Search Results for: skills

GDP should be replaced by new indicators of prosperity and wellbeing

GDP should be replaced by new indicators of prosperity and wellbeing

Two people laughing together to illustrate the principle of wellbeingAs the consequences of climate change, social tensions and high levels of inequality are increasingly evident, the Bennett Institute for Public Policy at the University of Cambridge, led by Professor Diane Coyle, has published its initial report on how to improve economic measurement by replacing GDP as the standard measure for national prosperity with others that include wellbeing and social and environmental capital. (more…)

London now has its own Good Work standard

London now has its own Good Work standard

The Mayor of London has launched the city's own good work standardThe Mayor of London Sadiq Khan has launched London’s Good Work Standard, pledging to make London ‘the best place to live and work’.  The standard has been developed in partnership with CIPD, claims to bring together good employment practice with resources and guidance written by CIPD experts and tested with London based CIPD members, the framework sets out to support employers of all sizes across the city improve their people management practices and create good work for all.

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Employers missing opportunity to unlock emotional intelligence

Employers missing opportunity to unlock emotional intelligence

Emotional intelligence or emotional quotient (EQ) is an increasingly popular buzz phrase in business and understanding its impact in the workplace is becoming crucial to employers in getting the most out of their staff. A new survey from Lee Hecht Harrison Penna claims the importance placed by people managers both on finding EQ in staff, and demonstrating it themselves. The study claims the changing mind-set of managers, who see EQ as key to the career development and professional success of their employees. (more…)

UK SMEs must leverage tech-friendly culture to secure talent

UK SMEs must leverage tech-friendly culture to secure talent

UK SMEs must create a tech-friendly culture to attract and retain top tech talent, according to a new white paper from Robert Half UK, Recruiting for the future: The challenges for UK SMEs. While remuneration and work–life balance are the top reasons for job moves, SMEs’ ability to offer an innovative  culture with high levels of responsibility is central to their ability to secure and retain talent over larger organisations. With the UK talent market suffering from a lack of digital skills, companies across all sectors are locked in a war for talent, competing with one another to hire skilled technology professionals to help their businesses adapt to increased digitalisation. (more…)

Organisations upskilling to make sense of people data

Organisations upskilling to make sense of people data

New research claims that there has been a huge rise in the number of people analytics teams as HR is called on to take an increasingly strategic role in shaping business performance. Innovation generation: the big HR tech disconnect, a report released by Thomsons Online Benefits, claims there has been a significant increase in the proportion of UK-based global organisations building people analytics teams, rising from 8 percent to 43 percent in just three years. With tech talent in short supply, the survey of 60 HR decision makers from UK-based companies suggests that employers are looking to upskill existing HR team members to make sense of the data now available to them. (more…)

Office design should take account of the quality of interactions as well as quantity

Office design should take account of the quality of interactions as well as quantity

People in the sort of office design that encourages communication and better working relationshipsEver since technology first made it possible for people to work remotely from their colleagues, there has been speculation not only that office design should change but even that the physical office could be dispensed with entirely, and with it the idea that people should come together to work in the same place at the same time to achieve common goals and to share in a common identity.

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Apprenticeship levy has failed to increase investment in workplace training

Apprenticeship levy has failed to increase investment in workplace training

The Government made an empty promise when it said the apprenticeship levy would boost the amount of money employers spend on workplace training, claims a new report from the CIPD. Addressing employer under-investment in training, the case for a broader training levy reveals that 31 percent of levy paying employers say the levy will lead them to increase the amount they spend on training. This is down from 45 percent in July 2017 when it was introduced. (more…)

Demand for four day week continues to rise

Demand for four day week continues to rise

Four day week continues to rise in popularityWith a recent report from Henley Business School highlighting that a shorter working week could add to businesses’ bottom lines through increased staff productivity and uplift in staff physical and mental health, a study from ADP (registration) has further emphasised these findings. ADP’s research claims almost two-thirds of UK workers (61 percent) would opt for a four day week at work if they had the choice. (more…)

Govt scheme to retrain people in the age of automation

Govt scheme to retrain people in the age of automation

automationThe UK Government in partnership with the CBI and TUC has launched a new scheme to help workers whose jobs change or become obsolete because of advances in technology. Workers will be offered help in retraining or finding a new career amid suggestions that up to a third of jobs could be at risk of changing because of automation in the coming 10 to 20 years. The National Training Scheme will be trialled in Liverpool before being rolled out across England. The CBI and TUC are both backing the initiative as a way of boosting productivity, pay and workers’ skills. (more…)

Flexible working the key to attracting female talent

Flexible working the key to attracting female talent

Flexible working is the key to make construction a more attractive and progressive career choice for female talent, according to a RICS poll which claims the top recommendations industry professionals believe will help employers encourage more female talent into the property sector. (more…)

Sheer volume of data can make marketers blind to strategy

Sheer volume of data can make marketers blind to strategy

The vast majority (83 percent) of senior marketers are struggling to adapt to the volume of data available to them, while 80 percent feel the industry as a whole focuses on too many performance metrics, according to a new report from research company Censuswide and Domo. The study polled 681 senior marketers around the world on their opinions, routines and plans for the future. It revealed that analytics, from a vast number of sources, are driving ‘data blindness’ as marketers lose sight of KPIs, and 78 percent of respondents admit to chasing short-term results over long-term strategy. (more…)

Fifth of people do not last a year in self-employment

Fifth of people do not last a year in self-employment

Maria Spelterini crosses Niagara on a tightrope to illustrate the precariousness of self-employmentOne-fifth of sole traders in self-employment don’t survive one year, and the majority don’t survive five, according to a new study from the Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS).  The analysis of HMRC tax records by researchers at the IFS was funded by the Office for National Statistics through the Economic Statistics Centre of Excellence (ESCoE) and the Economic and Social Research Council. (more…)