Search Results for: financial

March 22, 2019

New centre will assess potential for bias in algorithmic decision-making

The potential for bias in the use of algorithms in crime and justice, financial services, recruitment and local government will be investigated by the UK government’s new Centre for Data Ethics and Innovation (CDEI). The CDEI will explore the potential for bias in existing systems and to support fairer decision-making. This may include increasing opportunities for those in the job market in existing recruitment and financial services systems. It will also explore opportunities to boost innovation in the digital economy. (more…)

March 21, 2019

Interiors are not enough to win the war for talent

by Ben Capper • Comment, Workplace design

I often refer to Google and Facebook in my blog, due to their influence on workplace design. Many consider them to be workplace interior’s holy grail. But today’s big employers are competing with one another on a much broader set of principles. Cool interiors alone just won’t cut it. Zürich, like many European cities is home to a large number of global brands, with bustling financial services and tech sectors. I regularly hear of people with multiple job offers taking a job with a lower salary, rather than accepting a role in a company that doesn’t reflect their ideals. This decision can be influenced by office design and facilities, career development options, corporate culture and much more. (more…)

March 19, 2019

People often feel as if they are kept in the dark about flexible working

by Neil Franklin • Flexible working, News

New research from LinkedIn (registration) claims that a third (36 percent) of UK professionals believe their employer does not do enough to support new parents. The release of the figures comes as LinkedIn claims that 18th March was the day that working families only just start getting paid for the year, once growing childcare costs are taken into account. The survey of 4,000 UK workers suggests that professionals feel they are being left in the dark when it comes to parental policies, with a third (37 percent) not even aware of what support their workplace provides for new parents. (more…)

March 19, 2019

Demotivated workers would be driven by higher pay and more flexibility

by Sara Bean • Flexible working, News, Workplace

Almost a third (31 percent) of UK professionals state that their expectations are ‘not being met at all’ by their current employer, whilst a further 24 percent state that their needs are only just ‘moderately’ being met. The findings, which come from research undertaken by recruiter Robert Walters and job board CV-Library – also suggest that while the amount they were paid was most important to staff, other benefits are increasingly playing a more prominent role in keeping staff motivated. Well over half (61 percent) claimed that work-life balance, flexible working hours (39 percent), and cultural fit (25 percent) are crucial to keeping them happy at work. (more…)

March 18, 2019

Pressing self-destruct, a final solution to workplace noise, a broken psychological contract and some other stuff

by Mark Eltringham • Features

I’ve never really wanted to go to MIPIM. I’m suspicious of it all for a number of reasons I won’t go into although you might reasonably guess what they are. So, I enjoyed this piece from Polly Plunket-Checkemian about her own misgivings. I understand that the testosterone level has been dialled down recently, but like Polly I’d like to see a re-examination of its format and intent, especially given that the real estate sector is having to rethink where it fits into the new era of work and meets the challenge of coworking.

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March 15, 2019

Management skills are the key to solving the productivity puzzle

by Neil Franklin • News, Workplace

New research from the Chartered Management Institute (CMI) claims that recently trained managers use on average 50 percent more of the structured management practices associated with increased labour productivity than those not trained within the last 12 months. The research, involving 940 managers, revealed that managers who received management training in 2018 used an average of 6 management practices, compared to an average of 4 practices for those who had received no management training over the same period. The impact of recent training on management practices can be seen across businesses of all sizes. (more…)

March 12, 2019

UK jobs boom set to end as finance and business sectors lose confidence

by Sara Bean • Cities, Facilities management, News, Workplace

The boom in the UK jobs market is coming to an end just as the Brexit countdown reaches its final stages. According to the latest ManpowerGroup Employment Outlook Survey, the national Outlook for the second quarter of 2019 has fallen to +4 percent, on a par with the weakest levels of confidence seen in recent years. More worryingly, the negative Outlook in the Business and Financial services sector – which employs nearly a fifth of all UK workers – suggests jobs are set to be lost in Britain’s most important sector. The report found that the Finance and Business Services sector has fallen five points to -1 percent, only the second time in the last decade it has been in negative territory.

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March 8, 2019

On International Woman’s Day – why advancing women is still not a business priority

by Sara Bean • Comment, Legal news, News, Workplace

It has probably not escaped your notice that today is International Woman’s Day, which for Workplace Insight means a plethora of studies on the topic of women/jobs/salaries and ways women might work differently to men. We’ve decided not to waste anyone’s time and ignored most of them (particularly the patronizing ones on how ladies are so intuitive) but managed to find a few kernels of information. First, the good news that women have doubled their share of top jobs at technology companies, pulling in higher salaries than men last year, according to executive search firm Odgers Berndtson. (more…)

March 4, 2019

London’s West End office market stays strong despite slow start to year

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

The volume of transactions in London’s West End was down 45 percent, the lowest for January in over 10 years. This is to be expected with the continued ongoing Brexit negotiations, according to Savill’s, who expect to see a lower volume of transactions complete over the first quarter of this year. Despite this, space under offer still remains well above the long-term average, with 237,000 sq ft going under offer during the month. This held the overall total at just over 1.2m sq ft, giving a strong indication that leasing activity over the course of 2019 will remain robust. Pre-lets accounted for 42 percent of the overall sq ft let in January and there were five transactions to the Insurance & Financial sector and four to the Tech & Media sector.

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March 1, 2019

Businesses pledge to work towards mandatory ethnicity pay gap reporting

by Sara Bean • Legal news, News, Workplace

The government is being encouraged to implement mandatory ethnicity pay gap reporting when it announces the outcome of its ‘Ethnicity pay reporting’ consultation, which closed in January. Pre-empting that, fifteen companies have signed a commitment today to work towards mandatory ethnicity pay gap reporting. Signatories include the Bank of England, Deloitte, KPMG, WPP, Santander and EY. The commitment, driven by membership organisation INvolve, aims to get more businesses voluntarily reporting on their ethnicity pay gap. In 2018 The Resolution Foundation estimated the ethnicity pay gap at £3.2bn. A report from INvolve also showed that white people earn on average between £67 and £209 more per week compared to similarly qualified individuals of a different ethnic background, and that the most ethnically diverse workplaces are 35 percentage points more likely to financially outperform industry averages.

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February 28, 2019

Communication skills trump experience as quality employers look for in candidates

by Neil Franklin • News, Workplace

New research from The University of Law Business School has analysed over 700 keywords from the job specifications of 30 common business roles (across three popular job sites), to reveal what employers are looking for from candidates. The research highlights the crossover in skills and requirements across roles and industries, helping encourage those considering a career move, or just starting out in the world of business by showing how qualified they may already be for a new career. Its key finding is that employers are hugely more interested in people’s interpersonal skills than their work experience.

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February 25, 2019

A four day week, people-watching at work, the art of AI and some other stuff

by Mark Eltringham • AI, Facilities management, Features, Technology, Wellbeing, Workplace design

While the recent Finnish pilot of universal basic income had mixed results, a trial of the other most talked about solution to our problem with work – the four day week – has been reported as far more promising. A New Zealand financial services firm called Perpetual Guardian switched its 240 staff from a five-day to a four-day week last November and maintained their pay. The results (registration) included a 20 percent rise in productivity and improved staff wellbeing and engagement.