Search Results for: management

London seen as most desirable city in the world to work, but the UK falls in country standings

London seen as most desirable city in the world to work, but the UK falls in country standings

A comprehensive study into global talent mobility claims that London is the most desirable city for overseas workers worldwide, beating New York, Berlin and Barcelona. In the four years since the first study conducted by The Boston Consulting Group (BCG) and totaljobs, the UK has dropped three places in overall attractiveness, from second to fifth in the country rankings. Decoding Global Talent 2018 (registration required), claims to be one of the most expansive studies every undertaken into workforce migration trends. Shining a spotlight on the UK’s attractiveness to global talent, the research reveals the world’s most desirable destinations for work.

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UK employers aim to accelerate digital innovation, despite some cultural resistance

UK employers aim to accelerate digital innovation, despite some cultural resistance

UK employers aim to accelerate digital innovation, despite some cultural resistanceThe way to measure an employer’s speed of innovation includes how they find talent, their appraisal process, how employees recommend the organisation they work for to others, and how much employees collaborate, claims a new European study by Cornerstone OnDemand and IDC. “Future Culture: Building a Culture of Innovation in the Age of Digital Transformation” explores the relationship between European organisations’ speed of innovation and talent management, with the research showing that firms with a steady stream of new products and services are more likely to have an ongoing feedback process with employees, rather than an annual performance review, while organisations with a slower rate of innovation often use coaching and mentoring to develop employees.

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Organisations are easily distracted from the task of creating a great workplace strategy

Organisations are easily distracted from the task of creating a great workplace strategy

Earlier this month The Once Alternative Workplace Strategies 2018 workplace study was published. This study is the only known longitudinal workplace study and it was recently resurfaced by a group of volunteers to maintain a comparative thread of data on the evolution of workplace thought and practice now going back many years. Unfortunately, the results of this global study demonstrate that a high percentage of companies still see once alternative and now modern workplace strategies as a real estate initiative and not the opportunity to reinvent their businesses in deeper and more transformational ways. Workplace innovation is a litmus test for management quality and leadership. This isn’t about real estate, it’s actually about people and business outcomes.

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The hype surrounding wellbeing concepts can blind us to their true value

The hype surrounding wellbeing concepts can blind us to their true value

Digital detox. Does the phrase make you roll your eyes or grab your attention? Lately, you’d be forgiven for thinking that the idea of switching off from technology, particularly your smart phone (if people still call them that as they are so ubiquitous) has become a media fad. A litmus test for this might be how much air time BBC R2 give the subject. Over the past few weeks it has figured a lot, particularly Chris Evans referencing it in a Japanese themed week and a Friday morning interview with the neuroscientist Dr Jack Lewis who shared his tops tips for a digital detox. No doubt the Daily mail is jumping on the bandwagon as well.

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Successful EFMC event in Sofia sets its sights next on Dublin

Successful EFMC event in Sofia sets its sights next on Dublin

The Sofia Event Center in Sofia (Bulgaria), hosted from 5 to 8 June the 26th Edition of EFMC, the European Congress of Facility Management. The event, held for the first time in the Bulgarian capital, has brought together world experts of the sector and has served as a platform for communication between Facility Managers, suppliers, universities and associations. In the closing ceremony it was announced that EFMC 2019 will be held in Dublin (Ireland) on 13 and 14 June.

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We should not be quite so quick to demonise the open plan office

We should not be quite so quick to demonise the open plan office

There is a witch hunt on in the workplace. “Open plan” has become a dirty word and the national press are leading the mob in vilifying this so-called scourge. The Guardian, The Independent, The Telegraph, The Daily Mail and Business Week have all reported that “we can’t get anything done in an open-plan office” as it affects our concentration, our performance and our health. These news items are all damning, but perhaps not as damming as the Wikipedia entry on open plan which states: “A systematic survey of research upon the effects of open plan offices found frequent negative effects in some traditional workplaces: high levels of noise, stress, conflict, high blood pressure and a high staff turnover… Most people prefer closed offices… there is a dearth of studies confirming positive impacts on productivity from open plan office designs”.

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A clearer more enforceable energy efficiency policy is needed for commercial buildings

A clearer more enforceable energy efficiency policy is needed for commercial buildings

A clearer more enforceable energy efficiency policy is needed for commercial buildingsThere is a critical need for to simplify the regulatory framework designed to improve energy efficiency in commercial buildings finds a recent report from the Environmental Industries Commission (EIC) Carbon Management & Sustainable Buildings Working Group. It also suggests that Brexit could act as a spur to rethink the right combination of policies to reform enforcement systems. The report, Improving non-domestic energy efficiency after Brexit, one of a series EIC is publishing setting out its members’ views on the impact of Brexit on environmental policy and how policy should evolve after the UK leaves the EU, covers the breadth of energy efficiency policy for non-domestic buildings. As part of its research, EIC surveyed England’s local authorities, who have responsibility for trading standards, finding that out of those that responded (122 out of 149), no local authorities have been issuing fines for failing to display Energy Performance Certificates or Display Energy Certificates.

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Employers and government need to work together to address looming Brexit skills gap

Employers and government need to work together to address looming Brexit skills gap

As the UK continues to navigate a period of uncertainty ahead of its exit from the European Union, new research published by the City & Guilds Group and Emsi claims that nine in 10 employers already struggle to recruit the skilled staff they need. With most industries expected to grow between now and 2024, a significant number of skilled workers will be needed to meet demand. However, People Power, a study based on City & Guilds Group interviewing over 1,000 C-Suite employers in the UK and work with Emsi to undertake extensive economic modelling, has found that two thirds of UK employers think that the skills gaps in their businesses are likely to get worse or remain the same in the next three to five years.

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Nearly half of employees still assigned to same place as the traditional office clings on

Nearly half of employees still assigned to same place as the traditional office clings on

Nearly half of employees still assigned to one place as traditional office clings on

The worry over a loss in productivity when people are able to work anywhere is entirely unfounded, and what we once called “alternative”, we have come to call current and future workplace strategies, a new report claims. Yet the new study, ‘The Once Alternative Workplace Strategies’, which was conducted and released by Advanced Workplace Associates (AWA), Global Workplace Analytics and Haworth Inc, found that nearly half of employees are still permanently assigned to one space; with no change since 2008. The research pinpoints five leading trends within today’s workplaces and compares the findings to the initial research from more than a decade ago. More →

US companies are waking up to the benefits of caring for employee mental health

US companies are waking up to the benefits of caring for employee mental health

In 2015, the American Psychological Association chose American Express as the inaugural winner of the Organizational Excellence Award, recognizing successful efforts to integrate psychology and prioritize behavioral health and emotional well-being in the workplace. American Express had an employee assistance program (EAP) for workers dealing with depression and other mental health challenges. The EAP was a telephone-consultation system and only about 4 percent of employees utilized it. After the firm added on-site counselors to meet with employees for free—and rebranded the EAP as part of its “Healthy Living” —the usage rate more than doubled.

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British employees less confident and more stressed over last three years

British employees less confident and more stressed over last three years

UK employees could be heading for crisis, according to a three-year study by ADP, which has found that three key measures of employee wellbeing – optimism, stress and skills confidence – have taken a hit since 2015. The exact reason for the changes is unclear, however the timings suggest that Brexit may have played a part, along with the rise in new technologies entering the workplace.

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Lack of emotional intelligence greater impediment to staff engagement than AI

Lack of emotional intelligence greater impediment to staff engagement than AI

Lack of emotional intelligence greater impediment to staff engagement than AI

A new Gallup report reveals the growth of AI is not seen as a disadvantage for employees. The real problem is lack of emotional intelligence in management, with managers failing to move beyond the role of “task manager” and adopt the coaching perspective they need in order to future proof the workforce. The Real Future of Work study interviewed 4,000 working adults in the UK, France, Germany and Spain to understand how employees are being managed and the subsequent impact this might have on the future. Worryingly, one in four UK employees say they only receive performance feedback from their manager once a year or less, a further 20 percent claim it’s only a “few times a year”. Almost one in five (19 percent) UK workers predict technology will increase the risk of losing their job – the highest in the European countries surveyed and more than double those concerned in Spain. When asked how technological changes will influence work in the next three years, seven out of ten workers in the UK felt it will increase their productivity followed by France (66 percent), Spain (51 percent) and Germany (37 percent).

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