July 20, 2022

Enduring problems holding back success of UK government property strategy

by Neil Franklin • News, Property, Public Sector

Longstanding problems such as poor data pose major risks to the successful delivery of the UK Government’s property strategy, according to the National Audit Office (NAO). Central government property, valued at £158 billion, is one of government’s largest assets. It includes offices, hospitals, academy schools, jobcentres, courts, prisons and museums. The Office of Government Property (OGP) sets the strategic direction for the management of government property. The Cabinet Office has categorised properties into 12 portfolios (such as health, defence and school portfolios), 10 of which are led by a single department or arm’s-length body. The Government Property Agency (GPA) sets and implements a property strategy for the government’s office and warehouse portfolios. (more…)

July 15, 2022

What makes for an effective human to machine conversation?

by Terry Walby • Comment, Technology

To quote the famous Honda advert of the early 2000’s, ‘wouldn’t it be nice if things just worked?’ If you haven’t seen it or would like to again, you can find it at the bottom of the page. Nowhere is this more applicable than when it comes to chatbots. As consumers, we’ve all been on the end of a pretty unsatisfactory experience that has left us feeling anywhere from a little annoyed to totally exasperated. The question is, what does it take to get a chatbot to work as it ought to? What are the elements of an effective human to machine conversation? (more…)

July 14, 2022

Six ways to get into the entertainment industry

by Freddie Steele • Company news

So you want to break into the entertainment industry? It’s not as impossible as it may seem. In fact, there are many different ways to make your dream a reality. You could be an actor, singer, writer, or director; the list goes on and on, but how do you get started? In this article, veteran sports and entertainment agent Nancy Etz advises aspiring artists. Stay tuned to learn how to get your foot in the door of the entertainment industry. (more…)

July 6, 2022

Hybrid working can help graduates succeed

by Lindsey Rowe • Comment, Flexible working, Workplace

The pandemic has transformed how we think about and approach the workplace, with the majority of employees having alternated between remote and hybrid working over the last two years. While this experience has been almost universal, many have found this transition challenging – even for the established professionals used to adapting to change. But what does this mean for those about to enter the workplace for the first time? (more…)

June 30, 2022

Supply chain disruption sees costs and complexity ramp up

by Freddie Steele • News, Works Magazine

Two-thirds (66 percent) of large enterprises globally say they are keeping more stock on hand now compared to the pre-pandemic period, with nearly one in five in total (18 percent) retaining ‘significantly more’ stock. This growing focus on taking innovative measures to address supply chain disruption is highlighted in new research commissioned by IFS, polling over 1,450 senior decision-makers at large enterprises across France, Germany, Nordics, USA, the UK and the UAE. (more…)

June 22, 2022

UK is third most attractive place to work in Europe

by Neil Franklin • Flexible working, News, Workplace

The UK is the third most attractive place to work in Europe and experienced a stronger “brain-gain” than other major economies, according to a report from job site Indeed. It analysed nearly one billion data points including more than 800 million cross-border job searches and over 100 million job postings and found that cross-border searches by European jobseekers are up 13 percent from their pandemic low of -32 percent. At the same time, Europe has become increasingly popular to jobseekers outside of the continent: inbound searches from jobseekers based outside Europe are a staggering 38 percent above the 2017-19 average, up from the pandemic low of -31 percent. (more…)

June 20, 2022

People working from home feel less sense of belonging to work culture

by Neil Franklin • Flexible working, News

Almost half of workers feel working from home has diminished their feeling of ‘belonging’ to an organisation, according to the Employee Job Satisfaction Report [registration] from recruitment firm Morgan Phillips. According to the poll, UK workers feel they are treated well by their employer (58 percent quite well and 27 percent very well), but half are still considering changing their jobs, with 17 percent looking for a change in 2022. (more…)

June 15, 2022

Tech firms now less likely to offer fully remote working

by Jayne Smith • Flexible working, News, Workplace

Fully remote working is no longer viewed as the ‘holy grail’ by tech employers, with hybrid working now viewed as the perfect model for aiding retention and recruitment of talent. That is the main conclusion of Robert Half’s Demand for Tech Talent report, which surveyed 750 tech hiring managers across the UK. The results of the survey suggest that remote working – which the report claims was widely touted as the ‘future of work’ both before and during the pandemic – is now being shunned by companies in favour of a flexible approach. (more…)

June 14, 2022

London Tech Week kicks off with new Government announcements on future of tech

by Neil Franklin • News, Technology

The Government’s review into the future of computing and its new UK Digital Strategy were unveiled at the start of London Tech Week as the world’s technology leaders, founders and next generation of tech superstars gather in the capital to collaborate on the future of the industry. Opening day speakers included Darktrace CEO Poppy Gustafsson, Darren Hardman, VP & General Manager, AWS, Theo Blackwell MBE in conversation with New York City’s CTO Matt Fraser, Klarna CEO Sebastian Siemi?tkowski and The Body Coach CEO & Creative Director Nikki Wicks. (more…)

June 13, 2022

One in five people have started a ‘side hustle’ in the last two years

by Jayne Smith • News, Workplace

One in five (19 percent) adults in the UK have started a ‘side hustle’ since March 2020 and, almost one in six (16 percent) claim to earn upwards of £1,000 a month from their new venture, according to new research from Aviva. Just under two thirds (63 percent) of those who started a side hustle since March 2020, the equivalent of 6.49 million people, are still active in them today. 37 percent have returned to their day jobs being their main source of income now that lockdowns are over and normality has ensued. (more…)

June 9, 2022

Digital transformation of small businesses could provide massive economic boost

by Jayne Smith • News, Technology

The new Digital Britain [automatic download] report from Sage claims that over half of Britain’s economic potential from tech adoption is as yet untapped. But ongoing concerns amongst small and medium sized business about cost, skills and knowledge are holding them back from taking on the digital transformation that will ensure their success and provide a massive boost to the economy. The report claims that the use of technology by small and medium businesses (SMBs) contributes £216 billion to the UK economy; but if SMBs unlock the full benefits of technology, this could add an extra £232 billion, boosting the value of tech use to the UK economy by almost double to £448 billion annually. (more…)

June 8, 2022

Strategic workforce planning blocked by lack of data and defined employee responsibilities

by Neil Franklin • Facilities management, News, Technology, Workplace, Workplace design

Poor data quality and a lack of clearly defined roles and responsibilities within the organisation are amongst the key challenges management faces when implementing vital strategic workforce planning (SWP), according to new academic research. The researchers also claim that a lack of methodology to execute a strategic workforce plan and the lack of support across all organisational units of the firm were contributing to a slower and less efficient strategic workforce planning. (more…)