Search Results for: sustainability

Global business leaders feel more optimistic about the world economy

Global business leaders feel more optimistic about the world economy

by • News, Workplace

Attracting and retaining talent is the biggest concern for CEOs going into 2018, but they’re feeling generally more optimistic about the global economy, claims a new report by The Conference Board, the C-Suite Challenge 2018 . A mood amongst senior managers to create organisational cultures that are inclusive, engaged, high-performance, customer-focused, and resilient is prevalent throughout the responses to this year’s survey. The desire for a “culture of innovation” ranks as the number-one innovation strategy in every region (Asia is the one exception, where it is third), every industry, every size company, and among CEOs and C-Suite executives alike. The impact of the New Digital Economy is clearly being felt in the daily processes and practices of organisations, and through the emergence of new competitors from every part of the globe. In Europe’s the c-suite remains worried about the impact of – which is unchanged from last year when it was the 8th biggest concern.   (more…)

Occupiers concerned about lack of innovation from commercial property sector

Occupiers concerned about lack of innovation from commercial property sector

by • Coworking, News, Property

commercial property innovationThe UK’s productivity is lagging behind other G7 countries and property directors are concerned that landlords’ lack of proactivity around commercial property innovation may hamper efforts to move the UK up the productivity league table, according to the newly published results of  a survey carried out at the Property Directors Forum in December 2017, hosted by Avison Young. Attendees at the event held at The Royal Society of Chemistry, Piccadilly, were asked to provide their thoughts on property innovation and the role that landlords have in leading the way. The survey revealed that not one of the property directors have been approached by their landlord(s), proactively, to discuss property innovation and, in fact, 40 percent of directors reported their landlord as being reluctant to innovate.

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Promotion: Humanscale launch Quickstand Eco to lead next generation of sit/stand workstations

Promotion: Humanscale launch Quickstand Eco to lead next generation of sit/stand workstations

by • Company news, Furniture, Products

Humanscale, has launched its next generation of portable sit/stand products. The QuickStand Eco claims to unite function and sustainability at an accessible price point to improve employee performance and encourage a more active workplace. This new height-adjustable solution is sleeker, easier to install and comprises more sustainable materials than ever before. QuickStand Eco utilises minimal parts and pieces, limiting it’s environmental footprint and maintaining a minimal, clean aesthetic. It features simple setup and is easy to transport, making it a flexible option for both corporate and home offices. The instant height adjustability encourages users to sit and stand more often and the product can also be integrated with Humanscale’s OfficeIQ software, which sends periodic alerts when it is time to adjust one’s position.

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Seven stories about people, places and technology we’ve been reading this week

Seven stories about people, places and technology we’ve been reading this week

by • AI, Features, Technology, Workplace, Workplace design

How to navigate beyond sustainability buzzwords

The communist party offices around the world

Hawking’s fear that AI may replace humans altogether

Tech giants are transforming Sydney’s business district

How AI will transform the employee experience

Promotion improves men’s job satisfaction but not women’s

Why we value physical objects over digital

How smart workplaces increase performance and attractiveness 0

by • Case studies, Facilities management, Premium Content, Technology, Work&Place, Workplace design

The workplace can and should be used as a strategic tool to support work and cooperation, to shape the experience of the brand and to produce competitive advantage for the organization. Even when not used as a strategic tool the workplace still affects all these parts and there is always a risk that the workplace has instead a negative impact if we are not aware of the relationship and really use workplace as a strategic tool to affect attractiveness, productivity, efficiency and sustainability. The workplace makes a great difference and it is becoming an important differentiator between successful and less successful organizations. I also strongly believe that the workplace management area is a key for us in the FM industry to bring FM to a higher level, to shift from cost focus to more value focus, and this is something we need to do together within the FM industry and we really should take the driver’s seat. But, let’s start from the beginning.

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The mega trends that continue to reshape the workplace around the world

by • Events, Features, Property, Technology, Workplace design

Last week, over 600 workplace and property experts met in London at the CoreNet Global Summit 2017 to discuss some of the most important trends affecting the sector. The debates underlined one important fact about property and workplaces, which is how they are shaped by major, globalised events as much as they are local needs and the objectives of specific organisations. This quickly became evident on day one, which demonstrated how dramatic shifts in the geopolitical landscape, all of which are impacting corporate real estate – from America First to Brexit – remain key talking points for the industry. Opening speaker Linda Yueh (University of Oxford and London Business School) explored several possible scenarios, including how the focus of ‘Trumpism’ would have a significant effect on the U.S. role on the world stage, with the priority on the domestic economy leaving little scope for global trade. She also predicted that a ‘hard Brexit’, with no new trade deal with the EU, will be the most likely outcome for the UK’s withdrawal process; and that businesses will need to focus on alternative WTO rules as an urgent priority. Other impacting factors covered by Yueh included the rise of a dominant global middle class, and China’s need to rebalance its economic growth drivers.
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Japan introduces new teleworking laws to change work culture in run up to Olympics

Japan introduces new teleworking laws to change work culture in run up to Olympics

by • Cities, Flexible working, News, Wellbeing

It’s not just the UK that took time yesterday to reconsider its relationship with work. Japan launched a scheme to promote teleworking in an effort to address the country’s notoriously poor working culture and ease congestion in the build up to the Tokyo Olympics of 2020. Over 900 companies are claimed to have participated in Telework Day, which will be held on July 24 each year from now until the Olympics opening ceremony on July 24, 2020. Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s government has already introduced laws to address Japan’s notorious problems with overwork, raise contract workers’ pay, and curb a general abuse of labour laws. Earlier this year, the Japanese government announced plans to impose a cap on overtime of 100 hours a month to reduce the number of cases of “karoshi”, or death from overwork, among its people. The idea is to restrict overtime to an average of 60 hours a month, with a 100-hour limit in busy periods.

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Revised guidance is published by the BIFM on space planning and management

Revised guidance is published by the BIFM on space planning and management 0

by • Facilities management, News, Workplace design

Revised guidance is published by the BIFM on space planning and managementThe British Institute of Facilities Management (BIFM) has issued updated guidance to help in-house FM teams understand what is involved in managing and changing space. The revised Space Planning and Management Good Practice Guide aims to provide practical advice on the tools and techniques that can be deployed when planning and managing space, clearly illustrating the processes involved and enabling facilities managers to set overarching space management strategies for their organisation. Key areas covered in the guide include space demands, strategy and standards, programming and managing projects and the technologies available to help with the process. The guide has been updated by its original author Joanna Eley, director of Alexi Marmot Associates.

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An overdue attempt to connect smart buildings with smart people

An overdue attempt to connect smart buildings with smart people 0

by • Comment, Property, Technology

As first events go, the inaugural outing for the Smart Buildings series of conferences  succeeded in delivering a full day of insightful presentations and debates, with a highly engaged audience of industry experts. A theme to emerge early on – in the opening remarks by Worktech Academy’s Jeremy Myerson in fact, was that the concept of ‘smart buildings’ is far from new. Depending who you ask, the idea goes back to the 90’s, the 80’s or even the 60’s. So why have we waited until 2017 for a conference on the topic? Many of the presenters agreed this is because we have only recently entered a new technological phase – the ‘plateau of productivity’ of Gartner’s Hype Cycle, as Owen King of Unwork pointed out – the time when widestream adoption of a technology kicks in and its viability becomes more clear. Indeed, the benefits of smart buildings are now widely regarded to fall into six categories; sustainability, productivity, talent, wellbeing, brand and cost control. And, while sustainability was the topic du jour at similar events six or seven years ago, the industry focus has shifted towards productivity and wellbeing.

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IFMA and RICS unveil combined qualifications platform

IFMA and RICS unveil combined qualifications platform 0

by • Facilities management, News

The collaboration between IFMA and the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) is, for the first time, offering a combined suite of credentials and professional qualifications for facilities management in a single, online academy platform at www.fm.training. IFMA and RICS first launched the platform in December 2016 as an initial step toward ‘leveraging the combined authority of two of the world’s premier built environment professional organisations for the support of FM education and career advancement’. IFMA centralised its professional credential training — the foundational Facility Management Professional, the targeted Sustainability Facility Professional and the Facility Management Learning System, which supports learning for the Certified Facility Manager certification — on the academy in early April. Now, RICS has added the final critical piece of the IFMA-RICS suite of credentials and professional qualifications to the platform: the internationally recognised AssocRICS and MRICS professional designations.

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BCO launch new research project into health and wellbeing in offices

BCO launch new research project into health and wellbeing in offices 0

by • News, Wellbeing, Workplace design

BCO launch new research project into health and wellbeing in officesA major research study into Health and Wellbeing in offices has been launched by the British Council for Offices (BCO). “Wellness Matters: Health and Wellbeing in offices and what to do about it” is a year-long project which aims to provide definitive guidance on how to enable office Health and Wellbeing across a building’s lifecycle. The major research study has been commissioned to critique existing Health and Wellbeing measurement and certification, identify the most recent and relevant medical evidence justifying a proactive approach to Health and Wellbeing in the built environment, and give guidance on the business case for investment in this space beyond simply improving productivity. Most significantly, this research aims to deliver a practical guide to creating a healthy environment across the different stages of a building’s life cycle, from design, construction and leasing to the most important aspect by time and value: occupation and asset management.

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UK government property agency opens bidding for huge estates framework

UK government property agency opens bidding for huge estates framework 0

by • News, Property, Public Sector

The UK government has opened the tendering process the Estates Professional Services framework, the vast public sector property contract that covers all central and local government property and which reports claim is worth up to £430m in fees to the firms appointed. The bid is managed by the Crown Commercial Service, an agency sponsored by the Cabinet Office which has been driving the major overhaul of  public sector property as it seeks to save £8 billion through a programme of rationalisation and divestment. The contract runs for four years with the present framework due to expire this September.

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