Oct 27, 2015 | IT
One big misconception in the workplace is the belief that an employee’s experience and skill set is the fundamental attribute to the employee reaching full potential and performance levels. An employee’s level of performance in the workplace is highly influenced by their working environment. Creating a positive and comfortable atmosphere is the key to maximising your employee’s, and your company’s potential. Here are our 5 tips to creating a great working environment.
- Equal Participation and Communication
Encouraging your employees to discuss openly about their thoughts and suggest new ideas they might have, gives the employee confidence and promotes a sense of worth. It is crucial that you create an approachable atmosphere for your staff. not only does open communication create confidence to discuss opinions and ideas, but in most cases encourages the employee to openly discuss any problems or issues they are facing in the work place and feel comfortable in doing so.
2. Training and Development
Training and development is crucial and ultimately contributes to maintaining and improving employee’s knowledge and skills in order to generate the best quality and results. It is crucial that the focus of implementing the training and development is on employee empowerment and building confidence. This is an investment not a cost. Ultimately employee efficiency is improved, therefore leading to financial gain. If you spend the time to implement appropriate training, you will see the rewards. Employee productivity and job satisfaction is increased, thereby contributing to enhanced morale and reduced employee turnover.
3. Feedback and Recognition
Providing your employee with feedback, whether positive or negative, will have a profound effect on the employee. Employees can utilize constructive feedback in personal development and self-improvement. Implementing an appraisal process is an excellent way of not only providing feedback to the employee, but gives the employee to the chance to discuss any issues they might be facing in the work place.
Ensure that employees efforts and achievements are recognised. Acknowledge what the employees do well and when possible, implement a rewards scheme for your employee’s achievements. When employees feel that they are being rewarded for their hard work and that efforts have been recognised employee satisfaction will significantly increase.
4. Creating ‘Team Spirit’
Creating a feeling of team spirit in the work place provides a sense of community and solidarity. When morale and camaraderie levels are high, a strong team culture naturally evolves. Here are some tips on how to create a strong team spirit:
- Schedule bonding and activity days. Encourage employees to get to know each other and create trust amongst the team.
- Encourage employers to recognise, acknowledge and praise colleague’s achievments and celebrate as a team.
- Implement a core set of values to be followed by employees. Focus on maintaining respect, honest and fairness
5. Creating a Sense of Purpose
Your employees are an asset to your company. Each employee, no matter what job role are equally as important as one another in contributing to the process effectiveness of your organization. Employees who feel they are valuable to your brand are significantly more likely to feel satisfied in their role, produce quality results in their role, and feel reduced stress in the workplace as opposed to those who feel no value. Ensure that you make the time to stress the importance of each employee’s role and how they contribute to the success of the company.
Oct 26, 2015 | IT
A report by the telecoms firm Daisy Group found that 47% of managers thought they rarely or never suffered from poor connectivity, when in fact companies are experiencing an average of 45 minutes downtime every week.
How much is poor connectivity and downtime costing business?
The report found that this is equal to more than £500 per employee, per year, in lost productivity. A prior study, earlier in the year by OnePoll found that slow internet connections and IT downtime is costing the UK economy £11 billion a year in lost productivity. And a study by Aberdeen Group UK found downtime cost an average of £138,000 per hour, varying across industries from £55,000 per hour in the media sector to £3.91 million per hour for large online brokerages. The costs come from paying employees to simply do nothing, to paying an individual or firm to fix the problem and of course any lost sales. There are also hidden costs such as employee overtime, missed deadlines, damaged reputation and customer dissatisfaction.
What’s the problem?
The problems can often be simple ones such as faulty modems, damaged wires or corrupted profiles. These kind of issues can normally be resolved in a day or so, even a few hours. One survey of UK, US and Canadian firms found that 82% of network downtime problems were caused by IT personnel making errors when configuring changes to the network. An irritating truth, when you know the majority of these kind of errors could have been avoided with more diligence or experience. With the rise of joint space and co-working environments wi-fi connectivity can be an issue. Owen’s Garage is a co-working space in the US and Kurt Rathmann, CEO of ScaleFactor Partners uses it regularly. Inevitably there are connection issues now and again and he eventually calculated that a four hour internet outage could be costing him up to $3000.
What do employees get up to during this downtime?
• 60% – taking care of personal business
• 48% – taking an extra coffee break
• 25% – checking Facebook
• 7% – indulging in a spot of retail therapy
• 9% – looking for a new job
• 30% – swoting up on some work-related reading
What should managers be doing?
The survey also asked managers what they thought they should be doing about such issues. One in eight said they didn’t know, 17% said they’d review things when the contract is due for renewal and another 17% said they would only review things when staff make a complaint. Really, as businesses change and grow, connectivity should be reviewed regularly and in line with these changes to ensure processes aren’t being held back by slow internet connections.
The government have committed to upgrading broadband for many of the UK’s cities and superfast broadband is spreading fast as providers compete. Having a connection that is built with your specific business, users and activity in mind is important to make sure it will work for you. If you need to hire IT professionals to advise or become part of your in-house team, speak to us and see how we can help.
Oct 12, 2015 | IT
We’ve been very busy behind the scenes recently working hard on some exciting new projects, and felt it was time to share some of our updates and developments! For over 15 years Langley James have been providing bespoke IT recruitment for organisations of all sizes and specialisms. As our team of experienced professionals has grown so has our portfolio, excellent service and our aspiration for growth.
ISO accreditation
We’re working to continually improve our internal processes and programmes to make our service even more efficient and tailored. We are currently en route to becoming ISO accredited to ensure our fair practices and great service are recognised, and to help us increase productivity and minimise waste.
New Senior Recruiters in our London office
We have recently expanded our team by hiring two very experienced London based consultants, each with over 20 years experience. We’re delighted to welcome these accomplished and highly talented professionals to the team, whose depth and breadth of experience will enhance our businesses significantly. Not only this but being based in the heart of the city means having a presence in the capital, will be priceless for improving our service to London clients and candidates.
HR Focus
Recruiting for IT roles has long been our core focus. However following the strong connections and relationships we’ve built with many organisations over the years, teamed with consultants well versed in HR practices and personnel matters, we are now recruiting for a growing number of specialist HR roles such as HR Advisors and Payroll Administrators. If you are looking for a new addition to your HR team, please get in touch with us to speak to one of our experienced HR consultants.
Website Refresh
Our regular visitors may have noticed some subtle changes to our website recently. We’ve had a bit of a refresh to improve the feel and layout of the site so it’s even easier for you to find what you’re looking for! Our article section also includes some useful pieces to help managers through the recruitment process and to stay up to date with current IT and personnel topics.
We’re here to help, and pride ourselves in offering a boutique style service tailored to individual businesses and candidates, so that not only skills, but personalities are matched. So whatever your recruitment needs, feel free to get in touch with us for a chat.
Sep 29, 2015 | IT
Following the Government’s commitment to help women into work, pledging that women will represent 25% of non-executive boards by the end of 2015, as well as a focus on school curriculums to develop more STEM (science, technology, engineering and maths) skills, especially for girls, and from a young age, women in technology remains a hot topic.
A Fall in the Number of Women in Digital Industries
A report by the UK Commission for Employment and Skills found 27% of those working in the UK’s digital industries are female (that’s down from 33% in 2002, but expected to rise to 30% by 2022). There doesn’t seem to be a solid answer to explain the drop over the last twelve years, and as Aoife Ni Luanaigh, one of the UKCES’s report creators states, the drop is despite “a number of quite good initiatives that are already happening, to encourage more girls at school to take up coding, or to get involved with computer clubs and so on”.
Educating the Younger Generation
While being interviewed about being ‘a woman at the top’, Egnyte CSO Isabelle Guis also commented on education, “I believe a major reason that we are seeing more men than women working in the technology industry is education. There are fewer women in technology graduate programmes and in the marketplace because STEM subjects are still perceived by some to be ‘male’ subjects.”
A report by Gartner backed up these findings and opinions showing the number of female chief technology officers across the industry has remained static at 14% for the past 10 years. Further to this only 4% of CEOs at S&P 500 companies are women.
Raising Awareness of The Opportunities
The BBC, across Radio 4, BBC3 and other platforms, have recently been featuring women in tech and bringing the discussion into the public eye, and there are a number of organisations around the world championing women in technology. So, despite the disheartening figures there is a lot of action to change things for the future of women in technology.
The organisation Code First: Girls, who work with companies to help get more women into tech had, over the last 18 months, 1500+ young women participate in one of their courses or events, helping companies to recruit better tech talent into their firms.
Transparency in Job Descriptions
Vanessa Vallely, founder of women’s network WeAreTheCity explained how greater transparency could be the key to attracting more women into tech roles. For example, knowing if they are to be paid the same as others currently doing the same or similar roles. She also spoke about job descriptions, explaining that underlying masculine language can be off putting for women. She said “I would urge, if you are writing job descriptions, make sure they are good, make sure they excite people and make sure they tell them what the job is.” Vallely also spoke about a number of banks which, she said, pass new job descriptions through a female focus group before they are advertised, helping to soften the language used.
The Benefits of Female Leaders
The benefits of having a more gender balanced company are endless, and the attributes women can bring to the workplace are valuable. According to the Credit Suisse Gender 3000 report, organisations with more than 10% of women at the helm had higher returns than those that weren’t gender balanced. To back this up First Round Capital, recently released a report highlighting that businesses with female founders (or co-founders) performed 63% better than those with male leaders.
An Exciting Future
All great news for women who want to join, or develop further in, the technology sector, and also great news for businesses who want to create a more balanced and apparently, more productive team. Perhaps negative figures that have been released over the last few years relating to women in technology has been the extra push to encourage individuals and organisations to put the steps in place to open the doors to more female digital employees, and we wonder whether 2016 could be a boom year for women in technology.
Sep 29, 2015 | IT
This month the Office of National Statistics released the UK’s latest employment figures. Many experts have commented on some of the key statistics, the potential implications of the rises and the falls, and what it means for the labour market and technology sector. So here’s our summary of the important facts and figures.
This ONS report shows figures for May to July 2015.
- There were 1.74 million people working full-time, 361,000 more than for a year earlier.
- There were 1.82 million unemployed people (people not in work but seeking and available to work), 10,000 more than for February to April 2015 but 198,000 fewer than for a year earlier.
- The unemployment rate was 5.5%, unchanged compared with February to April 2015 but lower than for a year earlier (6.2%).
So, compared to last year the number of people in employment is up and the unemployment rate is down – that’s good, right? Well yes, but there still continues to be a record number of job positions being posted and a large volume of candidates applying for these jobs, yet still 1.82 million people unemployed. One theory to explain this problem, is the ever discussed ‘skills shortage’, or perhaps more accurately a mismatch of skills, between available candidates and the expectations of employers.
15% of Employers Reported That They Had Employees With Skill Gaps
One recent piece of research reported that in the last year 83% of CFOs had to offer salaries above what they were originally prepared to, in order to secure the right candidate for the job, with the right skills. The Employer Skills Survey’s most recent data also found that “15% of employers reported that they had employees with skill gaps, equivalent to 1.4 million staff or 5% of the workforce.” And it’s important to point out that this is only what is reported, many employees are unlikely to admit to, or possibly even recognise, skills gaps. All of this data and evidence builds a strong case for the fact that the skills gap is a long-term problem that the country is facing.
Employers Invest £42.9bn in Training
KPMG’s ‘Report on Jobs’ for August found that the demand to fill permanent tech jobs rose over the summer, as many tech professionals felt confident enough in the market and demand for their skills, that they took the summer off completely! I’m sure there’s plenty in the industry who would contest this view, but it does seem to be true that IT is not the sector most at risk. Changes and developments in technology can be some of the most significant and fast moving changes that can lead to very specific skills shortages. However, employers invested £42.9bn in training in 2013, and Mark Beatson, chief economist at the CIPD stressed recently, the importance for employers to continue to invest in technology to avoid the prospect of increased skills shortages.
Education is often on the receiving end of complaints about the lack of skills in the UK, however the gap between choices made at school, college or university, and the options once ready for employment, can be vast. Similarly, particularly with ever developing technologies, education policies take time to implement, causing a gap there too.
The UK Population Grew by Almost 8% Between 2004 and 2014
However, it’s also worth noting that the UK population grew by almost 8% between 2004 and 2014, and most growth is down to international migration. The demand for labour is keeping up with the growth in the population well, and this year the average pay for UK workers has risen at its fastest rate for six years.
The figures are, on the whole, positive, however the underlying problems of a skills mismatch can lead to a detrimental effect on how organisations deal with their customers and manage to stay ahead of competition. Also, with more jobs empty, comes stress on other employees and increased workload. We’ll be keeping an eye on the markets and industry trends to follow the developments of the skills shortage debate.
Aug 17, 2015 | IT
Hiring the wrong person can prove to be detrimental to your organisation. Now, if you’re using one, your recruitment company will do their best to ensure the right people are in front of you to begin with, but at interview you will get a true feeling for whether this candidate is a good ‘fit’ for your business.
Well-known marketing blogger and Brand Director at Kareco Tim Tyrell-Smith conducted a survey concluding that, “interviewers’ number one concern is fit with the company’s culture.”
Similarly, technology information expert David Bradford reported on a past survey about “how people got their job” which found 56% obtained their job through a personal connection, proving that personal connections and team fit are very important factors in job placements.
So what is the best way to confirm these connections and team fits during an interview? It’s good news that the quirky, oddball, brain teaser type questions that often flummox candidates are going out of fashion. Laszlo Bock, Google’s HR chief said “if you’ve heard that Google likes to pose brain-teaser questions to candidates—like why manhole covers are round—your information is out of date. There’s no evidence that they suggest how people perform on the job.” Never the less, there is definitely a need to be creative in some respect in order to get the most out of your interview and your candidate.
We’ve highlighted some of the interview types you may come across.
Informational
These questions will include topics such as why candidates left their last role, work history and qualifications.
These are essential questions, some of which you may have basic answers to already from CVs or your recruitment agency. Gather as much of this information together before the interview and ask questions about anything you need to clarify. This way you don’t need to spend too much time on the basics.
Role Focussed
These questions will be focussed around abilities, strengths and weaknesses, technical skills and if necessary, leadership and management skills.
When asking role focused questions you may opt for open questions, allowing the candidate to speak broadly, such as “what are your strengths?” or you could be more specific and ask a question like “could you explain something complicated, but that you know well?”
Company Questions
Some organisations will choose to ask candidates what they already know about their company and how they feel they could add value.
Questions such as “why do you want to work here?” and “how would you fit into the team?” are often criticised because the reason the candidate is at the interview is to learn more and discover whether they are a good ‘fit’ for the team and business. An alternative could be to ask a more creative question such as “Can you pitch the company to me as if you wanted me to buy your product or service?”
Personal
Questions about the candidate’s personality, hobbies, interests and future goals.
“Tell me about yourself” can be a good opener to asking a few questions about the candidate’s non-work life, however it’s very vague. Questions like “where do you see your self in five years?” are popular but also perhaps a little dated. An alternative could be to ask “what’s the biggest decision you’ve had to make in the past year? Why was it so big?” This could be answered with a personal or work related answer and allows you to assess the candidate’s decision making skills.
Behavioural / Competency
These are the juicy questions that may take up a large section of the interview. They come in many forms, but essentially are “tell us about a time when…” type questions that really test a candidate’s ability to think on the spot and select relevant, quality examples of their work and experiences.
These questions can be specifically targeted around your organisation, its culture, goals and the role you’re recruiting for. For example “tell me about a time you set goals, and how did you achieve them?” or “tell me about the relationships you’ve had with the people you’ve worked with.”
The ‘Trap’
Some see these kinds of tricky/curveball questions as a way to test candidates on their ability to react under pressure and be creative with an answer.
As we mentioned, the fall in popularity for asking ‘trap’ questions is only a good thing for both candidates and employers! However, questions such as “what is your biggest weakness” remain popular and opinion is divided about whether or not these questions are useful. Tricky, but more relevant questions could include “what’s your definition of hard work?” and “tell me about a time something didn’t go as planned.”
It can be challenging to evaluate someone in an interview alone, so spending time selecting and composing the most appropriate interview questions for your business and the role you’re recruiting for is worth the investment in time. Here at Langley James we’ll work with you to find the best possible candidates for your IT and HR roles. Contact one of our consultants today for more information.
Aug 17, 2015 | IT
As we know, taking a longer amount of time to fill a job vacancy can have a negative effect on productivity and an organisation’s ability to reach goals. In order to ensure the hiring process is efficient and effective, a strategic approach to recruitment could be useful.
Research by Hired, the online marketplace for tech talent, found recently that 65% of UK tech companies foresee a negative impact on revenue due to their inability to hire the talent they need. Sophie Adelman who is Hired’s general manager said “the fact that the majority of companies are still sourcing candidates through referrals and job boards suggests that they might not be able to access, or have visibility on, the best talent for their teams. In order to thrive and compete within the global market, companies need to take a more strategic approach to hiring.”
“Instead of waiting for referrals and looking at job boards they can benefit from proactively accessing a focused and curated pool of technical talent that has been vetted for both quality and intent – this will significantly impact the efficiency of the hiring process and contribute to their overall competitiveness” she added.
Marketing and Recruitment
One notion that is often discussed is the need for the recruiter to act more like a marketer in their approach to hiring. Targeting candidates with engaging and tailored content can convert a ‘passive candidate’ with an interest in the organisation into an ‘active candidate’ who will actually apply for a role.
Susan Vitale – Chief Marketing Officer at iCIMS explains that “Technology, such as a recruitment marketing automation tool, mobile-optimised career sites, and a social media presence, can streamline processes and provide you with pools of warm talent from which to source when your organisation is ready.”
Consistency
Following on from this, consistency across the brand could be a key aspect to marketing your organisation and your roles to potential candidates. Consistency across your website, social media and during the interview process will help candidates to get a real understanding of the business. According to a recent iCIMS study, “78% of job seekers agree that the look and feel of a company’s career site is moderately to highly important to their decision to apply for a job.”
The Steps to Creating a Recruitment Strategy
Nicola Hawkinson founder of SpineSearch – highlights six steps to creating a clear recruitment strategy and said, “you need to treat the hiring process as a key business practice — have a plan, make a timeline and reach your goal”. Her steps are:
- Identify the vacancy and need before beginning the search. Identify the reason for hiring, whether it is due to expansion, increasing customers, or replacement for an existing position.
- Create a search strategy. Consider search methods, a quota of candidates to interview before making a selection, a defined screening and interview process, criteria for selection and the selection team.
- Interview slowly. Build a steady stream of applicants and interview them in groups of three to five per day for back-to-back comparison.
- Keep candidates engaged throughout the selection process.Good candidates are likely considering multiple opportunities, so you do not want to lose them at any point during the process through a lack of communication.
- Don’t ignore red flags. Contact three to five references with a detailed questionnaire tailored specifically to the business or practice.
- Design a detailed on-boarding process to improve retention. Consider detailed introduction/enrolments and possibly a buddy for your new employee.
Keeping Up to Date
We have mentioned the increased usage of social media, however one recent article from the IT Portal suggests wearable should be the new inclusion in your recruitment strategy! They suggest that, “wearing Google Glass at an interview will allow you to record it and evaluate [the interview] back.” Or that the use of “bracelets or wristbands can be worn by your employees that monitor their heart rates. If one rises abnormally high you will be alerted to it and can tell that employee to take it easy.” We may be a little away from these techniques, but these concepts are real and available, and for the tech-savvy firm could be a seen as a real completive advantage!
Taking a proactive and strategic approach to hiring should hopefully lead to better long term hiring decisions that will have a positive effect on your business. A recruitment strategy will also help to ensure that all employees involved in the recruitment process are on the same page and take the same approach.
If you’d like to speak to someone about hiring IT professionals for your organisation, get in touch with one of our experienced consultants for advise and recruitment guidance.
Aug 3, 2015 | IT
Despite the opinion of many, cyber attacks are a real threat to small and medium firms across Britain. A survey by security firm Kaspersky Lab found that many SMEs don’t believe they are at risk, with 59% thinking the information their business holds is of no interest to cyber criminals.
Last year over a third of SMEs were victim to a cyber attack, costing on average £75k – £311k. The government is urging companies to take cyber security more seriously.
Phishing, insecure passwords and IT vulnerabilities among top threats
Phishing schemes and fake emails that trick people into revealing their personal details are still around and are more sophisticated than ever. Insecure passwords are also a top risk, with employees using the same or similar passwords for multiple platforms, often without ever changing them or sharing them with colleagues.
Network vulnerabilities allowing in viruses or other malware, have affected 45% of small businesses in the UK according to the 2014 Information Security Breaches Survey. Web applications are also susceptible to various attacks including remote code execution, SQL injection, format string vulnerabilities, cross-site scripting (XSS) and username enumeration.
Involve staff, train and educate
It is vital that organisations have a strong understanding of the kind of cyber breaches that may affect them. It is important to educate the business as a whole, so employees at all levels understand the potential risks. In many security breaches, there is some element of employee involvement, for example unauthorised access to data or systems.
Mentoring is often highlighted as an important step to educate staff, experienced IT professionals can offer invaluable advice and guidance about cyber security. Board members may also be keen to see the return on their investment into security, so involving them in training and reporting on improvements could be important.
Review, plan and be prepared
You often can’t move in today’s workplace for risk assessments, however completing one to review your cyber security is vital. It will allow you to plan and implement any changes to keep your business safe. As with any risk assessment, regular reviews are vital for keeping up to date and ahead of the game.
Prevention is better than a cure
Basic steps such as downloading software updates, using strong passwords, deleting suspicious emails and using antivirus software set you in good stead to prevent attacks. Other steps may include backing everything up so any lost data can be quickly restored. However it’s important to note that portable devices such as USBs and hard drives used to back up data, can themselves be a security risk.
Consider the actions of others. For example, clients and agencies may be a link into your organisation, and hackers can target human weakness as much as software vulnerability.
Smaller businesses can also be a link to larger organisations (they may be a supplier for example) so it might not be their data hackers are after, but rather a route to somewhere else. The UK economy is highly dependent on SMEs, however SMEs are also highly dependent on the internet and IT, which could potentially leave them at risk. There are many firms out there able to provide the security that SMEs need, and many SMEs that need extra security, but there often seems to be a gap between the two. Whether it’s a lack of communication or understanding or a feeling of complacency, businesses are legally responsible for the information they hold as well as having a moral responsibility to customers to protect their information. Cyber attacks are a real threat to all businesses, but with simple steps smaller businesses can protect themselves and be prepared.
Aug 3, 2015 | IT
Last month the government announced new steps they are pledging to take in order to close the workplace gender gap. With the new national living wage and legislation requiring companies with more than 250 employees to publish details of their pay gaps, the Prime Minister said “transparency, skills, representation, affordable childcare – these things can end the gender pay gap in a generation.”
In the UK, and consistently around the world, women still earn less than men. But what does this mean for organisations, workforces and for the nation’s 28.5 million women?
Equal opportunities
The debate remains that some women may opt for more of a work life balance to the detriment of their pay packet, and not all women strive to be board members. The ILO (UN’s International Labour Organization) found that “mothers were more likely to have career breaks, switch to part-time work, choose jobs that help to reconcile work and family – which are usually lower paying – and miss out on promotions”.
However opportunities should be equal in all situations. Flexible working rights, tax-free childcare schemes, new enterprise allowances and public awareness campaigns, such as International Woman’s Day, are all factors that are helping to close the gap in equality. However, the pay gap in the UK stands at 19.1% and is above the EU average of 16.4%.
Still, there are more women-led businesses currently in the UK than there ever has been as well as a record number of women in work, suggesting things are heading in the right direction. In April this year 285,000 working couples became eligible to share maternity/paternity leave – another step towards making opportunities equal.
The benefits of gender diversity to business
One of the most prominent figures representing women in IT, Dame Stephanie Shirley champions diversity in the workplace in all forms, not just gender. She has a mission to get a million people with Asperger’s syndrome into the IT industry by 2020 and has also tackled the subject of ageism. She advised: “women must recognise and grab the many opportunities the tech industry offers.”
Diversity in general is beneficial to the workforce and is said to help business growth. Pinky Lilani, founder and chair of a number of awards which attempt to recognise influential women and leaders says: “I think women are very collaborative and they do tend to love to work together. I think different dynamics come into place when people are working together – the results are much better. Women tend to think of solutions whereas men can sometimes be focussed on proving how great they are. It is a basic generalisation, but that is the kind of feedback I get from a lot of women.”
Increasing number of female entrepreneurs
This year, the number of female millionaires in the UK increased by a third. Many women who have previously worked for large corporations, but have moved on to have families and grown tired of the politics of the corporate world, have chosen to set up their own business. Flexibility, and the opportunity to pursue a passion may also be the driving factors encouraging women into business. However, a startupDNA survey found that women are half as likely to receive venture capital funding than men.
Is there more to be done?
Despite the government’s efforts, there is still no legal requirement for organisations to act on the gender gap data they are required to publish. It also doesn’t require businesses to carry out equal pay audits, looking at similar work done by men and women and aiming to close pay gaps.
There’s a complex web of cultural, economic and corporate factors that contribute to the current status quo of women in the workplace and it’s no doubt we are in a better position than we were 20 years ago, but there are still steps to be taken to create true diversity and equality in all UK workplaces.
Jul 20, 2015 | IT
From noisy colleagues to uncomfortable chairs, the workplace is full of distractions and unfortunately this can lead to a lack of productivity and concentration. Many of these are inevitable, but a number of these day-to-day distractions are definitely avoidable. Personal financial management service Think Money’s recent report found that 759 hours each year are wasted due to workers being distracted in one way or another.
Colleagues
Noisy workplaces were the main cause of distraction along with getting side-tracked into non-work conversation. There seems to be two types of distraction – self-distraction and being distracted by others. Chatting to colleagues and engaging in some workplace banter is not always a negative thing, it can help to create a positive and productive workplace, but as an employer it can be difficult to ensure this line isn’t blurred.
Technology
Technology, unsurprisingly, was also to blame with slow computers, bad internet connection, checking mobile phones, social media and on-line shopping on the list of interruptions.
The Unplanned
Edward Hallowell, author of Driven to Distraction at Work: How to Focus and Be More Productive explains that we spend 20 minutes out of every hour dealing with unplanned distractions. This could be phone calls or impromptu meetings. He said “the mail used to come once or twice a day, now [email] comes once or twice a second. We’ve broken down all the boundaries and made ourselves literally available 24/7.”
Busy, Stressful Workplaces
Although we may associate a distracted worker with an organisation or department that doesn’t have enough work to do, it could in fact be the case that busy workplaces are just as much at risk from distraction. Those who are very busy, with a number of devices on the go (PC, laptop, phone and tablet) and need to regularly multi task could find they are doing a number of things at once, but non very well. Also those who find themselves taking on the jobs of others, or regularly helping colleagues out, will find themselves distracted from their own job.
Personal Issues
Further more, RAND found that “lack of sleep, financial concerns and giving unpaid care to family members or relatives are negatively associated with productivity.” It goes without saying that if you have personal issues affecting your life at any one time, it’s impossible to completely shut off from these at work.
Combating these distractions could be down to good self and time management within teams, so that unscheduled meetings don’t eat into people’s days for example. The layout of the office might be important, as open plan offices have a lot of benefits but can lead to noisy workplaces. Some organisations may choose to ban social media or clamp down on other distractions, but how about encouraging scheduled down time and refresher breaks during the day? Encouraging general well-being and healthy lifestyle choices at work should lead to happier, more productive employees.
Jul 20, 2015 | IT
According to research by Tech Pro conducted to report on the future of IT jobs, there is a need for IT professionals to diversify in order to stay in their current job roles. The report found that 59% of those surveyed felt worried that their current skill set would become obsolete.
Ordinarily, there are IT generalists and IT specialists, and this research suggests that today’s IT departments require their professionals to be more of a generalist, but with a broader, more diverse skill set. It seems that these professionals are already beginning to address these concerns as 57% of those surveyed are planning to obtain additional training and certifications to put them in better stead for the future.
Within SMEs it could be said that generalists already rule. In smaller businesses it is uncommon to have a number of specialists, but rather a couple of generalists who perhaps lean towards different specialisms internally, but cover all areas of IT to some degree. It is likely that the report’s findings will apply to these individuals the most, as smaller businesses grow and technologies become more advanced and in depth.
There are now such a huge amount of tools and frameworks available and some blame the ‘IT explosion’ of recent years, for changes within IT departments. However Tech Pro’s report “refutes the recent media reports on the possibility that IT jobs may disappear due to new technical advances. In fact, it’s quite the contrary with the increased complexity breeding new opportunities and furthering demand for skilled IT professionals.”
Paul Venezir uses the example of scripting and programming languages when discussing the growing need for specialists and whether the ‘do everything’ IT admin is becoming a rare breed. There are many languages and layers of frameworks within those languages, that would prove challenging for a generalist to deal with. He explains that it’s much harder now for one single IT professional to deal with so many disparate tasks and technologies than it once was.
However, there remains a demand for one or two people within an organisation that understand the whole technical landscape, internal systems and how they all work together. This role is vital, as there may be specialists working in their niche areas but without someone directing and understanding the whole process, things won’t run smoothly. After all, hiring specialist contractors is often the best option for SMEs who need specialist knowledge for a short period of time, such as new software installation or training on a new system.
There are definitely strong cases for both specialist and generalists within IT departments, but developing technologies and a competitive market build a strong argument for the need of generalists to continually develop and diversify their skills. Tech Pro conclude that “as things stand, the future of IT looks bright for both existing workers and newcomers.”
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Jul 6, 2015 | IT
As Britain’s population hits a record breaking high of 64.6 million, a new study by The Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD) has warned of the threat of a significant skills shortage if the older generation aren’t encouraged back into the workplace.
There are 9.4 million workers over the age of 50 in the UK, but between the ages of 53 and 67 the employment rate drops. There are many older people wanting to work but not being hired, and 4 in 10 unemployed older workers are out of work for more than a year.
With an increasing demand on services it seems silly not to utilise the pool of older, experienced and skilled workers keen to continue in work, but how?
The CIPD are urging organisations to “take steps now to reap the benefits of a more age diverse workforce”. Changing attitudes and building a new strategy that revolves around the following, is some of the key advice from this report:
- Inclusive recruitment practices
- Investing in training and development
- Supporting employee health and wellbeing
- Flexible working
- Improving line manager capability
Backing up this CIPD report comes research from the Recruitment and Employment Confederation (REC) which showed that “businesses need to adjust the way they advertise jobs and provide training opportunities or miss the best candidates in the over 55-age group.” The report commented on job adverts and the need to adjust tone of voice and leave out terms such as ‘graduate’ or ‘energetic’ that may be off putting to older workers.
According the Office of National Statistics, the rise in the population is down to both a higher number of births than deaths (46% of the increase) and positive net migration (53%). So as people live longer, they want to work for longer. Older workers have a wealth of experience and skill that they can bring to organisations as well as maturity for dealing with difficult or sensitive situations.
Age UK and the REC have teamed up to launch a best practice protocol guide which “aims to end age discrimination in recruitment and give older people a better chance of finding work.” It guides recruiting organisations in committing to offering opportunities for older workers and highlights the benefits they can bring to an organisation. This might involve upskilling or reskilling some workers or promoting flexible working opportunities.
It’s no doubt that utilising the skills, enthusiasm and commitment of older workers could bridge the gap of skills shortages for many organisations. This issue also highlights the increasing need for true equal opportunities and a ‘blind recruitment’ approach.
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