Search Results for: management

Employers are up skilling existing staff as vacancies get harder to fill

Employers are up skilling existing staff as vacancies get harder to fill

Employers are up skilling existing staff to counteract hard to fill vacanciesEmployers are having to be more flexible to fill vacancies as buoyant demand for staff is creating recruitment challenges. Two in five (41 percent) employers say it has become more difficult to fill vacancies in the past year, while three in five (61 percent) employers said that at least some of their vacancies were proving hard to fill. However, according to the latest Labour Market Outlook from the CIPD and the Adecco Group despite the tightening labour market, this confidence has yet to translate into significant salary increases for all but new starters and those with key skills.

As recruitment and retention challenges grow, employers are changing their recruitment practices and drawing on a wider talent pool to fill vacancies, while putting more focus on training up existing staff.

Gerwyn Davies, senior labour market adviser for the CIPD said:  “The majority of UK workers are long overdue a meaningful pay rise. However, many workers will remain disappointed with their pay packets until there are significant and sustained improvements to productivity. Organisations need to give much greater consideration to the obstacles that are preventing their people from performing better at work.

“A greater focus on training, development and better people management is needed to lift the UK out of its current productivity crisis. One upside is that many employers are already investing in developing their existing workforce to plug skills gaps. Strengthening workplace training and recruiting in a more inclusive, flexible way will ultimately deliver higher performing and fairer workplaces.”

[perfectpullquote align=”right” bordertop=”false” cite=”” link=”” color=”” class=”” size=””]“A greater focus on training, development and better people management is needed to lift the UK out of its current productivity crisis.” [/perfectpullquote]

 

Recruitment outlook – jobs growth set to continue

Britain’s jobs boom is set to continue in the short term. The report’s net employment balance – a measure of the difference between the proportion of employers who expect to increase staff levels and those who expect to decrease staff levels – has increased from +20 to +22. Employment growth will continue to be driven by the private sector which has increased from +22 to +25 in the last quarter. The report shows that confidence is highest in business services (+39), construction (+36), healthcare (+31) and ICT (31 percent).

 

Skills shortages – employers are having to be more flexible to find candidates 

Skills shortages are particularly being seen in professional occupations (e.g. scientists, engineers) where 50 percent of employers report that applicants don’t have the required level of skills needed. In response to skills challenges employers are having to rethink their recruitment practices and draw from a wider talent pool. The Labour Market Outlook found that:

  • Two in five employers (43 percent) are upskilling existing staff to offset hard to fill vacancies
  • 23 percent are hiring more apprentices
  • 19 percent are recruiting from outside the UK
  • 1 in 7 (16 percent) are lowering their recruitment standards

In line with recent ONS data*, the report also found that employers were making greater efforts to hire those aged over 55 (8 percent) and those from disadvantaged groups (6 percent).

Despite rising recruitment and retention pressures, median basic pay expectations in the 12 months to March 2020 remain at 2 percent. However, pay expectations have fallen back in the private sector from 2.5 percent to 2 percent and have risen in the public sector from 1 percent to 1.5 percent.

In addition to hiring challenges, a third of employers (33 percent) said that it has become harder to retain staff in the last 12 months, particularly in the public sector (42 percent). In response, over half (54 percent) of organisations have increased salaries in some capacity and one in four organisations (25 percent) have increased salaries for key staff only.







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Employers still not doing enough to support working parents

Employers still not doing enough to support working parents

Working Families and Bright Horizons have launched a new report which focuses on flexible working and the reality of flexible jobs from the perspective of working parents in the UK. According to the report, the experience of parents shows that flexible working is widespread, although patchy in some sectors and for some workers. It is beneficial in helping parents get a better work life fit, although it is not a panacea. Issues around job design, workloads and organisational culture undermine some of the benefits of flexibility, and proper management of flexibility to ensure it works is, for many parents, missing. (more…)

Is stress killing creativity and innovation in your organisation?

Is stress killing creativity and innovation in your organisation?

Around 90 percent of CEOs state that they are displeased with returns of their investments into innovation. Companies invest in innovation projects, hire innovation consultants, run innovation workshops, and send their best and brightest to conferences and courses on innovation, yet fail to see the magic appear. Angered by this, many companies double down, throwing yet more money on innovation, only to see that returns fail to appear.

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The impact of technology, cyber-risk and the future of corporate real estate

The impact of technology, cyber-risk and the future of corporate real estate 0

It’s no surprise to say that technology is having a significant impact on the workplace and the use of corporate real estate. The fast pace of change has seen technology impact all aspects of business, government and culture, as well as personal life, with a constant flow of new innovations and solutions helping us to do things more quickly and efficiently. Equally, technology also provides a challenge to business and, more specifically, corporate operations, with a whole array of disruptive technologies.

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Tech workers would quit jobs for better work-life balance

Tech workers would quit jobs for better work-life balance

Tech workers quit jobs for better work-life balanceThe tech sector is facing high departure rates as employees’ complain of work impinging on their home life, coupled with a lack of learning & development opportunities. It’s been estimated that vacancies already outweigh skilled talent in the UK tech industry, where there are an estimated 600,000 vacancies. Yet nearly two-thirds (62 percent) of tech workers say they would quit their job to achieve a better work-life balance. The research from CWJobs of over 1,000 IT workers also discovered that  this is even more important to Gen Z (aged 16-24), where seven in 10 (72 percent) would leave a company if this was compromised.

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Role of AI and automation in recruitment poses a challenge for HR

Role of AI and automation in recruitment poses a challenge for HR

Last week, news emerged that an automated system at Amazon had started firing low performing workers, highlighting the new role of AI and automation in traditional HR practices. Now a new report from the CIPD claims that the use of such systems will have a widespread but mixed impact on jobs. According to the study, the introduction of these new technologies at work will see job opportunities grow, by enhancing roles, employee skills and their pay. However, lack of thought and planning on how people and technology work together is reducing productivity improvements and increasing the risk of people being left behind.

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Majority of organisations fail to offer menopause support

Majority of organisations fail to offer menopause support

Forth With Life, a company that provides blood sample analysis and bio-marker tracking to promote and support health and wellbeing, recently undertook a survey exploring the existence and effectiveness of menopause support options available in the workplace. Their sample group consisted of 1000 women, all over 45 years of age and in either full time or part time employment, from all around the UK. Of those women, 77 percent had already been through the menopause, or were currently experiencing symptoms.

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UK workplace happiness score has dropped below global average

UK workplace happiness score has dropped below global average

UK workplace happiness score has dropped below global averageThe UK now ranks tenth globally when it comes to happiness in the workplace. Austria (690), Spain (682), United States (719), France (672) and Germany (675) are all above the UK in rating workplace happiness. To date, over 10,000 people globally have taken the free Workplace Happiness Survey by Engaging Works which aims to provide practical and personalised advice to help improve wellbeing at work and to increase productivity and overall happiness within the workplace. The Workplace Happiness Survey asks 26 questions and then delivers a score out of 1000.

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Greater action still needed on workplace adjustments for disabled people

Greater action still needed on workplace adjustments for disabled people

Findings from a new and extensive survey on workplace adjustments will be announced today (25 April) at the Business Disability Forum’s annual conference in London. Based on the views of over 1,200 respondents, The Great Big Workplace Adjustments Survey provides a detailed and up-to-date picture of what is and isn’t working when it comes to making and managing adjustments; how effective  workplace adjustments are, and how far everyone who needs adjustments has them in place. (more…)

What to expect and not to expect from an Office 365 intranet

What to expect and not to expect from an Office 365 intranet

According to the latest report by Nielsen Norman Group, Office 365 is one of the most popular platforms for intranets. Providing a rich toolset, it helps to build multifunctional and eye-catching corporate intranets that improve employee collaboration and communication and streamline business processes. Let’s see whether an Office 365 intranet is as good as described and try to look through its reported benefits with a cool head. (more…)

BW: Workplace Experts completes new GAM London office

BW: Workplace Experts completes new GAM London office

BW: Workplace Experts has completed the new London headquarters for GAM, an independent global asset management firm. Located at the BREEAM Excellent rated building 8 Finsbury Circus, London, the new location consolidates the business from three separate locations into one. GAM occupies four floors totalling 48,500 sq. ft in order to accommodate its London employees under one roof, further strengthening the culture and operations of the business. (more…)

UK employees work £3.2 billion in unpaid overtime every week

UK employees work £3.2 billion in unpaid overtime every week

Three workers discuss a project around a tableThe UK is the unpaid overtime capital of Europe. This is according to new research by ADP (registration), which has found that employees are giving away an average of £5,038 of their time every year, amounting to £164.8 billion annually across the working population. The study of over 1,400 UK employees reveals that two-thirds (66 percent) of respondents regularly work longer than their contracted hours, with respondents averaging 6.3 hours unpaid per week. However, for more than a fifth (22 percent) of employees, this rises to at least 10 hours per week – twice as many as in other European countries, including Germany and France (10 percent and 12 percent respectively). (more…)