Category: News

Qube Learning

Empowering Through Education

Posted on | by Akeela Zahair

Now holding the title of the ‘Most Influential CEO’ for the United Kingdom, Joe Crossley has been taking Qube Learning from strength to strength. Working with strong moral calibre and helping people across the country realise their potential, the industry leading organisation is spearheading the way for education provision and employment support.

Joe Crossley, CEO of leading national recruitment and training solutions provider, Qube Learning, heads up a forceful organisation that wholeheartedly champions pre-employment training programmes, Traineeships and Apprenticeships across the nation. Joe’s undeniable commitment to looking at raw talent and how that can change not only someone’s life but a business too, has left large imprints across personal and professional spheres.

A progressive company that is always looking at ways it can enhance the experience for student and employer, Qube Learning supports many individuals, from school leavers to those looking to change their profession later in life and helps them get set up on the path to the rest of their career. It has developed a sensitive and empathic way of working that has been lauded as exemplary, and its courses cover a wide range of topics, as well as delivering programmes from Level 2 to Level 5. Recently, Qube has also been expanding its services to national recruitment. This has seen the advent of Qube Talent, which focuses on providing support to employers and pointing them at the right employees to match the roles they need filling, a service which has proved invaluable to many, with the dust of the pandemic somewhat settling and employers turning back to filling their ranks once again.

Through this platform, Qube assists with the retraining and upskilling of candidates too, using an up-to-date training catalogue. In tandem with this, Qube has funnelled significant investment into its Qube Vision platform; this eLearning solution sharpens skills and encourages the learning of new ones and has enabled learning to continue throughout unpredictable climates. This is part of what has supported Qube in becoming a Matrix accredited Ofsted ‘Good’ provider. Joe Crossley, the CEO, appreciates what it is like to finish education and not know what direction to go in, and is therefore committed to making choices more visible for those in the same place he was. He got on well as a Retail Manager, finding his passion in problem-solving and people management – but mostly, he was inspired by helping the young people working for him to similarly progress.

With Qube’s ‘Steps to Success’ programme, the company created accessible early career courses and worked with some of the UK’s largest employers, developed to give people the tools they need for career advancement. Qube has become a market leader in this sort of work and is a household name for employers and employees alike, fuelling ambition and motivated as always by Joe’s passion for supporting younger people. Joe further bolstered Qube’s model and growing reputation by writing opinion articles, topical news stories on the industry, and moving case studies on their incredible young and mature students; all of these provided clients with a clear idea of what they can achieve with Qube.

The clear and consistent PR and marketing paid off, with a significant boost in users and a growth spurt that shows no signs of stopping. Internally, Qube has also been increasing and developing, too. The culture created within the company is one of constantly striving for bettering oneself, following clear roadmaps and being transparent about milestones. It is fundamental that everyone understands where the company is heading and why, to help it get there. Joe speaks to his team every day, bucking the trend of appraisals and emailing, going the extra mile to keep in touch and ensuring everyone is seen and heard.

Qube took a significant knock at the end of 2020 with the loss of its owner, Gavin Whichello. A mentor and friend to Joe, and someone always willing to productively talk through issues and ideas in detail, Gavin – a gregarious character – was a cornerstone of operation and will be sorely missed. Throughout this difficult time, Joe found himself stepping up to encourage the company towards further expansion: growing provisions across different funding streams, seeing the development of the Traineeship programme and being proud of how far it has come, despite it being a challenge. Additionally, Joe has focused more on becoming a more strategic mind for Qube over the years, developing a long-term strategy for the company that will shepherd it through the next 10 years. Qube have worked closely with IFATE, the Traineeship Policy Team, accruing trustee status with many charities, and contributing towards numerous roundtable events; Joe has successfully rounded out his role at Qube and contributed fundamentally to the business’s progress.

Qube is now also widely known as a 2019 Association of Employment and Learning Providers AAC Award winner, Learning Providers AAC Award winner, and Skills for Care Endorsed Provider. It also recently won the Educate North Social Mobility provider of the year award for its work encouraging ‘disengaged young people’ into employment. It fully believes that everyone has the right to learn in a manner that is comfortable. Therefore, it has a staunch dedication to the goal of not letting postcode or background be an obstacle to education, eliminating that barrier for its service users.

In this manner, Qube is not just an employment provider, but an instiller of self-belief and worth. It wishes to shine a light on what success can be to people who may have never thought education to be an accessible thing for them, facilitating the growth and development of talent and ambition. Through this, Qube has been proving its status as a ‘people first’ business, working with students, customers, employees, and employers to increase productivity in every element of its operation. The clientele that reaches out to Qube are also a widely varied and international market segment, with global, national, and local businesses represented, as well as working with businesses from small to enterprise scale. Therefore, its recruitment service, Traineeships and Apprenticeships are highly scalable across all sizes of business and are accessible and flexible, working closely with employers to provide a bespoke long-term service.

Its work can be described as being on a ‘national scale with a localised approach’, and it has an operations team of skills tutors delivering coaching and learning. This ranges vastly in field, from leadership and management to business services, as well as health and social care, hospitality, retail, warehousing and logistics, and how to work within small, medium, and large-scale companies. Its dedicated learning support specialists are also on hand throughout the course to help students with their Functional Skills qualifications. Quality and compliance are also something that fall within Qube’s remit and reassures Qube’s clientele that its services are delivered with consistent quality, continuous improvement and rigorous quality testing.

Even though the last year has been challenging with the pivot to fully remote work, Qube has been continually impressed by its employees. Each person being committed and hardworking, inspired to help each one of its service users on a personal level, they are charismatic, knowledgeable, and friendly. Its tutors have also learned how to help students manage the increased stress and anxiety of the pandemic. Further to this, in the coming months, Qube is setting up a new internal training team, continuing to work on its online service provision, empowered by the motivation and drive of its team as it moves towards the future.

For further information, please contact Mollie Whichello or visit qube-learning.co.uk

Business Consultancy

The Team Taking Business Consultancy by Storm

Posted on | by Akeela Zahair

Working with can-do attitudes and an unbeatable dedication to helping its clients be the best they can be, Fourstone Partners’ consultancy services are experiencing an ever-increasing rise in demand in its region.

A specialist consulting firm working with a myriad of clients on business development, sales outsourcing, and operational support, Fourstone Partners has developed a reputation for excellence. It is the 2020 winner of the Philadelphia 100 Entrepreneurs Forum, the Big Innovation award, and was named an EY Entrepreneur finalist in the same year. It also made its name in the media when it was lauded as the 38th out of 100 fastest growing enterprises in the Philadelphia region. It has developed a unique approach that allows it to stand out amongst its competition, focusing on a collaborative model when it comes to its clients. Fourstone Partners works to develop a rapport and a personable relationship with the client, prioritising practically in its suggestions, and ensuring that its recommendations are as tailor made as they are actionable. To build upon how it operates, Fourstone Partners’ employees each strive to engage with a client in a way that is high energy, high intensity, results driven, and effective. In this way, its efforts optimize its client’s performance across the board, driving them forward towards a better future.

To do this, it recognizes the importance of a strong set of internal values. Therefore, as a company, it holds to the principles of integrity, loyalty, honesty, intensity, and practicality, all of which it looks for in new applicants and fosters internally. These have remained unchanged since its founding. Furthermore, its mantras pertinently show what a client can expect when contracting this company; it will leave nothing open to interpretation and will always show rather than tell. By doing this it seeks to cut through the jargon and deliver results over promises. Clear, concise, and lucrative interactions are key, and so it thrives on ensuring that every interaction benefits the person it is working for. Fourstone Partners first and foremost find its clients in the workers’ compensation industry and at every level, for example: payers, managed care companies, and medical providers, to name just a few. Its interactions with such a varied clientele have allowed it to significantly better its solutions, and it takes pride in its ability to assist start-up companies’ entry into workers compensation. Further to this, it has given this ‘leg up’ to 12 different companies, encouraging and supporting them throughout the process and into the next stages of their careers.

Hence, alongside the notoriety of its services for clients across the board, it has become especially well known for it attitude towards young companies, bringing them ‘from the idea phase to the revenue phase’. It considers this one of the most rewarding aspects of its business. In tandem with this, each member of its staff is an expert in their field and has a forward-thinking mindset that its clients find refreshing and rewarding to engage with, boasting one of the ‘most knowledgeable teams in the business’. This paired with its practical solutions being the priority focus, it collaborates with its clients through the ideation phase and all the way to implementation. Fourstone Partners has in this way made itself completely accountable for its consultancy advice services. This is a rarity in its industry, and an element that has enhanced the trust between it and its client, ensuring many a return customer and glowing word of mouth reviews. Its dedication to keeping these aspects at the centre of its operational model comes from its CEO, Thomas P. Shivers, who recently participated in an enthralling panel hosted by The Entrepreneurs Forum. He started Fourstone Partners in his basement with a grand total of $500, beginning the journey with only one client. Since then, with ambition and tenacity, the company has reached great new heights and drawn to it a charismatic team that matches the energy of the founder.

Internally, Fourstone Partners is a highly competitive group of people that does not believe the word ‘quit’ should enter their vocabulary. The staff being the driving force behind the company’s momentum and the reason so many of its clients go away completely satisfied, the recruitment process is one of ensuring an applicant will fit in. It seeks great team players, highly intelligent people, and those with exemplary leadership skills. All these things make up its in-house culture, and it believes that every person contributes equally. In this way, the CEO has fostered a culture of mutual responsibility and care within Fourstone Partners’ ranks that ensures all employees take personal pride in their work. Furthermore, Thomas Shivers’ own competitiveness is also continuously bringing new opportunities into the business’s orbit, and the journey has been supported by the many ‘great mentors’ that he encountered throughout education and his corporate career. That very first client whose business catalysed Fourstone Partners was one such tutor, a friend of the CEO’s that had found themselves in need of good sales consulting.

It was this that spurred Thomas Shivers’ idea to grow the start-up into a national consultation service that would rival even the biggest voices in the sector. Nowadays, of course, he is proud to say that it has achieved this; and with such a dynamic and changeable industry, there is no shortage of challenge and opportunity to keep the CEO and his company on its toes. Its numerous consultancy clients each bring a new case and a new angle to the table, meaning that the job is never dull as no job is ever the same – for the CEO personally, who has a background in sports coaching, it draws on his skill for being adaptable in his supportiveness. This means that he has developed an intuition for knowing what a person will respond positively to, and what kind of support they would benefit from, over the course of discussions with them. The skills needed for this is something he shares with his staff, supporting them just as much as they are supporting his business. In this way, he firmly sticks to an attitude of team playing, believing that to be an effective team leader, one must first immerse themselves in that team.

Thus, the hierarchy at Fourstone Partners is a flat one. In addition, the CEO is always on the move within the corporate sphere to see where he may be able to take his venture next. In one of his more recent moves, he has been working closely with his healthcare consultancy clients to grow that element of Fourstone Partners even further, acquiring a pharmacogenomic testing company to enhance this. This company recently won the 2020 Business Intelligence Group Innovation award, and as a toxicology company, it will be seeking to grow the products it sells going forward. In tandem with this, Fourstone Partners bought both a forensic auditing and a legal services company in 2019, both of which it will be similarly seeking to grow in the next few years. From these moves and the increasing influence held by Fourstone Partners, evidently, the collaboration between its CEO and the team has bolstered the good repute it enjoys in its sector and in the corporate world. With such an airtight operational model and exemplary attitude towards customer service, we daresay that the accolades it has earned so far will soon be joined by many more.

For further information, please visit Grace Guenzer or visit fourstonepartners.com

Pepper European Services

At the Top of his Game

Posted on | by Akeela Zahair

Most Influential CEO 2021 – Fraser Gemmell

Having captained rugby teams at both Oxford and Auckland Universities, Fraser Gemmell, CEO of Pepper European Servicing, has spent decades proving his mettle as a strong leader on and off the pitch. His appointment to the head of the pan-European Servicing and Asset Management company just two years ago has provided the stage for Fraser to confirm that strength, having led the company through its best year yet in 2020, despite the challenges presented by Covid-19. Now, named the Most Influential CEO of 2021, Fraser tells us more about Pepper European Servicing and its successes under his leadership.

Established in 2012 with €0 Assets Under Management (AUM), Pepper European Servicing (PES) is today a diversified and independent, pan-European Servicing and Asset Management business that currently boasts more than €40 billion in AUM and employs a team of approximately 850. Operating in the UK, Ireland, Spain, Greece and Cyprus, PES is growing, with the acquisition of a small business in Italy that is due for completion at the end of May 2021.

Fundamentally, Pepper is an outsourced credit solutions provider for a host of different clients, managing credit investments for institutions that have originated those investments and require expertise in managing certain aspects or elements of their portfolio, and institutional investors, such as private equity firms or hedge funds, which have acquired portfolios of mortgages, commercial real estate, buy-to-lets, auto loans, personal loans and more, sold off by other institutions.

Serving a variety of large firms and financial institutions that operate in a heavily regulated and operationally intensive industry, Pepper has rooted itself in an entrepreneurial mindset that is highly ambitious and growth oriented. Uniquely built from scratch, unlike many of its competitors which have typically been spun out from large banks during deconsolidation processes, PES operates in strict adherence to its own values – Can Do, committed to delivering innovative opportunities and solutions; Balanced, that handles the relationship between opportunity and risk to create solutions for success, even in adversity; and Real, Pepper’s guarantee of respect, honesty and integrity in dealing with its network of clients and partners as well as its employees. Driven by those values, the PES team, led by CEO Fraser Gemmell, adds value to its clients via innovative, proactive and data-centric solutions.

Formerly the team captain of the Auckland University rugby club, of various Auckland Provincial representative sides, of the Oxford University team, and an occasional player for the New Zealand Barbarians, Fraser Gemmell has long been regarded as a competent leader. “I have been in leadership positions, both professionally and in an extracurricular sports-based environment for many, many years,” Fraser tells us. “Leadership comes quite naturally to me and is something that I think enhances the way I operate, be that on the sports field or in a professional context.”

His appointment to CEO of Pepper European Servicing in 2019 therefore may have been his most overt corporate leadership position to date, but it is a role he immediately took to magnificently. Having been a major player in the PES team since day one as the primary business plan builder for Pepper across Europe, armed only with a laptop and a mobile phone, he was able to hit the ground running when he took up the CEO role.

Just as he did on the rugby pitch, Fraser has spent many years refining and developing his leadership styles, adjusting them dependent on the contexts he is operating in, but always rooted in the same core principles. Absolute transparency; enormous trust in the team; total clarity and conviction in the direction of his company and what it seeks to achieve; the creation of a very robust culture; and decision making that is grounded in data and analytics are all embedded into Fraser’s mentality as a leader.

This mentality is combined with the ‘lenders’ or investors’ mindset’ that is adopted not only by the executive team but through the entire organisation. It is a mindset that has been developed through PES’s own heritage as part of a global company (the Pepper Group) that owns multiple lending businesses around the globe. As a result, the PES team seeks to constantly go beyond the role of a pure service provider – thinking and acting like an asset owner, underwriting, managing and constantly refining operating strategies just as an asset owner would do.

This enables PES to meet and exceed the expectations of its clientele that is predominantly made up of highly sophisticated, institutional credit investors. Employing an extremely data-intensive approach that comprehensively uses data and analytics to demonstrate both capability and value-adding, PES seeks to operate with absolute transparency, focusing on the underlying performance of a position that is rooted in data. It is a unique approach that sets Pepper apart from its competition, and one that drives the firm to push itself further by asking itself hard questions about its strategic goals, and by striving to contribute to the broader momentum of its market, rather than waiting to play catch up.

In Fraser’s view, the proactivity that is such a key driver of PES’s development would not be possible without the teams located across the continent. “If the culture wasn’t what it was, and our people weren’t who they were, then we wouldn’t have achieved the successes that we have,” he asserts.

While technology and robust processes are integral to PES, as a human capital-intensive business, it is the people and culture that are truly vital to the company’s successes.  “The culture is entrepreneurial and ambitious. We roll up our sleeves and get on with what is required, again a legacy of where we’ve come from – no one’s too big for the job. We also have a growth and learning mindset, constantly seeking to understand what we need to do to be better. I like to think we are very open and very transparent in the way that we ask questions of ourselves to enhance and grow the business. That permeates throughout the organisation.”

Fraser continues, “We hire for culture, we don’t hire for talent. Talent is important but you’ve got to look beyond the CV at what the individual can bring to the business. If they can enhance or contribute to what it is that we’re building at the cultural level, and if the core values are in place, talent will look after itself.”

Once recruited, PES employees are offered extensive training and development, as well as opportunities to have their say in how the business can be better through weekly pulse checks that are part of the firm’s award-winning employee wellness programme, “PES People Matter”. The programme, which was built by employees, for employees, gives Fraser and his executive team insights into the issues that are affecting their teams and take efficient steps to resolve those matters.

“PES People Matter” was just one of the outcomes of the last year brought about by the Covid-19 pandemic. Like so many other businesses, Pepper saw the impacts of the pandemic but unlike many, it reacted immediately and early, moving 95% of its employees to remote working in only a matter of days with a seamless efficiency in which Fraser takes great pride. It is likely that PES will maintain this more flexible working structure throughout the pandemic and beyond, broadening its recruitment net as well so it is no longer limited to the catchment area around its offices when seeking out the best new talent.

In a wider context, Fraser sees Covid having a material impact on the broader European financial sector. Similar to the wake of the 2008 Financial Crisis, this will require European servicing platforms to deliver innovative and proactive solutions that meet the needs not only of their clients  but also that of regulators across the UK and Europe. PES is spending significant time and capital in looking at ways it can drive innovation and deep insights into the impact of Covid on the portfolios it manages.

Despite the intensity of 2020 that was caused not only by the pandemic, but also by a takeover approach from one of its competitors that ultimately fell through and a rapidly changing macro environment, the last year was PES’s best yet. So while Fraser and his team are focused on PES’s recovery from the intensity of the last year, they have also embarked upon an in-depth review which will set out the longer-term strategic direction of the business, ensuring PES continues to deliver the best possible servicing and asset management solutions to their clients.

“Everything we do at Pepper European Servicing, right across the group, is driven by the quality of our people, the robustness of our culture and a myopic focus on data and analytics,” concludes Fraser. “We have a very client-centric and customer-centric view of the world, which is underpinned by absolute trust, transparency, accountability and challenge. While we are proud of what we have achieved since we started the business back in 2012, we are hugely excited about what the future holds. We will continue to set our internal aspirations high and work until we reach them. Then we will reset them and go again”.

For more information please contact Laura Gosling at [email protected] or visit www.peppergroup.co.uk/peppereurope

Working Remotely

Working Remotely is More Productive for 67.6% of UAE Employees: Poly Evolution of the Workplace Report

Posted on | by Akeela Zahair

Poly, released today a new report outlining the evolution of the workplace and changing employee attitudes to the 9-5.

The Poly ‘Evolution of the Workplace’ report provides analysis on the findings of a survey of 7,261 hybrid workers from the UK, France, Germany, Spain, Sweden, Poland and the United Arab Emirates (UAE).

The report noted working from home made employees more productive with lesser concerns for noise and distractions. The survey found that 37% of workers in UAE are worried that working remotely could impact their development and career progression. The survey revealed that 39% of females are expected to feel that way as compared to 35% of their male counterparts in the nation.

The report also examines how attitudes and behaviours have evolved – factoring in key variables such as working patterns and culture, frustration and noise, including what we wear.

“Almost two-third of hybrid workers (64%) believe that office culture has changed forever,” says Dave Shull, president and CEO of Poly. “The uptick in hybrid working is a signal that our professional life is set to transform further. Work equity and equality of employee experiences are now at the forefront of all discussions as both organisations and workers are embracing the new ways of working. This is the change that Poly is helping our customers navigate – enabling them to create balanced and personal experiences for all employees, regardless of location.”

From a UAE perspective, the trend was almost similar with only 45% of the hybrid or home workers agreeing that they could be discriminated against, or treated differently, to employees that choose to be in the office while 34% felt that they would be affected by the ‘noise rage’ if their colleagues were too loud with 21% of the men strongly agreeing compared to 18% of the women surveyed by the report.

The report also revealed that better equipment and technology (44%), attending meetings (34%), brainstorming and collaboration (31%) were the main drivers for coming to the office in the future giving an impression that the traditional office setup was still a viable option for almost half of the country’s workforce.

The report, which surveyed hybrid and office workers who mostly use technology as part of their day-to-day official duties in the UAE, also found out that only 36% would spend two days working from home and three days going to the office. 23% of the workers surveyed said that they would work from home for just three days and only two days in the office.

The report comes in the wake of Poly’s new product lineup announcement for its new Pro-Grade video conferencing devices, which are set to debut at this year’s GITEX Technology Week. The Poly Studio X70 and Poly Studio E70, which are part of the Poly Studio family, are designed to upgrade the video collaboration experience and generate meeting equality by bringing pro-grade audio and video to large workspaces.

 

Always On vs Anytime Working – Why employers need to set clear boundaries to prevent employee burnout

The research suggests hybrid working is here to stay. 82% of respondents intend to spend at least one day a week working from home in the future, with 54% planning to split their time evenly between office and home. One of the drivers for this shift is the emergence of ‘anytime working’ – whereby employees have greater autonomy over when they do their work – with over two thirds of UAE employees (69%)saying the 9-5 has been replaced by anytime working. When asked about the benefits of working from home, the top three responses given were: avoiding lengthy commutes, achieving a better work-life balance and feeling less stressed. Similarly, when asked what they would miss about working from home, people highlighted lie ins, time with family and finishing on time.

However, while many workers have reaped the benefits, working from home has not been a smooth transition for everyone. Worryingly the lines between anytime working and being ‘always on’ are blurring: more than half of UAE workers (58%) felt that the rise in remote working has meant they are ‘always on’ and always available, leaving them unable to relax or switch off from work. Added to this, being expected to work outside of their hours was listed as the second biggest drawback of working from home – after having less fun with colleagues. The findings also show:

  • Difficulty collaborating, lack of IT support and lack of equipment to enable home working are listed within the top five drawbacks of working from home – suggesting many employees have not been provided with the right tools to work effectively.
  • Nearly half of UAE workers (48%) said they worried about missing out on learning from peers and seniors when working from home.
  • A further 63% UAE workers think hybrid or home workers could be discriminated against or treated differently to employees in the office full-time.
  • 27% of UAE remote workers felt that being expected to work outside their work hours was one of the main drawbacks of working from home. In terms of gender, only 28% of the male workers felt this way compared to 23% of the women.

“Anytime working should not be confused with being always on,’” says Paul Clark. “The organisations that promote a healthy work environment and empower anytime working will see a much happier and more productive workforce. This is especially important as we are experiencing the ‘Great Resignation’ phenomenon, where people across industries are leaving their jobs due to the pandemic. Businesses cannot afford to lose talent so must offer the best working experience possible to all its employees, no matter where they are located.”

 

The Future Role of the Office and the Rise of ‘Noise Rage’

The research suggests that there are very mixed feelings about the return to office. While many have missed the camaraderie and connection of seeing colleagues and clients, others are feeling anxious and worry their performance will suffer. What is evident is that for many, the changes of the past year are here to stay – with 72 %  of UAE workers saying that office culture has ‘changed forever’. As a result, while many intend to return to the office, the role of the office and office etiquette are likely to evolve.

The survey suggests noise will be a particular hot button for returning workers, with the potential to cause friction between workers:

  • 61% of UAE workers expressed concern that noise levels in the office will make them less productive.
  • 60% of UAE workers worry they will be prone to “noise rage” if their colleagues are too loud.
  • 64% of UAE workers think they’ll get fed up if their noisy coworkers break their concentration.
  • 57% of UAE workers fear that they will be more prone to outbursts in the office now that they’re unable to mute themselves or turn their cameras off.
  • Comparatively, 51% of UAE workers are looking forward to returning to the office because of the noise at home.
  • UAE’s healthcare, legal, arts and culture emerged as the industries that are likely to be affected by noise levels upon returning to the office environment.

Despite the concerns, workers are looking forward to having more person-to-person interactions. Office banter, going for lunch with clients/ colleagues and office camaraderie are listed as the top three things workers miss about the office. The findings also highlight how the role of the office will evolve. When asked how people would see themselves using the office in the future, results tended to be practical and task-oriented. The ‘top three reasons to go back into the office’ were brainstorming/collaborating with colleagues, attending meetings and access to better equipment and technology.

Corporate image has also changed. Even industries such as financial services that have always expected employees to maintain a certain standard of dress are now becoming more relaxed. 61% of UAE workers in finance think that hybrid working has brought about the death of the suit, and that wearing suits might go away for good – eight points higher than the average of 53%.

“The role of the office and what people want to use it for is changing. It’s evident that people have craved human interaction since working from home and are looking forward to getting back to the office,” says Paul Clark. “However, noise is a legitimate concern for many, particularly for those younger workers that are new to the workforce or a new environment. To address the rise of ‘noise rage’, organisations need to provide employees with the right technology, such as noise-canceling products, to reduce distractions, improve productivity and ensure equality of experience. Where possible, organisations should also look to create dedicated quiet spaces (booths, more rooms, spacing out desks) equipped with the right technologies.”

 

The Impact on Young Workers and their Future Careers

The findings highlight the impact remote working has had on young workers and how their careers could be in jeopardy, with many worrying about the return to office. Two-fifths of respondents have been unable to visit their new office – either because the company had moved offices, or they joined during the pandemic – a figure that rose to 49% of 18–24-year-olds in the UAE. Of the young workers who have not yet visited their office, 80% of workers in the UAE said the thought of visiting the office for the first time, and the potential noise levels, kept them awake at night.

Younger employees also worried about the impact of working remotely on their abilities to form relationships and communicate with their peers, with many worrying that this could hold them back:

  • 52% of workers in the UAE aged 18-24 were concerned that working remotely would have a negative impact on their development and career progression, compared to the average of 43%.
  • 53% of 18–24-year-olds in the UAE worry that remote working has made them less confident in their ability to communicate and work with colleagues effectively, compared to the average of 42%.
  • 50% of young UAE workers fear they have lost the art of small talk, compared to the average of 39%.
  • In the UAE, 60% were worried that remote working could affect their development and career prospects with 40% of the women feeling the same compared to 44% of men.

Poly recommends that businesses think carefully about how they manage any future transition to a more permanent form of hybrid working. Here are some top recommendations from Poly:

  • Understand your employees’ personas to truly understand the personality types within your business and how to get the best out of them.
  • Equip the workforce with the right tools to conduct business from everywhere. Video has rapidly become the de facto way for teams to connect, however, the quality and experience can vary widely.
  • Modernise centralised meeting spaces, while enabling the ability to connect and collaborate from anywhere.

“To unlock the benefits of hybrid working, organisations need to keep people, technology and spaces front of mind,” comments Dave Shull, CEO of Poly. “Firstly, businesses need to understand employees’ personas and working styles. Secondly, they need to clearly define their future office – fwhat spaces will be needed? Should we create more areas for quiet working or collaboration? Doing so will allow organisations to better understand their technology requirements to help the workforce become happier and more productive. Most importantly, this will ensure everyone has an equal experience, no matter where, when or how they work. This will allow everyone to reap the rewards and truly make hybrid ‘work’.”

Workplace Burnout

World Mental Health Day – 14 Ways to Help Your Staff’s Mental Health This Winter

Posted on | by Akeela Zahair

By Thom Dennis, CEO at Serenity in Leadership

World Mental Health Day (10th of October) is nearly upon us and after unprecedented global change and trauma, where many of us became ill, developed long term chronic symptoms, lost loved ones, lost jobs, weren’t able to socialise, had to home educate our children, developed an increasingly poor work/ life balance, weren’t able to go on holiday, were furloughed, were pinged and isolated, mental health has never been more important. Today many employees are still facing worries about redundancy, face a lack of opportunities or suffer from bullying, harassment, or workplace stress.

Whilst the stigma of mental health is slightly improved from a decade ago, and the Olympics may have been a watershed moment for mental health in sport, mental health is the number one reason cited for sick days in the UK and is on the rise. Before the pandemic even took its stranglehold in the UK, it was estimated by Deloitte in January 2020 that mental health issues cost UK employers up to £45 billion a year.  Today the additional cost of the pandemic on mental health is not yet fully known or quantified but 18-24 year olds, the unemployed, single parents and those with long-term disability or pre-existing mental health problems are more likely to be suffering from new mental health issues.

Recent months have also seen a spike in workplace burnout, with research suggesting that symptoms of burnout increased by 24% in UK employees in 2020. Many employees are suffering from lack of sleep and then chronic daytime fatigue, feel depleted, irritable, resentful, anxious or depressed, have trouble focusing, and have blurred lines between work and home life.  Health is not just physical.   Mental health affects every aspect of someone’s life, including their work, and if that isn’t enough to make us do something, the hidden costs of an unhealthy working environment come to enormous sums that no business can afford to ignore.

 

Every business can support struggling employees, and better still, can proactively ensure that being at work is not part of the problem, particularly as things are still likely to be more difficult than usual this winter in the health arena. Here’s what you can do.

  1. Employee experience is at the core of good business. Steve Whitton, the Founder of the Global Movement for Mental Health in the Automotive Industry, says we shouldn’t just be talking about customer experience because employee experience is equally important. Leaders should ensure the working infrastructure, ethos and culture of the business focuses on looking after their people.

 

  1. Take the temperature of what is going on in the business by finding out how your people are. If you are a manager, your job is your team and looking after them first and foremost will drive creativity, profit, performance and productivity. Regularly check in with staff to see how things can be done better to support them, make sure workloads are balanced and encourage collaboration on projects and mentoring.

 

  1. Prioritise wellbeing – Younger people coming into the workforce are vocal about wanting to know how their new employers intend to look after their wellbeing and mental health, but this is now no longer unique to the younger age groups. Covid 19 has taught all generations that good mental health needs to be prioritised in the workplace.

 

  1. Understand a problem-solving mindset doesn’t always work. Not everything can be fixed, sometimes we just need to be supported. Discuss mental health openly and encourage your team to check in on each other too.

 

  1. Don’t just recruit a version of you. Actively choose diverse candidates to improve the atmosphere and culture of a business, in addition to all the commercial reasons it’s good to have a team rich in different experience, skills and knowledge. 

 

  1. Create a culture that supports mental health. Most employees still feel they are unable to address their mental health issues with management and that it will count against them. We need to move away from a culture that says if you are overwhelmed or have too much on your plate it is a sign of weakness. An open workplace culture that approaches mental health openly and without judgement encourages their staff to be honest about their situation.

 

  1. Then implement a clear mental health policy and invest in a mental health programme. This should include a definition of mental health, the signs to spot someone struggling, and clear strategies in place to support employees experiencing problems. Wellbeing programmes are recognised tools to manage mental health in the workplace including offering professional advice on mental health related topics and pressures such as family or health problems, bereavement and debt.

 

  1. Educate staff on spotting the signs early to help prevent an employee’s mental health from spiralling. Offer mental health support to an employee if you notice changes in their behaviour, such as if they appear overly tired, anxious and withdrawn, or there is a decrease in their motivation, focus, creativity or productivity.

 

  1. Don’t burnout your employees. Promote a healthy workplace environment that empowers staff and allows employees to thrive. Don’t ask your employees to burn the candles at both ends. Respect their weekends and their time once they have finished work for the day. Allow them to subsequently take time off if they have had to work longer hours for an acute pressured period. Encourage them to take their holidays.

 

  1. Ensure confidentiality. Employees need to feel reassured that their personal information will not be shared with anyone they don’t want it to be.

 

  1. Don’t depend on low statistics to prove that bullying and harassment doesn’t exist in your organisation. Even with strong protocols in place, many bullied and harassed employees will not report it. Actively protect against bullying and harassment in order to improve mental health on an individual and systemic basis.

 

  1. Be emotionally intelligent and remove the mental health stigma. Only 13% of employees feel comfortable discussing issues related to their mental health in the workplace. Set an example by speaking up about what you struggle with to be a real mental health influencer. Encourage all genders to talk openly to break down any stereotypes.

 

  1. Give your employees more say in where they work. Allow employees to have a say in how often they come into the office versus working from home. For some, working from home is hugely beneficial in avoiding commutes, or having better flexibility with childcare. Others may prefer to work in the office as it helps them have a separate work identity and a change of scene.

 

  1. Allow flexible working hours so staff can start earlier or finish later in order to support their mental health. Mental health issues are often accompanied with insomnia which means those suffering with their mental health often struggle with early starts. Equally, giving employees more time in the mornings to deal with other demands like getting the kids ready for school can relieve pressure and stress.
Gender Pay Gap

Beyond Gender Pay Gap Reporting: Diversity is a Whole-Team Job

Posted on | by Akeela Zahair

Gender pay gap reporting alone does nothing to reduce disparities in wages or encourage workplace diversity and equality, argues David Bernard, CEO of artificial intelligence firm AssessFirst.

David explores how businesses instead must implement processes for inclusive recruitment – or gamble with critically untapped performance.

At the current rate of progress, the gender pay gap will take around 200 years to close. This is not hyperbole from social justice activists, this is from the World Economic Forum (WEF).

The WEF was once criticised for fortifying that pay gap, so when the same group begin warning of the severity of gender pay disparity, we can be assured that current policies, such as gender pay gap reporting, are not ‘fixing’ the issue anywhere near fast enough.

Since the gender pay gap is a topic that divides opinion, let’s clarify what we mean by the term. It is not – but is often confused with – equal pay. The notion that men and women performing the same role must be paid equally by law.

Rather, the gender pay gap refers to the differences in pay between men and women across an entire organisation. If we are looking at gender pay gap reporting in the kindest light, we can say that it has, at best, created discussion and debate. Indeed, you are reading such a discussion now.

Companies that diligently fill out these reports in the belief that they are contributing to some future national wage parities are mistaken. Despite The Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) promising “unlimited fines and convictions”, The Guardian discovered in 2019 that precisely zero companies had been fined, yet hundreds of businesses had not reported their data.

Three years after it was launched, there is little reason to believe that reporting pay is advancing fairness and inclusion, as was promised on its much-heralded launch. Even if current polices appear tokenistic, businesses have two essential reasons to pursue I&D (identity and diversity) strategies.

First – and most important – is the moral obligation to fairness. Secondly, the performance of a company increases if the correct I&D strategy is implemented.

 

How does I&D make your company perform better?

In their study “Diversity wins: how inclusion matters”, McKinsey analysed data from 1,000 large companies across 15 countries. They observed the correlation between performance and gender/ethnic/cultural diversity in corporate leadership.

The results are compelling: “companies in the top quartile for gender diversity on executive teams were 25 percent more likely to have above-average profitability than companies in the fourth quartile.”

Regarding ethnic, cultural and gender diversity, they found that “top-quartile companies outperformed those in the fourth one by 36 percent in profitability”.

But how so? The findings show that when diverse people meet, they enrich the company with varied perspectives inherited from their personal background and experience. They can tackle a larger variety of issue and tasks, bringing more creativity and innovation to their teams, according to Scientific American.

In addition, businesses that display a robust I&D strategy are likely to attract a larger pool of potential candidates who share this vison, resulting in highly engaged personnel. As Gen Z enter the workforce, attracting the best candidates will require a visible commitment to a diverse workforce.

In the US, the National Association of Colleges of Employers (NACE) asked new graduates to rank the importance of a diverse workforce. That first year, diversity ranked 12th out of 15 options. By the spring of 2020, it had risen to seventh out of 19 options; over 79% of respondents called it “very important”, a marked increase form its first survey in 2008.  

Perhaps no example proves the value of diversity better than Qantas. In 2013, they posted a record loss of AUD$2.8 billion. The future of Australia’s national airline looked bleak.

By 2017, Qantas had turned around its dire finances to the effect of a record AUD$850 million profit, winning a raft of industry awards in the process. Commenting on the spectacular turnaround, CEO Alan Joyce told The Australian “We have a very diverse environment and a very inclusive culture.”

Those characteristics, according to Joyce, “got us through the tough times…diversity generated better strategy, better risk management, better debates, better outcomes.”

 

How should companies implement I&D?

The Qantas turnaround shows how it is prudent to discard generalities and focus on your company’s specific situation. This task requires more than a single point of view – it’s job for the entire team to lead to avoid bias and blind-spots.

To discover existing problems that have yet to be articulated requires giving everyone a voice. Doing so means you may discover problems you were not aware of. Everyone’s outlook is influenced by their own identity and hierarchical level. Amplifying the voice of colleagues can fix this.

The best way to get answers is to ask questions. A survey will allow you to gather a vast number of opinions in a brief time. Choosing to make to make the answers anonymous can make some people more comfortable and help them to speak more freely.

If, for example, you have a discrepancy in gender pay, surveying staff will bring this issue to the fore, explain where the issue is, and how it can be resolved. This is much more useful to individuals and companies than pay gap reporting.

 Examples of questions to ask include:

  • Would you consider yourself as part of a less-represented group? If yes, which one?
  • Would you say that our company respects individuals and values their differences? (With a long and open answer box)
  • Which actions implemented by our company to promote diversity are you aware of? What other actions would you recommend?

It is an important to remember that, despite the discord that can surround I&D, we must never succumb to simply aiming for figures, ticking boxes or presenting a picture of what we think looks good.

The process must be kept human. Productive I&D should not be about equality – rather equality of opportunity to thrive individually and collectively.

 

The Recruitment Process

When recruiting, we should not be looking to allocate quotas. And, to execute this strategy fairly means removing cognitive biases.

Cognitive biases are conditioned by past experiences, but also by our emotions, cognitive abilities, and social pressures. One of the most telling and common bias is how we can see how they affect others yet struggle to admit they control our own actions.

Without a process to remove these biases, I&D risks becoming as tokenistic as gender pay reporting – good intentions with little real-world benefit.

CEO Irene Jeremic

The Educated Entrepreneur

Posted on | by Magdalena Lew

Being able to make quick and effective business decisions depends on having the right information to hand. The team at TheTableau are experts in ensuring that organizations can make the right decisions from the right data. The company has thrived thanks to the stalwart leadership of Irene Jeremic, who justifiably won the title of Most Influential CEO, 2020 – Canada in last year’s CEO of the Year awards. With such a strong history of success, we thought it time to examine how she did it.

 

When Irene Jeremic came to TheTableau, she brought over fifteen years of hard-won experience in executive management and operational turnarounds with her. Having worked in both the private and public sectors, she has been able to provide a unique perspective to the firm that has allowed it to achieve solid success.

 

At the heart of Jeremic’s approach is her multidisciplinary education from some of Canada’s most prestigious universities. She obtained her B.Sc. in Computer Science from Simon Fraser University (SFU), her MBA from Athabasca University (AU), and her L.L.M. from the most coveted Osgoode Hall Law School with York University. While studying at SFU, she was approached to join a team working on what was then the largest multi-university project, involving Industry Canada.

 

This strong education, combined with an entrepreneurial spirit, made her the ideal choice to run TheTableau. The company has seen recent successes with Lean Office and Lean Manufacturing solutions, earning a lucrative contract with the leading Canadian wheel manufacturing company, that resulted in the implementation of their 1st Kanban system in the province. While these impressive developments have been made, Jeremic has written several white papers to accompany them. Her “Lean Paradigm™ and Safety Principles for Manufacturing, Mining and Distribution: How to Maximize Customer Value and Safety, While Minimizing Waste,” was presented at the Tokyo’s School of Management in 2019.

 

For Jeremic, the future of the company lies in further development of data applications. The team has started work on bio-informatics solution for healthcare and is considering a private acquisition offer. Of course, she values the work she currently goes greatly, but is already looking for the next big step on her own personal journey. Another interesting career, perhaps a doctoral degree, is within her sights, if she chooses.

 

For business enquires, contact Irene Jeremic at TheTableau Inc. via [email protected] at http://www.thetableau.com

Employee wellbeing

Employee Recognition – How to Cater to your Workforce’s Mental Wellbeing

Posted on | by Akeela Zahair

By Alex Hattingh, CPO at Employment Hero

 

1. Get personal

It’s important to be specific, personal and accurate when recognising an employee. Use positive words, and demonstrate to the employee that you actually understand their accomplishments. 

Outline exactly what they did well, how it impacted a particular project or scenario and highlight exactly how that happened because of their individual successes or participation. The more personal recognition the better as it shows your employee that you really were paying attention to them and their work.

 

2. Provide opportunities

Some employees don’t get the chance to excel because of the nature of their jobs or reduced expectations for certain types of work.

Employees who do their jobs well should be able to earn opportunities for expanded responsibilities and training for job advancement. Don’t let employee recognition end after a few nice words.

 

3. Magnify recognition

While verbal communication is clearly the most effective way to recognise employees, the best strategy is to back it up by publicising employee accomplishments across multiple forums such as company newsletters, dashboards and in team meetings.

Technology-based recognition programs are a great way to do this. They should be mobile-friendly, allowing recognition to happen anytime, anywhere.

 

4. Motivate with financial incentives

Although financial incentives aren’t always the best motivators, they can certainly demonstrate appreciation for work well-performed. The best financial incentives are more open-ended and unpredictable because they motivate people to work their best at all times.

 

5. Non-monetary rewards and bonuses

The best practices for awarding non-monetary or financial bonuses include offering a standard reward, bonus or gift package and rewarding people for outstanding performance with special awards, extra cash bonuses, holiday gifts or recognition for yearly performance.

Don’t let your imagination run away with you when setting up reward incentives for your business. Especially in SMEs, your company budget might not stretch that far. Work out a rough budget per employee and work off of that calculation.

What are employee rewards? Employee rewards and benefits work to reward performance and motivate employees at both an individual or group level. By rewarding your employees, you can improve workplace culture, improve employee engagement and reduce employee turnover.

Below are some examples of high and low budget employee rewards and benefits you can implement in the workplace.

 

High budget incentive examples:

  • Lunch clubs for high performers or people that reach their targets
  • Weekends away for successful teams over a quarter
  • Income bonuses for high performers
  • Tickets for events, attractions, concerts or activities of interest

 

Low budget incentives:

  • Company merch; water bottles, mugs, hats, t-shirts – anything that your MVP’s (most valuable player) can wear around the office to show that they did something great
  • Let them be the office DJ for the day (A niche one! But if someone’s done something of merit it’s a fun little perk you could offer them)
  • Reward certificates or trophies for employees to showcase on their desk
  • Handwritten thank-you notes from the CEO or leadership team

 

6. Facilitate peer-to-peer recognition

As well as you or your leadership team setting up reward and recognition incentives for your employees, you should also encourage peer-to-peer recognition. Peer-to-peer recognition has a huge impact on the performance and overall job satisfaction of everyone in your business. The benefits are endless.

Peer-to-peer recognition can:

  • Help build a trusting culture by creating transparency amongst different departments and authorities. It also eliminates old-school problems of managers taking credit for their direct report’s work or ignoring the value of a piece of work
  • It will help boost employee engagement and retention as employees are motivated to work harder to impress colleagues and therefore stay at their jobs longer where they receive acknowledgement and praise for work
  • Empowers teamwork across the business for team-based projects as individuals feel more appreciated by their peers

There are plenty of benefits that will surface if peer-to-peer recognition is done correctly. Make sure it’s meaningful and ensure your team is recognising achievements or behaviours that are truly worthy of being recognised. Like people who are going above and beyond their everyday job roles to get something done or fix an urgent problem.

Business Values

13 Ways to Develop Sustainable Company Values

Posted on | by Akeela Zahair

Millennials in particular are more likely to spend money with a company, or consider joining their workforce, if it has clear business ethics that align with their own, or if the business shows corporate social responsibility or clear integrity.  These younger consumers are extremely important not least because have also have the loudest voices on social media which they can choose to share at the click of a button. Some companies without a public profile, even if they are extremely large, have felt that lack of profile enables them to behave without a corporate social responsibility conscience, but this is changing.

Clear, strong company values which represent the beliefs and principles that drive the business are becoming ever increasingly important, whether they are aligned with some or all of: sustainability, ecology, fairness, equality, inclusion, diversity, innovation, respect, integrity, passion or respect for the work/life balance and family.

Company values guide the actions of an organisation, characterise its brand, promote employee engagement, unite the workforce, boost competitive advantage and the bottom line, and ultimately shape an organisation’s culture, vision and business strategy. So, we asked Thom Dennis, CEO at Serenity in Leadership, how can we develop (and fully adopt) core values for business success? Here are his top tips.

 

1. Involve everyone. Whilst the core values of a business tend to reflect the morals and beliefs of the company’s founders, offering the opportunity to all colleagues, employees, suppliers and customers to share what is important to them and then working towards a collaboration of common values creates a vibrant culture-rich workplace. Empower, involve and also delegate to others.

 

2. Values are not slogans or token ideas. Values need to be fully integrated into all day to day operations, thought leadership, the hiring process, website, intranet and processes throughout the company. They need to be visible and deeply ingrained into work culture including the business’s vision and mission statement. Ben & Jerry’s values for example focus on social and economic justice, human rights and dignity, and environmental protection and those values are visible at all levels. Values | Ben & Jerry’s (benjerry.com)

 

3. Show commitment and longevity to the cause. Uphold these values by consistently providing updated training and development opportunities to staff which directly reflect your company values. Integrating these values throughout the hiring process encourages new employees to commit to the company from the outset. Do this by ensuring new employees read the company’s purpose and mission statement, and they are talked about, challenged and reinvigorated.

 

4. Be transformative even if it’s hard or a lot of work at the start. Identify barriers and seek to eliminate them. The Body Shop was a pioneer in selling make-up, haircare and bodyproducts inspired by nature and ethically made, and continue to be vocal about protecting our planet, being actively against animal testing, supporting Fairtrade and defending human rights, even under their new ownership.

 

5. Operationalise your values. It was found in a study 100% of leaders in companies had values but only 11% had thought through the values into desired behaviours. If senior leaders are not living the espoused values, it creates cynicism and a huge resistance to change. You have to walk the talk and reinforce the desired behaviours.

 

6. Be an ambassador and ally. When colleagues see you implementing and practising company values, they are more likely to replicate your behaviour, reinforcing these throughout the company culture. Allow people to ask questions and encourage dialogue so they are more likely to get on board. Identify influencers, energisers and blockers, and remove the blockers.

 

7. Be transparent. Every good business should have values that are simple and easy to understand. They need to be aligned and to underpin the company’s purpose. These values should also be congruent with the goals of your organisation even if these are profit driven. Communicate your values regularly and show how working with the purpose is so important.

 

8. Be accountable. Live by your words in every aspect of your business from your suppliers to your team, to your customers. Although perhaps dented by their acquisition by Amazon, Whole Foods still strive to promote team member growth and happiness, care about their communities and the environment, and offer a price win-win partnership with suppliers.

 

9. Develop and deploy a listening strategy. Organisations that set themselves up to really understand their workforce are the ones that will be successful in the coming years. Employ various pulse methods regularly (monthly or weekly, even) to hear what your people are thinking and feeling – technology and AI are advanced today and can facilitate getting to the real issues. Amazon for instance have been asking a question a day such as: “Is your manager a simplifier or a complexifier?”

 

10. Reward team success. Company values can act as goals for your entire team and are best achieved through a joint effort. Whilst it is important to celebrate individual achievement (and typically we do it far too little), rewarding team success should be a priority to create cohesion and harmony amongst employees.

 

11. Become a B Corporation. Certified B Corps are a new kind of business that balance purpose and profit. They are legally required to consider the impact of their decisions on their workers, customers, suppliers, community, and the environment. This is a community of leaders, driving a global movement of people using businesses as a force for good.

 

12. Genuine diversity and inclusion promotes individuality, a healthier working environment, new thinking and respect, and unites us, and is a must have as part of any set of company values in the modern day.

 

13. Review & evolve. Your values should grow with your company. It is important to review and update your values especially when your company is given new opportunities or encounters new challenges. This maintains transparency and authenticity and encourages the organisation to stay up to date.

Flexible Working

The Government Consultation on Flexible Working and What it Could Mean for Employers

Posted on | by Akeela Zahair

By Blaser Mills Law

The pandemic has led to an increase in flexible working and, as restrictions continue to lift and employees return to the office, employers are anticipating an influx of requests around working remotely and flexibly.

The Government has responded to this with a planned review later this year to examine a proposed expansion of employees’ rights regarding flexible working and working from home, with a Government spokesperson claiming the consultation will consider making flexible working the default.

While there is no legal right for employees to work from home, it is important for employers to take this chance to review their current policies around flexible working, and their obligations should an employee make such a request.

 

Responding to a statutory request

Under the Employment Rights Act 1996, requesting flexible working arrangements is a statutory right for employees. An employee has the right to make this request if they have had the same employer for 26 weeks and may only make a statutory request once in any 12-month period.

The employee must make this request in writing to their employer and should include the date of the application, the nature of the change in working conditions they are seeking, and when this change would come into effect.

If an employee fails to attend a meeting to discuss their application or appeal and fails to attend a rearranged meeting without a good reason for example, illness, an employer can consider the request as withdrawn and must then inform the employee.

When an employer receives a request, they must deal with it in a reasonable manner and notify the employee of the outcome, including the result of any appeal, within a 3-month period unless an extended timeframe has been agreed with the employee.

If an employer chooses to reject a statutory request, they may only do so on one or more of the following statutory grounds:

  • Burden of additional costs on the business
  • Inability to reorganise work amongst existing staff
  • Inability to recruit additional staff
  • Detrimental impact on quality of work
  • Detrimental impact on work performance
  • Detrimental to meeting customer demand
  • Insufficient work for periods employee proposes to work
  • Planned structural changes to the workforce or business

 

What constitutes a “reasonable manner”?

Requests for flexible working must be dealt with by an employer in a reasonable manner, and failure to do so could mean an employee has the right to complain to an employment tribunal.

While an employee may not take their case to a tribunal simply because their application was denied, they may do so if their application was incorrectly treated as withdrawn or was rejected based on incorrect data. Dismissal or poor treatment for example, being denied a promotion or pay rise of an employee due to their request can likewise be grounds for a tribunal hearing.

Employers should always ensure compliance with their own internal flexible working policies, along with the Acas code of practice on handling in a reasonable manner requests to work flexibly.

Though there is no statutory right for an employee to appeal a decision on their request, offering an appeals process does allow an employer to demonstrate they are handling flexible working requests in a reasonable manner. In these cases, it is important that both the employer and employee follow the company procedure on appeals.

 

Proper implementation of flexible working

Along with a balanced approach to dealing with flexible working requests, it is also important for employers to consider the wider impact of any flexible working company policies they may choose to implement.

Employers must ensure that any flexible working policies they are considering will not result in certain groups of employees being unfairly prejudiced. If any employees are put at a disadvantage from improper implementation of these policies, it may give rise to a discrimination claim.

One example of this is termed the “childcare disparity” between men and women, whereby women are less likely to accommodate certain work patterns due to a greater burden of childcare responsibility. Employers must therefore consider these responsibilities and any other constraints that could impact employees’ ability to work flexibly.

Likewise, flexible working opportunities should be extended to those unable to work from home to avoid benefitting only those with office-based roles. This could include job sharing, part-time working or flexi-time.

Certain employee rights must also be upheld when working flexibly or remotely, including equal treatment to office-based employees, and access to the same training and promotion opportunities.

Employers should remain mindful of their obligations towards data protection in cases where personal data in stored at an employees’ home and should ensure the same health and safety standards extend to home-based employees as those in the office.

 

Conclusion

The pandemic has had a huge impact on employees’ approaches to work and the need for flexibility in many cases, leaving companies forced to adapt to these changes as restrictions are lifted.

While the Government considers plans to make flexible working the default, employers will need to weigh up the potential benefits, such as increased productivity, against potential negative impacts on collaboration and team cohesion.

If you have concerns about how these changes could affect your business and how to handle requests for flexible working from staff then seek legal advice from a specialist employment lawyer who can advise you on keeping your company policy up to date and the best course of action when handling these requests.

Man using a tab;et with digital solution tech concept

Why Improved Digital Solutions Sit at the Heart of a Successful Office

Posted on | by Magdalena Lew

The pandemic has changed a lot for businesses, whether that’s their customers’ buying behaviour or product demands.

One of the biggest challenges for many businesses was the shift to home working. In March 2020, companies who hadn’t already implemented dedicated digital solutions scrabbled to adapt. Digital transformation was accelerated – McKinsey found that businesses sped up their digitisation by three to four years.

Digital solutions will be key to our business success in the office and beyond. Here, we cover some of the key ways you can use digital solutions to drive your business forwards.

 

Hybrid communication is key

2020 was the year of Zoom and Microsoft Teams. Whether we implemented them into the workplace for remote collaboration or we joined a Zoom quiz, video calls epitomised our year. Now that the work-from-home order has been lifted, it may be less essential to some businesses, but it’s still an invaluable tool.

The many businesses that have embraced flexible working will see the value in continuing to utilise these tools. There’s no better way to mimic in-person sessions than via a video call, and we know that this can keep remote employees engaged.

Our sporadic inability to travel for work over the past 18 months has made many of us re-evaluate how necessary it is. If your North East-based business has clients in London that you used to visit, save precious resources by hosting online meetings. Reserve those trips across the country for critical reviews instead.

 

Drive performance with visibility

For employees coming into the office, there are ways you can use digital solutions to maximise performance. Displaying your company objectives on digital signage screens will help to motivate your staff. This works especially well if you have a large in-office sales or customer service teams who work to defined KPIs.

It also gives them an understanding of how their work contributes to the business’ overall goals. What’s more, when employee and business goals are shared with more senior staff members, people are more likely to achieve them. Sharing real-time data on screens around the office will keep your employees committed to meeting their KPIs and the company’s overall goals.

 

Blend business and pleasure

The true value of digital solutions during the pandemic was seen in how they enabled us to remain connected. The ability to chat via Microsoft Teams, for example, allowed us to feel close to our colleagues even as we were separated.

Injecting some fun into your solutions is a great way to keep your hybrid workforce engaged too. Whether that’s setting up a fun chat on Microsoft Teams where you host midday quizzes or sharing employees’ personal news on a dedicated intranet site, you can foster a great culture wherever your employees are.

 

Keep systems up to date for productivity gains

As well as implementing new digital solutions, chances are that your business has also updated its core systems in the past year. If not, perhaps it’s time to do so. A survey by Dell found out exactly how impactful good and bad technology is on your employees, and the results are stark.

Not only can employees achieve 37% more in a workday when the technology they rely on works well, but for every hour worked, they can save a huge 23 minutes. That equates to 15 hours in a 40-hour working week, highlighting how essential functional technology is to your workforce.

Outdated systems and hardware can hold up your employees, not only impacting their productivity but also their stress levels. The same study found that bad technology can double employee stress levels – with it being 30% more stressful than public singing. That says something!

 

The pandemic and subsequent work from home order accelerated business technology adoption in a way we’ve never seen before. This has been a silver lining of the past 18 months as businesses have implemented digital solutions. Whether your office is active once again or you’ve adopted a hybrid working model, these are the key areas where you can improve performance in your business through digital solutions.

Illistrated concept of an employer holding the employees in their hands as they work in peace

The Ultimate Guide to Creating an Employee Wellbeing Strategy

Posted on | by Magdalena Lew

The COVID-19 pandemic and multiple national lockdowns have once again highlighted the importance of employee wellbeing. One survey found that 36% of employees struggled with their mental health because of the way they were working during the pandemic.

11 million days a year are lost due to workplace stress, so this is clearly a pressing issue. Employee wellbeing should be a priority in any business, regardless of your sector. Employees who feel they are being looked after are happier and more satisfied with their job and their workplace. Happy employees are also more productive and loyal to their business.

If you don’t have a formal strategy in place and you’re not sure where to start, this article will guide you through implementing a comprehensive and successful workplace wellbeing strategy.

 

Understand what employee wellbeing means in your business

Wellbeing can mean different things to different people. For some, it’s the overarching matter of employees’ workplace experience, happiness, and satisfaction, and it branches into a number of areas. It feeds directly into the performance of the business and affects morale, staffing, and productivity.

For others, it’s a laser focus on mental health in the workplace and comes with the availability of counselling and mental health support. Some businesses focus on physical health support with healthy eating and activity initiatives. In reality, there is no one definition, but it covers many of these elements.

How a workplace and an employee’s role affects them personally is a key tenet of employee wellbeing. Initiatives to reduce stress and workload in the workplace are where many businesses start with their wellbeing strategy. This is especially important as work is the biggest cause of stress in the UK.

 

Gauge your employees’ baseline wellbeing

When creating an employee wellbeing strategy, it’s important to tailor it to your business and your people. Frontline NHS workers will have starkly different wellbeing needs than employees at an accounting firm.

Engage your employees to find out what they need support with and what they’d like to see from a wellbeing strategy. Many corporations will jump into this head-first and incorporate trendy initiatives like relaxation areas without consulting their employees when what they really want is more support for their emotional wellbeing.

Carrying out a confidential survey into the existing wellbeing of your employees is recommended because you’ll be able to identify trends, such as people struggling with anxiety since returning to the office. A further exploration of what your people want and expect from a wellbeing strategy will help you prioritise your initiatives.

 

Identify your priorities

Once you’ve received feedback from your employees, it’s time to put it into action. If most people would like confidential mental health counselling available to them, this should be your top priority. Establishing short-, medium-, and long-term goals will help you create a rounded strategy that incorporates all areas of wellbeing while prioritising the most pressing.

Your wellbeing strategy might begin with the introduction of a 24/7 confidential counselling support line, which is immediately available to employees. Then, three months down the line, you could look at rolling out an initiative focused on small healthy changes your employees can make, like taking more breaks away from their desks or offering free fruit as snacks. Longer-term, you could incorporate weekly workload reviews for all employees to help them prioritise and manage their tasks.

 

Offer a blended approach to wellbeing

By now, you should understand the most pressing issues facing your workforce and prioritise your actions. It’s important to offer employees multiple options when it comes to improving their wellbeing. While some may utilise your newly introduced counselling line, for example, others may prefer to seek support privately.

Introducing private health cover is a great way of allowing your employees to seek support in the way that suits them best. After all, if they’re not comfortable using a work-mandated support line, they may be put off from seeking support at all. Offering a health cash plan or private health insurance means they can seek their own support and claim the money back.

The great thing about these solutions is that they cover many options that you may not have considered, like physiotherapy and dental care. Giving employees the opportunity to address multiple health needs is a great way to make them feel valued.

 

Promote and measure your wellbeing efforts

A recent survey showed that 35% of employees don’t know or understand their company’s benefits. What’s the point of putting the hard work into a wellbeing strategy if your employees don’t even know it exists?

Hosting sessions on the support available is a great way to introduce both new and existing employees to your wellbeing offerings. These sessions can also double as feedback tools – your strategy should never stay static but should instead evolve around your people’s changing needs.

It’s important to promote this externally too. 80% of jobseekers would choose good benefits and support over a higher salary, so this is essential to your recruitment efforts too. In a crowded market, you’ll be able to stand out to prospective employees with your wellbeing initiatives.

We know that employee wellbeing initiatives offer a range of benefits for both your people and your business. Supported employees are happier and healthier, which leads to better productivity and increased loyalty. This ultimately translates to better productivity, which allows your business to perform better. Carrying out further confidential surveys will allow you to measure the success of your strategy.

 

Workplace wellbeing is now more important than ever after an especially challenging year. People who are unsatisfied and don’t feel supported at work are more likely to leave and will be less productive. Not only will creating a workplace wellbeing strategy help you to look after your valued employees, but it’ll also translate to improved performance for your business. By following these steps, you can put an effective, flexible strategy in place that’s tailored to your people.