Search Results for: agile

Two thirds of bosses say workers don’t like change. Workers disagree.

Two thirds of bosses say workers don’t like change. Workers disagree.

changeNew research by HR solutions provider People First, part of MHR International, claims that nearly three-quarters of bosses think that their employees do not like change. However, the same research suggests that 1 in 4 employees say that it is in fact their bosses who do not like change and who are holding the business back. Surveying the attitudes of 250 bosses and 250 employees from firms across the UK, the research highlights an interesting disconnect between bosses and their staff when asked about the other’s shortcomings. More →

UK falling behind in global skills race

UK falling behind in global skills race

The UK skills gapNew research published today by City & Guilds Group claims that the UK risks being left behind as employers across the world race to upskill their workers. As digitalisation and fluctuating economies transform the skills needed in the workplace today, employees are less confident than their bosses that they’ll have skills they need for the future. The study, conducted by City & Guilds Group business Kineo, surveyed 6500 employees and 1300 employers across 13 international markets. It found that employers in developing countries with rapidly emerging economies are among the most likely to ramp up investment in upskilling their workforce in the near future, compared to developed economies such as the UK.

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Office design can be a vehicle for equality and change

Office design can be a vehicle for equality and change

workplace design for inclusionThe way companies design physical environments is a direct reflection of their values and beliefs. Inequality is hardwired into the “standard” office layout, with perimeter offices and fixed desks offering limited settings for unstructured collaboration and recreation, further perpetuating the issue. Modern office design often favours extroversion and emphasises a hierarchy with values that benefit only a small portion of the overall workforce, contributing to organisation-wide imbalance. So how do we create more inclusive workplaces that can be leveraged as vehicles for change? More →

Digitalisation hindered by lack of leadership

Digitalisation hindered by lack of leadership

digitalisation held back by lack of leadershipDespite its importance in staying competitive and accelerating growth, business leaders are not seen as driving their company’s digital transformation, according to Mercer’s latest survey report, ‘Still transforming or already performing?. While 61 percent of UK HR leaders confirm that digitalisation is embedded in their company’s corporate strategy, only 3 out of 5 rate leadership as the main driver of transformation. More →

Older workers outshine younger colleagues on cybersecurity

Older workers outshine younger colleagues on cybersecurity

cybersecurityAccording to a new report on behaviour and attitudes to cybersecurity among different age groups, employees over the age of 30 are more likely to adopt cybersecurity best practice than younger colleagues who have grown up around digital technology. The report, Meeting the expectations of a new generation. How the under 30s expect new approaches to cybersecurity (registration), also indicates that the younger generation is more anxious about cybersecurity and their company’s ability to tackle the number of security threats.

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Two thirds of people think they could work just as well without supervision

Two thirds of people think they could work just as well without supervision

A new study from Kimble Applications claims that workers are predisposed to be happiest at agile organisations and would appreciate managers who speak less and listen more. According to the report, Britain’s employees are fed up with overbearing bosses, hungry to participate more at work and wished they had more of a two-way dialogue with their superiors, new research has found. The survey also claims that more than two-thirds of British workers (69 per cent) feel they could do their job just as well or even better without their manager’s input. More →

WeWork, false narratives and the superstate of office design

WeWork, false narratives and the superstate of office design

WeWork New YorkSo, WeWork then. As the dust settles on whatever has happened, some lessons may be emerging. Many of them are presented in this comment in The Economist and this piece in The Intelligencer in which Scott Galloway of NYU Business School claims that the problems have been evident for a long time. He doesn’t hold back. More →

Firms turn to temp staff to acquire digital skills

Firms turn to temp staff to acquire digital skills

As well as using contingent staff to help them become more agile, research from recruitment consultancy Robert Half UK claims that over three quarters (76 percent) of employers are turning to the temporary market to aid their digital transformation efforts. More →

A fantastic workplace does not have to be innovative, just fantastic

A fantastic workplace does not have to be innovative, just fantastic

The agile workplace at SkyA recent report from AWA, Global Workplace Analytics and Haworth identified that over half of those surveyed in 130 organisations work in assigned positions. What was more interesting – than the report was the positioning of the key findings – the message being that in many respects organisations were denying their people the full benefits of an agile (or activity-based – we’ll use agile here) workplace, the blunted old farts.

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Flexible office space transforming US commercial property sector

Flexible office space transforming US commercial property sector

An image from the CBRE report on flexible office spaceA new report from CBRE claims that the US market for flexible office space will generate significant growth over the next decade, even in the event of a recession, as flex operators consolidate and forge financial partnerships with building owners. More →

AI revolution means 120 million people need to reskill

AI revolution means 120 million people need to reskill

The AI revolution means a large number of people need to reskill soonAs many as 120 million workers in the world’s 12 largest economies may need to be retrained or reskilled over the next three years as a result of the advent of artificial intelligence (AI) and automation, according to a new IBM Institute for Business Value (IBV) study. It also suggests that only 41 percent of CEOs surveyed say that they have the people, skills and resources required to execute their business strategies.

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Escaping the hell of hot desking

Escaping the hell of hot desking

The hell of hot deskingHot-desking is a scourge on modern work. That’s the only conclusion you will draw by reading ‘The hidden hell of hot-desking is much worse than you think’ (published in the FT on 28 July 2019) and dozens more like it that continue to appear in national media and top business titles. The piece contends that organisations are using the guise of agile working to excuse their cost-saving prerogative. In reality it is a penny-pinching ploy that “strips people of their own desk and casts them out to the noisy, chaotic wasteland of shared work spots,” or so we’re told. More →