January 20, 2023
Like a lot of people right now, I am struggling to get my head around where we are going with AI. Look around and you’ll see the breathless excitement at the sheer amazingness of it all. And examples of its limitations, how it screws up, how military grade AI can be fooled by somebody hiding in a box, and its sense of humour failure. All of this is demonstrably, paradoxically true. More →
November 23, 2022
A new report by Economist Impact, sponsored by Kyocera Document Solutions, claims that human-centric strategies are needed for businesses to drive sustainable business growth, focusing on three pillars: productivity and infrastructure, employee engagement and culture. The Magnetic Workplace Barometer claims to gauge confidence both today and in five years’ time across what the report terms the three main pillars of productivity and infrastructure; employee engagement; and culture. The barometer scores are scaled from 1 to 7, 7 being the most confident. More →
November 22, 2022
The time has come to re-brand the human resources profession and shift its focus from processes to people, a new report from Sage claims. The authors claim the study emphasises the scale of the challenge facing teams, with 92 percent of executives believing the perceived value of human resources is a challenge for the profession. The poll of more than 1,000 HR and C-suite leaders working in SMBs across six of the world’s largest economies also highlights that 81 percent of human resources professionals are feeling burnt out and 62 percent are considering leaving the industry. More →
November 17, 2022
The Great Workplace Circus headlines its 322nd show of the year with everybody’s favourite distraction, Elon Musk, being driven into the ring by his own shoddily built clown car, declaring he needs everybody at Twitter to be ‘extremely hardcore’ before sacking a few people from his space programme, then setting fire to the tent himself. The swarm of stories spawned by this extraordinary behaviour include this tired and predictable rant in the Telegraph about ‘lazy Brits’. Ironically, there’s nothing lazier than a columnist on this rag with some space to fill. More →
November 10, 2022
The argument about what it takes to encourage people to come into the office more often seems to have boiled down to an equation. It’s now common to hear somebody argue that the office has to be worth the commute it takes to get to it. So, if you want people to spend more time in the building, you need to do the maths. O must be greater than or equal to C More →
November 4, 2022
It is ironic that while we live in a world in which we are witnessing the automation of more and more human skills and capabilities, we are often best able to understand the way people function with symbols of mechanisation. That is the underlying conceit of what turned out to be one of the animated film events of recent years, Pixar’s Inside Out. The movie depicts the inner workings of the human brain as under the control of tiny people, literally inside our heads, making decisions on our behalf we only half understand. More →
August 31, 2022
Data quality is essential for any business to make informed decisions. Different types of data quality KPIs (key performance indicators) can be used to track and report on progress made in improving data quality. Each type of KPI has its own importance and role. Keep reading to learn more about the different types of data quality KPIs. More →
June 9, 2022
One of the ways I have found to inoculate myself against the hyperbolic certitude of the world’s futurologists is to watch YouTube clips of an old TV show called Rab C Nesbitt and observe the automated captioning as it struggles to cope with Glaswegians. And sometimes gives it up as a bad job. Works with Limmy’s Show too. Try it for yourself at the bottom. Includes bad language. A meringue? More →
June 8, 2022
Poor data quality and a lack of clearly defined roles and responsibilities within the organisation are amongst the key challenges management faces when implementing vital strategic workforce planning (SWP), according to new academic research. The researchers also claim that a lack of methodology to execute a strategic workforce plan and the lack of support across all organisational units of the firm were contributing to a slower and less efficient strategic workforce planning. More →
May 31, 2022
So often, organizations that excel on delivering value for customers, fall short when it comes to delivering the same for their employees. In fact, we can often be guilty of failing to value our employees’ time full stop. Given that we’re living through what’s been dubbed ‘the Great Resignation,’ that’s a major gamble. Companies need to take a step back and understand exactly why employee experience (EX) should be a priority. Plus, how technology can be a key enabler in doing so. More →
May 19, 2022
Most businesses have undergone some form of digital transformation over the last two years simply to remain afloat. This has typically involved a total shift to the cloud, the relocation of inhouse comms rooms to co-location facilities, or incorporating remote login functionality into core IT systems to support home/hybrid working. This also boosted the demand for cloud computing courses. Whilst 5G, all fibre broadband and cloud computing have been gaining traction for a while, the pandemic has given agile working a turbocharge. This change has resulting in businesses relocating to smaller premises with flexible, more appealing leasing contracts. Hybrid working has also affected many internal departments, none more so than procurement which has been totally transformed More →
February 8, 2023
Some questions about AI, a world drowning in content and the human centipede of creativity
by Mark Eltringham • Automation, Comment, Technology