Search Results for: economy

December 21, 2015

Jobs growth predicted for next year, along with skills shortages ⁰

by Sara Bean • Flexible working, News, Technology, Workplace

More than two fifths (43 percent) of firms will grow their workforce next year, with permanent jobs outstripping temporary roles according to the latest CBI/Accenture Employment Trends Survey. Firms identify skills shortages as the top threat, with over half (52 percent) of respondents citing the development and maintenance of digital skills as having a new urgency. More than half intend giving staff a pay award at or above the RPI rate of inflation, but nervousness remains about the impact of the National Living Wage (NLW). Half (51 percent) of service sector respondents indicate they will raise their prices, 27 percent will employ fewer people and 18 percent will make changes to their reward packages as a result. Multi-skilling employees to improve productivity and the capacity to adapt is now the leading form of flexibility, operated by nearly four in five respondents (79 percent), followed by flexibility over location for work (73 percent).

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December 16, 2015

OECD report calls on governments to do more to close the productivity gap ⁰

by Mark Eltringham • News, Technology, Workplace design

The world that we see emerging is increasingly defined by a series of gaps. One of the growing distinctions between haves and have-nots in the global economy is identified in a new report from the OECD, which suggests that there is a technological and closely related productivity gap between the world’s most productive businesses and economies and everybody else. The authors of the study claim that workplace productivity is now both the key driver of economic growth and also the best way of addressing the most important challenges facing businesses and economies in the 21st Century including the environment, income disparities and changing demographics. They suggest that the productivity gap needs to be closed up with a range of policies that incentivise both firms and economies to better use the technology they have available, invest more in R&D, adopt new business models and innovate more effectively.

December 15, 2015

Seven essential workplace design trends to keep an eye on during 2016 ⁰

by Dan Callegari • Comment, Facilities management, Workplace design

What has become increasingly apparent over recent years is that the office isn’t just a place to work, but also a driver of competitive advantage. We’ve always known this to a greater or lesser extent, but the dynamic and ever shifting nature of the modern world is presenting organisations with new and evolving challenges that they must address with all of the tools at their disposal. At the heart of this complexity is the physical workspace. Its design touches on every aspect of the changing workplace and the objectives organisations set for themselves and their employees. Although it has lots its primacy as the main place of work, you could also argue that the focus on the office’s key strengths makes it more important than ever within the context of overall working cultures. So, with that in mind, here are ten of the most important current trends in workplace design and management we foresee for 2016.

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December 15, 2015

Agile working is increasingly popular way to reduce London office costs ⁰

by Sara Bean • Facilities management, Flexible working, News, Property

Rent, rates and service charges for office space in established Greater London office locations such as Croydon, Brentford and Uxbridge are typically over 50 percent lower than the cost of equivalent space in Central London locations such as Victoria, Marylebone, St Paul’s, Liverpool Street and Canary Wharf, Carter Jonas’ latest research claims. Increases in rents and business rates costs over the last five years, and the erosion of the stock of office buildings in some areas of Central London, as a consequence of redevelopment to higher value residential uses is reducing tenant choice and these factors are leading some occupiers to adopt new strategies to reduce their property footprint. Agile working and hot-desking are becoming popular ways to reduce the amount of space required to accommodate an organisation’s business operations the Tenant Advisory and Research Teams at Carter Jonas have found.

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December 11, 2015

Global salaries will rise to highest levels for three years in 2016 ⁰

by Sara Bean • Knowledge, News, Workplace

Workers around the world will see real wage increases of 2.5 percent, the highest in three years in 2016, as pay increases combined with historically low inflation leave employees better off. The forecast issued by Korn Ferry Hay Group found that workers across Europe are set to see an average salary increase of 2.8 percent in 2016 and, with inflation at 0.5 percent, will see real wages rise by 2.3 percent. While salary rises will stay at 2.5 percent in the UK (the same as the last two years), low inflation means that real wages are to increase by 2.3 percent in 2016 – above the Western European average. In Asia, salaries are forecast to increase by 6.4 percent – with real wages expected to rise by 4.2 percent – the highest globally. In the United States, with low inflation (0.3 percent), employees will experience real income growth of 2.7 percent.

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December 10, 2015

Australia needs to do more to tackle the problems of mental health at work ⁰

by Mark Eltringham • Legal news, News, Workplace

One in five Australians suffer from a mental health disorder and employers need to do more to tackle the related issues. That is the central claim made in a new OECD report called Mental Health and Work: Australia. The study claims that mental health issues cost the Australian economy AUD 28.6 billion per year, equivalent to 2.2 percent of GDP. Adding indirect costs, such as productivity loss or sickness absence, nearly doubles that amount. The report is the ninth in a series of reports looking at how education, health, social and labour market policy challenges identified in a 2012 report called Sick on the Job? Myths and Realities about Mental Health and Work are being tackled in OECD countries. The report suggest that while Australia’s recent mental health reform is an important and helpful development, the country ‘needs to do more to help people with mild to moderate mental health issues at and into work’.

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December 10, 2015

Boardroom now more likely to view offices as strategic asset, claims report ⁰

by Neil Franklin • Facilities management, News, Property

A new research paper claims to reveal changes in the way that UK companies now perceive and evaluate their commercial property portfolios – both as a physical workplace and as a strategic asset that can help them to meet corporate goals. The report, entitled Redefining Commercial Property Performance – The alignment of property and workplace with corporate objectives was written by Insight’s own Sara Bean and was commissioned by managed office solutions provider Portal. As part of the research, interviews were conducted with property professionals, workplace consultants and occupiers including RICS, Leesman UK, TD Wealth International, TSK Group, Cushman & Wakefield and Sheffield Hallam University. The findings of the paper claim to reveal the growing importance of measuring the performance and return from commercial office space and the necessity to more closely align property with corporate goals.

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December 7, 2015

Ambitious commitments made by Green Building Councils at COP21 ⁰

by Sara Bean • Architecture, Environment, Facilities management, News, Property

A total of 25 Green Building Councils from around the world have unveiled commitments reduce greenhouse gas emissions and ensure that the building and construction industry plays its part in limiting global warming to 2 degrees. More than 1.25 billion square metres of buildings – almost double the size of Singapore – will be registered, renovated or certified as green building space over the next five years, under ambitious commitments made by Green Building Councils at COP21 in Paris. Green building is one of the most cost-effective solutions to climate change, which generates significant environmental, economic and societal benefits. A new alliance of 16 countries and over 60 organisations, known as the Global Alliance for Buildings and Construction (which includes WorldGBC, its 74 Green Building Councils and their 27,000 member companies) is now committed to help countries meet their Intended Nationally Determined Contributions (INDCs) through green building.

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December 4, 2015

Employees and managers value holidays and flexible working differently ⁰

by Neil Franklin • Flexible working, News, Workplace

It’s become an accepted piece of wisdom that at the top of every employee’s wish list when it comes to their working conditions is more flexible working. That might be not entirely true according to a new study of employees and managers carried out by recruitment firm Robert Half. The report suggest there is a significant mismatch between what employees want and what employers think they would like when it comes to holidays and flexible working and other conditions. Topping the wish list for employees is more holiday and annual leave, ranked most popular perk by almost four in 10 (38 percent) respondents and ahead of more flexible working hours (28 percent), more training or professional development opportunities (16 percent), home working/telecommuting (12 percent) and other corporate services such as ironing services or fitness centre (3 percent).

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December 2, 2015

Lack of talent will hold back any investment in infrastructure and building ⁰

by Mark Eltringham • Comment, News, Property, Workplace

When faced with inconvenient facts, there is always a temptation to just ignore them. It’s a temptation to which the big thinkers of the political class readily succumb, especially when they’re selling an idea. So it was with George Osborne’s Autumn Statement, which maintained the Chancellor’s commitment to using public sector spending on infrastructure to boost the economy. This intriguingly Keynesian way of thinking seems pretty seamless, especially while the memory endures of what happens when you use credit to grow the economy. But it rests on the assumption that there is a limitless supply of the right people to build things in the first place. The flaws in this way of thinking are already becoming evident with HS2, a project that continues to drain talent away from the rail network’s already disastrous investment programme. A growing number of voices are raised to point them out on other issues too.

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November 27, 2015

Built environment crucial to attaining emissions targets say RICS of COP21 ⁰

by Sara Bean • Environment, Facilities management, News, Property

The built environment has a vital role to play in helping governments meet their carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions targets says RICS – ahead of the 21st Conference of the Parties or COP21. This begins on Monday, when 196 governments meet in Paris for the climate change summit hosted by the United Nations. Buildings are some of the biggest emitters of CO2 accounting for one-third of global greenhouse gasses. Commercial and residential buildings also account for 40 percent of the world’s energy consumption. RICs is working with members in the land, real estate and construction sectors to find solutions across the property lifecycle to support more sustainable business practices, and will be in Paris to join stakeholders from governments, industry and civil society to support efforts to reach an agreement. The commitments made at the summit could have far-reaching repercussions for the built environment, and the global economy more generally.

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November 25, 2015

Northern Powerhouse office market showing strong performance levels ⁰

by Sara Bean • Facilities management, News, Property

When the Chancellor of the Exchequer George Osborne announces the Spending Review today, he’s likely to mention the Northern Powerhouse, the programme to rebalance the UK economy by pushing growth in England’s northern cities. His vision of this form of one nation conservatism may have helped to increase occupier and investor confidence across the Northern Powerhouse office markets, as illustrated by the Northern Powerhouse Office Market Report 2015/16, published by Lambert Smith Hampton (LSH). It shows strong performance across the eight key markets so far in 2015 – with combined take-up expected to reach 5.2m sq ft by the end of the year compared with 4.6m sq ft in 2014. Manchester city centre is leading the way and is on track for a record year, with almost 1.4m sq ft of office space expected to be let or sold by the end of 2015 – well above the 10-year annual average of 966,000 sq ft.

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