Search Results for: talent

January 6, 2017

Over half of employers struggled to find newly graduated employees last year ⁰

by Sara Bean • News, Technology, Workplace

Over half of graduate employers are struggling to fill their graduate vacancies, partly due to students reneging on offers. A poll by the Association of Graduate Recruiters (AGR) claims that 52 percent of employers did not fill all of their graduate vacancies last year and while one in five offers were declined, 7.1 percent of offers made were accepted and then reneged. The size of the challenge differs by sector. Accountancy, banking and engineering firms are the most likely to find reneging an issue. It is less of a problem in the public sector and among law, utility and IT businesses. However, employers are finding ways to tackle the issue with 97 percent communicating and 78 percent holding events for graduates between offer and join date. As a result the proportion of job offers reneged is falling – in the AGR’s 2015 poll 8.2 percent were reneged. Employers are also being advised to take more of a digital approach to reaching ‘tech savvy’ graduates.

January 5, 2017

Recognition by promotion rather than reward, is key driver in job satisfaction ⁰

by Sara Bean • News, Workplace

Nearly two-thirds of respondents in a global survey (63 percent) said they would prefer to get a promotion with no salary increase than a salary increase with no promotion this year. One reason for this, the research from Korn Ferry suggests, is that many organizations are not doing an adequate job of creating clear advancement opportunities for professionals. More than half (56 percent) of respondents who did not get a promotion within the last 12 months cited “bottleneck or nowhere to go” as the main reason. Nearly one-fifth (19 percent) said office politics got in their way of moving up the ladder, and while 39 percent said they did receive a promotion within the last year, less than half (45 percent) said they expect to receive a promotion in the coming year. Also, 84 percent said that if they were passed over for a promotion, the No.1 action they would take was to identify the reason and work to improve. The vast majority (88 percent) said that if they wanted a promotion, the No. 1 action they would take would be to have a conversation with their boss and identify growth areas that would enable them to move into the next role.

December 23, 2016

Majority of British workers will work at some point over Christmas and New Year ⁰

by Neil Franklin • News, Wellbeing

Three in five UK employees will work at some point over the Christmas period, a third of staff will curtail their break to return on Tuesday 27th December and 45 percent say working over Christmas is mandatory. These are the key findings of research from Hudson. The firm suggests that growing pressure pressure on companies to meet year round demand is causing employees to work over the traditional holiday period. The quarterly UK office-based workforce survey claims that the majority of workers (61.5 percent), including three quarters of millennials (76 percent), will cut short their festivities to work at some point between Christmas Eve and the January Bank Holiday. More than one third of staff (34 percent) will have to work at least one day between Christmas and New Year, causing problems for the many employees who’ve travelled home to be with their families over the festive period.

December 20, 2016

Technology industry leads the way in adoption of flexible working ⁰

by Mark Eltringham • Flexible working, News

New research from My Family Care and global recruitment firm Hydrogen claims that when compared with all other industries, the technology sector has the most number of employees taking advantage of flexible working practices. Over four in five (81 percent) of employees who work in tech say they work flexibly to some degree – around 15 percent higher than the average of 66 percent and over half of the 265 people surveyed said they worked remotely at least one day last week – 18 percent higher than the average for all employees. The research also claims that people who work in tech put a high value on flexible working when considering a job offer, with 88 percent of professionals considering it to be more important than other benefits like private healthcare insurance, enhanced pension scheme or commission or bonuses.

December 19, 2016

UK employers predict workforce growth in 2017 along with more inclusive hiring ⁰

by Sara Bean • Knowledge, News, Workplace

Four in ten (41 percent) of firms across the UK will grow their workforce in 2017 but uncertainty about the UK’s future relationship with the EU has shaken overall business confidence in the labour market claims a new report. According to respondents to the 19th CBI/Pertemps Network Group Employment Trends Survey, for the fourth year running, growth in permanent job opportunities will outstrip temporary recruitment. But the balance of those expecting the UK to be a more attractive place to employ people in the next five years has flipped from +16 percent in the 2015 survey to -21 percent in this year’s results. In terms of engagement, over three quarters (76 percent) of respondents reported that a diverse and inclusive workforce is vital or important to the future success of their organisation. They report a range of benefits of inclusive workplace practices including increased skills (73 percent), attraction and retention of staff (60 percent) and engagement levels (46 percent).

December 14, 2016

Lack of free childcare dissuades workers from shared parental leave ⁰

by Sara Bean • Flexible working, Legal news, News, Workplace

Just 5 percent of new fathers and 8 percent of new mothers have opted for Shared Parental Leave (SPL) since its introduction in April 2015 a new report claims. Just one organisation in five (21 percent) said they had received requests from male employees to take up SPL since April 2015 and in two-thirds (67 percent) of organisations with mothers eligible for SPL, none have opted in. This low take-up of (SPL) and the lack of affordable childcare options for parents with 0-2 year-olds are both major problems that need to be addressed to support working parents more effectively, according to ‘Labour Market Outlook: Focus on Working Parents’ from the CIPD. The survey of over 1,000 HR professionals also suggests that the lack of free childcare for 0-2 year-olds could be having a negative impact on women returning to work after maternity leave.

December 13, 2016

US study projects massive shift to agile working model over the next decade ⁰

by Mark Eltringham • Flexible working, News

By the year 2025, most workers (70 percent) and employers (68 percent) agree a majority of the workforce will be employed in an agile working capacity as contractors, consultants, temporary or freelance staff, according to a study released by Randstad US. The Workplace 2025 report of more than 3,100 workers and 1,500 HR and c-suite executives across the US found that as early as 2019, as much as 50 percent of the workforce will be comprised of agile workers, as nearly 4 in 10 (39 percent) workers say they are likely to consider shifting to an agile arrangement over the next two-to-three years. The study claims that this movement is fuelling an equally aggressive adoption of new workforce models that tap into both permanent and agile employees to combat staffing shortages, leverage globalisation and fuel greater innovation for organisations.

December 9, 2016

New website launched to help promote the Northern Powerhouse economy ⁰

by Sara Bean • Cities, Facilities management, News, Property

Major companies including Barclays and Vodafone were among more than 40 leading businesses, universities and business networks which pledged their support and backed the promotion of the Northern Powerhouse economy during a ’partnership’ conference held in Liverpool yesterday (8 December 2016). The North has over one million businesses, seven international airports and four of the world’s top universities, the conference heard. Its economy was worth £304 billion in 2014, similar to the whole of Belgium, while last year employment growth in the North East was the fastest in the UK. To help support the initiative a new dedicated Northern Powerhouse website has been launched to share the latest news, views and opportunities for established businesses and new investors. In addition, a Northern Powerhouse Partnership Programme aims to encourage businesses to focus on the key strengths and areas of development across the North – from connectivity to transport, skills to science and from culture to devolution. More →

December 8, 2016

Book review…. HQ:Nerve Centres of the World’s Leading Brands ⁰

by Mark Eltringham • Case studies, Comment, Workplace design

Some people would have you believe that the office is dying out. But the absolute dead giveaway that it is not is the creation of tech enclaves and palaces around the world that exists solely to bring lots of people to work together in real space and real time. Some of these buildings are presented in a new book called HQ: Nerve Centres of the World’s Leading Brands from Irish publishers Roads (link is to Amazon but please try to order from a local bookshop if possible). The high tech homes of the likes of Google, Facebook, Microsoft and Vodafone are presented alongside similar examples from eight other business sectors: Finance, Retail, Motoring, Media, Drinks, Fashion, Sport and Design & Innovation.

December 7, 2016

Are these the best places to work in 2017? ⁰

by Mark Eltringham • News, Workplace, Workplace design

Recruitment site Glassdoor has announced the winners of its ninth annual Employees’ Choice Awards to find the best places to work in North America and parts of Europe. The Awards are based on the input of employees who voluntarily provide anonymous feedback, by completing a company review, about their job, work environment and employer over the past year. This year, the Glassdoor Employees’ Choice Awards feature six categories, honouring the Best Places to Work across the UK, US (both large and small companies), Canada, France and Germany. There is one category in the UK: 50 Best Places to Work (honouring employers with 1,000 or more employees). Winners are ranked based on their overall rating achieved during the past year. The top five UK Best Places to Work in 2017 are Expedia, ARM, HomeServeUK, Mott MacDonald and Hays plc

December 7, 2016

Business as usual for recruitment and retention in post-Brexit Britain … for now ⁰

by Oliver Watson • Comment, Flexible working, Legal news, Workplace

On 24 June 2016 Britain voted for Brexit. The shock (and narrow) victory caused country-wide concern among the 48 percent of the voting public that favoured remain – apprehension seemingly justified by the immediate weakening of the pound, Cameron’s resignation and the start of ongoing political in-fighting. Speculation over job losses and potential hiring freezes added to a general sense of uncertainty, leaving some UK workers fearing their job security. Since then however, recruitment experts have somewhat softened their predictions for the UK job market as recent reports of month-on-month vacancy growth and record high employment rates have served to inspire confidence. Five months on, how has job applicant sentiment changed in the UK since the EU referendum vote? And what does this mean for businesses hiring in post-Brexit vote Britain? As part of our ongoing tracking of candidate confidence levels in the job market and their career prospects we analysed the responses of almost 28,000 job applicants across the UK and Republic of Ireland – from all ages, experiences and sector disciplines – to gauge how perspectives might have changed pre- and post-Brexit.

December 6, 2016

UK government to move 5,700 civil servants from Whitehall to east London ⁰

by Mark Eltringham • News, Property, Public Sector

The UK Cabinet Office has today announced the location of a new Government Hub at Canary Wharf, as the government prepares to move around 5,700 full time civil and public servants from offices in Whitehall to East London. The government will take the whole building, owned by Canary Wharf Group, at 10 South Colonnade, Canary Wharf, covering 50,354 sqm, on a 15 year lease (to end in 2032). The move, which will be completed by the end of 2018, supports the modernisation of the Civil Service outlined by the new Workplace Plan on July 12. The Government Property Unit, (GPU), as part of its remit to drive savings across the government estate, is overseeing the deal with Barclays for the new hub. The Government claims the hubs will benefit the public sector by ensuring the future workforce is where it needs to be, in strategic locations with great public transport connections, local amenities and offering a modern working environment. Relocating civil and public servants from existing, often fragmented office locations, to modern, cross-departmental workplaces will make the most of emerging working practices and technology is part of that drive, it claims.