by Reece Akhtar • AI, Comment, Workplace

Behind every successful business strategy is a talented and motivated workforce that is ready to apply itself and achieve great things. A leader may have a flawless strategy, but if they cannot staff their teams with the most talented individuals, their vision will stay just that. A vision. Unfortunately, the tools organizations use to identify and recruit the best talent have not changed much over the last few decades: resumés, interviews, and reference checks continue to be the predominant methods for evaluating potential. Sadly, many studies demonstrate that these methods are unpredictive, biased, and are inefficient. The good news is that innovations in artificial intelligence offer exciting tools that improve the recruitment process for both organizations and candidates. More →

May 2, 2022

British Council for Offices honours the North’s best workplaces at annual Regional Awards

by Neil Franklin • News, Property, Workplace design

Six workplaces across the North of England and Northern Ireland have been recognised at the annual British Council for Offices (BCO) Regional Awards today. The Northern BCO Awards dinner returned in-person to the Kimpton Clocktower in Manchester, recognising the North’s highest quality developments and setting the standard for excellence in the office sector across the UK. More →

April 26, 2022

Two thirds would take a pay cut in exchange for a four day week

by Neil Franklin • Flexible working, News, Workplace

A poll of 2,000 people published in the new edition of the State of Hybrid Work study from Owl Labs claims that flexibility is now key to retaining top talent in 2022 and beyond. 65 percent of British employees would rather be paid less in exchange for a four day week and over a third (37 percent) would choose to decline a job if flexible hours are not offered. The report claims that offering greater flexibility will prove key to preventing employees from driving the ‘Great Resignation’ – with nearly one in three (31 percent) employees changing jobs in the past two years and a quarter (25 percent) of employees actively seeking a new opportunity in 2022. More →

April 25, 2022

What Jacob Rees Mogg really got wrong about working from the office

by Mark Eltringham • Comment, Flexible working, Property

One of the challenges of taking part in The Great Work Conversation is swerving alignments with the wrong people. It’s easy enough to call out the crusty, passive aggressive notes apparently left by Lord Bufton Tufton on the desks of civil service drones. But it’s equally easy to find yourself tarred with the same brush if you dare to suggest not everybody is about to cocoon themselves in a bedroom forever or swap all they have for a life trundling from place to place in a dormobile, exchanging work for tokens. More →