Search Results for: change

Leading a hybrid future workforce of robots, episodic employees and gig leaders

Leading a hybrid future workforce of robots, episodic employees and gig leaders

future workforceVisions of hybrid workforces, episodic employees, gig leadership and acceptable failure have been unearthed in a new study, ‘Work 2028: trends, dilemmas and choices’, revealing business and society leaders’ projections for the fourth industrial revolution. The project was led by Professor Bernd Vogel at Henley Business School and run in collaboration with Deutsche Telekom and Detecon Consulting, who commissioned Henley to carry out the survey. The research involved interviews with over 50 influential leaders from across a variety of sectors and countries including senior figures from Amazon and Unilever to look at the challenges facing organisations and their future workforce.

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Firms need to distinguish between job and organisation when it comes to employee engagement

Firms need to distinguish between job and organisation when it comes to employee engagement

Organisations need to distinguish between employee engagement with a job and engagement with the organisation if they are to improve the employee experience and their overall competitive advantage, a new research paper claims. Published by the Institute for Employment Studies (IES), the paper claims to highlight how traditional, one-dimensional views of engagement fail to make a distinction between job and organisational engagement, viewing employee engagement as a single concept. However, employees can be highly engaged with the organisation but have low levels of job engagement, or vice versa. The research paper, Bridging the gap: an evidence-based approach to employee engagement, suggests that this lack of understanding about what engagement really is and how it influences organisational success can lead to inefficient and ineffective strategies to improve employee engagement.

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Gig economy growing but employers should continue to cultivate in-house talent

Gig economy growing but employers should continue to cultivate in-house talent

As gig economy grows employers should continue to cultivate in-house talentThe number of “gig economy” professionals working in organisations is growing and this trend is expected to continue, a survey by Korn Ferry has claimed. More than half (60 percent) of HR professionals say that compared to three years ago, gig workers now make up a larger percentage of their professional workforce, and 42 percent say they plan on hiring more contingent workers in the future. The reasons, according to the survey, include cost savings, access to high-calibre talent and ease of managing gig economy professionals. Despite the fact that many gig professionals work remotely, 67 percent of the HR professionals surveyed say they are confident they know what the gig professionals are doing on a day-to-day basis, and 42 percent say these contingent employees are easier to manage than full-time employees. However, according to Jeanne MacDonald, president of Global Talent Solutions for Korn Ferry’s RPO and Professional Search Business,  organisations should proceed cautiously and ensure they continue to cultivate in-house talent.

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Many UK freelancers feel lonely and isolated following leap to self-employment

Many UK freelancers feel lonely and isolated following leap to self-employment

The solo self-employed are now a vital element of the UK economy, contributing around £271 billion to the government’s coffers in 2017, of which around £125–140 billion came from freelancers. But with some predicting that by 2020, half of the workforce will be freelancing, we need to take an objective look at the world of self-employment and tackle its challenges head-on, giving freelancers the tools and skills they need to work effectively — and happily.

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From FUBAR to Five Star: Delivering Excellent Facilities Management

From FUBAR to Five Star: Delivering Excellent Facilities Management 0

Mark Wilcock is an experienced facilities management professional and he has something to share with you. His self-written new book From FUBAR to Five Star: Delivering Excellent Facilities Management offers reflections and guidance on a range of challenges that face facilities managers in their day to day lives. Mark is currently Business Support and Planning Manager at The Co-operative Group based in Manchester and was one of the first three thousand members of the BIFM. He has around 25 years experience in facilities management across a number of sectors and in different countries. In the book he shares his thoughts on key issues related to both the day to day and strategic role of facilities managers. All proceeds from the book will be donated to Alzheimer’s Research. Image: Co-op One Angel Square office Manchester, Buro Happold/David Hopkinson

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Don’t stand so close to me: why personal space matters in the workplace

Don’t stand so close to me: why personal space matters in the workplace 0

As successive BCO Specification Guides and the research of organisations like CoreNet Global have proved, the spatial dynamics of offices have changed dramatically in recent years. Put simply, the modern office serves significantly more people per square foot than ever before. Originally this tightening was largely down to the growing ubiquity of flat screen and the mobile devices, but more recently the major driver of change appears to be the gradual disappearance of personal workstations in favour of more shared space.

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Commuters could save an hour a week by changing their working hours

Commuters could save an hour a week by changing their working hours

Commuters could speed up their journeys by up to 10 miles per hour by starting and finishing work just one hour later or making other changes to their working hours, according to new Government research. The study by Highways England was carried out on a 9-mile-stretch of the M62 which links the M6 near Warrington to the M60 near Manchester. The route is used by 120,000 drivers every day and construction work is currently taking place to upgrade it to a smart motorway, increasing its capacity by a third. Commuters had previously faced speeds of just 36 miles per hour between 5pm and 6pm when almost 9,000 drivers take to the short section of motorway on their way home from work.

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Flexible hours and opportunities for growth help reduce graduate job-hopping

Flexible hours and opportunities for growth help reduce graduate job-hopping

Flexible hours and opportunities for growth help reduce graduate job-hoppingThe latest generation of workplace recruits, the so-called Gen Z graduates, are more likely to stay in their first role if flexible working and mentoring is on offer, new research claims. According to graduate jobs board Milkround, while over half (55 percent) of new graduates’ plan to stay in their first role for less than two years, 76 percent can be encouraged to stay longer with training/mentorship and 63 percent with flexible hours. They are also ambitious and have high expectations, with 65 percent believing they will work in their dream industry. This impacts what is expected of employers and could hold the key to encouraging this new generation to stay in roles longer. This change in expectations begins before they start their new role – 68 percent of graduates are calling for more detailed job descriptions and 57 percent would like to have an open line of communication with their line manager from the moment they accept a job.

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London pledge to make all new buildings operate at net zero carbon by 2030

London pledge to make all new buildings operate at net zero carbon by 2030

London pledges to make all new buildings zero carbon by 2030London has joined 18 other cities around the world, including Paris, New York and Tokyo, in a landmark commitment to make all new buildings operate at net zero carbon by 2030. Regulations and planning policy will also target existing buildings to make them net-zero carbon by 2050. Net zero carbon buildings are buildings which reduce all energy use as far as technically possible, with remaining demand met through renewables. The commitment has been orchestrated by C40 cities, a global group of major cities committed to delivering on the most ambitious goals of the Paris Agreement at the local level. As city authorities do not have direct control over all the buildings in their area, the commitment includes a pledge to work together with the private sector as well as state and regional governments to drive the transformation. This pledge from cities is part of the World Green Building Council’s Net Zero Carbon Buildings Commitment for businesses, cities, states and regions.

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Major tech companies continue to acquire new London offices, despite Brexit concerns

Major tech companies continue to acquire new London offices, despite Brexit concerns

Major tech firms continue to acquire large London offices, despite Brexit concernsThe repercussions of a no-deal Brexit are being hotly debated but there are some indications that it’s yet to impact the Capital’s commercial property sector. A number of leading tech and creative companies have continued to acquire large volumes of office space across London. According to figures from CBRE, take-up of Central London office space stood at 1.2m sq ft in July 2018, above the 10-year monthly average of 1.0m sq ft. The increase in July was largely down to two Facebook deals at 11/21 Canal Reach, N1 and Building P2 Handyside Street, N1, where in total 600,600 sq ft of office space has been filled. The creative industries sector led July take-up at 679,400 sq ft, representing 61 percent of the space taken; with the business services sector acquiring 17 percent of space, with 133,200 sq ft going to flexible office providers. In the past 12-months, business services has been the principal sector, accounting for 31 percent of take-up ahead of the creative industries (25 percent) and banking and finance sector (16 percent).

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Finance professionals prioritise protection of employment rights in Brexit deal

Finance professionals prioritise protection of employment rights in Brexit deal

Securing employment rights for workers must be one of the key priorities of any Brexit deal, according to a fifth of finance professionals surveyed by REED. The recruitment agency asked almost 800 senior finance professionals about company preparations for leaving the EU, finding that only prioritising a free trade deal for the UK (31 per cent) received more votes than securing employment rights (20 per cent). Finance professionals gave considerably less backing for prioritising membership of the single market (18 per cent), self-determined UK law (10 per cent), the customs union (10 per cent) and border controls (10 per cent).

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Why early intervention matters for workplace mental health

Why early intervention matters for workplace mental health

Last year alone, poor mental health was the primary cause of long-term absence for 22 percent of organisations, with employees feeling too stressed or anxious to face going in to work. This was up from 13 percent in 2016. However, 45 percent of those who take time off for mental health reasons give their employers another excuse for their absence. Symptoms of mental health can build up when not properly recognised or assessed, but they’re hard to combat when so many employees don’t feel confident enough to open-up about how they’re feeling.

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