Search Results for: performance

Cultural issues hold back digital transformation

Cultural issues hold back digital transformation

New research from Oracle and the WHU – Otto Beisheim School of Management claims that many organisations have invested in the right technologies to enjoy the benefits of digital transformation, but lack the culture, skills or behaviours necessary to reap them fully. According to the report (registration), business efficiency increases by two thirds when the right technology is implemented alongside seven key factors but only by a fifth when implemented without them.

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Flexible office revolution shows no signs of slowing

Flexible office revolution shows no signs of slowing

The latest research from JLL, Disruption or distraction, where next for the UK flex market sector, claims that the real revolution of flexible office space lies in the variety of solutions now on offer and that the market has seen more changes over the last three years than the previous 30 combined as it continues to grow and evolve. JLL’s research claims that over the next five years more than 10m sq ft will be added to the stock in the key UK cities and flex space will account for over 8.5 percent of the total office stock by 2023. More →

Working lives dominated by stress and overwork

Working lives dominated by stress and overwork

Working lives are dominated by stressOver-work, stress and poor work-life balance are undermining attempts to improve the quality of working lives in the UK, new research from the CIPD claims. Over 5,000 people were surveyed for the UK Working Lives Survey, an annual assessment of job quality across seven different categories including pay and benefits, contracts and employment terms, and voice and representation. More →

On target for a toxic workplace culture

On target for a toxic workplace culture

A young woman using a sextant to illustrate the idea of setting targets to create a good workplace cultureSetting clear and bold targets has become part of leadership 101. We take it for granted that the first action for anyone taking over the helm of a business or team is to state or re-state targets. The rise of “management by objectives” in the 1970s drove the initial focus on target-setting and, in line with shoulder pads and lapel width, the 1990s saw a shift in management culture to ‘bigger is always better’. In 1994 Jim Collins and Jerry Porras wrote their highly influential best seller Built to Last. In it, they memorably wrote of the power of BHAGs – big, hairy, audacious goals. Targets were no longer for hitting but represented something bigger, a longer-term vision of the future.

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Sedus Stoll enjoys record breaking year

Sedus Stoll enjoys record breaking year

Sedus Smart Office

Sedus Stoll Group has announced another impressive set of financial results with an increase in revenue to €212.3 million (2017: €191.2 million), surpassing the €200 million milestone by a large margin for the first time in its history, and a profit of €9.8 million. As well as a 2.2 percent overall increase in the total market volume for its office furniture business, the firm enjoyed an increase in new orders of 5.3 percent, consolidating its position as one of the most successful and innovative firms in the European market. More →

Failure to understand employees creates culture of mistrust

Failure to understand employees creates culture of mistrust

CEOs failure to understand employees creating a culture of mistrustEmployees trust their CEOs less than they did seven years ago, although trust in line managers remains the same, new research claims. It also suggests that one of the reasons for mistrust is that CEOs seem unable to understand the role of their employees and the contributions they make to working culture. According to Trust in Leaders, by The Institute of Leadership & Management, workers trust their CEOs considerably less than they did in 2011, as compared to then, the results show trust in CEOs has fallen by 8 percent.

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Brits work longer hours but still struggle to make ends meet

Brits work longer hours but still struggle to make ends meet

Underpaid workersBrand new research from CV-Library, an independent job board, suggests that despite 64 percent of Brits working more hours than they’re contracted to, over half (55.1 percent) struggle to make ends meet at the end of each month.  The study surveyed 1,200 working professionals and found that over a third (36.7 percent) work 1-3 hours extra per week, amounting to 96 hours per year and meaning Brits are missing out on £1,606.08 unpaid overtime. In addition to this, 11.3 percent work more than 15 hours extra per week, totalling a staggering £12,045.60 unpaid overtime. More →

SMEs are driving job growth but lack skills says OECD

SMEs are driving job growth but lack skills says OECD

Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) have been a significant driver of employment growth in recent years, mainly through the creation of new firms, including in high-growth sectors such as information and communication technologies (ICT). But the new OECD SME and Entrepreneurship Outlook claims to highlight how most SME job creation has been in sectors with below average productivity levels, with SMEs typically paying employees around 20 percent less than large firms. While SMEs are more engaged in new organisational or marketing practices than large firms, and sometimes more innovative in developing new products and processes, many continue to struggle disproportionately with developing the skills and resources needed to navigate the increasing complexity in technologies and markets.

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Workplace happiness levels plummeting

Workplace happiness levels plummeting

According to a survey of employees, most people are unhappy and dissatisfied in our jobs and almost half struggle to get out of bed in the morning to go to work. The survey by Personal Group, a provider of human resources services, claims that there has been a 20 percent drop in workplace happiness over the past three years. Today, only 41 percent of the workforce are happy most of the time at work, down from 43 percent in 2018 and 51 percent in 2017. More →

Boosting low carbon building renovation across Europe

Boosting low carbon building renovation across Europe

Today, the World Green Building Council’s European network, in collaboration with eight cities and partners announced the launch of Build Upon, the next phase of what it claims is the world’s largest collaborative project on building renovation. With cities across the world declaring climate emergencies and climate action high up on the agenda for the European elections, this European Union (EU) funded project will empower cities across Europe to join forces with national governments and industry to decarbonise their existing building stock by 2050 and so increase the proportion of low carbon building across Europe. More →

Overconfidence can be misinterpreted as competence, claims study

Overconfidence can be misinterpreted as competence, claims study

The higher a person rates their social class, the more likely they are to overestimate their talents and the more likely they are to be promoted to a level beyond their competence, a new study from researchers at Stanford and the University of Virginia claims. According to the study published by the American Psychological Association in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology,  people who see themselves as being in a higher social class tend to have an exaggerated belief that they are more adept than their equally capable lower-class counterparts, and that overconfidence can often be misinterpreted by others as greater competence in important situations, such as job interviews.

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Calls for urgent reform of skills policy development and implementation

Calls for urgent reform of skills policy development and implementation

City & Guilds Group is calling on Government to urgently rethink how skills and education policy in the UK is designed and delivered, in light of a new report launched by the Group today. Sense and Instability 2019 finds that important lessons from the implementation of skills policy over several decades have not been learned, meaning badly-needed training and education programmes are not fit for purpose or delivering the right results for people, businesses and the economy.
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