Search Results for: talent

November 30, 2016

Public sector employees ‘stressed’ but remaining optimistic following Brexit ⁰

by Sara Bean • News, Public Sector, Workplace

Levels of stress among public sector workers remain higher than any other sector, despite job satisfaction being at its highest level in four years amidst a tide of wider post-referendum optimism. This is according to the latest CIPD/Halogen Employee Outlook report of more than 2,000 employees which found that 63 percent of employees are satisfied with their jobs, rising to two-thirds (66 percent) in the public sector, the highest level for that sector since autumn 2012. However, public sector employees still report higher levels of pressure and exhaustion at work than any other sector. Two in five public sector workers (43 percent) say they are under excessive pressure at work at least once a week (all employees: 38 percent), and nearly half (46 percent) say they come home from work exhausted either always or often (all employees: 33 percent). The survey also suggests there is ample room for improvement in employee development and career progression which employers must address quickly so as not to lose valuable talent.

November 29, 2016

Majority of employers believe automation will create more jobs than it will replace ⁰

by Mark Eltringham • News, Technology

A new report published by Capita Resourcing claims that 85 percent of employers believe workplace automation will create more jobs than it will replace in their organisation in 10 years’ time. The main benefits to businesses and employees over this period are likely to be enhanced productivity (76 percent) and new skills development (54 percent). The ‘Workplace More Human’ report surveyed the attitudes of 200 business leaders in medium to large organisations and 1,000 full or part time employees. It revealed that the workplace is currently undergoing rapid transformation with over half (54 percent) of employers already automating business processes that were once performed by people. A further 39 percent plan to automate more processes in the next 12 months.

November 28, 2016

Britain is missing a trick by not getting workplace training right ⁰

by Steve Hill • Comment, Workplace

New research from PwC highlights Britain’s failure to provide opportunities for young people. The study brings attention to the fact that the country ranks a lowly 21st out of 35 OECD members for its ability to get 15 to 24 year olds into work, education or training. If the UK could equal Germany’s low youth unemployment rate it would stand to gain around £45 billion, a 2.3 percent increase in GDP. The PwC report compares numerous countries, however Germany, Austria and Switzerland come out on top when it comes to providing career opportunities and workplace training to young people. Perhaps a clue to their success is that these nations all have so-called ‘dual education systems’ where work-based learning sits with equal stature alongside traditional academic study.

November 28, 2016

Surge in overall job vacancies, but consultancy sector bears Brexit brunt ⁰

by Sara Bean • News, Workplace

The number of advertised job vacancies in the UK increased by 2.6 percent to 1,162,342 in October, and according to the latest UK Job Market Report from Adzuna.co.uk, with Christmas on the horizon, employers will be seeking to hire an array of temporary jobseekers to meet a rise in demand. A rise in total advertised vacancies has also been fuelled by employers’ plans to expand and refresh their teams to capitalise on jobseekers intending to make a fresh start or change in career path in the first few months of 2017. However, despite the overall resilient nature of the jobs market, the consultancy sector appears to have taken the brunt of the implications of Brexit. As a result, average advertised salaries are currently down 8.7 percent. This suggests companies are withdrawing from placing as much reliance on temporary staff and freelancers and seeking expertise internally from senior employees who may be more familiar with the nature of the business. This also highlights the importance of employers widening their talent pool and attracting highly skilled workers.

November 24, 2016

Millennials prefer the traditional job model to the ‘gig economy’ ⁰

by Sara Bean • Flexible working, News, Workplace

Organisations that offer a range of perks, flexible hours and contract work to attract younger workers may be wasting their time, as it seems millennials prefer a more traditional approach to that of the gig economy. In a survey by the US-based Career Advisory Board of 500 respondents representing a diverse sample of American workers, 91 percent of the millennials surveyed reported they would like to work at a single full-time job rather than embrace the gig economy and 81 percent overall said they would prefer a single position that’s full-time. Of the 81 percent of respondents of all ages who’d prefer a single full-time position, an overwhelming number didn’t mind going into an office, but would like some location flexibility (59 percent). Most surprisingly, millennials were more likely to want to work in an office every day than their older colleagues. And as for special perks like onsite food, wellness perks and day-care, less than 1 percent of respondents preferred special company perks to the more crucial benefits such as medical/dental plans, paid time off and retirement benefits, which rated the most important offerings after competitive salary.

November 23, 2016

Gender earnings gap in tech sector is significantly higher than national average ⁰

by Sara Bean • Flexible working, News, Technology, Workplace

The high tech sector may pride itself on offering some of the most attractive and modern workplace environments, but when it comes to equal parity between the sexes it seems out of date. New research from Mercer claims that at 25 percent, the gender earnings gap in the UK’s high tech sector is significantly higher than the national average (18 percent). The consultancy also found that small companies have the largest gap, with a 30 percent difference in (median) pay between all male and female employees, and a 26 percent gap when considering mean base salaries. This difference reduces as company sizes grow. Where the data allowed comparison of pay between women and men in equal job roles, the pay gap was much smaller, typically 8 percent. This is comparable to the UK norm of 9 percent for this type of analysis. The reasons for this gap is due on further analysis to a multitude of factors including the reluctance of many women to enter the tech field, not enough effort being put into promoting women and a lack of will in promoting flexible working patterns.

November 22, 2016

Employers and ambitious employees combine to boost a buoyant job market ⁰

by Sara Bean • News, Workplace

The job market continues to remain buoyant in the face of economic and political uncertainties, and this is matched by a noticeable enthusiasm among employees to move jobs, suggests new research. The Totaljobs Employment Index, which measures activity across the totaljobs website, has shown that job postings on the site were up 7 percent year-on-year (YoY) in October. But this demand seems to have been outstripped by jobseekers’ needs, with the number of applications on the website up 14 percent YoY. This means that despite an increase in vacancies, the number of applications per job has soared 7 percent. This trend continues when looking at the last three months (Aug-Oct) compared with the same period in 2015, as jobs rose 11 percent and applications increased 12 percent. Broken down across the UK, the best performing regions in terms of growth in jobs posted include the North West (up 17 percent), the East Midlands and Wales (both up 13 percent).

November 18, 2016

HR directors struggle to devise long term digital workplace strategies ⁰

by Sara Bean • News, Technology, Workplace

One of the effects of the UK’s falling unemployment levels is that HR Directors risk becoming so consumed with issues of talent retention and hiring that they are unable to plan effectively and build a long term strategy for their business, especially when it comes to key emerging issues such as the digital workplace. While the latest ONS statistics show that UK unemployment fell by 37,000 to 1.6 million in the three months to September, hitting an 11-year low, in an anonymous survey carried out by The Curve Group, 92 percent of HR Directors say re-designing their organisation in response to the emergence of the digital workplace, new entrants and a flat economy should be their main priority, but only 44 percent feel able to do so.

November 16, 2016

Google confirms it is to go ahead with massive new London HQ ⁰

by Mark Eltringham • News, Property, Technology, Workplace design

Following the announcement in September that Apple was to reaffirm its commitment to the UK with a major investment in the creation of a new headquarters building in London, the latest global tech giant to follow suit is Google. The firm has confirmed it is to open a new HQ in the capital which will see 3,000 jobs created by 2020. In an interview with the BBC, chief executive Sundar Pichai claimed that he is confident that the UK Government will not be throwing up barriers to the movement of skilled labour in the wake of the Brexit vote. Based on this he is moving ahead with the Bjarke Ingels Group and Thomas Heatherwick designed £1 billion Kings Cross development that will allow the firm to expand its UK workforce to 7,000 people. Heatherwick has previously worked with Google alongside Bjarke Ingels Group on the design of their Mountain View headquarters in California. He was drafted in to work on the London project after a previous design was rejected because it was ‘boring’.

November 16, 2016

Employers as well as workers behind the creation of the gig economy ⁰

by Sara Bean • Flexible working, News, Technology, Workplace

Employers and workers are both driving the creation of a temporary, independent workforce, but despite the benefits, there are some significant management challenges, claims two new EY surveys focusing on the gig economy. Among large organisations (100,000 employees or more) surveyed, 49 percent said they increased their use of gig workers in the last five years and 40 percent of organisations expect to increase their use of contingent workers in the next five years. One quarter expect 30 percent or more of their workforce to be contingent workers by 2020. On the employee side, the research shows more people are choosing to do contingent work; 73 percent of the 1,008 short-term contingent workers surveyed had positive reasons for their independent work arrangement, with only 20 percent saying they were short-term workers due to a lack of suitable full-time positions. Sixty-six percent believe the benefits of contingent working outweigh the downsides always or most of the time compared to just 6 percent who believe the opposite.

November 16, 2016

Two thirds of female professionals’ jobs downgraded after career break ⁰

by Sara Bean • Flexible working, News, Workplace

A lack of flexible roles means that two thirds of professional women who return to work after a career break, work fewer hours than they prefer or go into lower-skilled or lower-paid roles, claims new research by PwC, in conjunction with Women Returners and 30% Club. 427,000 UK female professionals are currently estimated to be on a career break and likely to return to the workforce in the future. Of those, three in five (249,000) are likely to enter lower-skilled roles when they return to work. This has serious implications for earnings as this downgrading is associated with an immediate 12-32 percent reduction in hourly earnings, depending on whether the woman remains with the same employer. A further 29,000 women returning to part-time work would prefer to work longer hours but are unable to due to a lack of flexible roles. Altogether, two-thirds of (or around 278,000) women could be working below their potential when they return to the workforce.

November 14, 2016

Business association calls for action on high cost of childcare ⁰

by Mark Eltringham • Flexible working, News

The British Chambers of Commerce and Middlesex University, have published a new survey to gauge the opinion of business leaders on the cost and availability of childcare and its impact on the workforce. The survey of businesses claims that a third of firms (33 percent) regard the availability of childcare as a key issue in recruiting and retaining staff. The survey of more than 1,600 business leaders across the UK also claims that over a quarter (28 percent) of firms have seen a reduction of working hours by staff due to the cost of childcare, while nearly 1 in 10 (9 percent) have seen employees leave their business. Although the survey suggests that nearly 40 percent of businesses already view government plans to double the availability of free childcare next year as likely to have a positive impact on their business, the BCC is calling on government to go further. It says the administration should consider the costs and benefits of a universal entitlement up until school entry, which would help more firms retain and promote productive staff, and help working parents progress.