Search Results for: communication

Digital media overload as over half of workers unable to find information easily

Digital media overload as over half of workers unable to find information easily

Over half of UK workers (57 percent), are regularly experiencing an inability to locate information easily across a range of digital media, including emails, apps, messages and the internet, a new survey claims. The survey conducted via YouGov, for Evernote, also revealed that 87 percent of digital workers use up to four devices such as a smartphone, tablet, laptop, desktop, and/or a smart watch on a daily basis to access information. The majority (83 percent) of people use at least one app a day to source information. 31 percent of workers are accessing between five to nine apps per day and 18 percent are utilising over 10 apps a day. However, when it comes to face to face communications rather than digital, respondents were much more positive, with nearly half of those asked (45 percent) expressing that they felt they had the right number of meetings at work, and just 16 percent of those saying they feel their work day is filled with too many meetings.

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Global talent crunch will include UK workforce deficit of nearly 3 million employees by 2030

Global talent crunch will include UK workforce deficit of nearly 3 million employees by 2030

A shortage of skilled employees will continue to impede growth and if not addressed, could have a significant impact on major global economies by 2030, claims a new study. Korn Ferry’s Global Talent Crunch study estimated the gap between future talent supply and demand in 20 major economies at three milestones: 2020, 2025 and 2030, and across three sectors: financial and business services; technology, media and telecommunications (TMT); and manufacturing and found that a talent deficit issue could threaten economies and sectors across Europe. Germany could experience the largest deficit of 4.9 million workers and could lose out on $629.89 billion of annual revenue by 2030 if labour shortages are not addressed – equivalent to 14 percent of its economy.

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UK workers suffer a mid-life work crisis, with engagement levels dipping significantly at 45

UK workers suffer a mid-life work crisis, with engagement levels dipping significantly at 45

UK workers suffer a mid-life work crisis, with engagement levels dipping significantly at 45

A new survey has suggested a correlation between age and engagement levels, with those aged 45 to 54 the most likely to say their manager is not an engaged employee (41 percent), and that they are not an engaged employee (47 percent). In fact, almost two in five (36 percent) British employees think their manager is disengaged at work, according to new research from Rungway. The survey of 2,000 UK people defined an engaged employee as ‘someone who is fully absorbed by and is enthusiastic about their work, and so takes positive action to further the organisation’s interests.’ The findings also suggest managers’ disengagement may impact on employee engagement levels more broadly, with 40 percent of survey respondents saying they themselves are not an engaged employee. Those over 65 were found to be the most engaged at work (76 percent), followed by those aged 25 to 34 (69 percent) and 18 to 24-years-old (64 percent).

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A few demonstrable truths about agile working that aren’t talked about enough

A few demonstrable truths about agile working that aren’t talked about enough

Some topics generate a level of debate totally out of proportion with the underlying facts. Whether it’s the benefit of sit-stand desks, the influence of colour on productivity or the threat (or potential) of robotics in the office, too often it’s all sizzle and no sausage. Agile working falls into that category. It’s one of those ideas that sounds too good to be true: give people a raft of settings to work in, power them up with a few mobile gadgets and you can magically transform your workspace to ‘Google standards’ and attract all the best talent in town. But what about the reality?

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UK companies lag in offering flexible and remote working, claims report

UK companies lag in offering flexible and remote working, claims report

The UK lags behind in the shift to flexible and remote working, putting more emphasis on effective meetings to coordinate scattered teams, according to a new report, The Modern Workplace 2018: People, Places & Technology (registration required) from workplace software company Condeco. Across the world, the study of 500 organisations in six countries claims, workers are in the midst of a shift to flexible and remote working – spending more time working from home, on the move or from multiple locations. However, the UK is significantly behind in embracing these trends, which could negatively affect worker satisfaction as well as holding back firms who are competing for the best international staff.

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

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

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Employee productivity is being hindered by information overload

Employee productivity is being hindered by information overload

Employee productivity is being hindered by information overload, finds surveyMore than a third of employees’ waste significant chunks the working day because of difficulties retrieving valuable information, with two-fifths of businesses admitting to having no processes in place to capture, record and retrieve business communications. The research conducted by 3Gem on behalf of TeleWare, claims that 36 percent of employees have wasted a lot of the working day attempting to resolve an issue when they have forgotten valuable information. A similar number (34 percent) explained that forgetting information has led them to deal ineffectively with customers, suppliers or clients. While around a quarter have missed important deadlines (26 percent) or let their colleagues down (25 percent) due to not having the necessary information front of mind. Britain is not doing very well when it comes to workplace productivity. According to the latest G7 productivity analysis from ONS, in terms of output per hour worked, the UK scored 15.1 percent below the average for the rest of the G7 advanced economies.

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Lack of effort by UK employers to retain staff is increasing talent turnover

Lack of effort by UK employers to retain staff is increasing talent turnover

Lack of effort by UK employers to retain staff is resulting in high talent turnover

UK employers are facing increasing levels of staff turnover with one in seven (14 percent), or roughly 4.5 million employees predicted to seek a new job in near future, according to research carried out by Robert Half UK. Employers have registered this shift with almost three in five (61 percent) reporting an increase in voluntary employee turnover in the last three years. The research also showed that over half (51 percent) expect employee turnover to increase in the next three years. Yet many businesses still fail to employ basic retention initiatives. Only half (47 percent) of organisations run training and development programmes to help build employees’ skills and support career development, while most don’t have any programmes in place to support employee wellbeing or reward performance. Organisations are also missing out on valuable insight from their departing employees, with more than four in five (83 percent) failing to undertake exit interviews.

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Poor company culture is costing the UK economy £23.6 billion per year

Poor company culture is costing the UK economy £23.6 billion per year

A new report claims that a third of people (34 percent) who leave their job, do so because of perceived poor company culture. The report, authored by breatheHR claims the associated cost of bad company culture is around £23.6 billion per year. The survey of 2,500 people analysed in The Culture Economy, also suggests that well over half of SME leaders (60 percent) consider company culture as a ‘nice to have’ in their business.This mindset has a number of knock-on effects. According to the Chartered Management Institute, effective leadership could improve Britain’s productivity by 23 percent. However, with over half (53 percent) of employees surveyed who distrust their senior management, thinking their bosses ‘didn’t appear to know what they were doing’, there is some work to be done.

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Rising demand for Grade A office space helps sustain Edinburgh commercial property market

Rising demand for Grade A office space helps sustain Edinburgh commercial property market

State Street Bank at Quartermile 3 EdinburghTechnology, media, and telecommunications (TMT) companies are continuing to play a prominent role within Edinburgh’s office market, accounting for approximately 30 percent of transactions in the city. But rising demand for Grade A office space in Edinburgh by a variety of organisations, including coworking,  private and public sector tenants has fuelled significant occupier demand during the first quarter of 2018, according to analysis by property consultancy, Knight Frank. The latest commercial property figures show approximately 460,000 sq. ft. of new occupier requirements came onto the market in the first three months of the year from companies looking to lease office space in Edinburgh. More →

Flexible working has a range of positive benefits for workers, a new report confirms

Flexible working has a range of positive benefits for workers, a new report confirms

flexible workingFlexibility in where, when and how people work, including remote work, leads to an increase in innovation, as well as improvements in communication, creativity, productivity and engagement, according to a new study from the Flex+Strategy Group (FSG). This is among the key findings from a national probability telephone survey of 595 full-time employed US adults conducted for FSG by ORC International. The report claims that sixty percent of people who have flexible working options feel they’re “more productive and engaged.” Only 4 percent said they are less so, with 34 percent feeling their level of productivity and engagement is consistent. The results suggest major corporations including IBM may have gotten it wrong when they cited remote work as a barrier to innovation and collaboration and asked employees to re-locate back to company offices. The research also found a significant lack of training required for successful flexibility.

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Employees demand more, not less automation in the workplace

Employees demand more, not less automation in the workplace

Employees demand more, not less automation in the workplaceOver half (52 percent) of workers in a new poll have admitted looking for a new job because of frustrations over what they see as outdated ways of thinking around work practices and automation at their current company. The Digital Work Report 2018 commissioned by Wrike, surveyed just over 3,000 workers from across the UK, France and Germany, and highlighted a number of perceived benefits around automation, but its findings suggest that calls for greater adoption by employees are not being taken seriously. Nearly half of those surveyed (45 percent) in the UK believe automation would give their company a competitive advantage. However, while 39 percent are considering automation tools for some of their job functions, just 4 percent of UK companies have an automation strategy (i.e. planning to implement tools/techniques within next 12-24 months) for the whole company – considerably lower than European counterparts in Germany and France (both at 8 percent).

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