Search Results for: management

Book Review: Cubed: A Secret History of the Workplace by Nikil Saval

by • Comment, Furniture, Work&Place, Workplace design

Cubed: A Secret History of the Workplace

Cubed: A Secret History of the Workplace

Nikil Saval’s book Cubed: A Secret History of the Workplace pulls off that rare feat for a parochial business book of being intelligent and informed (which many are) as well as fascinating, entertaining and realistic, which is rather less commonplace. He pulls this off with plenty of references to pop culture including television series such as Will and Grace, films such as Office Space and The Apartment and, inevitably, the Dilbert cartoons. There is also a great deal of enjoyment to be had in the slightly jaded tone of his writing and brutal evisceration of the likes of Tom Peters who is singled out for special criticism. So too, his take on the very  idea of the ‘Office of the Future’ with its slides, basketball courts, pool tables and vivid colours.

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The UK’s most common form of flexible working? Half of managers work an extra day a week

by • Flexible working, News, Technology, Workplace

Flexible working?The UK’s most common yet one of the least talked about forms of flexible working has been laid bare in a new study from the Institute of Leadership and Management. It found that nearly half of managers work an extra day each week outside of their contracted hours, while an eighth put in an extra two days. More than 90 percent of managers now work outside normal office hours. The survey of 1,056 ILM members found that over three quarters (76 percent) ‘routinely’ work at home or stay late at work, over a third work at weekends and nearly half  (48 percent) regularly work through their lunch-break. The root causes of this are unsurprisingly familiar. The ILM cites technological presenteeism, with many managers ‘obsessively’ checking their phones for email, as well as pressure from employers to put in the extra hours.

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Mace to oversee Old Admiralty refurbishment for DfE occupation

by • Company news, News, Public Sector

Old admiralty building refurbishmentAs a direct result of the Cabinet Office’s programme to consolidate and modernise the government estate, the Grade II listed Old Admiralty Building is to be designed and refurbished for the Department for Education (DfE).  Mace is to oversee the project, which will see the modernisation of 18,000 sq. metres of office space to provide space for over 1,600 staff, who are currently working in leasehold accommodation. Old Admiralty Building (OAB) is currently occupied by staff from the Foreign & Commonwealth Office, who as part of the estate rationalisation strategy, will be consolidated into the Foreign Office’s King Charles Street Office in 2015. Refurbishment work is targeted to commence at the OAB late in 2015, following a design procurement process, including liaison with Westminster City Council planning and English Heritage, with the project due for completion in 2017. (more…)

New Internet of Things consortium aims to set new global standards

by • Facilities management, News, Technology

Where the wild Internet of Things areThe familiar sight of companies scrabbling to define a standard global technology format on their own terms is evident with the announcement of yet another consortium intent on becoming the de facto  standard for the Internet of Things (IoT). The Open Interconnect Consortium (OIC) includes heavyweights such as Samsung, Intel, Dell and Broadcom and is intent on defining ‘connectivity requirements to ensure the interoperability of the more than 30 billion devices projected to come online by 2020’. It joins the AllSeen Alliance and the Industrial Internet Consortium as one of a triumvirate of organisations, some with shared member companies, intent on cutting through the mish-mash of protocols associated with the Internet of Things. The principle will see a growing number of products and materials connected directly to the Internet and so able to exchange data. The adoption of the technology will have a profound impact in many areas of our lives, including workplace design and management.

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CIPD publishes manifesto on how next Government could shape future of work

by • Flexible working, News, Workplace

CIPD manifesto on how next Government should shape the future of workA sustainable recovery and successful future economic performance depends on future governments adopting policies that address fundamental skills and productivity issues, as well as looking at other agendas which will actively shape the future of work. This is according to the CIPD ‘Manifesto for Work,’ published today, which calls on the UK’s political parties to focus on the key issues facing employers and the workforce in the run up to the General Election 2015. Amongst a set of proposals, the HR body is calling on the Government to take a “good practice” approach to employment regulation and policy by supporting the creation of a Workplace Commission, with the aim of helping employers raise standards of people management. CIPD chief executive Peter Cheese, says a better focus and understanding of the changing nature of work, the requirements and needs of the workforce, and the changing workplace will be needed to meet the future challenges. (more…)

First female President in RICS’ history will focus on diversity

by • Company news, Facilities management, News, Property

RICS' first female president in 146-history to focus on diversityThe Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) has confirmed the first female President in the Institution’s 146 year history. New President of RICS Louise Brooke-Smith will give her inaugural speech today (1 July) during RICS’ Governing Council meeting in London. Alongside her presidency of RICS, Brooke-Smith will continue to be involved with the Birmingham based planning and development consultancy, Brooke Smith Planning. RICS accredits over 118,000 qualified professionals across the globe in land, real estate, construction and infrastructure. She succeeds outgoing RICS President, Michael Newey and during her year-long presidency, will focus on three core areas; diversity, Africa and her professional specialisms, planning and land economics. Commenting on her diversity plans for the year Louise Brooke-Smith, RICS President said: “Chartered Surveying is a globally recognised profession, and we must ensure that it is open to all, whatever their background, or gender. (more…)

Government must solve problem of London’s wasted commercial property

by • Comment, Facilities management, Property

London commercial propertyThe UK Government needs to act on the growing issue of wasted commercial property space in Greater London, and it needs to do so as a matter of some urgency. Statistics from the Department for Communities & Local Government (DCLG) show that since 1998, a worrying 58 per cent of London boroughs have seen vacancy rates either increase or stay the same. What is most concerning for businesses in the London region is that this rising figure, coming at a time when commercial rents are soaring, has gone unchecked since 2006, the time at which the DCLG stopped collating the data because of budgetary cuts. One of the worst performing boroughs is the City of London, which has seen a 100 per cent increase in vacant commercial properties during the period from 1998 up until the point at which the DCLG stopped publishing data.

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The debate about open plan offices is not helped by its use of stereotypes

by • Comment, Furniture, Workplace, Workplace design

Open plan offices and national stereotypesThe incessant debate about open plan offices is informed by a number of assumptions that can lead us to misunderstand the issues involved. Nigel Oseland eviscerates several of them excellently here, making it plain that a great deal is lost in translation somewhere over the mid-Atlantic. In truth, the European and US experiences of the open plan are very different and while we in the UK could always laugh along with our US counterparts at the organisational insanity of Dilbert, the cubicles themselves were largely alien to us. Another red herring in the debate is the idea that the open plan office is for extroverts and its alternatives for introverts. There is something in this but it’s too simplistic an idea and is often built around the stereotypes associated with sectors such as TMT, the age of workers (especially Gen Y) and supposed national characteristics, not least the reserve of Brits and the brashness of Yanks.

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The new issue of Work&Place is now available to view online

by • Architecture, Premium Content, Technology, Work&Place, Workplace, Workplace design

Work&PlaceThe new issue of Work&Place is now available to view online. Published by Occupiers Journal in partnership with Insight it offers a wide range of thought leadership, research, commentary and case studies from the world’s foremost commentators, academics and practitioners in the world of workplace design and management. Contributors this quarter include Professor Franklin Becker of Cornell University, BBC CEO of Commercial Projects Chris Kane, Andrew Laing of AECOM, Simon Allford of architects AHMM Allford Hall Monaghan Morris, designer and workplace strategist Ziona Strelitz and Ian Ellison of Sheffield Hallam University. Work&Place offers progressive and informed commentary on some of the most pressing and cutting edge issues facing workplace designers and managers around the world today including co-working, office design, architecture, facilities management, workplace analytics, technology, flexible working, productivity and urbanisation.

Virtually Uninspiring, Cautiously Aspirational – award winning offices for the VUCA world.

by • Architecture, Comment, Workplace design

award winning officesWorld-of-work watchers will be more than aware that we are increasingly being informed that we are living in the VUCA age, which under normal circumstances is an acronym for volatile, uncertain, complex and ambiguous but in the context of these RIBA Award Winners for 2014 might be taken in a number of other ways. Commentators and self-styled thought leaders are warning businesses to prepare for seismic changes to the way work gets done, where, how and by whom (or by what, if proponents of automation and robotics have anything to do with it). How lovely then, that RIBA have made awards to seven offices that hark back to more comforting, more halcyon, times. The text of the accompanying feature in Architects Journal is at pains to point out that offices are hard to design and that RIBA awards are hard won. I wouldn’t disagree on the former point but, from the evidence on show, it’s a bit more of a challenge to agree with the later. So I won’t.

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BRE launches new business assessment and certification scheme for BIM

by • Architecture, Facilities management, News, Property

BIM Level 2The Building Research Establishment (BRE) has developed a new scheme for assessing and certifying businesses as providers of the Government’s BIM Level 2 services.  Delivered on site, it is designed to help companies provide evidence that they have the policies and procedures required to deliver level 2 BIM in line with the Government’s strategy, as well as acting as a strong marketing tool. The scheme is available for businesses and comprises evidence-based assessment of BIM business and management systems in line with Level 2’s process requirements. Those that successfully meet the criteria are awarded Certificated BIM Capability Assessment status by BRE Global, the BRE Group’s independent certification body. The process includes providing businesses with a full post-assessment report that details areas of compliance and, if applicable, non-compliance. A yearly site audit and review is performed to verify that standards and criteria continue to be met, with a full reassessment carried out every three years.

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Public sector procurement skills at heart of updated UK Civil Service plan

by • Knowledge, News, Public Sector, Technology

Public sector procurementThe UK Civil Service has outlined the latest developments in the way it procures goods and services as part of its updated Civil Service Plan for 2014/15. These include a fresh take on the way the Crown Commercial Services (CCS) function operates with private sector firms. This is seen as an essential part of the new form of public sector procurement within the context of a Civil Service which ‘understands the private sector and can work confidently with them, whether purchasing goods and services through complex procurement or learning from them to enhance customer service’. The new approach to public sector procurement will be built on a range of new management skills and schemes to recruit new types of managers which will allow Government departments to share ideas and best practice and collaborate more effectively with suppliers and consultants.  The document also emphasises the expansion of digital capabilities of the public sector services as a way of working with private forms and individuals.

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