Search Results for: skills

Could personality profiling help create a more productive office environment?

by • Facilities management, News, Workplace, Workplace design

Could personality profiling you create the ideal office environment

 

Creating the most productive working space to help get the best from your people is an ongoing battle. What suits some doesn’t suit others. So if there was some way of assessing up front how people like to work and the environment that would make them their most productive, engaged and committed – before you rearrange the furniture, fittings and layout – would you leap at the chance of finding out? One approach could be personality profiling. If you could climb inside the minds of your current and future employees and assess how they best like to work, their personality and how this then drives them to be more productive in certain working environments than others – who wouldn’t want to have a delve around? Or are we in danger of pandering to personality stereotypes? (more…)

New BIFM professional standards give FMs yet more career choices

by • Facilities management, News

FM career choices

Unlike HR, which is wholly represented by the CIPD, FM continues to offer a choice of professional bodies. RICS boasts it is the only one that gives FMs the opportunity to achieve Chartered Status, something which the British Institute of Facilities Management (BIFM) is yet to offer. The BIFM has now announced the launch of a set of standards to “form a global competence model for the profession”. The Facilities Management Professional Standards its says, can be used to benchmark skills, knowledge and competence for those working at all levels in the FM profession. While RICS positions itself as the preferred route for a strategic facilities management career, the BIFM competences are intended to define each level in an FM’s career, from a support role through to a strategic role. FMs then, are still faced with the choice, to follow one or both organisations. (more…)

No pay rise for a while? Get used to it, says the CIPD

by • News, Workplace

Ivor Lott and Tony Broke_96The Chartered Institiute of Personnel and Development has today released a report analysing the most sustained and severe fall in real wages since at least the Second World War, and warns that the decline will not be reversed until there is a substantial improvement in the UK’s productivity.  The report is accompanied by new survey data showing many employees expect pay rises in 2014 to be below inflation – a repeat of their experience in 2013. ‘Have we seen the end of the pay rise?‘, which is the third in a series of four Megatrends surveys exploring the future of work and the economic challenges which lie ahead, examines the effects of average weekly earnings that are now between 7.8 percent and 10.2 percent lower in real terms than they were five years ago, in January 2009, leading to a sustained squeeze on household finances.

(more…)

New data suggests parents are frustrated at lack of flexible working

by • Flexible working, Legal news

No entryFollowing last week’s revelation that the planned extension of Flexible Working Rights to all UK employees would be delayed beyond the proposed implementation date in April, new statistics released by the Department for Business Innovation and Skills (BIS) and a new report from the Working Families charity have revealed some of the disparities that exist in flexible working arrangements across the country. The Working Families survey of a little over 1,000 adults with dependent children, found that almost a third claim there are no flexible arrangements on offer where they work, leading many to feel resentful against their employers, with young fathers twice as likely to strongly resent the lack of flexible working affects their lives.

(more…)

Latest generation Y survey reflects characteristically idealistic thinking of youth

by • Comment, News, Workplace

Maybe it’s the cynicism of middle age, but the most recent exploration of arguably, the most over-analysed cohort of workers in history – Generation Y – seems to reflect the archetypal idealistic thinking of youth. For example, while most Millennials (74%) believe business is having a positive impact on society by generating jobs (48%) and increasing prosperity (71%), they think it can do much more to address society’s challenges in the areas of most concern: resource scarcity (68%), climate change (65%) and income equality (64%). And quelle surprise, 50 per cent of Millennials surveyed wanted to work for a business with ethical practices. You have to wonder wouldn’t an examination of the hopes and aspirations of the last couple of generations of younger workers reveal similar ideologies, albeit without the benefit of their digital sophistication? (more…)

Surge of turnover and employment growth in UK’s creative businesses

by • News, Workplace

creativityThe Government has released new statistics that demonstrate the increasing importance of the creative sectors to the UK economy, although concerns remain about the UK’s creative skills base. The figures reveal that the overall turnover of creative businesses increased by just under 10 percent in 2012 and employment increased by 8.6 percent over the same period, more than any other sector. The creative industries are now worth more than £70 billion a year and employ 1.68 million people. While employment in the UK as a whole grew by 0.7 percent over the whole economy, jobs growth in the creative sector was 8.6 percent. There was also growth in export sales, up over 16 percent between 2009-11 and worth £15.5bn in 2011.

(more…)

Retaining valuable employees is top global priority for CEOS this year

by • News, Workplace

Retaining valuable employees is top global priority for CEOS this yearThe number one priority of business leaders worldwide this year is how best to develop, engage, manage, and retain existing talent. This worker-centric approach means that employee engagement and better management will take centre stage as the way to improve competitiveness, win new customers and raise productivity. According to new research from The Conference Board and UK partner CMI (Chartered Management Institute), CEOs will concentrate on creating a strong internal talent pipeline rather than seeking to recruit externally, with nine out of the top 10 global Human Capital strategies focused on current employees, including providing training and development, raising employee engagement and increasing efforts to retain critical talent. Other closely linked priorities identified in the CEO Challenge 2014 are customer relationships, innovation, operational excellence, and corporate brand and reputation. (more…)

Fifth of undervalued and disengaged staff plan to move jobs this year

by • News, Workplace

Undervalued and disengaged staff plan to move jobs this year

One of the most over used phrases of last year has got to be ’employee engagement’, with a mountain of research, blogs and features devoted to ways employers could and should enhance their relationship with employees. But those managers who question the validity of the arguments for addressing employee engagement should consider this; admittedly yet another survey, but one published by the respected Institute of Leadership & Management. According to its study of more than 1,000 workers, almost one in five (19%) of UK workers plan to leave their jobs this year. The reason? Almost one fifth (16%) of the people aiming to leave their job said they were moving on because they do not feel valued by their current organisation. (more…)

The creative talent in the UK’s regions (other than London) is quietly thriving

by • Comment, Property, Technology, Workplace

We can now be very confident that the UK economy is on an enduring upward path. We can also be sure that the UK that emerges from five years of recession will be very different to the one that entered it. And on that score things look pretty promising too, because we have the skills and talent needed in some of the world’s most in-demand sectors such as digital media, banking, software development, telecoms and publishing. In fact a recent report from Deloitte says that London employs more people in these and similar knowledge-based sectors than any other country in the world. But while London has an inevitable tendency to grab these sorts of headlines, it’s also great to acknowledge that London doesn’t have a monopoly on this pool of talent, and may even be less attractive as a base for some firms.

(more…)

Built environment vows to improve accessibility for UK’s 12m disabled people

by • Facilities management, News, Property

Built environment vows to improve accessibility for disabled in UKSix of the top professional institutions that represent architects, town planners, surveyors, engineers and facilities managers have committed to improving accessibility for the country’s 12 million disabled people. To mark International Day of People with Disabilities, built environment institutions, including the Royal Institution of British Architects (RIBA), the British Institution of Facilities Managers (BIFM) and Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS), have signed up to the Built Environment Professional Education Project; to  change the curriculum so inclusive design becomes a requirement of all built environment accredited courses at universities and colleges. The aim is to have nearly one third of all built environment professionals proficient in inclusive design within 10 years.  (more…)

Meeting the management challenges of caring for home workers

by • Flexible working, Workplace

Meeting the management challenges of caring for home workersFlexible working is on the rise. However, as reported today, while employers are happy to equip workers with the facilities required to work away from the office, there is a worrying level of unwillingness amongst many bosses in checking the safety and comfort of home workers. Employers have a duty of care to their home workers under health and safety legislation and the Working Time Regulations 1998. This means that care should be taken by employers to ensure that home workers operate in a safe and appropriate environment. This duty of care goes beyond supplying an ergonomic workstation. Managing home workers requires a varied set of management skills and best practice processes. (more…)

CIPD research finds zero-hours contracts unfairly demonised and oversimplified

by • Flexible working, News, Workplace

CIPD research finds zero-hours contracts unfairly demonised and oversimplified

Further evidence has been published this week that maintains the use of zero-hours contracts is not the evil employment practise portrayed by the media. According to new research by the CIPD, the use of zero-hours contracts in the UK economy has been underestimated, oversimplified and unfairly demonised. The survey of more than 2,500 workers found that zero-hours workers are just as satisfied with their job as the average UK employee, and more likely to be happy with their work-life balance than other workers. The CIPD has also published new guidance, in collaboration with law firm Lewis Silkin, to help tackle poor practice highlighted in the research, such as the poor level of understanding about employment rights among many employers and zero-hours workers.  (more…)

«< 115 116 117 118 119 >»