Search Results for: learning

UK ranks thirty-first worldwide for broadband speeds, claims year long study

UK ranks thirty-first worldwide for broadband speeds, claims year long study

by • News, Technology

An analysis of over 63 million broadband speeds worldwide carried out by comparison site Cable.co.uk claims that the UK sits in 31st place, with an average speed of 16.51 Mbps. The data was collected for the 12 months up to 10 May this year by M-Lab, a partnership between New America’s Open Technology Institute, Google Open Source Research, Princeton University’s PlanetLab, and other supporting partners, and compiled by Cable.co.uk. The UK manages to beat 158 other countries, yet falls behind 30 others, coming in behind 20 European countries, 17 of which are in the European Union (EU).  The five fastest countries have download speeds around 40 times faster than the five slowest. Singapore tops the table at 55.13Mbps, compared to Yemen, which is more than 162 times slower at just 0.34Mbps.

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The most successful business leaders adopt a courageous approach to technology and the future of work

The most successful business leaders adopt a courageous approach to technology and the future of work

by • News, Technology

Software consultancy ThoughtWorks has published a new report which claims that the best business leaders share a particular approach to the running of their organisations that the report characterises as ‘courage’. The Next Big Disruption: Courageous Executives claims to revealing what sets top business leaders apart from their competition. The report profiles a segment of leaders referred to as “Courageous Executives” in the US, the UK, Australia and India and the findings ‘underscore the critical role technology plays in business strategy, from navigating the chaos of digital transformation to how they’re setting their business up for future success.’ The report also claims to shed light on the leadership styles of Courageous Executives including their tolerance for risk and failure, their use of customer insights and the ways leaders in all four countries are preparing for the future of work.

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British businesses at risk of creativity crisis, according to new Microsoft research

British businesses at risk of creativity crisis, according to new Microsoft research

by • News, Technology, Workplace design

British businesses are at risk of a creativity crisis due to workplace cultures that stifle innovation, according to new research launched by Microsoft Surface. Uninspiring workplaces (41 per cent), a stressful atmosphere (34 per cent) and a lack of appropriate spaces to focus and think alone (28 per cent) were all identified as major inhibitors to creativity.  Two in five workers surveyed (40 per cent) say that creativity and innovation are neither encouraged nor rewarded within their workplace – despite creativity being one of the top three skills workers will need to thrive by 2020, according to the World Economic Forum. The research, based on the views of more than 1,100 workers, found that whilst almost three quarters of respondents (73 per cent) consider themselves to be creative, demands of the modern workplace need rethinking, with symptoms such as overworking and stress stifling our ability to tackle problems and produce good ideas. Half of workers (50 per cent) feel least creative when tired, 45 per cent when stressed, while existing workloads (39 per cent) and organisational processes (32 per cent) were also cited as barriers to employees being more creative.

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Employers must prepare for emerging technologies that will reshape work by 2030

Employers must prepare for emerging technologies that will reshape work by 2030 0

by • News, Technology, Wellbeing, Workplace, Workplace design

Employers should prepare for emerging technologies that reshape society and work by 2030Emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence, robotics, virtual reality, augmented reality and cloud computing, will transform our lives and how we work over the next decade; and by 2030 every organisation will be a technology organisation. As such businesses need to start thinking today about how to future-proof their infrastructure and workforce, according to a report published by Dell Technologies. The research, led by the Institute for the Future (IFTF) alongside 20 technology, academic and business experts from across the globe also offers insight on how consumers and businesses can prepare for a society in flux. ‘The Next Era of Human-Machine Partnerships’ forecasts that emerging technologies, supported by massive advancements in software, big data and processing power, will reshape lives. The report predicts that an estimated 85 percent of jobs in 2030 haven’t been invented yet. The pace of change will be so rapid that people will learn “in-the-moment” using new technologies such as augmented reality and virtual reality. The ability to gain new knowledge will be more valuable than the knowledge itself.

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The world has its say on the Taylor Review into modern working practices

The world has its say on the Taylor Review into modern working practices 0

by • Features, Flexible working, Legal news

Yesterday, the much-awaited Taylor Review into modern working practices was finally published. And by modern working practices, the report focussed primarily on what has become known as the gig economy. People have been speculating about the contents of the report for months and things ramped up last week after a partial leak to the media. So, things were already bubbling under nicely before the actual publication of the document brought things to a boil yesterday. Assuming the government do more than kick the whole thing into the long grass, always a possibility, debate will continue for a while. We’ll let politicians do their thing with it, but here are a few of the initial reactions from interested parties and the experts. (more…)

Taylor Review on Modern Working Practices and the gig economy is published

Taylor Review on Modern Working Practices and the gig economy is published 0

by • Flexible working, Legal news, News, Wellbeing, Workplace

The long awaited UK government commissioned report into modern working practices and the so-called gig economy has been published at last. The Taylor Review was commissioned by the Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy last year and there has been a great deal of speculation regarding its content ever since, especially last week after parts were apparently leaked to the media. You can follow the pile in now on Twitter and the festering pits of ignorance, prejudice and bile known as newspaper comment sections. Or you can read it here before you draw your own conclusions. We’ll be having our say tomorrow and sharing the thoughts of various organisations into its contents. The report was authored by Matthew Taylor, Chief Executive of the RSA and considers the implications of new forms of working, especially with regard to the gig economy and freelance work on worker rights and responsibilities, as well as on employer freedoms and obligations. It sets out seven key principles to address the challenges facing the UK labour market, set out below.

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Creativity is the new productivity in the modern era of work and workplaces

Creativity is the new productivity in the modern era of work and workplaces 0

by • Comment, Facilities management, Workplace design

Creativity is often thought of as a quality unique to artistic geniuses. When in reality, it is present in all of us, and something that can be enhanced and nurtured, given the right tools and environment. Creativity is the innate human ability to generate ideas, solve difficult problems and exploit new opportunities — it is the fuel for innovation. Many of today’s most pressing business problems require creative thinking to solve them, and creativity is an essential ingredient for business growth. However, 77 percent of CEOs name creativity as their company’s number one skill shortage (20th CEO survey, PWC, 2017). Being agile is critical in a world that is changing rapidly, with disruptive technology, globalisation and an increasingly complex landscape all playing a part. More than ever, supporting creativity at work is an essential part of driving value for both businesses and society. In days gone by, instead of focusing on their organisation’s creative output, most business leaders were obsessed with near-term goals such as productivity, efficiency, cost-cutting and reducing waste. But the landscape has shifted and creativity is emerging as an important dimension of productivity.

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Google launches initiative to humanise artificial intelligence

Google launches initiative to humanise artificial intelligence 0

by • AI, News, Technology

Google has announced a new initiative that aims to improve the ways humans and artificial intelligence interact in both their personal and professional lives. Called the People + AI Research (PAIR) initiative, The programme will look to ensure that advances in machine learning and technical performance in areas such as speech recognition, image search and translation are better aligned with the needs of people. The project will bring together researchers across Google to study and redesign the ways people interact with AI systems. According to Google, the goal isn’t just to publish research but also create open source tools for experts in the field to use and completely redefine the way we think about artificial intelligence.

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Majority of employers fear lack of sufficiently skilled people to meet tech challenges

Majority of employers fear lack of sufficiently skilled people to meet tech challenges 0

by • Legal news, News, Technology, Workplace

Majority of employers fear a lack of skilled staff to meet increased need for talentThree quarters (75 percent) of businesses expect to increase the number of high-skilled roles over the coming years, but 61 percent fear that there will be a lack of sufficiently skilled people to fill them. This is according to the 2017 CBI/Pearson Education and Skills Survey which highlighted that 62 percent see strong competition for candidates with appropriate qualifications as the most widespread cause of skills shortage, followed by a lack of candidates with appropriate qualifications (55 percent). According to the report, while the Brexit debate generates plenty of heat, ‘it’s the white heat of technological change that will mean huge change to the jobs of 2030’. Add that to the obvious question about what skills we’ll need to ‘home grow’ in the absence of free labour movement, and the skills gap is brought into sharper relief argues the report.

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Flexible and family friendly workplaces across the UK named in charity’s awards

Flexible and family friendly workplaces across the UK named in charity’s awards 0

by • Flexible working, News, Wellbeing, Workplace

Britain’s most family friendly and flexible employers have been recognised in this year’s Top Employers for Working Families Awards. Now in their 8th year, the annual Top Employers for Working Families Special Awards from the UK’s work life balance charity cover 11 categories across a range of work life policies and practices. Four new sector-specific awards are being introduced this year for the private, public and third sectors; as well as a category for small employers. Sarah Jackson OBE, chief executive of Working Families, said: “In many ways, flexible working and family friendly working have never been more part of the bloodstream of British business. We had a record-breaking number of entries this year, showcasing a wealth of exciting approaches to creating agility in the workplace. Congratulations to all this year’s Top Employers for Working Families award winners, singled out because they offer leading flexible workplaces that support the grain of their employees’ lives. I look forward to working with them to make work work, for people, families and the economy, so that families thrive and business prospers.”

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Digital workplace accelerates blurring of lines between IT, HR and finance roles

Digital workplace accelerates blurring of lines between IT, HR and finance roles 0

by • News, Technology, Workplace

To help ‘organisations thrive in a competitive digital marketplace’, Oracle and the MIT Technology Review have released a new study that highlights the importance of collaboration between finance and human resources (HR) teams with a unified cloud. The study, Finance and HR: The Cloud’s New Power Partnership, outlines how a ‘holistic view into finance and HR information’, delivered via cloud technology, empowers organisations to better manage continuous change in the workplace. Based on a global survey of 700 C-level executives and finance, HR, and IT managers, the study claims that a shared finance and HR cloud system is a critical component of successful transformation initiatives.

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Skills gap costs British employers over £2 billion a year

Skills gap costs British employers over £2 billion a year 0

by • News, Workplace

A shortage of people with the right skills has cost companies more than £2 billion over the past year, despite employment being at a record high, according to the latest findings of The Open University Business Barometer. The study of hundreds of employers found that the majority of businesses have had to pay as much as £527 million above the market rate to recruit skilled workers. At small and medium-sized companies, the average salary increase amounted to £4,150 per recruit. At larger groups, it stood at £5,575. Companies said that they also had faced increased recruitment costs, including paying temporary staff to fill the gap while suitable candidates were found. Nine out of ten said that they had struggled to recruit people with the right skills.

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