Search Results for: opportunities

April 29, 2016

9 in 10 UK office workers stressed by meeting room technology ⁰

by Sara Bean • Facilities management, News, Technology, Wellbeing, Workplace

Meeting room technology which does not work seamlessly is a hindrance for productivity, with 86 percent experiencing serious “meeting stress” when grappling with it during meetings, according to research from Vanson Bourne and Barco. Among the biggest challenges for UK employees were sharing content and screens, and finding the right cables to connect to devices. In trying to deal with problems, staff are wasting significant amounts of their valuable time: 60 percent try to fix problems themselves, 49 percent call support, 30 percent end up giving up. 15 percent even postpone meetings until technology problems can be fixed. The vast majority (90 percent) actually pre-prepare for failures: preparing handouts as alternatives to tech, coordinating with IT in advance, and 44 percent even do a tech rehearsal. As a result of struggling with technology in meeting rooms, a quarter of UK office workers have missed important deadlines, and some have even missed out on personal opportunities like promotions (7 percent).

April 27, 2016

Digital divide in businesses is holding back the British economy ⁰

by Mark Eltringham • News, Technology

A digital divide is opening up across the British economy, with just over half (55 percent) of “pioneer” firms adopting digital technologies and processes, while the other half (45 percent) are falling behind, according to new research by the CBI and IBM. Despite the UK taking top place globally for e-commerce and fifth place for the availability of technology, it ranks only fourteenth in the world for company-level adoption of digital technology, with many companies struggling to digitise their businesses at the rate of peers in other countries. Companies cite a mix of connectivity challenges and security concerns as barriers to digital adoption, but predominantly they are hindered by a lack of appropriate skills inside their business (42 percent of firms) and an unclear return on investment (33 percent). The report’s findings for the UK echo those of a global study carried out by Cognizant.

April 17, 2016

How can commuting to your choice of office affect staff productivity? ⁰

by Darren Bilsborough • Comment, Facilities management, Flexible working, Property

To say that I am obsessive about the subject of productivity in the workplace is an understatement. It is integral to much of the subject matter I write about, including the core theme contained in my book Don’t Worry About The Rent. Whilst undertaking research, it was important for me to get to the bottom of the decision making processes that many businesses go through when choosing office space. I was well aware of the predisposition for the commercial real estate industry to ask questions around size, cost and location, but I was particularly interested in what other issues might rise to the surface and become “top of mind” for management to consider around office choice. Predictably, I found that tenant surveys, including those undertaken by Colliers International confirmed that the two major issues management would consider were size and cost. The next biggest issue however was a surprise and it related to concerns around commuting.

April 15, 2016

Employers’ and workers’ views on an engaging workplace differ widely ⁰

by Sara Bean • Knowledge, News, Workplace

Business growth is radically redefining how employees are managed, especially as there is greater competition than ever to hire the best people from a much more demanding employee population. Yet employees report that a lack of development, outdated processes, and discontent with the role of their managers are causing them to feel dissatisfied according to Mercer’s 2016 Global Talent Trends Study, the first to take into account the perspective of both employers and employees. While 85 percent of organisations admit that their talent management programmes need an overhaul, 70 percent are confident about filling critical roles with internal candidates, 28 percent of employees say they plan to leave in the next 12 months even though they are satisfied with their current role. Managing these challenges requires support but only 4 percent of HR professionals feel that the HR function is viewed as a strategic business partner within their organisations.

April 14, 2016

Londoners work less flexibly than elsewhere, despite longer commutes ⁰

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

Londoners are less likely to work flexibly than the rest of the UK, despite having much longer commuting times. This is according to the results of new research by the CIPD which found that many Londoners are travelling for the equivalent of at least one full working day in a ‘typical’ week. They spend an average of 47 minutes travelling to work each way compared to the national average of 31 minutes, and their average travel to work time increases to 56 minutes each way, if you consider a combination of both employees who live in London and those that commute into the capital from outside the M25. The data also reveals that flexible workers in London are more satisfied with their jobs, feel under less pressure and have better work-life balance than those who don’t work flexibly. In its policy programme, Opportunity through work: A manifesto for London, the CIPD is calling for a campaign to increase the uptake of flexible working in the Capital.

April 12, 2016

London’s first timber skyscraper could be a step closer to reality ⁰

by Sara Bean • Architecture, Cities, Environment, Facilities management, News, Wellbeing

Londoners may reportedly be growing concerned over the proliferation of tall buildings, but what if they were constructed in wood, rather than steel and concrete? This is the possibility raised by researchers from Cambridge University’s Department of Architecture, who are working with PLP Architecture and engineers Smith and Wallwork, on the development of tall timber buildings in central London. The use of timber is an area of emerging interest for its potential benefits; the most obvious being that it is a renewable resource. Researchers are also investigating other potential benefits, such as reduced costs and improved construction timescales, increased fire resistance, and significant reduction in the overall weight of buildings. Mayor of London Boris Johnson has now been presented with conceptual plans for an 80-storey, 300m high mixed use wooden building integrated within the Barbican.

April 7, 2016

The global tension between cost and talent in corporate real estate ⁰

by Neil Franklin • Facilities management, News, Property, Workplace

Concerns over the health of the global economy, workforce strategies and rising costs and pace of business are heavily influencing real estate decision-making for major corporations, a new survey by CBRE of global corporate real estate executives claims. More than 400 respondents from around the world participated in the survey. Nearly half (49 percent) cited economic uncertainty as their greatest challenge, while 43 percent identified it as cost escalation. Forty-eight percent projected a stable real estate footprint for this year. Seventy-nine percent stated that they are actively using space-efficiency initiatives to manage costs, combining ‘ground-up workplace strategies with top-down cost management initiatives’. Workplace strategies are also driven by initiatives that aim to improve collaborative working and enhance a firm’s pool of talent as well as address other workplace issues such as wellbeing and work life balance.

April 4, 2016

Growing divide in US firms between the digital haves and have-mores ⁰

by Mark Eltringham • Facilities management, News, Property, Technology

Last week we reported on the ways in which the UK government and British firms are falling short in their approaches to the increasingly digital world. It would be wrong to assume that this is solely an issue on this side of the pond however. A recent report from McKinsey highlights how specific sectors and businesses in the US are also sometimes struggling to meet the challenges and embrace the opportunities presented to them by the digitisation of the economy. The report suggests that overall US firms are only realising around 18 percent of their ‘digital potential’ and the major challenge the US faces is no longer bridging the gap between the digital have and have-nots, but the digital haves and have-mores. Intriguingly the report also breaks down this divide by individual sectors, thereby highlighting those parts of the economy that stand to gain most from bridging the digital divide.

April 1, 2016

Firms think they can hire Millennials as an alternative to digital skills training ⁰

by Mark Eltringham • News, Technology, Workplace

A large number of businesses in the UK aren’t investing enough in bridging their own digital skills gap and instead assuming that they can fix things and improve their productivity simply by employing younger ‘digital natives’ who just know all that sort of stuff anyway. That is the key finding of a new report from Barc ays, which claims that companies are knowingly starving themselves of funding for key digital skills training despite understanding how that impacts their productivity. The report claims that firms on average invest just £109 per employee on digital skills training and are planning to increase that by just 19 percent over the next five years. They do this despite the fact that nearly half (47 percent) concede new tech skills would improve productivity. Instead 40 percent assume they can buy in the skills they need in the form of Millennials because they don’t trust older workers to pick up digital skills as quickly, if at all.

March 30, 2016

Career satisfaction and work-life balance are top employee draws ⁰

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

Although a competitive salary, company perks and an exceptional office culture may seem enticing to the American workforce, a new study shows there are more important motivational factors. A survey conducted by Kelton Global for Cornerstone OnDemand reveals that career satisfaction and work-life balance are the top reasons American stay at their current jobs (38 percent combined), while nearly three in ten (29 percent) resign due to work overload and lack of healthy work-life balance. Employees said they’d make life-altering decisions and considerable sacrifices in order to find a sense of satisfaction, fulfillment and purpose in their careers. In fact, 89 percent of employees would consider making a lateral career move with no financial incentive for multiple reasons, including to start an entirely new career (41 percent) or take on a professional challenge (40 percent). Additionally, relocating to a different city, state or country is a desirable career move for 77 percent of employees. More →

March 25, 2016

Career development most important driver for employee engagement ⁰

by Sara Bean • News, Workplace

With a lack of career development opportunities being the number one reason why employees leave organizations; employers are increasingly recognizing alternative rewards as an essential component of a competitive total employee rewards strategy. In fact, companies prioritise career development more than other alternative rewards, benefits and bonuses, according to new research by the Hay Group division of Korn Ferry (KFY). Nine in ten organizations (90 percent) surveyed employ four or more alternative methods of rewarding employees (including career development programmes, health and welfare benefits, additional paid time off and other benefits) as part of their HR strategy. More than 8 out of ten organizations surveyed said that alternative rewards are key to being an employer of choice (89 percent), remaining competitive (87 percent) and engaging employees (81 percent). Eighty-seven percent of respondents also agreed that alternative rewards are an important tool in retaining the organization’s existing talent.

March 22, 2016

While politicians squabble, here’s what the Budget meant for the workplace ⁰

by Mark Eltringham • Comment, Facilities management, Legal news, Workplace, Workplace design

Strange as it may seem now, there was a Budget last week. We’d planned to produce a report on it once the dust had settled but given that whatever dust had originally been kicked up has now been swept away by a political storm, it’s only now we feel able to offer some perspective a few days out. As ever these days, the budget touched on a number of aspects of the workplace, sometimes hitting the mark and sometimes suggesting politicians don’t yet understand how people work. There was the usual stuff about rates and commercial property but also plenty to digest about the freelance economy, productivity, new technology, flexible working legislation and the current, often faltering attempts to develop wealth and infrastructure as well as the 21st Century creative and digital economy in places other than London. There’s plenty to digest here and plenty of people have already had their say, so a chance to grab a coffee and take all or some of it in.