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October 24, 2016

Gartner report identifies the Top 10 strategic technology trends for 2017 ⁰

A new report from tech analysts Gartner highlights the top technology trends the firm believes will be ‘strategic for most organisations in 2017’. Gartner defines a strategic technology trend as one with substantial disruptive potential that is just beginning to break out of an emerging state into broader impact and use or which are rapidly growing trends with a high degree of volatility reaching tipping points over the next five years. They include artificial intelligence, blockchain, intelligent devices, digital technology platforms and advanced machine learning.

October 24, 2016

How and why employee fitness became part of the corporate agenda ⁰

by Michael Page • Comment, Wellbeing, Workplace design

As the national obesity crisis worsens and a regular flow of statistics inform us that we’re a nation in trouble, with no demographic escaping the threat, we seem to have become obsessed with how fit or unfit we are. This is reflected in our growing interest in how many calories we consume and how much exercise we manage – right down to how many steps we take a day. No surprise then that this interest has started to manifest itself in the workplace where employee fitness appears to be an issue addressed in the boardroom. Last year, research carried out by The Workforce Institute at Kronos revealed that almost 75 per cent of workers (a total of 9,000 were questioned) believe that wearable technology, designed to capture vast amounts of biometric data and manage health risks, could lead to increased efficiency and productivity in the workplace. Measuring levels of physical activity is but a small part of the obsession with health and well-being which has infiltrated the workplace overall. There is also physical evidence, from the desks that we sit at to issues of bicycle storage and showering facilities, that we are mindful of our health.

October 19, 2016

Third of new parents in US feel bosses presume they’re less committed ⁰

by Sara Bean • Flexible working, News, Wellbeing, Workplace

Nearly 70 percent of expectant women and new parents say their employer tops the list of considerations when deciding to start a family. The new US-based study suggests that today’s generation of parents are determined to build families without postponing or abandoning career ambitions, but find themselves faced with an unfriendly and unsupportive environment at work. The third annual report in the Modern Family Index (MFI) series, commissioned by Bright Horizons Family Solutions found that women and men are waiting longer to have children, with the data showing births are down among women in their twenties and up for women over age 35. And though virtually all women surveyed are excited to return to work after a maternity leave, more than one in three new parents report feeling that their boss presumes they are now less committed to work and would prefer if they left.

October 18, 2016

UK marketers suffering from tech-induced anxiety, survey claims ⁰

by Neil Franklin • News, Technology

More than half (55 percent) of marketers in the UK are struggling to cope with the accelerated pace of digital transformation – up 7 percent since 2015, Adobe’s annual Digital Roadblock study claims. The report – which surveyed 450 marketers in the UK– found that Brits suffer from more tech-induced anxiety than their peers across the region: an average of 44 percent of marketers in Europe worry about their technology-based skill sets, 11 percent lower than the UK. Of the marketers surveyed, three-quarters (74 percent) feel that they need to implement new technologies within their marketing strategies in order to succeed, but just over half (54 percent) feel that they actually have the skills to do so. When it comes to technology skills, there’s an obvious gap between demand and reality: while 41 percent of respondents cited being a ‘tech-savvy’ early adopter of new technologies as the top attribute of being a marketer, only 15 percent actually identify as ‘tech-savvy’ themselves. In fact, more UK marketers identify as ‘tech challenged’ (20 percent) than ‘tech savvy’, and the number of ‘tech-savvy’ marketers has dropped since last year, when nearly one in five (19 percent) identified as so.

October 18, 2016

London office sector still recovering from Brexit shock ⁰

by Sara Bean • Cities, Facilities management, News, Property

Although the UK economy has shown a measure of resilience post referendum, take-up in the key London office market, although still on a quarter to quarter rise of 34 percent, is 7 percent below its long term average. According to the latest London Office Snapshot from Colliers, transactions were largely boosted by major deals to Apple (500,000 sq ft) and Wells Fargo (220,000 sq ft), with both deals for new headquarters buildings, in Battersea and the City core respectively, being a major vote of confidence for London. In the City, the level of take-up demonstrated some positivity as it rose by 8 per cent quarter on quarter, though the quarterly take up is still 26 percent below average. Though pre-letting activity was healthy, doubling quarter on quarter, West End take-up was disappointingly subdued in the third quarter, falling further from the already sharply below trend Q2 total. Encouragingly, a number of deals that were seemingly ‘mothballed’ post referendum have now been concluded, albeit at marginally lower price points.

October 13, 2016

Design is the top factor when it comes to workplace happiness, claims study ⁰

by Mark Eltringham • News

New research from Office Genie claims that office design makes the most significant difference to employee happiness levels. According to the survey of 2,000 British workers, when someone felt comfortable with the design of their workplace, it boosted their happiness by 33 percent compared to those who felt uncomfortable. Workplace design was found to have a larger impact than office temperature levels, light levels, noise levels, and social interaction levels: temperature made an average difference of (5 percent), light (6 percent), noise (8 percent), and social interaction (8 percent). It also came in ahead of the ability to work flexibly, specifically the ability to work from home which made a 12 percent difference to happiness levels. This is particularly remarkable when flexible working is often cited as one of the biggest factors affecting employee happiness, according to the study.

October 10, 2016

The Big Data skills gap and other issues ⁰

by Mark Eltringham • News, Technology

A new report from techUK claims that the widespread use of Big Data could boost the UK economy by £241 billion and create around 157,000 jobs by 2020, but the Government needs to act fast to address the skills gap that is holding back the implementation of more Big Data applications. The survey of techUK members found that almost two thirds (62 percent) say they need more specialists in emerging disciplines including Data Analysts, Data Infrastructure Engineers and Solutions Architects. However there may be wider challenges ahead for the application of Big Data as a survey carried out by Gartner suggests that the number of organisations willing to invest in Big Data is set to fall.

September 29, 2016

Worldwide progress in creating sustainable building regulations is slow ⁰

by Sara Bean • Cities, Environment, Facilities management, News, Property

The level of transparency in the reporting of the environmental performance of commercial real estate is growing across the world, but the pace of new sustainable building regulations remains slow. That is the key finding of JLL’s Real Estate Environmental Sustainability Index, which measures the availability of a range of environmental transparency tools in 37 countries. Whilst 17 countries have improved their overall scores since the last survey two years ago, 13 have remained static and three have declined. Half of all country index improvements have been driven by the introduction of voluntary minimum energy efficiency standards for existing buildings. This year France topped the Index for the first time, thanks to the consistent roll-out of mandates to transition to a low carbon economy. Japan has moved up from the transparent group to join France, Australia and the UK in the highly transparent group.

September 28, 2016

UK commercial property market ‘back to normal’ after Brexit vote ⁰

by Mark Eltringham • Cities, News, Property

The UK’s commercial property market remains robust in the wake of the vote to leave the European Union, although a weaker economic outlook may see some prices dip over the next two years, ratings agency Moody’s claims in a new report. The news comes as commercial property fund Standard Life announced that it has reopened trading, which was suspended in the immediate aftermath of the Brexit vote. Moody’s said that the June 23 vote still has the potential to create significant uncertainty in the longer term, but that the fundamentals underpinning the UK commercial property market remain sound. Much will depend on the country’s broader economic prospects, Moody’s claims. If unemployment remains low and jobs growth continues, these two factors will do much to maintain demand for both domestic and commercial property although London’s market may be affected even if the national economy is robust, as firms may choose to relocate anyway.

September 22, 2016

The dramatic rise of the online gig economy revealed in new study ⁰

by Mark Eltringham • Flexible working, Knowledge, News

There has been a rapid increase in the online gig economy worldwide, according to new research from the University of Oxford. The study is based on the results of the University’s Online Labour Index which measures vacancies and activity on websites and apps related to the gig economy. It found that employers in the US are the biggest users of the online gig economy, defined as the use of workers procured over the internet for short term, piecemeal and project based work. Between May and September, US firms posted 52 percent of vacancies on the platforms followed by the UK at 6.3 percent, India at 5.9 percent, and Australia at 5.7 percent. The market grew by 9 percent over the tested period with growth fastest in the UK which saw a 14 percent increase in activity. The data also showed that software development and technology are currently the most sought-after skills. Creative and multimedia work is the second largest category, followed by clerical and data entry work.

September 20, 2016

If you want to improve the workplace, let employees procrastinate ⁰

by Neil Franklin • Flexible working, News, Wellbeing

An analysis of workplace habits carried out by office supplies firm Viking claims that the biggest causes of worker procrastination are internal problems within an organisation, and that restricting social media usage could make employees less productive. The survey of over 1,500 office workers claims that almost half of workers (48 percent) procrastinate while waiting for other people’s work to be completed and 40 percent procrastinated in order to take a break from work and reduce their stress levels. The study also claims that people who work in an office experience more stress then those who work from home, which the study concludes is because working from home allows employees to take breaks more frequently. Although the Flexible Working Regulations introduced in the UK in 2014 suggests we’re working towards a more lenient workplace, survey findings suggest that in-office cultures are still struggling to find their footing when balancing work and relaxation.

September 20, 2016

Employers will promote internal talent to meet Brexit challenge ⁰

by Sara Bean • Legal news, News, Workplace

Bosses are divided on whether staff morale will suffer following Brexit, with 48 percent of respondents to a recent survey believing it will and 51 percent expecting no change, despite 74 percent of organisations believing employees are at least ‘somewhat concerned’ by the impact of the vote. Though the majority of companies (82 percent) believe it is their duty to keep employees informed of the potential impact of Brexit on their organisations, few (11 percent) have started communicating openly. The report by Mercer, Planning for Brexit – Talent Implications, also suggests the while the true impact of potential changes to immigration policy remains unknown so far, talent availability is being seen as a top long-term challenge. Over half (58 percent) of companies think their workforce plans will change in the longer term and the majority (66 percent) anticipate a stronger focus on developing and promoting talent from within to compensate for a possible lack of access to wider talent pools.