December 16, 2019

Is flexible working the answer to improved employee mental health and productivity?

by Sarah King • Comment, Flexible working

One of Labour’s flagship policies for its 2019 general election campaign was to introduce a four-day week. More accurately, its policy is to introduce a 32-hour week. This brought flexible working again into the media spotlight. Research suggests that flexible working and reduced hours can have multiple benefits, including improved mental health and greater productivity. More →

December 11, 2019

Tech trends to watch that will disrupt 2020 and beyond

by Dave Coplin • AI, Comment, Public Sector

The next decade promises to offer both incredible opportunity and challenge for all of us. Technologies like artificial intelligence will no longer be considered new but will instead be at the heart of some huge disruptive changes that will run right through our society. In particular, AI will start to enable the automation of many things that were previously deemed too complex or even too “human”. We’ll see these changes and tech trends at work – traditional professions like accountancy, lawyers and others will over time, see significant portions of what they do be taken over by virtual robots. Vocations such as lorry drivers, taxi drivers and even chefs may disappear as machines are introduced to perform the same function but with more consistent results and less risk. More →

December 10, 2019

Wellbeing is increasingly in the hands of HR and the future looks bright as a result

by Chris Pinner • Comment, Wellbeing

The future of workplace wellbeing is in HR’s hands; hence, the discipline is even more pivotal to organisational success. As admin and payroll become increasingly digitised and automated, time can be spent more effectively, supporting good people to do good work. Influential people are now catching on to the importance of wellbeing. New Zealand’s Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern told More than GDP, “We need to address the societal wellbeing of our nation, not just the economic wellbeing”. Her government will set a budget to measure wellbeing and the long-term impact of policy on the quality of people’s lives. More →

December 5, 2019

Gartner report sets out top 5 priorities for HR leaders in 2020

by Neil Franklin • News, Workplace

As 2020 approaches, HR leaders are focused on five key measures to continue driving business outcomes, according to a report from Gartner. The priorities include: building critical skills and competencies, strengthening the current and future leadership bench, incorporating organisational design and change management, driving digital business transformation, and enhancing employee experience. More →

November 27, 2019

UK falling behind in global skills race

by Neil Franklin • News, Workplace

New 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.

November 22, 2019

Contribution of “digital workers” to grow by 50 percent over next two years

by Neil Franklin • AI, News, Technology

A new survey from research firm IDC claims to reveal the true extent of software robots supporting humans in the workplace. The IDC whitepaper, Content Intelligence for the Future of Work (registration), sponsored by ABBYY, indicates that the contribution of software robots, or what the report calls digital workers, to the global workforce will increase by over 50 percent in the next two years. These results, from a survey of 500 senior decision-makers in large enterprises, illustrate a fundamental shift to a future of work dependent on human-machine collaboration. More →

November 15, 2019

UK industries leading global charge for AI investment, study claims

by Neil Franklin • AI, News

A new study claims that the UK is at the forefront of a global drive for Artificial Intelligence investment, with a near universal 99 percent of UK respondents planning to invest in AI, versus 80 percent in North America, and 83 percent in mainland Europe. The report from IFS (registration) sets out to explore the perception and adoption of AI within core industries worldwide. It polled the views of 600 decision makers working with technology and suggests that AI will predominantly be used to make existing workers more productive (60 percent) and add value to products and services (48 percent).

November 11, 2019

Smart cities must develop in surprising ways to meet new challenges

by Neil Franklin • Cities, News, Technology

The new generation of smart cities should embrace new technologies and fresh approaches to combat their growing list of challenges, claims a new report from ABI Research. In its new whitepaper, 5 Ways Smart Cities Are Getting Smarter (registration), ABI suggests that digital twins and urban modeling, resilient cities, circular cities, micro-mobility, and smart spaces as the five new urban strategy shifts that will make smart cities smarter in the new ways they need. More →

November 8, 2019

Brexit continues to affect jobs market in UK, despite latest delay

by Mark Eltringham • News, Workplace

Although the stuttering resolution of the Brexit issue has had a mixed impact on the economy so far, a new study claims that the effects can be discerned in the jobs market. The number of vacancies has dropped below 1 million for the first time in over four years, after losing a total of 132,201 jobs in the past 12 months according to the latest research from job search engine Adzuna.co.uk. The Energy, Oil and Gas industry has seen just over a third of jobs wiped from the job market in the past 12 months as Brexit uncertainty continues to unsettle the job market. Domestic work has seen an equal number of jobs lost in the past 12 months (34 percent). More →

November 6, 2019

People game hiring processes they know are carried out by an AI

by Jayne Smith • AI, News, Workplace

New research into job-seeker attitudes to digitisation, automation and AI in the recruitment process claims to reveal how job-seekers are cheating recruitment technology platforms, to better their chances of landing a job. Seven in ten (67 percent) job seekers admitted to deliberately using optimisation strategies to improve their chances of getting a job. The study, Hiring Humans vs. Recruitment Robots, from recruitment software provider TribePad canvassed the views of over 1,000 employees and job seekers in the UK. The report’s key claim is that, as technology continues to permeate the recruitment and HR industry, job-seekers are looking for ways to game the systems. More →

November 6, 2019

Cyber security remains a key tech priority for businesses

by Neil Franklin • News, Technology

Organisations are prioritising investment in cyber security to strengthen their defences against their perceptions of a growing threat, according to a new survey of its customers to gauge their technological priorities by Softcat. According to a BBC report, 55 percent of UK firms have experienced a cyber-attack in 2019, up 15 percent compared to last year, signifying a growing threat so their fears may be well-founded. Softcat’s survey claims that 83 percent of industries ranking cyber security as their biggest technology priority for the year ahead. More →