Search Results for: management

Digital Board could help Local Authorities deliver smart initiatives

Digital Board could help Local Authorities deliver smart initiatives

Digital Board could help Local Authorities deliver Smart initiativesLocal authorities, which are on the front line of implementation when it comes to smart, place-based digital initiatives could be helped to deliver positive, sustainable citizen outcomes for their locality with the formation of a Digital Board – a new report claims. Launched at techUK’s Local Gov Transformation: Creating smart places event, What makes a ‘good’ Digital Board? draws upon the expertise of techUK industry members and public sector stakeholders to guide local authorities through building a stronger understanding of digital, data and technological solutions into decision-making levels by establishing and maintaining a good Digital Board. More →

The main challenge of modern working life: finding the place just right to meet

The main challenge of modern working life: finding the place just right to meet 0

Every physical setting sends distinct signals to meeting participants – signals that set the tone and provide a context for the conversation, even when they are subtle or not in anyone’s conscious awareness.  You understand instinctively that the place where a meeting occurs has an impact on the nature of the conversation. Just imagine the difference between a conversation around a large formal conference table with expensive executive chairs and one that takes place in an informal employee lounge, with the participants seated in a circle on soft bean-bag chairs. More →

New report aims to debunk myth that AI will be intrinsically bad for people at work

New report aims to debunk myth that AI will be intrinsically bad for people at work

The latest report that claims to debunk the myths surrounding AI in the workplace arrives from Tata Communications who worked with academics at UC Berkeley to interview 120 business leaders about their attitudes to AI. The report, AI and the Future of Work (registration required) claims to shift ‘the conversation from dystopian fears toward human collaboration and cognitive diversity, the study identifies how AI can diversify human thinking rather than replace it. The study identifies opportunities for businesses and employees based on insights from leaders such as Tony Blair, Executive Chair of the Institute of Global Change and former UK Prime Minister, who predicts that, AI will allow us to do what it is that we are uniquely meant to do: focus on high-level thinking, strategy, and paving the way for innovation.’

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RICS announces standards to tackle unfair commercial property service charges

RICS announces standards to tackle unfair commercial property service charges

RICS standards aim to tackle unfair commercial property service charges

New mandatory requirements that will ensure service charges to commercial tenants are transparent, upfront and fair, and that any costs incurred are in accordance with the terms of the occupational leases, have been announced by RICS. The Institute, which has long called for a fairer and more professional approach to property management to help outlaw “rogue” landlords and managing agents says ‘Service charges in commercial property’ will help regulate the activities of landlords and their agents, whilst protecting tenants from having to pay for unscrupulous repair or maintenance costs. It has worked with major property bodies representing owners, occupiers and managing agents – including BPF, BRC, BCO, PMA, CoreNet, REVO, PMA alongside ICAEW and Law Society, the professional bodies for accountants and lawyers – to produce the recommendations that reflect the needs and opinions of landlords and tenants and the specific considerations of different sectors.

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Half of all workplace tasks will be performed by machines within seven years

Half of all workplace tasks will be performed by machines within seven years

The world is going through a workplace revolution that will bring a seismic shift in the way humans work alongside machines and algorithms, according to new research by the World Economic Forum. By 2025 more than half of all current workplace tasks will be performed by machines as opposed to 29 percent today. Such a transformation will have a profound effect on the global labour force, however in terms of overall numbers of new jobs the outlook is positive, with 133 million new jobs expected to be created by 2022 compared to 75 million that will be displaced. The research, published in The Future of Jobs 2018, is an attempt to understand the potential of new technologies to disrupt and create jobs. It is also seeks to provide guidance on how to improve the quality and productivity of the current work being done by humans and how to prepare people for emerging roles.

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Report finds negative impact of gender and age on confidence of managers

Report finds negative impact of gender and age on confidence of managers

Report finds negative impact of gender and age on managers’ confidence

A fifth (20 percent) of female managers admit they would rather be managed by a male colleague and unsurprisingly given that opinion, the same proportion worry their gender hinders people’s confidence in them. The data, commissioned by AVADO also revealed that age played a part in management attitudes, with 68 percent of young leaders (20-24) saying they felt their age hindered colleague’s confidence in them as a manager.  However, when asked about who they perceive to make the better managers, respondents said it would be the person who was most qualified to do the job (44 percent. By contrast almost half of men (48 percent) said that they were very confident in their management skills, compared to 30 percent of women.

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Flexible working legislation has failed to change anything

Flexible working legislation has failed to change anything

Legislation giving employees the right to request flexible working has failed to increase take-up, new research from the University of Manchester shows. The research, presented at the British Sociological Association conference in Belfast last week, has found that there has been no significant overall increase in the number of employees working flexibly since the legislation came into effect in 2014.

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Employers still have huge reservations about permitting more flexible working

Employers still have huge reservations about permitting more flexible working

Employers still have huge reservations about permitting flexible workingEmployers considering new flexible working options for their employees are concerned about the security and management implications, according to a recent poll, despite the fact that staff now have the legal right to request flexible arrangements. The survey of medium sized businesses, carried out for RSM by YouGov, found that over the next five years, three quarters of respondents were considering introducing flexible terms of employment, allowing workers to work outside 9 to 5 or increasing the use of remote working.

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Majority of staff refuse to admit tiredness is affecting their performance at work

Majority of staff refuse to admit tiredness is affecting their performance at work

Majority of staff won't admit tiredness is impacting their performance at work

Almost half of employees regularly turn up to their job feeling too tired to work but according to a new survey the majority (86 percent) are not able to speak openly with their line manager about how tiredness is impacting on performance. The research from Westfield Health has found over one in ten (11 percent) of UK workers have purposefully taken a nap at work, and over a third (34 percent) say their mental wellbeing is reduced due to tiredness and fatigue. Fatigue, which is defined as extreme tiredness resulting from mental or physical exertion or illness, is stretching beyond work for UK employees, with 55 percent saying it is affecting them at home too. Almost half (46 percent) said they regularly turn up to their jobs feeling too tired to work, and more than a third (37 percent) say they tend to be more forgetful and make errors as a result of tiredness. This is a worrying concern when it comes to the built environment, particularly construction.

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Working long and hard? It may do more harm than good for your productivity and wellbeing

Working long and hard? It may do more harm than good for your productivity and wellbeing

Nearly half of people in the EU work in their free time to meet work demands, and a third often or always work at high speed, according to recent estimates. If you are one of them, have you ever wondered whether all the effort is really worth it? Employees who invest more effort in their work report higher levels of stress and fatigue, along with lower job satisfaction. But they also report receiving less recognition and fewer growth opportunities. And they experience less job security. So increased work effort not only predicts reduced wellbeing, it even predicts inferior career-related outcomes.

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Employees more productive when they understand the company goals

Employees more productive when they understand the company goals

Employees more productive when they understand the company goalsBeing made to feel you’re making a positive contribution to your organisation is an important motivator, but a new study suggests over half of employees believe they would be more productive if they knew how their work fitted into overall company objectives. According to the research from Asana this lack of transparency means a third of UK employees believe their business suffers from a lack of direction, with employees complaining that they do not know what their company stands for and are completely unclear of the company’s long term and short-term goals. This unsurprisingly is having a direct impact on employee motivation, with and framed within the context of the UK’s productivity conundrum.  A lack of clarity of company goals across businesses is not the sole reason that the UK is experiencing a productivity conundrum, but there is a clear disconnect between strategic goals and the jobs being executed on a day to day basis.

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Network Rail agrees £1.46bn commercial real estate sale to Telereal Trillium and Blackstone Property

Network Rail agrees £1.46bn commercial real estate sale to Telereal Trillium and Blackstone Property

Network Rail has agreed terms with Telereal Trillium and Blackstone Property Partners for the sale of its commercial real estate portfolio. Proceeds from the £1.46 billion transaction will help fund the railway upgrade plan, bringing improvements for passengers and reducing the need for taxpayers to fund the railway, according to a statement from Network Rail. Telereal and Blackstone will hold equal ownership stakes and intend to be long-term owners of the estate. Both parties have adopted a ‘tenants first’ approach, cemented in a tenants’ charter, which offers a commitment to engage with all tenants and communities in an open and honest manner. Telereal will oversee the day-to-day property management of the portfolio.

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