Search Results for: implementation

Built environment needs to address the talent gap to make the digital transition says WEF

Built environment needs to address the talent gap to make the digital transition says WEF

by • AI, Architecture, Facilities management, News, Technology, Workplace

Built environment needs to address the talent gap to make digital transition says WEFThe construction industry needs new talent and skills to help in the adoption of new technologies to meet the challenges of digital transformation. It must also become more diverse, including increasing the percentage of women in the industry. These are the recommendations of a new report from the World Economic Forum, developed in collaboration with The Boston Consulting Group (BCG), Shaping the Future of Construction: An Action Plan to solve the Industry’s Talent Gap. The report argues that the Infrastructure and Urban Development (IU) industry has failed to innovate as quickly as other sectors, resulting in stagnating productivity and negative effects on the economy, society and the environment. An ongoing industry-wide shortage of qualified workers is among the key reasons for this issue. It has undermined project management and execution, adversely affecting cost, timelines and quality. It also has impeded the adoption of new digital technologies, such as building information modelling (BIM), automated equipment and cloud-based collaboration tools, which could improve productivity. The report provides twelve key actions which needs to be implemented to close the structural talent gap of the construction industry.

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Public sector procurement must foster digital innovation and growth says report

Public sector procurement must foster digital innovation and growth says report

by • Facilities management, News, Public Sector, Technology

If the Government is to deliver its plans of driving digital transformation to improve the UK’s public services it must make a step change in procurement within central government and the wider public sector. That is one of the main findings of Procuring the Smarter State: key steps to promote innovation and growth in the public sector, published today by techUK. The Government spent more than £12.2bn with SMEs in 2015/16 and thousands more tech SMEs have signed up to sell their services to Government in the last year through agreements like G-Cloud and Digital Outcomes and Services. But the Government needs to do more if it is to reach its aspiration of spending one pound in every three with SMEs by 2022. This new report sets out how procurement can act as a tool for Government to deliver its vision for the future of public services and use public sector procurement to help foster innovation in the supplier community.

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New Government plan to address employment barriers for disabled people

by • Legal news, News, Wellbeing, Workplace

 

The Government has announced a new 10-year strategy to address employment prospects for disabled people and people with health conditions. In response to its Work, Health & Disability Green Paper consultation which closed earlier this year, the White Paper, Improving Lives: the Future of Work, Health and Disability sets out how the Government will work with employers, charities, healthcare providers and local authorities to break down employment barriers for disabled people and people with health conditions over the next decade. This will be delivered through in-work programmes, personalised financial and employment support, and specialist healthcare services. Currently, ill health that keeps people out of work costs the economy an estimated £100 billion a year, including £7 billion in costs to the NHS. Two new employment trials will also be launched in the West Midlands and Sheffield City Region combined authorities to provide employment support. The Government is also investing around £39 million to more than double the number of Employment Advisors in Improving Access to Psychological Therapies services.

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Workers would be prepared to take a pay cut for an agile working life

by • Flexible working, News, Technology, Workplace

A new survey claims that the ability to accommodate agile working into their life is important, with those who prefer to work agile claiming they would sacrifice an average of 16 percent of their annual salary for the opportunity.In addition to this, 86 percent stated they would even change jobs to accommodate their preference. The report into recruiting for an agile workforce suggests that despite being a relatively new concept, over half surveyed were familiar with it and over 22 percent of those had worked in an agile environment for over two years. However, recruiters claim less than half of the roles they’re working on offer agile, finding it’s most prevalent in the IT sector. The study reveals both recruiters and candidates believe the key attributes for success in agile are being flexible, organised and hardworking. Interestingly, the majority of recruiters believe these are required in advance and cannot be developed on the job. Meanwhile, social qualities (like being introverted or outgoing) or being easy going are less important.

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The workplace sector responds to the 2017 UK Autumn Budget

by • Architecture, Environment, Features, Property, Technology

Yesterday, the Chancellor Philip Hammond announced the details of the UK government’s latest budget. While Brexit inevitably cast its shadow over the whole thing, there were a number of announcements relevant to the workplace, construction, tech and built environment sectors, many of which have been broadly welcomed by commentators, industry bodies and experts. Among the announcements in the budget were new plans for infrastructure and planning, skills and training, the environment, productivity, AI and regional development.

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Businesses exploring potential of AI to improve customer experience and the bottom line

by • News, Technology

Despite the growing interest in the potential of artificial intelligence, there is a sense of confusion amongst business leaders about how it is being used and how to take advantage of its potential. Independent research from SAS claims that while nearly two-thirds (65 percent) of business leaders are convinced AI can generate value for their business, nearly half (46 percent) are being held back by concerns around AI still being in its infancy. Nearly a third (30 percent) of companies are not sure if they are ready for the technology, citing concerns over a lack of required skills (66 percent), ROI (55 percent) and fears over stories of AI malfunctioning (38 percent). Many also expressed reservations over the cost of solutions (39 percent) and lack of trust in the technology (36 percent), reinforcing fears that AI would not deliver sufficient ROI.

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The contribution of personality to the performance of agile workers

by • Features, Flexible working

The introduction of agile working into organisations has typically focussed on the workstyles of different job roles, but has tended to treat the jobholders within these groups in the same way. The successful introduction of new ways of working clearly relies on the willingness of the people occupying the job roles to embrace new ways of working; yet there has been little investigation of the needs of agile workers with different personality types beyond looking at the needs of extroverts and introverts. These studies have tended to focus on the workplace; for example, the Cushman Wakefield Workplace Programme briefing paper examines how organisations can accommodate the needs of extroverts and introverts working together in the workplace. However, using OCEAN personality profiles, Nigel Oseland found that different personality types have different preferences, which in turn are likely to affect their performance at work.

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Two thirds of UK employees have taken a day off work in the last year as a result of stress, depression or anxiety

by • News, Wellbeing

New survey results suggest mental health issues are having a significant impact on productivity in the workplace. Events company Wildgoose surveyed employees at 250 businesses across the UK and found there remains a stigma surrounding mental health at work. Of those surveyed who have taken a day off work, just under half admitted to calling in sick with a different complaint to the one from which they were actually suffering. Two thirds of respondents (62 percent) said they had taken a day off work as a result of stress, depression or anxiety.

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London faces potentially large loss of office stock under office-to-residential conversion rights

London faces potentially large loss of office stock under office-to-residential conversion rights

by • News, Property

A total of 13.3 million square feet of London office space could be lost to office-to-residential conversions carried out under new Permitted Development Rights introduced in 2013, according to new research published by the British Council for Offices (BCO). This figure comprises of 7.5 million ft² of office space in London which has already been converted to homes since the introduction of the rights, with a further 5.7 million ft² of conversions in the capital having approval. An average of 2 million ft²/year has been converted each year since the rights were introduced in 2013, or 0.7 percent of the total London office stock.

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Eight pathways launched to combat unethical practices in construction supply chains

by • Architecture, Facilities management, News, Property

A new eight stage action programme called APRES, has been released by the Building Research Establishment (BRE) to support the responsible and ethical sourcing of materials, products and people. This call to action has been created in partnership with Loughborough University and presents eight pathways to best practice to combat modern slavery and unethical practices in supply chains. The pathways aim to take organisations and individuals from the level of ‘Baseline’ to ‘Best in Class’ performance.

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Commercial property can help guide organisations through the Brexit maze

Commercial property can help guide organisations through the Brexit maze

by • News, Property

Corporate real estate (CRE) executives are ideally suited to guiding their corporations through Brexit, the 2016 vote by the United Kingdom to exit the European Union, according to a White Paper (registration needed) authored by René Buck, founder and CEO of Buck Consultants International, published to coincide with this week’s CoreNet Global Summit in London. Buck lays out several ways that corporate real estate executives can contribute to a robust Brexit strategy for their companies in the paper.
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Report sets out building blocks of a successful digital workplace strategy

by • News, Technology, Workplace design

Digital workplace developments often lose their way, or fail, due to a fragmented approach that prioritises a few technology ‘fixes’ over business strategy, according to analysts at Gartner. To combat this, ‘digital workplace leaders’ in public sector organisations need to employ a framework to ensure their digital workplace initiatives address eight critical components required for a successful implementation, according to Gartner. The report (paywall) sets out what it claims are the eight critical components — “building blocks” — that application leaders need when planning, directing and evolving digital workplace programs:

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