Search Results for: uk talent market

UK employee engagement and productivity lags behind most of world

by • Knowledge, News, Workplace

UK employee engagement and productivity lags behind most of world

You might regard the concept of employee engagement as just a new way to describe industrial relations, but there is a growing body of research that UK employers need to do more to keep their employees on side. According to the latest missive, low employee engagement and lagging productivity is the greatest employment challenge facing UK business in 2013. Global research by Right Management  found that this was the key concern for one in three (31 per cent ) employers compared to a global average of just one in five (21 per cent ) HR professionals, suggesting that after years of economic uncertainty and doing ‘more with less’, the UK workforce has reached a productivity impasse. (more…)

Flexible working bolstering employment growth in UK

by • News, Workplace

Jobs

Employment will continue to grow in the first quarter of 2013, despite stalled economic growth. According to the latest Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD)/SuccessFactors Labour Market Outlook the proportion of employers that intend to increase total staffing levels remains positive for the first quarter of 2013. Gerwyn Davies, Labour Market Adviser at the CIPD, said: “While muted pay growth is playing a part, we also see continued evidence that employers are reluctant to lay-off skilled workers.” He added: “Some employers are clearly using flexible working and reduced hours to adapt to trading conditions.” (more…)

Gig economy set to boom to meet growing need for digital skills

Gig economy set to boom to meet growing need for digital skills

by • AI, Flexible working, News, Technology, Workplace

Gig economy set to boom to meet increasing need for digital skillsOver a quarter of businesses plan to hire temporary or contract staff in the next 12 months to help plug skills shortages created by digitalisation as more than half of CEOs are concerned about a lack of digital skills within their organisation. This is according to the Robert Half 2019 Salary Guide which argues that technology is reshaping businesses; with two in five UK organisations (38 percent) considering digitalisation as the main evolving force in the workplace today. This shift has created demand for a new set of skills, such as DevOps, data visualisation, data management and analytics. While softer skills such as resilience, adaptability and critical thinking remain key characteristics in potential employees, a third (31 percent) of employers state that a candidate’s technical skillset is their most important consideration when making a new hire. Around 1.6 million1 (28 percent) UK businesses plan to hire temporary or contract staff in the next twelve months, to combat the lack available talent required, which is creating a critical skills gaps in the workplace.

(more…)

Commercial property growth in regional cities driven by financial services firms

Commercial property growth in regional cities driven by financial services firms

by • News, Property

Commercial property markets in regional UK cities are seeing significant growth as major financial institutions reconfigure their office strategiesCommercial property markets in regional UK cities are seeing significant growth as major financial institutions rethink their office strategies to focus on high-value client interactions in London while relocating support functions elsewhere. New research from JLL suggests that financial services firms have accounted for more than 440,000 square feet of inward investment in office space across Glasgow, Leeds, Bristol, Manchester, Edinburgh and Birmingham over the last decade. This is more than the space acquired by manufacturing (238,822 sq. ft) and service industries (224,813 sq. ft), though still behind technology, media and telecoms (TMT) and flexible workspace sectors. (more…)

The amenity trap: why more isn’t always better

The amenity trap: why more isn’t always better

by • Comment, Property

In a competitive market with a growing focus on employee experience, landlords are under pressure to differentiate their buildings, and amenity is often the tool of choice. But more isn’t always better.Over the past decade, amenity has evolved from a ‘nice to have’ to a key part of any office building strategy. In a competitive market with a growing focus on employee experience, landlords are under pressure to differentiate their buildings, and amenity is often the tool of choice. But more isn’t always better. The most successful amenity strategies aren’t defined by volume, novelty, or trend. They’re defined by relevance: to the building, the occupier, and the wider market context. When poorly thought through, amenity can become a sunk cost. When well-executed, it can drive rental growth, increase tenant satisfaction, and support leasing velocity. (more…)

Ping pong, perks, pizza and beanbags won’t get you a better workplace culture

Ping pong, perks, pizza and beanbags won’t get you a better workplace culture

by • Comment, Flexible working, Wellbeing, Workplace, Workplace design

Organisations have become increasingly inward-looking, preoccupied more with symbolic purpose statements and curated internal experiences of workplace culture than delivering real value to the business or its customersBusiness has taken a wrong turn. Since the 2008 financial crisis, best practice has led companies to believe that the route to driving greater productivity and performance is to establish a workplace culture that prioritises purpose, meaning, and how people feel. As a result, organisations have become increasingly inward-looking, preoccupied more with symbolic purpose statements and curated internal experiences than delivering real value to the business or its customers. However, in today’s challenging economic climate, and with UK productivity at an all-time low, this navel-gazing approach is not only proving ineffective, but is also actively holding companies back. What began as a well-meaning shift towards cultivating happier employees has become a harmful distraction from genuine employee engagement and performance. (more…)

Take up of flexible office space hits highest levels since 2019

Take up of flexible office space hits highest levels since 2019

by • News, Property

Research from Savills and its specialist firm Workthere claims that take-up of flexible office space from operators across the UK reached just over 1.06 million sq ft in 2024, which is the highest level since 2019Research from Savills and its specialist firm Workthere claims that take-up of flexible office space from operators across the UK reached just over 1.06 million sq ft in 2024, which is the highest level since 2019 and 12 percent above the total reached in 2023. In line with this growth, Workthere suggests that transaction levels were also up 35 percent, despite a moderate drop in enquiries by 12 percent from a 2023 peak (based on a 2022 index).  There were also positive signs in the make up of demand with Workthere reporting a 7 percent increase in the number of businesses entering a new market and a 33 percent increase from businesses outgoing their current space. (more…)

Small businesses remain upbeat about flexible working

Small businesses remain upbeat about flexible working

by • Flexible working, News

More than 80 percent of SME decision makers expect to see positive outcomes to their workforce from policy changes to flexible working rulesMore than 80 percent of SME decision makers expect to see positive outcomes to their workforce from policy changes to flexible working rules, a new poll  from NatWest Mentor suggests. In April 2024, under the previous Conservative government, new flexible working legislation was introduced across England, Scotland and Wales creating significant changes to how employees make flexible working requests and how employers must respond. (more…)

Lack of space continues to hold back a ‘return to office’

Lack of space continues to hold back a ‘return to office’

by • News, Property, Workplace design

Workers are resisting the so-called return to office due to a lack of desk space, following widespread reductions by companies in the wake of CovidWorkers are resisting the so-called return to office due to a lack of desk space, following widespread reductions by companies in the wake of Covid. A fifth of workers cited a shortage of desks and facilities among their top three reasons for avoiding the office, according to a survey by real estate consultancy Remit Consulting. The firm claims that businesses may have scaled back desk numbers too aggressively after the pandemic spurred a rise in home working. (more…)

How Charles Handy changed the way we speak about the workplace

How Charles Handy changed the way we speak about the workplace

by • Comment, Facilities management

 

Originally published in 2019. There are writers whose language pervades our discourse so extensively that even those who have never heard of them will echo not only their sentiments but also their means of expression. One of these people is Charles Handy, who has just published his latest book 21 Letters on Life and its Challenges at the age of 87. His work resonates to this day and not least because he was so far ahead of the curve in detailing many of the characteristics of modern organisations and the challenges created for everybody by the changing nature of work and business. (more…)

Three quarters of recruiters think young people aren’t prepared for working life

Three quarters of recruiters think young people aren’t prepared for working life

by • News, Workplace

The new report, Changing Face of the Youth Labour Market, claims to uncover a number of worrying insights into employers' perceptions of young workers and their readiness for working lifeA new poll from the the CIPD suggests that many UK employers believe young people aren’t ‘job-ready’ and lack important workplace skills, with a fall in earning and learning opportunities cited as a key reason. The new report, Changing Face of the Youth Labour Market, claims to uncover a number of worrying insights into employers’ perceptions of young workers and their readiness for working life. The study suggests that only just over a quarter (28 percent} of employers who hired individuals aged 16-24 in the past year believe that young people are well-prepared for the world of work. (more…)

Sick days rise 41 percent over last three years as business productivity falls post-pandemic

Sick days rise 41 percent over last three years as business productivity falls post-pandemic

by • News

sick daysSick days have surged by 41 percent over the past three years as employers continue to struggle with declining levels of productivity. The latest Hiring Trends Index by Totaljobs, surveying 1000 UK HR decision-makers, highlights how this rise in absenteeism is perpetuating a cycle of poor business performance affecting both employers and employees. (more…)

«< 7 8 9 10 11 >»