Search Results for: communication

August 22, 2013

Communications gap hampering employee engagement and productivity

Communication gap hampering employee engagement and productivity

A stream of surveys published over the past few weeks have indicated a deep rooted sense of unease and lack of job security amongst UK workers. Now yet another poll reveals that far from being keen to discuss career progression opportunities, many employees are reluctant to bring up personal development and career progression with their bosses because they think it will put them at a disadvantage at work. According to the new research from Badenoch & Clark, this growing communications gap between employees and managers could lead to lack of engagement and lower productivity within the workforce. Meanwhile too many employers are investing in the wrong kinds of personal development for their staff. (more…)

April 9, 2013

Growth in unified communications and BYOD but concerns remain

by Mark Eltringham • Knowledge, News, Technology, Workplace

A new report from research firm Ovum anticipates rapidly growing interest in the use of managed unified communications (UC) applications over the next two years. The survey, conducted with Dimension Data, found that over a third of large enterprises will be procuring managed UC services by 2015. The report also suggests that Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) policies are supported by 60 per cent of American businesses, with a growing number of firms looking to integrate their BYOD policies with their new approach to unified communications. One technology they won’t be looking to integrate is The Cloud which only a fifth claimed they would use for UC applications.

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October 9, 2026

Cognitive access is a workplace design issue

by Nat Hawley • Comment, Workplace design

Workplace inclusion is still too often organised around a private conversation between an individual and HR. Someone encounters a barrier, decides whether it is safe to disclose a condition, explains what is happening and waits for an adjustment. That process matters, but it should not carry the whole weight of inclusion. Many barriers described as personal needs are predictable features of work: continuous noise, back-to-back calls, unclear priorities, scattered instructions and unwritten rules. When these conditions are treated as fixed, individuals must negotiate around a design problem.

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September 24, 2026

The right workplace culture can enhance trust, creativity and performance, report claims

by Neil Franklin • News, Wellbeing, Workplace, Workplace design

Workplace culture can have a significant impact on employees’ capacity to adapt to change and innovate, according to new polling from O.C. Tanner, which argues that organisations should pay greater attention to compassion, employee development and trust. The firm’s 2027 Global Culture Report, based on data gathered from more than 25,000 workers in 23 countries, claims that organisational culture can act as an “amplifier”, either exacerbating uncertainty and burnout or strengthening employees’ sense of trust, connection and purpose. (more…)

September 8, 2026

The best easy-to-use HR software for small businesses in 2026

by Freddie Steele • Company news

Running a small business means your time is always in demand, so every tool you invest in needs to make life easier. Human resources can quickly become one of the biggest administrative challenges as your team grows, with hiring, onboarding, leave requests, employee records, compliance, performance reviews and document management all competing for your attention. Typically, a well-designed HR platform brings those tasks together in one place, helping you spend less time on administration and more time supporting your people and growing your business. The strongest platforms in 2026 combine simple navigation with practical automation, giving you professional HR tools without the steep learning curve that often comes with enterprise software. (more…)

August 26, 2026

Hybrid working and the hidden cost of being “always on” at work

by Dr Dirk van Dierendonck • Comment, Flexible working, Wellbeing

Hybrid working has delivered welcome flexibility, but it has also changed our relationship with work. The traditional boundary created by leaving the office at the end of the day is often less defined when work is accessible from our kitchen table, spare room or mobile phone. Yet this challenge is not limited to those working remotely. Even employees who spend most of their time in the office now carry work with them through smartphones and constant digital connectivity. (more…)

July 15, 2026

Inter-generational collaboration linked to stronger organisational performance, report claims

by Neil Franklin • News, Workplace

Organisations that encourage stronger inter-generational collaboration between different groups of employees are more likely to see improvements in innovation, trust and business performance, according to new research from employee recognition firm O.C. Tanner. The company’s first State of Generations at Work Report, based on responses from more than 5,700 employees across 17 countries, argues that employers should move beyond generational stereotypes and instead focus on creating what it describes as “generational synergy” across their workforces. (more…)

July 9, 2026

Most organisations are investing in AI. Far fewer are preparing leaders for it

by Adrian Seligman • AI, Comment

The gap between AI adoption and leadership readiness is becoming one of the defining challenges facing organisations today. According to Gallup’s latest State of the Global Workforce report, only one in five employees believe their manager actively supports their team’s use of artificial intelligence, while just one in four say their organisation has communicated a clear strategy for integrating the technology into work. While investment in AI continues to accelerate, leadership capability is struggling to keep pace. Businesses are racing to adopt new technologies, but many still lack the leadership frameworks, behaviours and organisational confidence needed to turn AI into meaningful, scaled value. (more…)

July 8, 2026

AI can automate work, but it can’t automate trust

by Michael Vavakis • AI, Comment, Technology

Businesses are moving quickly to bring artificial intelligence into the workplace, exploring how it can support everything from recruitment and workforce planning to performance management and employee services. Employee confidence in this technology, however, is struggling to keep up. Research suggests only 46 percent of people say they trust AI systems, while almost a third (31 percent) of employees are concerned they could be replaced by the technology. (more…)

July 7, 2026

What frictionless work is removing from the working day

by Elyas Coutts • Comment, Flexible working, Wellbeing, Workplace design

If you look around most offices at midday on a Tuesday, you will likely see a variation of the same scene: employees sitting at their desks with headphones in and responding to Slack messages while eating lunch. The physical environment of the workplace may still be thoughtfully designed, with ergonomic furniture, curated lighting and acoustic panels; however, the atmosphere often still feels flat. Creating a highly optimised, frictionless workplace means removing physical hurdles and operational delays, but it can also strip away the small moments of variation, spontaneity and connection that give working life its texture. Often, the result of frictionless work is an environment that feels psychologically monotonous and socially thin. (more…)

June 23, 2026

Tales from the built environment: some reflections on the conference circuit

by Simon Iatrou • Comment, Facilities management, Property, Workplace design

The stories we tell ourselves can be powerful. They shape how we see reality, whether they’re true or not. The trouble is that the ones which endure are rarely the most helpful. Here’s a familiar story: every industry is privately convinced that its image problem is uniquely severe. This leads to a lot of navel-gazing and going round in circles. Often, however, they’re grappling with versions of the same challenge: trying to explain their value to people outside the room. I saw this play out at two recent conferences related to the built environment: the UK Real Estate Infrastructure & Investment Forum (UKREiiF) in May and IWFM Live last week. (more…)

June 23, 2026

Narcissistic leaders are more likely to oppose remote work, study suggests

by Neil Franklin • Flexible working, News

Now, we don’t usually want to fan the dying embers of the tedious, endless RTO v WFH conversation, but this is a potentially interesting addition to consider. According to a new study from researchers at the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania, business leaders with stronger narcissistic tendencies are significantly more likely to resist remote and hybrid working arrangements because they see them as a threat to their power and status. Published in the journal Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, the study suggests that opposition to remote work may not be driven solely by concerns about productivity, collaboration or organisational performance. Instead, it may also stem from leaders’ personal motivations and psychological needs. (more…)