Search Results for: talent

August 4, 2016

Office workers spend half their average week working remotely ⁰

by Sara Bean • Facilities management, Flexible working, Wellbeing, Workplace

New research suggests that UK workers are overwhelmingly turning their back on the standard 9-5 office life with 72 percent agreeing that it’s not relevant for the 21st century. Working remotely and flexibly makes them more effective in their job said 82 percent of respondents to the TeamViewer report ‘The End of Nine-to-Five’ with 73 percent agreeing that having the ability to work flexibly makes them feel more valued and 82 percent that all employees should be offered flexible working hours without it affecting their career. With 79 percent of people rating work-life balance as more important than salary, the report suggests it is critical for businesses to ensure they are offering more than just monetary incentives, as almost half (49 percent) say that flexible working hours would be the most important factor to them when looking for a new job. According to the survey, UK office workers are already spending on average 2.5 days, half of their week, working remotely.

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August 4, 2016

Employers doing little to alleviate employees’ job fears over Brexit ⁰

by Sara Bean • News, Wellbeing, Workplace

A majority of employers won’t delay hiring for roles (54 percent) due to Brexit, yet nearly half (48 percent) of jobseekers are concerned about finding a job post the Referendum, new research claims. The survey of both employers and candidates conducted by totaljobs following the EU Referendum, reveals that 44 percent of all candidates believe there will be more competition for jobs following the Brexit vote, while 28 percent say that Brexit has already had an impact on their job search. Nearly a fifth (19 percent) have become less selective about the jobs they apply for, compared with 16 percent who are now more selective. Of those currently employed, 34 percent are worried about their job security as a result of Brexit, whilst half (52 percent) are not concerned. Unfortunately, many employers have not yet taken steps to ease employees’ concerns, as almost three-quarters (72 percent) of employees say they have not been spoken to by their employer about the impact of Brexit.

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August 2, 2016

London firms paint a mixed picture in their post Brexit reaction ⁰

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

Investment and hiring intentions remain relatively robust among London’s leading firms, despite the Brexit vote, claims a new analysis by the CBI and CBRE. Over two fifths (41 percent) of the 186 firms surveyed after the Referendum said that they planned to maintain their investment plans, with one in ten (9 percent) planning on actually increasing their plans. The demand for property from occupiers and investors also appears to remain strong. However, 16 percent of firms said they will freeze investment plans, whilst a fifth (21 percent) think they will reduce them. Half of businesses (50 percent) plan to continue to hire after the Referendum, with less than a third (29 percent) not planning to do so and 12 percent planning on reducing staff numbers. Many firms though are still considering their response to the Referendum and will be looking for a clear plan from the Government and City Hall to maintain the openness of London’s economy.

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July 29, 2016

The gig economy must be harnessed to address skill shortages and uncertainty ⁰

by Mark Eltringham • Flexible working, News, Workplace

The legal status of people working in the gig economy must be clarified so that businesses and individuals can thrive, according to a new report from the Recruitment & Employment Confederation (REC). Gig economy – The Uberisation of Work (registration needed) explores the impact of digital work platforms such as Upwork, Task Rabbit and Freelancer.com, which act as ‘marketplaces matching freelancers with a wide range of project-based work’. The report suggests that almost a third of all UK employers will use these kinds of digital work platforms by 2021. The REC has called on policy-makers to ensure that the gig economy is fair to self-employed workers and businesses, and to secure benefits for the UK wider economy. The report claims that this will become increasingly important as the gig economy becomes more mainstream, adding £45 billion to the UK economy and creating work for 766,000 people.

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July 22, 2016

Employees in high performing organisations four times more engaged ⁰

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

Whether or not you raise an eyebrow every time you hear about the need for employee engagement, there is a growing body of research which links engagement to performance. A new report claims that 80 percent of UK employees who say they work for high performing organisations are engaged compared to only 20 percent of those working for low performing organisations. And 80 percent of employees who think their organisation is customer-centric are engaged. This is five times more than employees who don’t think their organisation is customer-centric (17 percent). The highest performing employees are twice as engaged as the lowest, the survey by ORC International suggests. The survey found that overall employee engagement in the UK remained steady at 58 percent his year but the trends show that personal and organisational performance make a difference to engagement.

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July 21, 2016

A quarter of workers would turn down higher wages to get work perks ⁰

by Neil Franklin • Flexible working, News, Wellbeing, Workplace

A quarter (25 percent) of British workers would be willing to accept a lower salary in return for better ‘work perks’ a new survey claims. Employment bonuses, such as flexible working, a company car or free food have become increasingly popular over the last few years, which explains why 55 percent of UK workplaces already offer work perks, the survey suggests. Workers in Wales are most likely to accept a lower salary with almost a third saying they would accept a position for less money if it had better perks. The survey was commissioned by Printerland.co.uk to explore attitude towards benefits, asking 2,000 workers about the kind of perks they already receive and which bonuses they wish they had. The research claims that the most common perks offered are flexible working (51 percent), financial bonuses (50 percent), free food (32 percent), company phones and tablets (21 percent) and company cars (11 percent).

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July 19, 2016

SMEs must offer flexible work or face recruitment and retention challenge ⁰

by Sara Bean • Facilities management, Flexible working, News, Workplace

SMEs that neglect to offer flexible work options may find their employees decide to switch to somewhere that does, according to a survey from Regus. Over 3,000 professionals across a variety of sectors were quizzed on the importance of flexibility in their working life. SME respondents left very little doubt about the value of a flexible approach, with 92 percent of workers in SMEs saying that, faced with a choice of two similar jobs, they would choose the one that offered flexible work. A third of respondents (33 percent) also stated that they would have stayed longer in their previous jobs if flexibility had been offered. According to Richard Morris, UK CEO, Regus, SMEs should think long and hard about the type of roles that they are offering to today’s professionals. He argues that the days of the fixed hours, fixed location job are becoming as outdated as the office fax machine. Flexibility is no longer seen as a perk, it is now a key differentiator for talented individuals.

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July 19, 2016

Millennials will stay engaged in the workplace if they feel they are valued ⁰

by Sara Bean • Flexible working, News, Workplace

The “ability to make an impact on the business” matters notably more to millennial employees than their salary and other benefits. According to a new survey from recruitment firm Korn Ferry, income comes in last on their list. The Second Annual Korn Ferry Futurestep Millennial Survey highlights the younger generation’s workplace preferences, including a need for feedback and a willingness to work long hours. In the survey, which asks what will make a millennial choose one job over another, 38 percent said “visibility and buy-in to the mission and vision of the organisation.” The survey also found that consistent feedback is key to managing millennials, with three quarters of respondents saying this generation needs more feedback than other generations. However, only 13 percent of respondents said they offered more feedback sessions to this group, and less than half offered mentorship opportunities.

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July 8, 2016

Overwhelming majority of employees putting in unpaid extra hours ⁰

by Neil Franklin • News, Wellbeing, Workplace

The overwhelming majority of UK employees (81 percent) are working beyond their contracted hours, claims a report from recruitment firm Morgan McKinley. Overall, 81 percent of people put in the extra hours with senior staff most likely to work more than 10 hours over their contracted hours (42 percent) each week compared to 21 percent of those who had just started working. The Morgan McKinley Working Hours survey of 2,600 professionals in sectors such as banking and finance, claims that 75 percent of employees felt obliged to work beyond their contracted hours, yet just 13 percent of respondents to the survey say they are paid for working extra hours. The study claims that only 32 percent of professionals believe that they are productive during the extra hours that they work. A third (34 percent) don’t take a lunch break of any kind, with Millennials (21 percent) being the largest group to have a working day without their lunch break.

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July 8, 2016

Progress for women in executive roles remains disappointingly slow ⁰

by Sara Bean • Legal news, News, Workplace

As the news breaks that the UK is to have a female Prime Minister by the Autumn, it emerges that progress for women among executive ranks and in the executive pipeline remains slow. According to the latest Female FTSE Report, by academics at Cranfield School of Management, City University London and Queen Mary University London, while the percentage of women on FTSE 100 boards has increased to 26 percent and to 20.4 percent on the FTSE 250 boards this year, the rate of progress has slowed since the Davies closing report in October 2015. As a result board turnover rates have decreased and the percentage of new appointments going to women over the past six months is only 24.7 percent, the lowest since September 2011. This is short of the increase required to meet the 33 percent board target by 2020 as set out in the Davies report, requiring FTSE 350 board to have 27 percent by the end of 2016.

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July 5, 2016

LBGT inclusion in the workplace relies on FM and HR best practice ⁰

by Peter Holmes • Comment, Facilities management, Wellbeing, Workplace, Workplace design

Much has been written about the business case for diversity and inclusion with one overarching theme; people perform better when they can be themselves. This is especially true for lesbian, gay, bisexual and trans employees. Have you ever hesitated before talking about your partner to a colleague at work? Anticipated how they will react when they find out the person’s gender? Have you ever thought twice about going to the toilet in the office? Spent more time worrying about which facilities you’ll use than the looming deadline you have coming up? These are just a few examples of the thoughts that can consume the mental power of an LGBT person when you create a working environment which isn’t inclusive. According to last year’s Open For Business report, LGBT diversity and inclusion in the workplace impacts two key areas of productivity – business and individual performance, which rely on a focus on sound management and an inclusive workplace design.

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July 5, 2016

Employers need more help in navigating the Apprenticeship Levy ⁰

by David Allison • Comment, Workplace

According to the latest governmental statistics, apprenticeships reached a record high in 2014/15 with over 871,000 apprenticeship participants within the UK. The majority of these were in the service sector, and almost three quarters were concentrated in three sectors: Business, Administration and Law; Retail and Commerce Enterprise and Public Services and Care. Last year the government announced its plans to introduce a new UK-wide levy on large employers in a bid to fund apprenticeships and to create 3 million more apprentices by 2020. Due for implementation in April 2017, this levy promises to have a significant impact on the existing apprenticeship landscape. As the implementation of the apprenticeship levy draws nearer, it is rising to the top of companies’ HR and Finance agendas, as businesses attempt to work out how to reap a return on investment, with the Confederation of British Industry (CBI) calling for the Government to put off its introduction.