November 18, 2025

Creativity improves company performance, claims new academic research

Companies that prioritise creativity are more successful, claims new research from Aalto University School of Business. The two-year Creative Leap project found that companies with above-average individual creativity and an organisational culture that supports creativity were more likely to perform better financially than the industry average. The project involved researchers from Aalto University School of Business and School of Arts, Design, and Architecture and corporate partners such as the Finnish Post Office, Health food company Raisio Group and Global chemical company Kemira. (more…)

September 9, 2025

People want performance over quirky features in their offices

by Neil Franklin • News, Workplace

A new report claims that employees are less interested in quirky office features and more concerned about how well their workplaces support performance. Mitie’s latest Productivity Reset Report [registration requires you to receive marketing – you can’t opt out] highlights that while games areas and other recreational facilities may generate headlines, only 14 percent of employees believe such features contribute meaningfully to workplace satisfaction or productivity. In contrast, almost nine in ten (88 percent) said that a safe, well-maintained office is a critical factor in their day-to-day working experience. (more…)

July 30, 2024

Ultrafabrics launches Pumice. An outdoor performance fabric collection inspired by the ocean

by Freddie Steele • Company news

Ultrafabrics, the pioneer in sustainable performance fabrics, unveils Pumice, its latest outdoor performance fabric collection designed to bring the allure of underwater exploration to both indoor and outdoor active living spaces. Inspired by the mesmerizing beauty of the ocean’s depths, Pumice blends a refreshed colour palette with unparalleled durability, ensuring it withstands whatever Mother Nature delivers. (more…)

July 4, 2024

CIBSE announces new future focussed building performance project

by Neil Franklin • Environment, Facilities management, News

CIBSE has launched what it claims is a ground-breaking initiative titled Building Performance Reimagined [registration], a project aimed at transforming the landscape of building engineering and sustainability. Commissioned by CIBSE and researched by Arup, the Building Performance Reimagined project diverges from conventional engineering paradigms. Rather than focusing solely on system sizing, maintenance or controls, the initiative takes a holistic, future-oriented perspective on building performance. (more…)

April 2, 2024

Virtual meetings can boost wellbeing and performance

by Jayne Smith • News, Technology, Wellbeing

Virtual meetings – often derided as impersonal and prone to technical glitches – can improve employee wellbeing and performance, a new study led by a Trinity Business School researcher has found. The research, conducted alongside Karin S. Moser (UniDistance Suisse, University of Queensland), Stefan Diestel (University of Wuppertal) and Isaac Alshaikh (South East Technological University Waterford), conducted during the ongoing shift to hybrid work environments and just published in the Journal of Vocational Behavior, concludes that virtual meetings, a staple of the COVID-19 pandemic, are not just a necessity but can also be beneficial. (more…)

February 29, 2024

We can learn a lot about performance from elite sports

by John McLachlan • Comment, Workplace

There are many misunderstandings about performance, we might even call them myths. While strategists talk about the importance of metrics, so much of what makes an organisation work is how its people are organised and motivated. And here lies the danger. In the absence of clear expectations and outcomes, people frequently divert to effort and presenteeism as a way of showing their value. That’s all understandable, but performance is about achieving results. (more…)

September 7, 2023

How to rebuild social connection for high-performance hybrid work: a deep-dive for workplace innovators

by Freddie Steele • Company news, Events

Social connection is often cited as a justification for return-to-office mandates, many of which are not well received by employees. This suggests that merely spending time in the office isn’t enough to spark the connection that gets ideas flowing, ramps up performance and creates a cohesive culture. So, if physical presence alone isn’t enough to rebuild connection, what is? Workplace innovators exploring the issues around hybrid work now have the opportunity to dig deep and find out.

Tune into HubStar’s upcoming webinar on Thursday September 19th at 4 PM BST for an exploration of the approaches, strategies and tools necessary to rebuild social connection in complex hybrid workplaces.

Workplace innovators are facing the greatest opportunity of our generation to positively disrupt the way we work, but as Einstein said, we can’t solve problems with the same kind of thinking we used to create them.

So what kind of thinking is required to ignite the magic of meaningful connection at work? How do we stop hybrid work strategies from stalling? And, which tools and approaches can help us manage the complexity inherent in new ways of working?

In this 30 minute webinar, you’ll discover:

Key trends impacting people, hybrid workplaces and organisational performance in 2023 and beyond
A step-by-step framework for overcoming remote working inertia and rebuilding social connection in the office
Dynamic Workplace Management: a new framework for positive change across 3 dimensions: people, profit and planet

The webinar will include a live Q&A with the speaker, Jane Young and the VP Product at HubStar, Chris L’Hommedieu.

HubStar is a global company with operations in the US, UK, Europe and APAC. The company provides a next-generation dynamic workplace management platform to drive productivity, collaboration and workplace experience while reducing real estate costs. HubStar helps thousands of teams in over 60 countries create dynamic workplaces. For more information visit hubstar.com

May 3, 2023

Poor management to blame for low performance and poor mental health of workers

by Neil Franklin • News, Wellbeing, Workplace

A new report from the CIPD suggests that there is a direct link between poor management and negative mental health, job satisfaction and performance amongst workers. In response, the CIPD is highlighting the need for better people manager selection and development to ensure managers have the skills needed to effectively lead and support their teams. Its report, The importance of people management, draws on data from the CIPD’s annual Good Work Index, which asked employees to rate their managers on a range of people management behaviours. (more…)

May 17, 2022

Despite low productivity, UK firms still don’t look for ways to improve on past performance

by Neil Franklin • Business, News

Despite the UK’s persistent low productivity, less than a fifth of business owners are actively looking back at projects to identify areas for improvement. A large proportion of business owners (65 per cent) and senior managers (82 per cent) have increased their use of project-based methods on everyday tasks, such as introducing measures to identify and manage risk. Despite this, many are still failing to assign enough dedicated project managers to the work. New research from the Association for Project Management (APM) claims that only 35 per cent of senior managers who participated in the survey regularly assign dedicated project managers to tasks, and only a quarter for business owners. (more…)

November 2, 2021

Net zero 2050 claims questioned by building performance analysts

by Neil Franklin • Environment, News, Property

A new report expresses scepticism about the UK government’s current net zero strategy for the country’s buildings, with 69 percent of built environment professionals doubting its feasibility. The research, published in the City of Tomorrow report by building performance analysts IES, found that more than half (51 percent) of those working in the sector believe that net-zero 2050 is only achievable with further legislative action. One in 10 think that the current plan is not ambitious enough, and 8 percent think it’s not realistic. (more…)

September 24, 2021

Companies have unique chance to restore balance between wellbeing and performance

by Jayne Smith • Flexible working, News, Wellbeing, Working lives

Eighteen months since nationwide shutdowns, the global surge in COVID-19 cases is exacerbating the onset of virtual fatigue for many employees according to JLL. The new “How Regenerative Workplaces Can Restore Employee Wellbeing” report explores opportunities for companies to redefine what employee wellbeing looks like and achieve organisational resilience through the physical workplace. (more…)

July 16, 2021

Firms who prioritise working culture enjoy better financial performance

by Neil Franklin • News, Wellbeing, Working culture

Heidrick and Struggles has released the results of a new global CEO study Aligning Culture with the Bottom Line: How Companies Can Accelerate Progress which found that intentionally building a company’s working culture can impact the company’s financial performance in a number of ways. The survey of 500 CEOs across nine countries examines how working culture propels organisational performance in Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, France, Germany, Spain, the UK and the USA. (more…)