Search Results for: future of work

February 20, 2014

Could personality profiling help create a more productive office environment?

by Suzanne McMinn • Facilities management, News, Workplace, Workplace design

Creating the most productive working space to help get the best from your people is an ongoing battle. What suits some doesn’t suit others. So if there was some way of assessing up front how people like to work and the environment that would make them their most productive, engaged and committed – before you rearrange the furniture, fittings and layout – would you leap at the chance of finding out? One approach could be personality profiling. If you could climb inside the minds of your current and future employees and assess how they best like to work, their personality and how this then drives them to be more productive in certain working environments than others – who wouldn’t want to have a delve around? Or are we in danger of pandering to personality stereotypes? (more…)

February 14, 2014

Virgin Atlantic first airline to apply Google Glass to customer service

by Sara Bean • Company news, Facilities management, Technology

It’s already been predicted that Smart Glasses will be a boon to technicians, engineers and healthcare workers, as well as useful interactive, hands-free devices for office staff. Another obvious application for wearable technology is in customer services. Virgin Atlantic is applying the technology to deliver the airline industry’s most high tech and personalised customer service yet. Working with air-transport specialist SITA, it’s the first airline to test how the technology can best be used to enhance customers’ travel experiences and improve efficiency. During a six week pilot scheme, concierge staff in Virgin Atlantic Upper Class Wing at London Heathrow airport will use wearable technology to greet customers by name and begin the check in process. The benefits to consumers and the business will be evaluated ahead of a potential wider roll-out in the future. (more…)

February 7, 2014

Looming resource constraints go way beyond carbon, warns the Carbon Trust

by Sara Bean • Environment, Facilities management, News

Sustainability in business must expand to meet future demands on resources. These constraints will go way beyond energy management, but include water, waste and land-use; for example there could be a 40 per cent gap between available water supplies and water needs by 2030, and some critical materials could be in short supply as soon as 2016. Organisations that adapt their business models by assessing their exposure to such resource constraints can identify how to manage these risks and exploit commercial opportunities. In turn this will improve efficiency, strengthen long-term resilience, and drive business returns. So says the Carbon Trust’s new report, Opportunities in an resource constrained world, which has profiled four of its customers: Whitbread, BT, Stagecoach, and Bord Bia and sets out some of the steps they have taken on sustainability. (more…)

January 22, 2014

Plans submitted for 19 storey tower in Manchester business district

by Mark Eltringham • News, Property

Developers have submitted plans for the development of a new tower on the site of an existing office building in Manchester city centre. Allied London is looking to create a new 19 storey office in Spinningfields, the city’s troubled £1.5 billion business district which ran into development problems at the height of the recession between 2007 and 2010. The new building a will offer over 340,000 sq. ft. of office space and is designed by Ian Simpson Architects who were responsible for the design of the Beetham Tower. The ground floor is also likely to incorporate retail outlets, cafes and restaurants. A final decision on the application from the local authority is due in April. Quay House, the current building on the site, is argued by the developer to be under-occupied and outdated.

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January 20, 2014

Largest single office floor plate unveiled in Leeds as demand for space increases

by Sara Bean • Company news, News, Property

The largest single office floor plate currently available in Leeds city centre has been unveiled, following the completion of a £1million refurbishment programme at one of the city’s landmark office schemes. The NFU Mutual insurance firm, which owns No 1 Whitehall Riverside, has refurbished 34,000 sq ft of space within the building to transform the 4th and 5th floors. In a first for the Leeds office market, 100 per cent LED lighting has been installed on both floors, to provide low maintenance, good quality lighting which will reduce CO2 emissions for future occupiers. Joint letting agents Jones Lang LaSalle and DTZ say that the building, which provides 127,731 sq ft of office accommodation over eight floors, helps to meet increasing demand for quality office space in the centre of Leeds. (more…)

January 16, 2014

Surge of turnover and employment growth in UK’s creative businesses

by Mark Eltringham • News, Workplace

The Government has released new statistics that demonstrate the increasing importance of the creative sectors to the UK economy, although concerns remain about the UK’s creative skills base. The figures reveal that the overall turnover of creative businesses increased by just under 10 percent in 2012 and employment increased by 8.6 percent over the same period, more than any other sector. The creative industries are now worth more than £70 billion a year and employ 1.68 million people. While employment in the UK as a whole grew by 0.7 percent over the whole economy, jobs growth in the creative sector was 8.6 percent. There was also growth in export sales, up over 16 percent between 2009-11 and worth £15.5bn in 2011.

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January 15, 2014

New study claims vast majority of builders now enjoying advantages of BIM

by Mark Eltringham • News, Property

A new report from McGraw Hill Construction claims that contractors in nine of the world’s top construction markets who use Building Information Modelling (BIM) believe that the technology helps them to improve productivity, efficiency, quality and safety on their projects, as well as their own competitiveness. The Business Value of BIM for Construction in Major Global Markets SmartMarket Report reveals that contractors in markets with well-established BIM use, such as Canada, France, Germany, the UK and US, as well as those in markets that are still in the initial stages of BIM adoption, such as Australia, New Zealand, Brazil, Japan, and South Korea, are seeing a positive return on their investments in BIM, from project benefits like reduced errors and omissions, to process improvements like the ability to enhance collaboration, and internal business benefits such as enhancing their company’s image.

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January 14, 2014

Commercial property sector must take a city scale view of retrofit projects

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

Some 70 per cent of commercial properties will still be standing in 2050, which is why retrofitting, or re-engineering, a city’s built environment and infrastructure is so essential. However, research led by Professor Tim Dixon of the University or Reading’s School of Construction Management and Engineering has found that despite examples of ‘light touch’ retrofit (such as LED lighting, improved building services and building management systems), the rate of retrofit in the sector is low; being hampered by complexity, fragmentation and conservatism. And crucially, the commercial property sector does not take a city scale view of retrofit projects and so is ‘city-blind’ to retrofit opportunities, which is also slowing progress. (more…)

January 13, 2014

Retaining valuable employees is top global priority for CEOS this year

by Sara Bean • News, Workplace

The number one priority of business leaders worldwide this year is how best to develop, engage, manage, and retain existing talent. This worker-centric approach means that employee engagement and better management will take centre stage as the way to improve competitiveness, win new customers and raise productivity. According to new research from The Conference Board and UK partner CMI (Chartered Management Institute), CEOs will concentrate on creating a strong internal talent pipeline rather than seeking to recruit externally, with nine out of the top 10 global Human Capital strategies focused on current employees, including providing training and development, raising employee engagement and increasing efforts to retain critical talent. Other closely linked priorities identified in the CEO Challenge 2014 are customer relationships, innovation, operational excellence, and corporate brand and reputation. (more…)

January 2, 2014

Why we should be wary of expert predictions for 2014

by Mark Eltringham • Comment, Facilities management, Workplace design

As ever the first day back at work coincides with a flood of forecasts about what will happen in the world in the year ahead. But predictions are often more interesting in retrospect than they are in their own time. For example, each year The Economist produces its one-off ‘The World in…’ publication which asks well-informed academics and writers to tackle an issue that relates to their own specialism. This year these relate to issues such as Scottish independence (it’s a ‘no’, by the way), the rise of African economies and a potential customer backlash against technology businesses and the rich geeks who own them. Interesting though it is to read all of this, The Economist is at least honest in publishing a list of its hits and misses, whereas most people appear to just pretend the misses never happened.