Search Results for: management

Ethnic minority leaders believe institutional prejudice still rife in UK workforce

by • Legal news, News, Workplace

The majority (82 percent) of ethnic minority leaders believe there is institutional prejudice against minorities in the workforce in the UK; and almost one in five (18 percent) of these leaders have personally experienced workplace discrimination in the last two years. A report from Green Park, ‘Changing the Face of Tomorrow’s Leaders:  Increasing Ethnic Minority Representation in Leadership’ claims that while 60 percent of ethnic minority leaders believe institutional racism has moved up the organisational agenda in recent months, two thirds of these respondents say the language is emotive and makes people uncomfortable.  When tackling the issue of racism many firms are struggling to find an appropriate dialogue and language.  When it comes to ethnic minority board level representation, just 2 percent of companies surveyed are meeting their identified targets.  Over a fifth (22 percent) of firms admitted being unaware of current progress towards diversity targets and 18 percent did not know there to start.  More than one in ten (13 percent) have a ethnic diversity target but no strategy, while 9 percent are simply replicating their gender diversity strategy.

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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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Urgent action needed to boost small business workplace productivity says CIPD

by • News, Workplace

The CIPD is calling on Government to invest £13m a year to provide HR support to small businesses, as new research shows that it could be a key part of efforts to resolve the UK’s workplace productivity puzzle. The call is based on the evaluation of year-long People Skills pilots providing HR support for SMEs in Hackney, Stoke-on-Trent and Glasgow. People Skills was developed by the CIPD, with support from the JPMorgan Chase Foundation. It provided up to two days’ worth of free HR support to small firms, including face-to-face advice, a telephone helpline, online information and templates, as well as group training events.

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High expectations mask large gap between understanding of artificial intelligence and its implementation

High expectations mask large gap between understanding of artificial intelligence and its implementation

by • AI, News, Technology

New research published by the Boston Consulting Group and MIT Sloan Management Review suggests that there remains a wide gap between the understanding and adoption of artificial intelligence (AI) at most companies. The global study of over 3,000 firms and industry experts claims that almost 85 percent of executives believe AI will allow their companies to obtain or sustain a competitive advantage. However, only about one in five companies has incorporated AI in some offerings or processes. The new report claims to identify the key characteristics of AI leaders and offers companies a starting point for developing an AI strategy.

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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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Quarter of women on maternity leave offered less training opportunities than colleagues

by • Flexible working, Legal news, News, Workplace

Quarter of women on maternity leave not offered same training opportunities as colleagues

One fifth of women (20 percent) feel overlooked by their employer during maternity leave and though three quarters (75 percent) see training as a key way to prepare for their return to work, nearly a quarter (24 percent) are not offered the same training opportunities as their colleagues. According to the new research from AVADO almost a third of women (32 percent) who’ve been on maternity leave in the past three years say they’d have felt more prepared to return to the workforce if they’d had the option to do some training; one in three (29 percent) would have felt better connected with their team members and for a fifth (24 percent), training would have allowed them to stay up-to-date with the latest developments in their industry. During maternity leave, an employee and employer can agree to have up to ten Keeping in Touch (KIT) days, which may include training, but the research found that just one in ten (16 percent) were given the option to use these for training. This is despite the fact that 72 percent of women see it as one of the key ways to help them successfully head back to work after having a family.

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New property scheme launched to cut the cost of empty space in NHS buildings

by • Facilities management, News, Property, Public Sector

New property scheme launched to cut the cost of empty space in NHS buildingsA new scheme to help the NHS cut the costs of empty space in their buildings has been launched this week by NHS Property Services (NHSPS). Properties that qualify for the scheme must be deemed surplus to NHS requirements and may be re-let, disposed of or considered as a development opportunity. The new Vacant Space Handback Scheme comes in response to feedback from commissioners who want to reduce the cost of maintaining space that is no longer needed for clinical services.  The cost of maintaining vacant space is kept as low as possible, though some costs are unavoidable where rent, business rates and some service charges remain payable. The total amount and cost of maintaining vacant space in the NHS is difficult to calculate, but costs are estimated to be in excess of £10 million a year on the NHS Property Services estate.

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New data protection legislation will lead to increased demand for specialist staff

New data protection legislation will lead to increased demand for specialist staff

by • Legal news, News, Workplace

New data protection legislation – due to come into force next year will lead to a boost in recruitment, claims new research from Robert Half UK.  Two-thirds (66 percent) of CIOs say they will hire additional, permanent employees to cope with the introduction of the EU’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). The new data protection legislation will reshape the way organisations approach data privacy, providing the public with more visibility into data breaches. As organisations concentrate on compliance initiatives, demand for permanent project managers (33 percent), business analysts (26 percent) and data protection officers (26 percent) that oversee how data is processed, will increase. A further 64 percent of CIOs will hire temporary or interim staff to ensure they have the highly-skilled talent in place to manage the change in data management and reporting. The type of role that businesses are recruiting for with GDPR will vary according to company size. Overall, 16 percent of SMBs see GDPR as a concern, compared to 12 percent of large business. SMBs are more likely to hire project managers (32 percent) to help with compliance while larger organisations are placing a greater focus on recruiting data protection officers (33 percent).

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Trans employees are not given enough managerial support at work says Acas

Trans employees are not given enough managerial support at work says Acas

by • Legal news, News, Wellbeing, Workplace

Trans employees are not given enough managerial support at work says Acas

Poor awareness from employers about the challenges faced by trans employees can leave them feeling isolated at work, according to new research. A study commissioned by workplace experts Acas reveals that many employers are not up to speed with the law on gender reassignment discrimination, which protects some trans employees from unfair treatment at work; often it is left to the victims of transphobia themselves to inform their managers about the details of the Equalities Act 2010; and trans people not covered by the Act are even more at risk of being treated unfairly because employers have even less understanding of their experiences. Acas has published ndew guidance on gender reassignment discrimination which helps advise employers on how to manage their trans workers.

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Too much information is leading to a communications overload for many employees

Too much information is leading to a communications overload for many employees

by • Flexible working, News, Technology, Wellbeing, Workplace

Too much information is leading to a communications overload for employees

Employees are experiencing ‘communications overload’ as a result of their organisation’s attempts to keep them continually informed, a new survey claims. According to research by Clarizen, 81 percent of employers say despite taking steps to improve communication among employees, they still lack a way to keep projects on track and provide management oversight. This is because efforts to improve collaboration among employees by opening new lines of communication can have the opposite effect. Instead, employees suffer from the modern workplace malady known as ‘communication overload,’ a productivity-killing infirmity characterised by too many meaningless meetings and an excessive number of emails, notifications and alerts that are devoid of importance, context or urgency. A common challenge reported by a majority of respondents is that employees, departments and teams are spread across several sites, or team members work from home. 70 percent say they need to go beyond creating additional lines of communication, and facilitate better collaboration among employees so they can work together to meet objectives, coordinate activities and monitor progress.

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I’ve got some real estate here in my bag

I’ve got some real estate here in my bag

by • Comment, Flexible working, Property, Technology

Let us be lovers,
We’ll marry our fortunes together.
I’ve got some real estate
Here in my bag.
So we bought a pack of cigarettes,
And Mrs. Wagner’s pies,
And walked off
To look for America.
“Kathy”, I said,
As we boarded a Greyhound in Pittsburgh,
Michigan seems like a dream to me now.

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UK employers concerned for future of the post Brexit economy despite booming jobs market

UK employers concerned for future of the post Brexit economy despite booming jobs market

by • News, Workplace

Employer confidence in the UK economy has moved into negative territory, according to the latest JobsOutlook survey by the Recruitment & Employment Confederation (REC). The net balance fell from +6 per cent last month to -3 per cent in the latest report, as 31 per cent of employers now expect the economy to worsen and just 28 per cent expect it to improve.  Employers are still looking to hire, with one in five (19 per cent) planning to increase permanent headcount in the next three months.  Confidence in making hiring and investment decisions remains positive with a net balance of 10 per cent, but is at its lowest for the past year.  In addition to signs of deteriorating employer confidence, consumers are also becoming more pessimistic. The GfK’s index of consumer confidence fell to -12, equalling last year’s post-referendum low.

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