Search Results for: management

February 17, 2015

Why would you want a Google office when you can create your own?

by Maciej Markowski • Comment, Facilities management, Flexible working, News, Workplace design

Google has dramatically shaken up the world of the Internet and also changed the face of the traditional office environment forever. Nothing has ever been the same, since the ubiquitous four-colour logo first appeared on the worldwide web. Everything that Google does creates a ripple in the business world. Whether it’s giving employees 20% of their time to focus on their own projects, allowing them to form teams to peruse the idea of their choice or installing slides instead of stairs many are asking “should we also be doing that?” And it’s not surprising. All companies want to be successful and there’s no better success story around than Google. So let’s try and model ourselves on or imitate Google, right? I have lost count of how many times I’ve heard “could we have an office a bit more like Google?”

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February 10, 2015

Over a million older people struggle to find employment

by Sara Bean • News, Workplace

More than a million older people are struggling to find employment. This is according to the second in a series of reports being produced by Business in the Community around age and intergenerational workplaces. The Missing Million: Pathways back into employment, finds that the over 50s continue to face age discrimination and they are increasingly having to start their own businesses or go into unpaid work, when they would prefer to do otherwise. Older people are more likely to remain out of work once they lose a job and if they want to find new employment, the over 50s have to rely on their own resources and networks. The research, which feeds into BITC’s Age and Intergenerational Workplaces campaign, is being carried out in collaboration with The International Longevity Centre-UK (ILC-UK).

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February 6, 2015

Winners announced for first ever employee engagement awards

by Sara Bean • News, Wellbeing, Workplace

Hotel management company The Dorchester Collection has picked up The Investors in People Company of the Year Award, in the inaugural Employee Engagement Awards. Although awards programmes are as much about marketing and revenue as recognising talent and achievement, it’s clear that the launch of the first ever awards that recognise employee engagement reflects a growing realisation by employers that it’s an area to be taken seriously. As the economy improves, the labour market grows more competitive and businesses have to offer and be seen to be doing things differently, to create an engaging and rewarding working environment. Other notable winners include The University of Sheffield, which won the Wellness Award and Transport for London, for Project of the Year Award (Public sector).

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January 30, 2015

Political focus on regulation misses real workplace issues, says CIPD

by Sara Bean • Legal news, News, Workplace

One of the key policies of the Coalition Government is its Red Tape Challenge, intended to ‘roll back’ as many ‘restrictive’ employment regulations as possible. Such deregulation has been lambasted by the Labour party for its negative effect on employer / employee relations and workplace performance. As the parties gear up for the election May this argument looks set to intensify. Yet according to a major new report from the CIPD, Employment Regulation and the Labour Market, neither approach is likely to have any impact on UK labour market outcomes, suggesting there isn’t a case for the next Government to either deregulate or strengthen employment rights. Instead, the CIPD is urging policymakers to focus efforts on improving productivity through a much stronger focus on workplace practices, increasing awareness of existing rights and enforcing them more effectively.

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January 29, 2015

Collaborative workspace concept is being embraced in the City

by Sara Bean • Facilities management, Flexible working, News, Property

It looks like the collaborative workspace concept is gaining credence beyond the tech start-up fraternity. British Land has announced it is to partner with Central Working, a members’ club which provides growing businesses with infrastructure, support and tools, to open a new club, Central Working City, at 4 Crown Place, next to Liverpool Street station. The move reflects a growing demand from start-ups and entrepreneurs for more collaborative workspaces in the area.The new club will occupy 11,000 sq ft across three floors of the five storey building. Following an extensive fit out the new club will offer members a mixture of shared working space, break out rooms, permanent offices and outdoor space. Profits from the club will be shared between British Land and Central Working.

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January 29, 2015

New report aims to demystify successful workplace design strategies

by Mark Eltringham • Facilities management, Knowledge, News, Workplace design

Still from Jacques Tati’s Playtime

A new report aims to demystify the debate about the factors that determine an effective workplace design strategy. The Workplace Evolutionaries group in partnership with the International Facility Management Association (IFMA) Workplace and IFMA Foundation have published what they claim is the definitive workplace guide: Applying What Scientists Know about WHERE and HOW people work best. The author is Dr. Sally Augustin who argues that the study offers a comprehensive repository of research that ‘organises the tremendous body of empirical study that has been conducted in the social and physical sciences which is applicable to workplace managers and designers.’ The result is a study that looks to do away with black and white choices and considers workplace design and management issues with the sophistication they merit.

January 28, 2015

Digital revolution continues to transform the way we work

by Mark Eltringham • Facilities management, Flexible working, Technology, Workplace

The full extent of the way digital technology is transforming British working life is apparent in new research published by Brunel University. The study – essentially a snapshot of the digital revolution in 2015 – found that 98 percent of the 830 businesses surveyed have a website, 8 in 10 manage finances online, 53 percent provide flexible working and 63 percent see innovation as a way to improve customer satisfaction. However, the study also reveals a major gulf between big business and SMEs, with larger firms significantly more digitised than their smaller contemporaries. This raises concerns over the preparedness of the SME sector at a time when the Government’s growth agenda has prioritised nurturing and supporting new and evolving enterprises – and for whom the digital battleground has broken down traditional barriers to entry.

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January 21, 2015

Unhappy Gen Y talent will move on this year, if you fail to keep them engaged

by Julia Lindsay • Comment, Flexible working, Workplace

The January Blues can be a major headache for employers, as it tends to be a time when staff consider moving on. In fact, more than a third of UK workers are already planning to change jobs at some point in 2015.[1] Factors including low motivational levels and the feeling of a need to take action combine to provide favourable conditions for job movement among employees. Keeping Generation Y talent is a particular area of concern for management, with a recent study revealing over half of these employees will expect to have moved on from their current employer within two years.[2] The fact is that Gen Y employees are simply not prepared to stay in jobs that make them unhappy.

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January 14, 2015

Smart city systems will substantially reduce CO2 emissions, claims report

by Mark Eltringham • Cities, Environment, Knowledge, News

A new report from Juniper Research claims that traffic management and parking systems in the new generation of smart cities will reduce global carbon dioxide emissions by some 164 million metric tonnes (MMT) over the next five years, equivalent to the emissions of 35 million vehicles annually. The report also claims that this will transform the lives of those who live and work in cities as it manages the 700 million vehicles that will travel around the world’s cities in 2019. The report, Smart Cities: Strategies, Energy, Emissions & Cost Savings 2014-2019, claims that high levels of city traffic congestion combined with advancements in ‘Internet of Things’ sensors and software solutions has driven plans to reduce high traffic levels through smart initiatives.

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January 14, 2015

Bosses failing to tackle workplace bullying say staff

by Sara Bean • Legal news, News, Wellbeing, Workplace

The majority (91 percent) of staff polled on bullying at work say their employers do not deal adequately with the problem and over three quarters (78 percent) are reluctant to complain for fear of their job. According to charity Family Lives, the anxiety associated with workplace bullying greatly affects emotional health and wellbeing. Of the 1,500 workers it polled, 73 percent said the bullying was verbal, including threats, whereas 60 percent felt the bullying was social, including being excluded, ignored and isolated. Two thirds (66 percent) of respondents witnessed bullying at work with 43 percent stating they were bullied by their line manager, 38 percent bullied by a colleague and 20 percent bullied by SMT or CEO.

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January 13, 2015

Investors priced out of London commercial property turn to regions

by Mark Eltringham • Cities, News, Property

According to a report from Reuters, foreign competition in the London commercial property market is forcing local investors to invest in regional cities to tap rising rents there, with many making purchases privately to avoid auctions or even building office blocks from scratch. Commercial property in London has become a popular safe haven for investors from places such as Russia, China and southern Europe as a result of the financial crisis, and office prices have bounced back strongly from the lows. From a $4 billion battle for control of the Canary Wharf financial district to the creation of the capital’s tallest building, The Shard, thanks to oil money from the Gulf, many of London’s landmarks have had a helpful overseas financing hand.

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January 8, 2015

We all need to embrace the opportunities presented by BIM

by Michael Page • Architecture, Comment, Technology, Workplace design

Described as ‘key to growth in the sector’ by chief construction adviser, Peter Hansford and increasingly recognised as a much more collaborative and efficient way of working, Building Information Modelling (BIM) continues to gather supporters from across the industry, yet there is a percentage of people who are still keeping their heads down and hoping it will all just go away. Maybe it’s the required element of investment or maybe it’s the small matter of change itself – always a difficult one for the construction industry – but there is still an amount of SMEs who are shrinking away from BIM, despite the fact that it is destined to become the established way.