Search Results for: automation

HR should play a more strategic role in business resilience

HR should play a more strategic role in business resilience

HR and resilienceAlmost every organisation now knows it must become more resilient as the economy emerges from the pandemic. As well as coping with crises and global events, organisations must excel in the face of the many less high-profile disruptions that hit an organisation – from supply chain bottlenecks to shifts in demand and sudden skills shortages. HR departments have a major role to play in this but to do so successfully requires a change of mindset, taking a step back from traditional administrative functions and reviewing the entire business as if they were an outsider. More →

Cities could be more important post-pandemic, not less, suggests report

Cities could be more important post-pandemic, not less, suggests report

Manchester, one of the UK's great citiesParadoxically, more in-person work environments and the concentration of jobs in cities could be a medium- to long-term impact of the pandemic’s shift to remote working, suggests Citi GPS Technology at Work: The Coming of the Post-Production Society, a report produced by Citi and the Oxford Martin School at the University of Oxford. The report cites the automation of manufacturing and clerical tasks alongside the potential for professional services jobs that can be done remotely to be done cheaper overseas as the start of a foundational shift in developed economies. The future of work in these countries, it suggests, could be based largely on innovation, exploration and creative thinking which require face-to-face interaction and geographic proximity. More →

Surge in use of digital learning in wake of COVID-19

Surge in use of digital learning in wake of COVID-19

digital learningThe COVID-19 pandemic has led to a surge in digital learning with seven in ten organisations (70 percent) reporting an increase in use of digital or online solutions over the last year, according to the latest Learning and Skills at Work report from the CIPD and Accenture. More than a third of organisations (36 percent) have also increased their investment in learning technology in the last year. More →

Businesses prioritise tech and outsourcing to overcome front of house challenge

Businesses prioritise tech and outsourcing to overcome front of house challenge

front of houseSwiss Post Solutions (SPS), has released new research that claims how the pandemic has impacted front of house strategies for UK businesses. Half (50 percent) of UK companies plan to introduce interactive technologies to help overcome new ‘front of house’ (FOH) challenges that have been imposed by COVID19. A further 41 percent of businesses plan to outsource FOH services altogether. More →

Business leaders lose touch with remote working employees

Business leaders lose touch with remote working employees

EMEA business leaders are out of touch with what employees want in the hybrid workplace experience, and 66 percent of organisations plan to adopt a different operating model than they had before the COVID-19 pandemic, according to a new survey from Unisys Corporation. More →

Buildings with a digital twin have a lot to tell us

Buildings with a digital twin have a lot to tell us

digital twinThe expression “if these walls could talk” is taking on an entirely new meaning with the emerging opportunity to create digital twins for buildings. Across the entire lifecycle of structures such as office buildings, hospitals, airports and hotels, creating a digital twin can significantly reduce costs, improve efficiencies, speed construction delivery, as well as enhance performance and the user experience. More →

Developers who capitalise on wellness will benefit in post-pandemic world

Developers who capitalise on wellness will benefit in post-pandemic world

developersJust as the pandemic has forced many to re-think their relationship to the office, developers and building owners have been forced to reassess the service they offer to meet the altered needs of occupiers, according to research by JLL. More →

The digital world is not necessarily greener than the physical world

The digital world is not necessarily greener than the physical world

No sooner had the world learned about the existence of non-fungible tokens (NFTs) than we also learned how much of a problem they could be for the environment. An NFT is digital token in a similar way to Bitcoin, except there’s only one of each NFT. It is associated with a piece of content, guaranteed unique and so is worth whatever somebody will pay for it. In the case of a digital artist called Beeplewho had only ever previously sold a piece for $100, this was $69 million for an NFT for a digital collage of images called Everydays: The First 5000 Days sold at Christie’s in MarchBought by a collector in Singapore, this made him one of the world’s “top three most valuable living artists,” according to the auction house.  More →

Innovation, efficiency and temporary staffing drive business survival in the UK

Innovation, efficiency and temporary staffing drive business survival in the UK

businessMore than a year after the coronavirus was first reported the UK, the impact on business is undeniable. Research conducted by SD Worx, claims that the UK has faced second most dismissals of employees (30 percent) in the past year, trailing slightly behind Austria (30.9 percent) yet ahead of France (29.1 percent). More →

People judge the actions of robots based on their appearance

People judge the actions of robots based on their appearance

If a robot worker makes a mistake on the job, or annoys customers, businesses may not give it a pink slip and a cardboard box for its office belongings, but companies may be forced to shut down these expensive machines, according to a team of researchers. Knowing how to better design and manage these robots may help service industry firms both avoid losing their investments in the robots, as well as secure an increasingly necessary source of extra help, the team added. More →

Moving front-line staff between company locations might be key to boosting innovation

Moving front-line staff between company locations might be key to boosting innovation

front-lineTemporary moves boost creativity according to new research from Rotterdam School of Management, Erasmus University (RSM). The study suggests, when front-line employees are exchanged between company sites, they contribute more valuable ideas. More →

Serfs up for the self-employed and gig economy workers (and the middle class)

Serfs up for the self-employed and gig economy workers (and the middle class)

One of the most significant consequences of the 2008 economic crash was a remarkable shift in the nature of employmentThe recession led to a surge in the number of people categorised as self-employed. The numbers have been increasing ever since, albeit at a lower rate. By the end of 2019, the number of self-employed people in the UK exceeded five million people for the first time. Fifteen percent of the workforce.  More →