Search Results for: future of work

What is in a name for the UK facilities management sector?

What is in a name for the UK facilities management sector?

by • Comment, Facilities management

Westminster. Home to fiery debate, unwavering scrutiny, calls for change, and cries of “Order! Order!”. Once again, RICS’s HQ, on Parliament Square, was jam-packed with a passionate and feisty crowd, panellists and audience alike, all set on pushing the industry conversation forward. While some were keen to maintain order during FMJ’s most recent RICS-IFMA debate concerning facility management’s place in the 21st century, others were set on redefining FM in order to pinpoint what this yet unestablished definition means for the future of the profession.

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Conversations may be more productive when held in the great outdoors

Conversations may be more productive when held in the great outdoors

by • News, Wellbeing

Conversations are more responsive in natural environments such as parks and gardens than indoors, finds new research by the University of Manchester and Cardiff University. The researchers recorded conversations between three- and four-year-old children and their parents while they explored a city park and the park’s indoor education centre and found that the conversations in the park were more responsive and connected compared to those recorded indoors. The study ‘Responding to nature: Natural environments improve parent-child communication’ is published in the Journal of Environmental Psychology.

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We need to move on from the stigma of mental health to finding solutions

We need to move on from the stigma of mental health to finding solutions

by • Comment, Wellbeing

Just as in physical health, everybody has a level of mental health. And while companies have begun to offer corporate gym membership discounts, bowls of fruit around the office, monthly massage and investment in huge amounts of ergonomically supportive furniture to try to assist their colleagues in maintaining a good level of physical health, few seem to be getting to grips with their colleagues’ mental wellbeing, despite the reality that they are dealing with huge numbers of employees who struggle.

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Two fifths of new recruits don’t have the right soft skills for the job

Two fifths of new recruits don’t have the right soft skills for the job

by • News, Workplace

Two fifths of new recruits don’t have the right soft skills for the jobTwo-fifths of job-seekers are being hired into new roles only to discover they have the wrong soft skills for the job. This means over half are leaving companies because their personality or work style didn’t fit, claims news research published by HireVue. The 53 percent of those who had left for this reason saying the format of the hiring process had prevented them from discovering the mismatch earlier. While four-fifths (82 percent) of candidates are confident in their ability to articulate their soft skills and personality traits in an interview, many doubt that pre-hire assessments can showcase these important attributes. (more…)

Cultural attitudes define the race for 5G connectivity as Germany and Holland inch ahead

Cultural attitudes define the race for 5G connectivity as Germany and Holland inch ahead

by • News, Technology

New research commissioned by international law firm Osborne Clarke claims that businesses in Germany and the Netherlands could be leading the global race to embrace next-generation 5G connectivity. The Next Generation Connectivity research of executives and managers from 11 countries, conducted by the Economist Intelligence Unit, also claims that approaches and attitudes to adopting connectivity vary country to country. This, Osborne Clarke says, could hinder future opportunities.

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Smart spaces and the other top technology trends for 2019

Smart spaces and the other top technology trends for 2019

by • News, Technology, Workplace design

Technology researcher Gartner has highlighted the top strategic technology trends it believes organisations should be aware of in 2019. Gartner defines a strategic technology trend as one with ‘substantial disruptive potential that is beginning to break out of an emerging state into broader impact and use, or which are rapidly growing trends with a high degree of volatility reaching tipping points over the next five years’. One of the interesting points to note is the inclusion of the physical workplace yet again, as we highlighted in our recent feature on the trends shaping office design.

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Manchester is being chosen over London as location for tech start-ups

Manchester is being chosen over London as location for tech start-ups

by • Cities, Facilities management, News, Technology, Workplace

Manchester is being chosen over London as location for tech start-upsThe new northern home of the BBC is giving London a run for its money when it comes to siting offices for the UK’s top tech talent, with Manchester leading the way, according to CWJobs. The recruitment firm found that those who consider London to have the best talent, the most likely (75 percent) reason for this being the concentration of tech companies. Of those employers who believe Manchester has the UK’s best tech talent (9 percent), 56 percent believe this is due to better tech-focused educational institutions (vs 43 percent who thought London’s were better). (more…)

Some regions are better prepared for the rise of automation than others

Some regions are better prepared for the rise of automation than others

by • Cities, News, Technology

Concerted action is needed from national and local politicians, businesses and education providers to improve educational opportunities in all cities, from early years to schools and adult learning. This is according to a major report from the think tank Centre for Cities. It examines how automation and globalisation are transforming the skills needed to thrive in the workplace, and the extent to which people in English cities are gaining these skills. The report claimsthat interpersonal and analytical skills – such as negotiation and critical thinking – are increasingly important for current and future workers, as manual and physical jobs are particularly under threat from automation and globalisation.

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Bloomberg HQ declared the best new building in the UK as well as best office

Bloomberg HQ declared the best new building in the UK as well as best office

by • Architecture, News, Workplace design

The humble office doesn’t always feature prominently in RIBA’s annual Stirling Prize list but last night, Bloomberg’s European headquarters was named the UK’s best new building. The 2018 RIBA Stirling Prize judges were unanimous in their decision to award Bloomberg the 2018 RIBA Stirling Prize describing it as a “once-in-a-generation project”. RIBA President, Ben Derbyshire says it is a “monumental achievement”.  It’s the second award bestowed on the project in the last week. The BCO has already declared the building the UK’s best workplace.  (more…)

CIB sets out a roadmap for the creation of intelligent and responsive buildings

CIB sets out a roadmap for the creation of intelligent and responsive buildings

by • Architecture, Facilities management, News, Property, Wellbeing, Workplace design

The International Council for Research and Innovation in Building and Construction (CIB) has published a free roadmap written by members of the W098 Commission and CIBSE Intelligent Buildings Group, which presents collective ideas for the creation of intelligent and responsive buildings for current needs and the future. Intelligent buildings present a number of challenges, according to the authors. They must be responsive to people’s needs including their health and wellbeing; be sustainable in the use of resources as well as incorporating the most useful parts of the evolving technologies.

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The Genesis of ideation and the places we go to have our best ideas

The Genesis of ideation and the places we go to have our best ideas 0

by • Facilities management, Features, Technology, Work&Place, Workplace design

Picture1Because collaboration, creativity and innovation are increasingly perceived as key objectives and differentiators of performance, the genesis and mechanisms behind ideation and creativity are an an integral part of both business and personal development. As a consequence, there is growing interest in the way the physical attributes of work settings may influence or even trigger creative behaviour. The cliché of the shower as one of these favourite places comes to mind and yet experience does show that the idea of seeking a setting, a “zone” if you will, for a specific purpose is intuitively right. This needn’t be a retreat or cocoon, as is often assumed, but can also be a crowded, busy, noisy place, which might explain why so often the most animated work conversations move out of the office shop into the coffee shop. Equally, highlight events or special meetings tend to be held in a “venue’, often dressed for the occasion.

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Innovation and culture are key ingredients of successful cities

Innovation and culture are key ingredients of successful cities

by • Cities, News

CBRE has released Our Cities, Knowledge for the future, a report and microsite which explores how British cities might look and feel in twenty years’ time. The research claims to cast new light on the complexity of the future city. The project examines what will make a successful city through a collection of over 80 separate articles with insights on areas such as diversity, culture and sport, the economy, sustainability, governance, health, transport and placemaking. In doing so it identifies innovation, culture, and governance as being crucial to the success of British cities.

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