Raconteur on 21st Century Workplace

8/10/2019 Raconteur on 21st Century Workplace

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/raconteur-on-21st-century-workplace 1/16

_ 13. Dec

TWITTER.COM/RACONTEURMEDIA

Do you know your employees? Really know them? Conventi

talent management provides information. But with Taleo, you g

talent intelligence, the deeper understanding and insight

need to attract, develop and retain the best people. After all,

business with the best people wins.

To contact Taleo UK please call 0208 987 1210

SCAN. LEARN.

WWW.TALEO.COM/KNOWS

Copyright©2011, Taleo Corporation

21ST CENTURY WORKPLACE

_ PAGE 04

KEEPING STAFF

MOTIVATED

WITHOUT MONEY

_ PAGE 06

SOCIAL MEDIA GENERATES

CONVERSATION - WHICH

GENERATES BUSINESS

_ PAGE 09

TAKING THE HYPE

OUT OF WORKING

IN THE CLOUD

_ PAGE 12

THE WORKERS’ WISH

LIST: WHAT DO THEY

REALLY WANT?



TWITTER.COM/RACONTEURMEDIA R

21ST CENTURY WORK

Your feedback is valued by us.

Please send in your opinions to

[email protected]

For information about partnering

with Raconteur Media please contact

Freddie Ossberg: +44 (0)20 7033 2100,

[email protected],

www.raconteurmedia.co.uk

The information contained in this

publication has been obtained from

sources the proprietors believe to be

correct. However, no legal liability can

be accepted for any errors. No part of this

publication may be reproduced without

the prior consent of the Publisher.

© RACONTEUR MEDIA

NICK MARTINDALE

A freelance business writer and editor,

Nick Martindale regularly contributes

to a variety of national and trade publi-

cations, as well as The Times. Specialist

areas include HR and workplace issues.

JO FARAGHER

Jo Faragher is a business journalist a nd

editor, specialising in employment is-sues. She is a regular contributor to Per-

sonneltoday.com and her work has also

appeared in the Financial Times.

SALLY WHITTLE

Whittle is a freelance writer, blogger

and editor, who covers business, HR and

technology for a range of publications.

CLARE GASCOIGNE

Clare Gascoigne worked at the Financial

Times for eight years before going

freelance. She writes about personal

finance, small and family business,

and City matters.

NICK GORDON

A writer spec ialisi ng in business

aviation and the travel i ndustry,Nick Gordon is also a scriptwriter

and is currently filming a psychologi-

cal thriller.

CLAIRE MANUEL

Publishing director of Witan Media,

Claire Manuel also is a freelance busi-

ness writer and editor.

TIM SMEDLEY

Tim Smedley is a freelanc

business and social issues

of national publications in

The Sunday Times, Financ

The Guardian.

ROD NEWING

Newing is a freelance busin

who contributes regularly Financial Times, The Time

Telegraph and Washington

DEBBIE LOVEWELL

Lovewell has been deputy e

Employee Benefits magazine

years, having worked on the

for nine years in total.

CONTRIBUTORS

Ȗ Whatever the 21st century work-

place looks like, it will include people-

shaped spaces. New technology may

be bringing about a revolution as pro-

found as the move from an agrarian to

an industrial society, but few would

disagree with the idea that a commit-

ted, engaged and productive work-

force is essential for organisations

to survive or maintain profitability.

But the current business climate

has heightened the need for effec-

tive talent nurturing, says ProfessorPaul Sparrow, director of the Centre

for Performance-led HR at Lancas-

ter University Management School.

“Competitive forces are requir-

ing organisations to take control of

the skills supply chain through the

use of more forward planning,” he

says. “Strategic workforce planning

is aimed at identifying the charac-

teristics of human capital needed

to achieve a strategic objective and

then scaling the activities needed.”

Cris Beswick, consultant and

author of The Road to Innovation,

believes that in the future how com-

panies operate will be just as impor-

tant as what they do. “If we take it

as given that organisations should

have great products and services,

their differentiator will be how their

culture marks them out from the

competition,” he says. “Organisa-

tions that understand how to attract,

retain and develop talent will be the

ones we admire.”

Finding the right people is the first

hurdle to overcome. On the face of

it, increasing numbers of graduatesimply a wider choice for employers;

but there is a growing gulf between

their skills and those required by

businesses.

As graduates often have little in the

way of relevant employment history,

many employers opt to run talent

assessments ahead of hiring, says

Sean Howard, vice president of solu-

tions marketing at SHL, a HR consul-

tancy, with people skills becoming

especially important.

Technology is particularly impor-

tant in helping to attract graduates,

says Professor Paul Sparrow, direc-

tor of the Centre for Performance-

led HR at Lancaster University

Management School, pointing to

the use of “gamification” by com-

panies such as Disney.

“They design their websites to

reflect the sense of playing a strategy

game,” he says. “It’s a more intense

form of a realistic job preview.”

Once on board, one way of com-

bining greater productivity with

attracting and retaining the right

staff is to develop a culture of “intre-

preneurship”, where employees are

encouraged to come up with solu-

tions to problems or suggestions for

revenue generation.

HUMAN CAPITAL Technology may be changing but companiesstill need to nurture people talent, saysNick Martindale

It empowers people

to solve problems

themselves rather than

pass them on

“It’s about giving employees an

opportunity to share their thoughts

and feed back ideas to management,”

says Derek Bishop, director of Cul-

ture Consultancy, a business advi-

sory service. “It’s the frontline staff

in most organisations who can see

most clearly what’s not working.”

Such an approach is helping attract

more staff for IT services company

Fujitsu, according to Ella Bennett,

the company’s HR director for UK

and Ireland. “It empowers peopleto solve problems themselves rather

than pass them on,” she says.

“Certainly with our service

desks, we’re able to attract people

because the jobs are inherently

more interesting. One of the rea-

sons we did this was because of the

levels of attrition and the amount

of onboarding and training that we

needed to do. It’s a real differentia-

tor for us in terms of getting senior

people in too.”

Having an effective induction

process can go a long way to ensur-

ing employees become productive

quickly, as well as boos

retention rates. “Goo

ing should start when

accepts an offer,” says

lips, vice president of

EMEA, at Taleo, a recru

talent management com

can include doing simpl

ciently such as providin

a BlackBerry or laptop

offering them initial de

activities and training su

a dedicated mentor.”But failing to get the p

means more than the los

tially talented employe

Tulsiani, chief executi

Park Interim and Execut

ing. “It’s arguable that the

is the time for all the peo

involved with that new

takes them away from

work. That magnifies th

times by a factor of thre

And in a world wher

so many new calls on

expenses, that’s a cost

needs to waste.

Distributed in

A REVOLUTIONWITH A HUMAN FACE

Companies need the right

technology, but it’s still peop

make a business stand out

Publisher

Sabilah Eboo Alwani

Editor

Clare Gascoigne

Design

The Surgery



04 RACONTEUR TWITTER.COM/RACONTEURMEDIA


Ȗ Engaging employees in the cur-

rent economic climate is a chal-lenge. Unemployment is at its high-

est level since the mid-1990s and,

while those in work are thankful to

have a job, they are also having to

deal with increased workloads and

doing more with fewer resources.

It is no surprise, then, that a recent

survey of workers in 28 countries by

Kenexa’s High Performance Institute

found declining employee engage-

ment levels for the second consecu-

tive year. No job sector or job type

was spared – everyone from clerical

workers to senior managers reported

feeling less positive about their work.

In the UK, it is becoming harder

to reward employees when organi-

sations are faced with making cuts

in other areas. According to Mark

Quinn, a partner in the human capi-tal practice at consulting firm Mer-

cer, inflation stands at around 5 per

cent at the moment, but average

staff pay rises in the next year will

only be around 3 per cent. “This will

be the third year that base pay will

be below inflation,” he says. “The

challenge is: how do you make that

work, and for whom?”

With this in mind, many organisa-

tions choose to direct ‘variable’ types

of reward such as bonuses and other

benefits at the high performers in

the organisation. While this has its

advantages in that the employer can

easily show the correlation between

performance and reward, Quinnsounds a word of warning: “Some

companies follow the logic that if

they’re not going to give as much

money for pay awards, they want

to target it at high performers. This

might be a good strategy for now, but

what is the long-term impact for the

organisation? You could end up dis-

enfranchising people.”

And while salary is an important

‘hygiene’ factor, it is often non-

financial factors – like being treated

fairly or being able to have an open

dialogue with management – that

make the difference between an

engaged employee and someone

who wants to leave.

While compiling the global engage-

ment survey, Dr Jack Wiley, exec-

utive director of the High Per-formance Institute, found that

companies that bucked the trend in

declining engagement were those

that “listened to what employees

want, took action on employee sur-

veys and responded to needs”. Typi-

cally, managers in these companies

met four key criteria: they inspired

confidence in the future, recognised

employees’ contributions, provided

staff with exciting work and dem-

onstrated a responsibility to their

employees and the communities

they worked in.

Ensuring your organisation is

ENGAGEMENT Keeping employees engaged and motivatedwithout a big pay rise is possible, findsJo Faragher

THE BATTLE FORHEARTS AND MINDS

Responding to people as

individuals is really important

in keeping them engaged

Recognition and

acknowledgment will

motivate staff

©FANCY/ALAMY

offering the sort of incentives

employees want – whether that isthe ability to buy and sell holiday, or

discounts off day-to-day shopping –

can pay dividends. Furniture retailer

Ikea, for example, has re-organised

its rewards and benefits around life

stages. “Rather than just present

co-workers with a package of ben-

efits, we’ve thought about what will

make the biggest difference to them

in their lives,” explains Cathy Don-

nelly, HR operations manager for UK

and Ireland. Thirty-seven per cent of

the workforce is under the age of 24,

for example, so the company man-

aged to secure a 25 per cent discount

with mobile phone network Orange

for staff. This didn’t cost Ikea any-

thing, but staff place great value on it.

Ikea has also reviewed its benefits

package and re-tendered arrange-ments with all of its suppliers. Small

changes such as reducing the amount

of physiotherapy available to manag-

ers on its private medical insurance

will only impact a few employees, but

have reduced the company’s over-

all outlay on benefits by 15 per cent.

“Responding to people as individu-

als is really important to keepingthem engaged,” agrees Ann Brown,

vice president for HR at Capgemini,

the technology, consulting and out-

sourcing company. Her organisa-

tion offers a flexible benefits package

where staff can choose rewards that

suit their lifestyle or their priorities.

To ensure it continues to offer ben-

efits they value, it monitors uptake

every year and conducts an employee

survey on what works best.

Regularly acknowledging the effort

that staff put in can generate huge

payback in terms of engagement –

even if it is in a small way. One of

the major coffee chains recognises

high performing staff by present-

ing them with a ‘golden bean’. You

can’t do much with it, and it’s not

worth a huge amount financially,but employees value the recognition.

“Simply by supporting managers to

say thank you, you can get a lot of

benefit,” says Quinn. “The symbol

itself is more important than the

monetary value.” In these straitened

times, a little can go a long way.

NEW PENSIOREGIME COM

CLOSER

From October 2012, the D

ment for Work and Pensi

nounced that employers

quired to auto-enrol peop

and earning a minimum o

annum into a workplace p

The regulations will be p

over a number of years, w

larger organisations (emp

than 120,000 staff) comm

rolment from next Octob

matic enrolment for sma

(fewer than 50 staff) has

layed, and will now comm

2015, instead of April 2014

previously been announc

These workers will have

either their employer’s cuscheme, or a brand new

Nest (the National Emplo

ings Trust). Employers ar

to make a minimum cont

three per cent of salary, a

to-enrolment has comm

identify and enrol new an

job holders into a schem

one-month joining windo

staff are entitled to opt-o

scheme if they wish.

But while the reforms a

tentioned in that they wi

of workers saving for the

ment, even the governm

estimates suggest they w

ployers more than £4.5b

The requirement for sma

es to auto-enrol may hav

layed, but it is thought it hard. A recent survey by

Chambers of Commerce

a third of sole traders tho

pensions requirements w

tal or significant barrier to

ing on staff.

Employers will also need

about how they commun

changes to their workforc

earlier this year by the Cha

tute of Personnel and Dev

found that more than half

did not know about the re




21ST CENTURY WORK

Ȗ While salaries and benefit pack-

ages are important factors in choos-

ing where we work, three quarters

of workers questioned by recruit-

ment group Adecco earlier this year

said that they would prefer to work

for a company that promotes a fun

atmosphere.

“Generating loyalty and commit-

ment need not be about hard cash,”says Andy Powell, director, Adecco.

“In a strained economy, employers

would do well to focus on employee

wellbeing and happiness.”

The challenge for employers is

how to balance fun and productiv-

ity. “The key to knowing where to

invest money is knowing what you

want to achieve upfront, and what

success will look like,” advises Lor-

raine Makepeace, head of talent

management consultancy Chemistry

Group. “So if you want people to be

more energised and make more sales,

that’s what you need to measure.”

A thir d of UK comp anie s have

sports teams, clubs and schemes

that employees can join but some

companies push the boat out just

a little further. The ChemistryGroup’s most successful ‘fun’ pro-

ject has been a company nutrition

programme, which provides employ-

ees with advice on a energy-rich diet,

and invites workers to cook a meal

together once a week.

Online retailer Appliances Online

has enshrined fun in its HR strat-

egy with a policy called “Engage

Me”, which invites employees to get

together with colleagues to take part

in fun activities, and the company will pay 50 per cent of the cost.

These activities can include any-

thing from Spanish and guitar les-

sons to snowboarding and cookery

workshops, explains Nicola Brown,

people and engagement co-ordinator

with Appliances Online. The com-

pany also invests in a beer festival,

Christmas party and summer gala

for employees, along with a sports

day for employees and their fami-

lies. There are regular dress-down

Fridays, and employee charity drives,

including one which saw 12 employ-

ees climb Mount Kilimanjaro and

raise £100,000 for a local children’s

youth centre.

The Engage Me scheme has proved

a particular success with the com-

pany’s 400 employees, but it has alsobenefited the business, says Brown.

“Taking a snowboarding lesson

together, or getting together after

work to go ice skating is a great way to

get people from around the company

interacting with one another, build-

ing relationships, and friendships.”

The scheme has proved so suc-

cessful that a dozen employees

recently signed up for a brand new

“fun” opportunity – a fiv

boarding holiday for m

dozen Appliances Onlin

the company subsidisin

of the cost. This has pr

thing of a challenge, B

fesses: “It’s not easy to fi

when 12 people can all b

office, including the he

finance!”This warm and fuzzy f

lates into hard benefits f

pany, however. “What we

far higher levels of emplo

ment, reduced turnove

motivatio n,” says Brow

the recession we’re fort

be growing as a business

a year,, and some of tha

down to our people.”

OFFICE CULTURE Sally Whittle discovers how whatgoes on outside can reap rewards inside the office

THE HARDBUSINESS OFHAVING FUN

Snowboarding

together is a great way to

get people interacting

Your staff could

scale new heights

in the office after

climbing Mount

Kilimanjaro

COMMERCIAL FEATURE

As the shockwaves of the London ri-

ots continue to rumble on, a host of

explanations have been offered as

to why the country descended into

chaos earlier this year. Frustration

with the police and a complex mix of

political, social and economic griev-

ances were all given as reasons for

the unrest.

No matter what the reason, the Lon-

don riots served thoroughly to test

the mettle of our country’s leaders. Intruth, even the greatest leaders of our

time may have struggled when faced

with the worst rioting Britain has seen

in living memory. So is there a point

at which, no matter what your natural

propensity to lead, even the best could

afford to learn some new skills?

Prime Minister David Cameron was

one of the many public figureheads

who found his leadership skills under

intense scrutiny. His decision not to

return home from his holiday as soon as

the first missiles were thrown was ques-

tioned by many experts, including Kevin

Young, General Manager of SkillSoft

EMEA, a leading provider of e-learning

and performance support solutions.

“While nobody was under the

impression that David Cameron was

going to don riot gear and defend the

front line himself – it was vital that his

leadership was visibly present,” says

Young. “When faced with leadership

in a time of crisis, the most important

thing is to act quickly. You must rec-

ognise there is a problem, because it is

only when you have accepted there isan issue can you begin to think about

a resolution. ”

Admittedly, many leaders, be they

the coach of a football team or the

manager of an office, will never deal

with crises on the scale of London

riots. But it is worth remembering that

the ability to lead effectively is equally

important for all types of leader.

Well-developed leaders are more

important than ever before, with eco-

nomic and global pressures forcing

organisations to do more at a faster

pace with fewer resources. In times

like these, strong, capable leaders are

key to achieving maximum employee

engagement and productivity, both in

government and business.

Thankfully, the worst types of situa-

tions, like those seen during the riots in

August, often fall into the hands of the

most qualified leaders. But if one was

to scale down the situation, it’s simple

to see the parallels in a working envi-

ronment. Office frictions cause tension,

tension creates a bad atmosphere and

a bad atmosphere has catastrophicconsequences on productivity.

“There is a raft of stresses and

strains which could cause friction in

a work environment. Unfairness, in

terms of how people are dealt with,

can be a massive issue. Poor commu-

nication can also be a sticking point,

as can a lack of clear objectives,” says

Young. “As a leader the most impor-

tant thing is to keep developing your

own skills as well as the skills of those

you are leading.”

For those who would naturally class

themselves as followers not leaders,

it’s easy to fall into the trap of think-

ing leadership simply isn’

leadership skills can witho

learnt, taught and develop

Soft’s Young.

He says: “Some peop

have certain characterist

that perhaps lend them

ter towards leadership

but there is no doubt

that leadership can be

improved. It’s importan

ber that there is a humancomes into leadership as

vital to develop that too.”

The riots may have expo

of our country’s leaders

brought out their best. D

on’s approach was collec

and repercussions for the

been tough. Most import

were learned.

As a leader it is crucial

assertive, quick to react a

in your response – but it i

tant to learn from your m

build upon past experien

the best never stop learnin

Leadingthe riot act

Kevin Young

Managaing Director, SkillSoft EMEA





where individuals are c

each other in a kind of

watercooler moment .

of relying on a chance ainfrequent physical enc

ryone can see exactly wh

else is doing via brief bu

public comments.

“It’s about how to dr

interactive company

becoming a culture o

ency,” he says.

For businesses that re

edge sharing or are geo

diverse, the benefits a

An internal Wikipedia,

leagues add to the sum

company’s knowledge a

ent subjects, helps prev

tion of work. An inter

can help people conve

laborate in such a way th

and innovation moves fa

staff access to an internmotivate and encourag

to feel connected.

“Suddenly, you have

these people and all thes

Mockett. “Aggregating

edge within a company

The payoff is amazing.”

Much has been made

problems with social me

some companies to ba

public sites at work. But

far outweigh any risks,

are united dismissing suc

“The best policies for

media are common s

Mann. “If you wouldn

party or in the pub, don’

Most people want to do

for themselves and the or

Companies need to there is a clear agenda t

networking, whether i

to the customer or sha

edge. That agenda will

which networks, what i

and which people should

But it’s not just inside

that social media is being

individuals are turning t

works to further their ca

the company umbrella. S

branding is particularl

freelance professionals, s

“We are seeing the d

of ‘virtual guilds’, which

style guilds based on p

alism, individual repu

shared job opportuniti

“An individual’s reputati

the network, not a compLike so much in the 2

workplace, social netwo

stantly evolving, and so

seems to add to the corp

load rather than reduc

more activity that busi

to understand. But joi

because everyone else

the worst possible strateg

to lead to disaster.

Instead, the advice is

what you want to get ou

it becomes not an obs

resource to lead you in

century workplace.

Ȗ BigRuckus has voted 1,980 times

on mystarbucksidea.com, the three-

year-old website that invites com-

ment and suggestions from the cof-

fee giant’s customers. And that’s just

in November.

BigRuckus might be unusual (or

perhaps just has a lot of time on his

or her hands). But for Starbucks,

BigRuckus, DadCooks, Charliebouse

and the host of others who have

posted product ideas, music sugges-

tions and complaints about seating

are a fantastic resource.“This is all about conversation,” says

Dr Tazeeb Rajwani, lecturer in strate-

gic management at Cranfield School of

Management. “Businesses are contin-

ually trying to improve their delivery

to the customer, and crowdsourcing

[asking a large and often undefined

group of people for input] provides

free information and innovation.”

Starbucks is among many compa-

nies harnessing the power of social

media to improve the bottom line.

Indeed, there are those who believe

social media is fast becoming man-

datory for corporate use.

“Companies that refuse to use

social media will soon be as reviled

as those that refuse to answer the

phone,” says Jeffrey Mann, Vice

President, researcher at Gartner, a

technology consultancy. “Using this

technology is critical to business suc-

cess in the 21st century.”

But what is social networking?

There are no hard and fast defini-

tions, but anything that invites a

response from a group of individu-

als can fall under this term, whether

in a public forum such as Facebookor an internal Twitter-style network.

“The way people interact at work is

becoming more and more sophisti-

cated,” says Max Mockett, researcher

at Hot Spots Movement, a specialist

research and consulting team that

bridges academia and business.

“There is a move to a more social

approach at work, one based on

friendship, not hierarchy.”

Generation Y (very roughly, those

under age 30) are a key driver of this

trend. The first generation to grow

up with social media tools, this age

group is bringing personal mobile

devices into work, and using them.

“It is changing organisational

structures,” says Rajwani. “Compa-

nies can no longer maintain the old

command and control structures.

These technologies are designed to

engage with people; they are part of

the mindset of Generation Y, which

wants to talk to employers in a simi-

lar, social way.”

But social business is not just for

creative industries, where organisa-

tional structures are often flatter and

more fluid; the use of social mediatechnologies brings huge benefits

to all types of business.

“Social media is much more than

is implied in the name,” says Xabier

Ormazabul, director of product mar-

keting at Salesforce.com, an enter-

prise cloud computing company. “It’s

a convenient and easy way to commu-

nicate, and the main driver is context.”

Mann agrees. “If you look at the

activities taking place on Face-

book, but change the words, then it

becomes highly relevant to business.

So instead of keeping up with what

your friends are doing, you are keep-

ing up with what your colleagues

are doing. Instead of asking advice

on what shoes to buy, you’re asking

advice on which supplier to use.”

A 2010 report from McKinsey &

Company, a management consul-

tancy, found that the “networked

enterprise” (one that uses these

collaborative Web 2.0 technologies

to connect employees internally,

and reach out to customers and

suppliers externally) significantly

improved performance.

“Everyone understands the exter-nal-facing bit, the connection to the

customer,” says Ormazabul. “It’s at

the next level, when you apply these

technologies internally, that you get

a lot of value.”

He argues that any business will

benefit from social networking,

NETWORKING Social media is changing the way we work. The more conversations you cangenerate in the office, the more successful your business will be, finds Clare Gascoigne

The way people

interact at work is becoming

more sophisticated

LIFTING THE BARRIERSTO COMMUNICATION

Social media can help a busin

many different employees at

©JOHNLUND

4 1 %

5 5 %

2 4 %

7 7 %

6 3 %

4 3 %

8 %

BENEFITS OFSOCIAL EXCHANGE

IMPROVED COLLABORATION ACROSS SILOS

BETTER INFORMATION SHARING

INCREASED REVENUE

INCREASED ACCESS TO KNOWLEDGE

INCREASED MARKETING EFFECTIVENESS

GREATER MARKET SHARE

HIGHER MARGINS

S o u r c e : M c K i n s e y & C o m p a n y , “ T h e r i s e o f t h e n e t w o r k e d e n t

e r p r i s e ,

W e b 2 . 0

fi n d s i t s p a y d a y . ”

S u r v e y o f 4 , 3

9 4 e x e c u t i v e s . D e c e m b e

r 2 0 1 0




COMMERCIAL FEATURE


Today’s employees demand to be

social. They are a generation of Fa-

cebook status-updating, Twitter-

scanning, YouTube-grazing Internet

addicts and they expect to be able

to communicate as easily and quick-

y in the workplace as they do in their

private lives.

In an age of remote working it is not

enough to have a staff notice board in

the kitchen advertising social activitiesor events. If it isn’t on a news feed or

web group, it is likely to fall to the back

of people’s minds.

The power of the socially-connected

office is something that businesses are

beginning to take seriously. Recent

research by Coleman-Parkes, on behalf

of salesforce.com, revealed that three

quarters of CEOs see social networks

or tools as important in attracting and

retaining skilled workers. A similar

number, 76 per cent, said they are use-

ful for employee communication and

engagement because of their real-time,

transparent nature.

As businesses increasingly reach out

to customers through social networks

– interacting with consumers throughsocial media and advertising products

and services through digital media – it

is important to realise the importance

of internal social networks. Only when

social networks are used both inter-

nally and externally, can an organisa-

tion truly become a Social Enterprise.

Salesforce Chatter, a secure, private

social network for the enterprise, is a

tool being used by thousands of cus-

tomers, including Saatchi & Saatchi,

Nikon and Santander Consumer

Finance, as well as salesforce.com staff

themselves. Similar to Facebook, Chat-

ter connects employees with the best

information and experts within their

own company, delivering information

directly to users, rather than makingthem search for it themselves. Private

employee social networks can help peo-

ple rapidly collaborate across their com-

pany so they can engage, service and

sell to their customers more effectively.

As Jane Pointet, VP of Employee

Success EMEA at salesforce.com, sug-

gests, Chatter has been a fantastic way

of showcasing success and highlighting

achievements to the wider business.

Staff awards and promotions are pub-

lished, but staff also get the opportu-

nity to share with colleagues what they

have been working on themselves or

flag up problems and solutions.

The social business does not just

make itself heard, it listens to people

across the organisation. Last month,

salesforce.com’s worldwide offsite man-

agement meeting in Las Vegas was

streamed live over Chatter and all 6,000

plus employees were given the chance

to ask live questions and make com-

ments. During the meeting, managers

followed the Chatter feed on their iPadsand responded in real time. Over the

two and a half day conference, more

than a hundred staff from across the

world addressed the meeting directly,

something that previously would have

been impossible to co-ordinate.

“Individual staff members have made

themselves visible in the company and

provided some brilliant ideas. Tradition-

ally, they would have been lost in the hier-

archy and it would have taken time to fil-

ter up. But this was instant,” says Pointet.

Whilst internal collaboration is vital,

the social workplace continually has

its feelers out to the wider world. Far

from banning Facebook and Twitter

like some organisations, salesforce.

com actively monitors what the world

is saying about it through the Radian6

Social Marketing Cloud. The recruit-ment team also uses social media to

source potential employees who sug-

gest they might be looking for a new

role. Most salesforce.com employees

are on LinkedIn, reportedly making it

the most well-connected company on

the site, after LinkedIn itself.

Another defining featu

century workplace is mo

young, tech-savvy workfo

ates being able to commu

and how they want to.

Almost every one of

com’s UK staff has a com

Berry or iPhone, lap top

cases, iPad. As Pointet no

helps to increase staff e

and flexibility.

She said: “We are such a

company and things chan

The fact that employees fe

at any time they want outs

ing environment allows

invested in and engage

“As a young, innovative cemployees want to be ab

nicate quickly and easily

Social Enterprise enables u

As well as communicat

using social networks, s

communicate directly w

ers through Facebook

alongside more traditio

like telephone and email.

tated through the connec

media provided by the S

from salesforce.com.

While it is clear that i

external social networks

staff to work more effe

important to remembe

networks have a role to

ing work fun too. Recent

moted through the ‘Cha

been a Thanksgiving luncmale staff growing moust

‘Movember’ charity appea

the all-important Christma

“All of this helps to bu

alty and a strong cultur

only help us to engage a

employees,” adds Pointet

Isabel Kelly, International Director,

Salesforce Foundation

“Part of being a 21st century workplace

includes having a positive social impact

on the world’s communities who are

most in need . At the Salesforce Foun-

dation, we have been amazed at the

power of social networks to build mo-

mentum and impact around staff-ini-

tiated philanthropy projects.

This year, teams from the UK, Swit-

zerland and Singapore have been to

Siem Reap, Cambodia to work with

Que Rico, a UK-based NGO that builds

communities in Cambodia (www.vol-

untaryprojectsoverseas.org).

Stephen Fowler, a Regional Vice

President for field sales, called me fromhis holiday in Cambodia last Christ-

mas because he’d met Que Rico and

wanted to know how to support them.

In January he set up a group on Chat-

ter and persuaded other employees to

get involved. Word spread across our

internal social network that the chil-

dren of Siem Reap would really ben-

efit from toys and toothbrushes, and

that the staff needed laptops. Sales-

force.com staff filled an entire room at

our office with toys, a customer

donated hundreds of toothbrushes

and the IT department repurposed five

older laptops.

In May, a volunteer team led by

Stephen went to Cambodia to buildhouses for the community, most of

whom survive on less than £1.30 a

day. He shared his photos on a dedi-

cated Facebook group and updated

his Chatter feed while he was there.

Since then, two other groups have trav-

elled out to volunteer and the YouTube

videos they made have added to the

momentum of support for the project

within salesforce.com.

All salesforce.com employees are

given six days a year to volunteer and

can use their time with any organi-

sation they feel passionate about,

whether it’s a school in Kenya or sup-

porting their local MS gro

a personal choice. Salesfodonates its product lice

profit and educational org

Que Rico is proof tha

are passionate about a p

can shout about it and th

Never normally would th

ees, who work in differ

ments on opposite sides

get the chance to shar

ence like this and work

create greater social impa

because they found the p

selves, shared it with th

Facebook, YouTube and

gave it a life of its own.

The social workplace

The social workplace in action:How chatter helped children in Cambod

Social networks are transforming how people communicate and share information,

personally and professionally. As salesforce.com shows, the Social Enterprise takes

customer and employee engagement to a new level





Ȗ If there’s one word that sums up

the 21st century workplace, it’s flex-

ibility. And if there’s one facilitator

for flexibility, it’s technology.

But flexibility comes in different

shapes and sizes, and finding the

right combination is critical to a

happy and productive workforce.First up is flexibility of time,

sometimes better known as work-

life balance. Back in 2007, a British

Chambers of Commerce’s survey

found that adopting flexible work-

ing improved recruitment and

retention, created greater loyalty

and commitment from employees,

reduced employee stress, reduced

absence and employee turnover, and

enhanced a company’s reputation.

Fast-forward to today and it would

seem the Government agrees. Its

recent Modern Workplaces con-

sultation advocates extending the

statutory right to request flexible

workin g to all employe es, rather

than the current position where

only parents and carers of adults

can do so.

A report by the think-tank Demos,

Reinventing the Workplace, backs

the Government’s proposals, argu-

ing that “the key question is not

whe the r bus ine sse s can aff ord

flexible working arrangements,

but whether in the 21st century

countries like Britain can afford to

forego them”.

It found that 91 per cent of offerat least one form of flexible work-

ing arrangement, and that 83 per

cent of requests for flexible working

are approved. Yet of firms that cur-

rently do not offer any form of flex-

ible working, 92 per cent said they

were unlikely to start offering it in

the next two years.

But working hours is only one

form of flexibility; the other and

related form is flexibility of place

– and it is this that technology has

made possible. Networked com-

puting, cheaper telecoms, mobile

telephony – these all contribute to

the ability to work from anywhere,

not just from home.

Cloud computing, is key to

remote working, allowing multi-

ple employees to work on the same

project in real time even though

geographically spread.

British Telecom was one of thefirst companies to embrace tele-

working, launchin g its version in

1986; it now has 15,000 homework-

ers out of 92,000 employees. The

company argues that, on average,

its homeworkers save it around

£6,000 a year, are 20 per cent

more productive and take fewer

sick days.

But remote working requires

different managerial skills, says

Vanessa Robinson, head of HR prac-

tice development at the Chartered

Institute of Personnel and Devel-

opment. “It involves a move from

a command-and-control style of

management to one based on trust

and empowerment. Performance

measures also need to be more

clearly output focussed.

“Managers and leaders need to be

aware that, at times, people who work

remotely may feel isolated from their

organisation, so efforts need to be

made to keep in touch, to keep them

engaged with what’s going on in the

organisation and their team.

That can be done through one-

to-one telephone calls and intranet

discussion groups, as well as occa-sional face to face meetings. Tech-

nology such as web-based cameras

or real time video conferencing help

keep staff engaged with colleagues,

whether at the office or the other side

of the world. An internal social net-

work can also help mimic the brief

interactions that go on in any office.

As with any change, it is not easy

to make the leap to flexible working.

But those companies that are suc-

cessful at bringing flexibility to the

workplace will find it is one of the

most useful tools in achieving maxi-

mum output from staff.

FLEXIBILITY Forget 9 till 5; in the 21st centurysuccessful businesses need to be far less rigid,finds Nick Gordon

It involves a move from a

command-and-control style of

management to trust and empowerment

CLEVERTECHNOLOGYTHAT HELPS

BUSINESSESFLEX

60%ALMOST

OF EMPLOYEES STATEDTHEY CURRENTLY USEDA FORM OF FLEXIBLEWORKING

50%BY 2016 AT LEAST

OF ENTERPRISE EMAILUSERS WILL RELY PRIMARILYON A BROWSER, TABLET ORMOBILE CLIENT INSTEAD OFA DESKTOP CLIENT




21ST CENTURY WORK

Ȗ Pundits have been predicting the

“paperless office” for nearly 40 years,

yet most of us are still surrounded

by piles of printed matter. But that

seductively elusive image of the

office of the future is moving a lit-

tle closer, with the increasing use of

cloud computing. A reduction in paper is not the only

change to the 21st century office that

could be brought about by the revo-

lution that is cloud, which is essen-

tially a flexible and cost-effective

way of sharing resources, whether

data or services.

Though the term cloud computing

strikes fear into the non-technical,

many of us have been using it for

years; if you have used Yahoo! Mail,

music download service Spotify or

the ubiquitous Facebook, you are

already “working in the cloud”.

For a business, the advantages

are numerous. Once the contents

of your company’s server has been

transferred to a cloud service pro-

vider (such as A mazon Web Se r-

vices (AWS), Salesforce.com, Rack-space or Virgin Media Business),

employees with web access, irre-

spective of their location, are a

mere password away from access-

ing data and apps remotely.

Andy Perrin, senior product man-

ager, Cloud Services, Virgin Media

Business, explains: “Connecting to

the cloud via a fast, private network

means you can transfer your data as

easily and securely as you do today

around your business.”

It’s not only data use that can change.

Cloud computing allows a business to

access services, ranging from HR to

credit card processing, choosing as

much or as little as is needed.

And because cloud is pay-as-you-

go, with pre-agreed credit limits, “a

virtual server can cost less than £70a month,” explains Perrin. Cloud

turns IT into an operating rather

than a capital expense.

Cloud can also save companies

money by reducing energy con-

sumption and cutting capital spend

on IT; a recent study by the Carbon

Disclosure Project fou

blue-chip companies co

annual energy savings o

projected, cloud comp

from 10 to almost 70 per

IT spend by 2020.

However, recent re

industry body CloudForum (CIF) reveale

prime motivator for co

not cost. Andy Burton

man, says: “The ma

the industry has been

focusing on the cost sa

research proves that i

tion is usually driven by

cial activity. The organis

the flexible attributes of

vice over on-premise s

But two issues deman

security and outages.

ber, Microsoft’s online s

affected by a two-and-

service failure, while Goo

Docs also had an involu

out. Amazon’s EC2 had

April and August.

In November, the Pontute, which researches d

surveyed 1,000 IT secu

tioners and enterprise

officers. One third of

group believes cloud is

on-premise solutions, w

ter group is split 50:50.

So there is still work to

cloud proponents, tho

CIF research found that

of those using cloud se

happy with the result. Mu

on a cultural willingn

age staff differently – w

ees no longer based in a

potentially around the g

ent skills are needed to

security of corporate da

Says Burton: “Cloud

a reality today, they arethey will continue to

both capability and ad

organisations need to b

and consider how to be

of this agile and efficien

model to improve their p

and agility.”

With employees based around

the globe, different skills are neede

to ensure security

WORKING IN THE CLOUD You’re probably

using cloud computing, says Nick Gordon. Bcould you be using it even more effectively

BLOWING THECLOUDS AWAY

320

THE TABLET MARKETWILL GROW FROMNEXT TO ZERO IN 2009

SOLD IN 2015

millionunits

645

SALES OFSMARTPHONESWILL RISE TO

IN 2012

million

60%ALMOST

STAFF ACCESSSOCIAL NETWORKSAT WORK,EITHER VIA THEIRCOMPUTER ORSMARTPHONE

83%OF REQUESTSFOR FLEXIBLEWORKING AREAPPROVED





skills against an online programme

or a number of other online players.”

The growth of Generation Y hasbrought about a sea change in the

working environment. The so-called

‘millennial’ workforce (those born

after 1982) is heavily reliant on the

mobile internet and this has led to

a fundamental shift in the way in

which bus inesses ar e run. Smart-

phones, laptops and tablets are part

of the worker’s everyday arsenal.

Staff are constantly online and have

instant access to data in real time:

communicating with colleagues and

customers around the world, and

using social and professional net-

working sites. Managers need to be

aware of this and encourage their

staff to maximise the potential of the

technology at their disposal. At the

same time they need to manage the

process, ensuring that informationsharing and networking is produc-

tive rather than a distraction.

The economic downturn means

that accurate business intelligence

is a highly prized commodity, as

companies strive to better under-

stand their customers, make better

decisions and achieve a leaner oper-ation. Accurate data is key and busi-

ness analytics, which involves the

use of data, statistical analysis and

predictive modelling to drive deci-

sion making, can also be an effective

tool for the manager.

“Today’s business analytics and

modelling tools are easy to use,” says

Poulos. “Users are able to access data

from almost any source and the

results can be presented in multi-

ple ways, often as dashboards, visual

graphs and spreadsheets. This pro-

vides ideal media for digital distri-

bution, web browser access and even

to applications on mobile devices for

presentation anywhere, anytime.”

Technology that utilises industry

key performance indicators can help

companies and individual staff bench-mark their performance against simi-

lar players in the marketplace. “When

tied with business analytics, these

become invaluable tools for today’s

management,” says Poulos.

Locating the most su

can take time, which is

when looking to imprmance. “Finding the rig

ogy is one thing, implem

maintaining it, quite an

Poulos. “Technology, i

can become a distractio

the right one is found, it

productivity and the qu

sion-making.”

Ultimately, technolo

tool to assist and evalua

vidual. Traditional mana

ciplines are still import

technology can be a us

has to be the right pers

have to have clear dir

leadership,” says Cressw

“Management culture

from the top down and

leadership at this level w

ineffective middle man Whatever the manage

business needs, it is the

bination of traditional t

today’s technology that

real difference.

Ȗ Not all managers are good, and

poor ones can have a catastrophic

effect on any business. At best they

create a culture of low morale and

resentment; at worst they make bad

decisions that can lose money or

even bring a company down. Any-

one who has ever been an employee

will know at le ast o ne i ndivi dual

who was good at their job, got pro-

moted and then found themselves

disastrously ill-equipped to man-age others.

A recent survey by the Chartered

Management Institute (CMI) sug-

gests that ineffective management

could be costing UK businesses more

than £19bn per year in lost working

hours. The study of 2,000 employees

revealed that 75 per cent of workers

waste almost two hours out of their

working week due to inefficient man-

agers. The worst management prac-

tices responsible for time lost include

unclear communication, lack of sup-

port, micro-management and lack of

direction, while 13 per cent of those

surveyed had witnessed managers

exhibiting discriminatory behaviour

towards employees and 27 per cent

had witnessed managers bullying or

harassing their staff.Management training is an often

neglected area, with companies

underestimating the importance of a

strong corporate culture, structured

training programmes, clear objec-

tives and effective communication.

“People development doesn’t have

to cost a lot of money,” says Mandy

Cresswell Phillips, a coaching and

development professional. “The

important thing is to remove poor

managers and replace them with

good ones who can spot and nurture

talent and use a more democratic

style to motivate, collaborate and

increase staff potential and morale.”

Effective training is obviously onemethod of tackling the problem but

there are also a number of techno-

logical tools that can help. “People

management needs people skills

and no technology can assist there,”

says Tony Poulos, market strategist

for industry association TM Forum.

“However, there are no end of man-

agement training guides available

digitally and applications that emu-

late business scenarios. Online man-

agement courses abound, as well as

online knowledge bases with answers

to many management queries or ref-

erences to solutions others have tried.

There are even management games

where one can pit one’s management

TRAINING Claire Manuel explores howtechnology can help improve managementskills – and why it’s not the whole story

WHO WILLMANAGE THEMANAGERS?

Proper

management

training will filter

down through

the company

When the right

technology is found, it can

improve productivity




21ST CENTURY WORK

Ȗ Modern businesses are disrupted

by rapid changes in customer needs,

fashions, social trends, economics,

governments, mergers, supply chain

and technology. Success in such a

fast-changing world comes only to

the agile organisations.

An agile business has a clear over-

all vision, which endures through

the constant changes. It empowers

staff, constantly experiments, toler-ates errors and regularly re-organ-

ises itself. It achieves its objectives

through informal self-organising

project teams that work closely with

suppliers and customers.

“It is in times of adversity that

some of the greatest innovations

have appeared,” says Stephen Archer,

a director at Spring Partnerships,

a business consultancy. “In today’s

straightened times there is a healthy

pressure to differentiate, become

more competitive and establish more

intrinsic value in the organisation.

This does not come from exhorta-

tions by the chief executive, but by

establishing a culture of freedom to

think and innovate.”The key to success is no longer

telling people what to do, but

encouraging them to spot new

opportunities and unforeseen

changes and then implement their

own successful solutions. This

requires an entrepreneurial atti-

tude in staff, which is often referred

to as ‘intrepreneurship’.

The organisation’s overall vision

and focus on the customer are the

glue to hold everything together and

prevents chaos. Management helps

by stepping back, but encouraging

and supporting.

“I often say ‘we can do anything

– we just haven’t yet worked out

how’, and that attitude has rubbed

off on the team,” says Clive Birnie,

managing director of Severn Delta,

a manufacturer. “The keys are in

giving people space, trust and a

safety net to be creative. Give them

power, but also the reassurance that

if their idea isn’t successful they

won’t be blamed.”

Creating an ‘intrepreneurial’ cul-

ture must begin at the recruitmentstage. Ashley Ward, a director at

European Leaders, a recruitment,

consulting and coaching company,

says that entrepreneurship can be

recognised when candidates get fired

up about doing something, not sim-

ply wanting to be someone.

Many traditional structures and

processes need to be changed. Matt

Crosby, head of business solutions

at management consultancy Hay

Group, says that knowledge must be

managed differently; corporate plan-

ning recast; new processes installed

to drive staged investment in tak-

ing ideas to fruition; and a new tal-

ent management procedure, from

recruitment to matching talent

to where key decisions are made.

“Innovation doesn’t come from anexceptional leader waving a magic

wand,” he says.

Wher eas trad itio nal orga nisa -

tions have a suggestion scheme

that rewards staff, an agile company

encourages intrepreneurship by

letting them implement their ideas

themselves. At global services com-

pany Ricoh, ideas from individu-

als go to the board, which agrees a

budget; the employee then manages

his or her suggestion from start to

finish, forming a cross-functional

team to deliver it within the wider

company framework.

“We develop tailo

ing schemes to help s

nise internal opportun

Rebekah Wallis, the

human resources direc

vides a platform for the

develop their entrepren

and helps with staff rete

Professor Vlatka Hlu

minster Business School s

organisation results in ‘cof passion’, often using s

They allow people to pur

initiatives or topics that t

knowledgeable and passi

The downside is that

all vision isn’t clear eno

could go off at a tangen

Hlupic warns that too m

could pursue too many

things that have nothin

the strategy of the comp

its customers want. “T

very innovative,” she sa

sue things that may not

commercial benefit.”

Another p roblem is i

preneurs who are hard

want to flex their newf

preneurial flair by sett

own company, possibcompetition. Peter C

futurologist, says the

should encourage th

stakeholding and even

their first order. “It s

becoming a competitor

them an evangelist fo

pany,” he says.

In today’s tough m

organisations can only

through innovative and c

who can find new ways t

customers. Developing a

neurial culture is vital

profitability, but surviva

As a service organisation, it is es-

sential that Accenture helps its staff

to maximize their ability to satis-

fy its clients. One of its tools is a se-

ries of formal and informal mentor-

ng programmes to support them inall aspects of their lives.

Every employee is assigned a ca-

reer counsellor. “They help to shape

and grow the employee, navigate

their career, decide the next career

move and find a path to success,”

says Suzy Levy, the company’s hu-

man capital and diversity lead for UK

and Ireland.

New employees are encouraged

to select their own peer ‘buddy’

to explain the culture, the unwrit-

ten rules and the way things work. I t

helps them to get a solid start. Em-

ployees are expected to select sev-

eral appropriate mentors, to deal

with different issues as they arise.

There is also reverse mentoring,

where members of minority groupsshare with managers the issues they

face, to help ensure an inclusive

working environment.

“Line managers coach people so

that they are confident and capable

in their role,” explains Ms Levy, “but

staff can raise other issues with men-

tors. Mentoring is a little like dating,

you need to have a chemistry be-

tween individuals, based on shared

passions, so there is a spark.”

Mentoring extends beyond the

working life. In one example, an em-

ployee suffered long spells of ill

health. Their mentor helped them to

look at the issues causing it and two

years later the employee completed

an Ironman triathlon.

Ms Levy is personally mentoringmore than ten employees. She says

that mentors get pleasure from see-

ing people blossom and grow. It also

gives the mentor the ability to see

the organisation, and the world, from

a different viewpoint.

“The flow of ideas to support

our clients is fundamental to our

success,” she concludes. “There is

as much, or more, to be gained from

people coaching, supporting and

mentoring each other than from

any methodology.”

EMPOWERMENT Management must step back and give employeesfreedom to act within an overall vision, says Rod Newing

Key to success is

encouraging [staff] to

spot opportunities

INTREPRENEURSHIPHARNESSES PASSION

Employees are

more likely to

be creative if

encouraged to find

their own way

GROW THE EMPLOYEE, GROW THE COMPANY





Whether it’s commuting pressures,

the school run, or simply natural pref-

erence, employees want some flexibil-

ity around their working hours. Flexi-

time, time off in lieu, and the option to

work from home can all help.” Some

companies – such as Cisco Systems

– don’t have set working hours at

all, measuring employees on output

rather than how many minutes after

9am they get to their desk.

5. TIME OFF ANDMORE HOLIDAYSThis one actually does mean time

off and more holidays. The strains of

‘doing more with less’, as organisations

shed staff and ask people to take on

more job responsibilities, are showing.

“Working longer not only impacts on

work-life balance and well-being, but

also impacts how employees feel about

their pay and benefits,” says Cavanagh.

“Where companies are not in a posi-tion to offer pay rises, they should

be sensitive to employees’ working

hours.” Adding an extra day off over

Christmas could give workers vital

recuperation time. Allowing time off

for volunteering and charity work is

also highly valued.

6. FLEXIBLE BENEFITS Wh ere co mp ani es off er be ne -

fits such as travel cards and gym

membership, a one-size-fits-allapproach doesn’t work for the 21st

Century worker. “When it comes to

benefits, flexibility is the key here

too,” says Cavanagh. “It’s impossi-

ble to please all the people all the

time, so allowing emp

flexibility to choose t

that best fit their circ

wil l cer tai nly hel p.”

there’s enough choic

variety of employees h

7. A HEALTHY WOR As wo rking h ours ri se

obesity levels, people a

ingly health conscio

healthy workplace ma

living far easier. Cavan

out that “in many of the

panies, employees are pr

free fruit and more com

offering free healthy

This makes people fee

pany cares about their

Research by Great Pla

also finds that employ

rate health facilities and

membership in the wor

8. A PROMOTIONOK, everyone wants th

even the possibility of a

is enough. Workers need

are going somewhere

career progression pla

to this. Salary caps an

can be accepted in the

ficult markets, but a ha

progression cannot. “

less movement betwe

nies, employees are loo where they can go with

rent companies”, says

“Companies that offer b

opment opportunities h

engaged employees.”

Ȗ Many myths surround whatworkers want, the main one beingthat it’s just higher salary andbonuses. While employees wantto feel sufficiently financiallyrewarded, simply increasing paydoesn’t necessarily increase hap-piness. And in times of economicstagnation, that option isn’topen to many companies. Yearsof research from organisationssuch as the Chartered Instituteof Personnel and Development(CIPD) show that to improve themorale and productivity of work-ers companies need to make theirworking lives better. So just whatis the 21st Century workforce ask-ing for this Christmas?

1.RECOGNITIONAND RESPECTRecognition can be as literal as

the CEO knowing you by name or

simply having your work acknowl-

edged. Employee of the month

schemes and annual award cere-

monies are helpful but not sufficient

says Mike Emmott, CIPD Adviser

Employee Relations. “Praise is good

but not essential, whereas recog-

nition is – it’s your line managerbeing aware of what you are doing

from day-to-day and acknowledg-

ing targets achieved, tasks accom-

plished.” Similarly Tom O’Byrne,

CEO at consultancy Great Place

to Work® argues: “What workersreally want is being treated and val-

ued as a person. Just small touches

such as a personal thanks from the

boss... mean more job satisfaction.”

2.TO WORK FORAN ORGANISATIONTHEY VALUEIf people work for an organisation

they believe in they will do more for

it, regardless of salary (see charities).

This may seem tricky if your com-pany resembles Ricky Gervais’ fic-

tional paper company in Slough, but

not if you produce recycled paper and

give it out free to local schools. Carla

Cavanagh, Head of Research at Best

Companies, which runs The Sunday

Times’ awards, Best Companies to

Work For, and advises on workplace

engagement, says, “Employees want

to feel like they are doing something

more worthwhile than lining the cof-

fers of the shareholders. They want

to feel their company makes a posi-

tive difference.” And according to

Emmott, “M&S has a long-held belief

that corporate responsibility plays

even better with employees than it

does with customers.”

3.A CLEAR JOB DESCRIPTIONIt may seem an absurdly simple

wish, bu1t a clear job de scriptio n

can easily get forgotten as roles

evolve and team structures change.

Annually re-assessing and agreeing

job descriptions and specifications

can eradicate resentful suspicions

that the employer is making them

do too much (or too little), but few

companies actually get round to

doing so. “People want to be clear

about what their job is and whatthey are supposed to be doing,”

says Emmott. “There are quite a

lot of people who don’t know the

real purpose of their job.”

4.FLEXIBLE WORKINGThis doesn’t mean time off and more

holidays. Cavanagh explains, “tradi-

tional 9-til-5 working is losing favour

with the majori ty of emplo yees.

THE WORKERS’ WISH LISTIMPROVING MORALE Tim Smedley finds out what

workers would really like from the office Secret Santa

Workers need to feel they are going

somewhere and a clear career progression

plan is integral to this

© N O U N P R O J E C T

© N O U N P R O J E C T




21ST CENTURY WORK

Ȗ In a world where united teamwork

is often the focus of HR, it might seem

odd to deliberately employ a wide

variety of people. But making sure

you have a melting pot of personali-

ties and cultures can make a big differ-

ence to your business p erformance.

“It is about [having] greater access

to different perspectives and sources

of information, better understanding

of customer needs, and better com-

munication with customers because

you are getting a more diverse group

to inform that,” says Denise Keating,

CEO of the Employers’ Network for

Equality and Inclusion, a member-

ship and lobbying group.Research by Catalyst entitles ‘The

Bottom Line: Connecting corporate

performance and gender diversity’,

for example, found companies with the

highest proportion of women on top

management teams experienced 53per

cent higher total return on equity and

66 per cent higher return on invested

capital.

These findings are echoed by McK-

insey and Company’s study Women

matter: Gender diversity, a corporate

performance driver, which found the

89 European listed companies with

the highest level of gender diversity

in top management posts reported

a 48 per cent higher op erating result

than the average for their sector and

a stock price growth of 64 per cent

compared to an average of 47 per cent.Looking at age diversity, mean-

while, research by the Centre for

Performance-led HR at Lancaster

University Management School

showed customer satisfaction lev-

els to be, on average, 20 per cent

higher in McDonalds restaurants

that employ staff aged over 60.

But achieving workplace diversity

can be a complex task. Employers have

to ensure they have the right kind of

diversity and learn how to manage it.

Even defining diversity is not always

easy. Dr Nic Hammarling, head of

diversity at Pearn Kandola, a business

psychology consultancy, says: “People

often make the mistake of assum-

ing diversity is just about the obvious

stuff – gender, ethnicity etc. It is not. It

includes non-visible differences as

well, such as personality types. In fact,

having different personalities is one of

the biggest contributors to increased

innovation and creativity.”

Non-visible differences, however,

can be difficult to measure. The start-

ing point is usually the visible; employ-

ers profile their workforce by gender,

ethnic origin, disability and age. Sexual

orientation and gender reassignment

should also be considered, although

it is more difficult to gather informa-tion on these. This data can then be

analysed to identify an organisation’s

current diversity levels and where any

gaps may exist, with a view to finding

out the reasons behind the company’s

workforce profile.

Dianah Worman, adviser, diversity

at the Chartered Institute of Per-

sonnel and Development , says: “Is

it the way [the business] is recruit-

ing people, is it making assumptions

about the kind of people it needs, is

it looking too narrowly in the labour

market, is it setting out what it really

needs from recruitment agencies, are

these making assumptions on [the

organisation’s] behalf, what is the

recruitment process like and so on.”

Organisations should also look at

diversity in relation to how employ-ees are rewarded, which groups

receive access to training, staff reten-

tion issues, work-life balance and

flexible working practices, and how

they manage employees who stay on

past the traditional retirement age.

“[Employers] then have to make sure

the [corporate] environment is one

where people feel valued, that it is open

and they can put their point of view

across without being dismissed, and

where they feel respected for their per-

sonal identity,” adds Worman.

Online diversity training can help

to boost understanding of the issue.

PricewaterhouseCoopers (PWC),

uses a programme to improve under-

standing of cultural diversity among

its globally mobile workforce. It also

recently asked all of its partners and

staff to undertake mandatory bias

awareness training to open their

minds to difference, explains Sarah

Churchman, HR director (equality

and inclusion) at PWC.Greater corporate diversity can

lead to more palpable tension among

some groups, due to increased dif-

ferences in perspectives and opin-

ions. To ensure they continue to work

as a united team, Keating explains

employers should “identify what the

common goal is, identify what each

person in the team brings to the party

and hold people to account for playing

their part in delivering that outcome”.

Team diversity can result in better

outcomes for businesses. “Sometimes

in a high-performing team there is

more challenge and debate but the

result will be more robust and more

thought through. Diversity eliminates

group think,” explains Churchman.

Get it right and a diverse corporate

culture can be a significant businessasset. “In order to respond to today’s

seriously competitive marketplace,

[businesses] look for every way of

getting an insight into being creative

and innovative in order to reengi-

neer themselves, keep things fresh

and keep ahead. That’s exactly what

this is about,” concludes Worman.

MIX IT UP FORTHE BEST RESULT

DIVERSITY Far from being a muddle, diversity plays

a key role in corporate success, says Debbie LovewellUse of social media has rocketed in

recent years, with an inevitable im-

pact on the workplace. Employers’

attitudes to it vary: some impose a

strict ban on the use of social media

at work, while others actively encour-

age it as part of a new way of working.

Whatever their approach, employ-

ers need to understand the potential

impact of worker use of the likes of

Facebook and Twitter on their busi-

ness, and take measures to protect

themselves. As XpertHR explains, this

includes putting in place a robust social

media policy.

POTENTIAL DAMAGE

Employers need to be aware of the

problems that can arise from use

of social media by their workforce.These range from liability for defam-

atory commentary about clients or

competitors in employee-penned

social media posts, to vicarious lia-

bility for discriminatory comments

about colleagues.

But the potential consequence that

can be most difficult and expensive to

rectify is the damage to the organisa-

tion’s reputation or brand that is likely

to result from a disgruntled employee’s

online comments.

THE PRIVATE EASILY

BECOMES PUBLIC

Of course, employees have always

moaned about work and their em-

ployer over a pint in the pub. But if

equivalent comments are posted

on Facebook, they have the poten-tial to reach a much wider audience,

with a corresponding dramatic in-

crease in the potential for damage.

And once something is “out there”

on social media, it is virtually impos-

sible to contain.

As there is no recognis

for the personal use of so

connection with employm

ers need to be proactive in

own standards.

PREVENTION IS BET

THAN CURE

A well-drafted social m

can be used to educat

force about acceptable

practices, and reduce th

inappropriate material b

in the first place. A failure

rules about social media

uncertainty for workers

to draw the line and a la

standing about the pos

quences of their actions

THE POWER TO TAK

Having a social media

empowers employers to

where necessary. Where

set out social media gu

posing disciplinary sanct

they view as inappropria

ly to result in problems.

At the very least, lack of

could result in inconsisten

ment, and ill-feeling and

among staff. However, em

need to remember that a

for posting inappropriat

could well result in an un

claim in the employmen

the absence of a clear po

media use, and importa

has been brought to the

attention, the employer isan uphill battle to convin

nal that it acted reasona

maximum compensator

unfair dismissal set at £6

not something employers

take lightly.

Social media policies:Can your businessafford to be without o

C O M

M E R C I A L F E A T U R E

Having different personalities

is one of the biggest contributors

to increased innovation

GENDER DIVERSITY

89 EUROPEAN COMPANIESWITH HIGHEST LEVEL OFGENDER DIVERSITY IN TOPMANAGEMENT

48%HIGHER OPERATING RESULTTHAN THE AVERAGE FORTHEIR SECTOR

64%STOCK PRICE GROWTHCOMPARED TO ANAVERAGE OF 47 PER CENT

Source:McKinsey and Company’s study ‘Women matter’

Download the free XpertHR model policy on the

media today at www.xperthr.co.uk/social





©CREDIT

Ȗ As k La ur a Wh yt e, pe rs on -

nel director at John Lewis, what

makes her employees tick, and

she describes it very succinctly. “If

you start with an engaged partner,

they’ll deliver a great customer ser-

vice, w hich de livers p rofit, whichin turn goes back to the partner,”

she explains. This ‘virtuous’ circle of

partners (as employees are called),

customers and profit is what makes

people want to work for John Lewis

and stay there – staff turnover there

is around half of what it is in the rest

of the retail sector.

As pa rtners, employees of John

Lewis ‘co-own’ the company, so they

have a vested interest in making it

succeed. And while each partner

receives an annual profit-related

bonus every March (this year it was

18 per cent of salary – equivalent

to nine weeks’ pay), their engage-

ment with the company is more than

financial. The partnership boasts

a unique structure of democratic

bodies, where partners can air their views and influence how the com-

pany is run. The role of personnel

director is a board-level position, and

any business development decisions

are always taken with one eye on the

impact on the partners.

To some, this highly democratic,

co-operative approach may seem

at odds with the fast-moving mar-

kets retailers operate in today. But

Whyte argues that the values set out

in 1929 by John Spedan Lewis, son of

the original John Lewis, contribute

to rather than hamper its success.

“We are probably more demanding

now of ourselves in terms of cus-

tomer service and our leaders, but

our cultural DNA hasn’t changed,”

she says. “The fact that our businessmodel has been around since 1929 is

a huge plus.”

That John Lewis has been working

with respected management profes-

sor Lynda Gratton on her Future

of Work programme suggests the

retailer is working to future-proof

its brand as an employer. Research-

ers from Gratton’s Hot Spots Move-

ment have been working with the

partnership to embed some of their

findings in the John Lewis business

strategy through to 2020. “One of

the risks of a long cultural legacy

is that you become insular and you

look to your history rather than your

future, so I’m very conscious of the

need to challenge myself and my

team to make sure we don’t do th at,”

says Whyte.Low staff turnover compared with

the rest of the sector means it is eas-

ier to justify investments in train-

ing and developing staff, she adds. “I

don’t have to do a lot of arm twisting

to get the board to invest in learning

and development, based on the lon-

gevity of service here. W

ity of service is decreas

of social trends, for us it

of our proposition.”

Investing in leaders

ticular, is a priority at J

The partnership runs abespoke leadership de

programme and even i

leadership behaviours

its formal appraisal pr

leadership path, know

zons’, offers a formal rou

one on the shop floor to

way up to a section man

run a store.

Added to this is a com

list of rewards and ben

includes subsidised ‘le

ing’ – something Whyte

tage of “as a broke gradu

horse-riding.

Whyte will h erself c

years working for John

April. Whenever she atte

ment party, the refrain i

same: “Every single tim‘I will miss the people

“Ask someone what th

about working here is an

the people they work w

leaders they work for. A

first Thursday in March

they’d probably say thei

BUILDING THE

FUTURE ON THE PAST

INTERVIEW The John Lewis Partnership’s values are asrelevant today as they were 80 years ago, findsJo Faragher

Laura Whyte: conscious of the need

to challenge herself and her team

The retailer is working to

future-proof its brand as an emplo




21ST CENTURY WORK

he says. “For the employ

danger of being trapped i

itised work” that has been

such as in call centres, w

career development pro

Susy Roberts, directo

Roberts, a change manag

sultancy, points out the o

that can also arise for tho

transferred to new provi

this aspect that employe

to stress to ensure they gthat is required.

“It can mean more care

nities, more developme

status,” she says. “If you

within a small internal

or payroll in a large or

you might feel detache

volved. Working for an

operation where HR an

the core business, your w

more value and significa

Technology also has a

to play in shaping the w

the future, with flexible

working allowing orga

implement new models t

overheads down. The de

corporate tools based o

working technologies is

both organisations andproviders operate more

This is something wit

“millennial generation” is

fortable, says Sanjiv Gossa

president and head of UK

operations at IT outsourc

“The onus is on corp

bring consumer IT to c

to attract and retain em

says. “Being a part of thi

system invigorates em

makes businesses stron

Ȗ The trials and tribulations of

the last four years have led many

organisations to re-evaluate both

their business strategy and oper-

ating model.

Whether downsizing to reduce bot-tom-line costs, finding opportunities

through mergers and acquisitions

or investing in new markets, hardly

any organisation has escaped a large

degree of turmoil.

Understanding the people side is

essential for any organisation going

through a period of transition. “Pro-

jects often die because employees

aren’t trained to understand how the

change will impact them and affect

their daily role,” says Tony Maurice,

a partner in Deloitte’s change man-

agement practice.

“For a change management pro-

gramme to be successful, the leader-

ship team needs to demonstrate the

benefits of the change by leading theirpeople, gaining their trust and engag-

ing them in the process from day one.

If people don’t understand their role

in the process, they won’t take part.”

For many companies, the empha-

sis is on keeping headcount low,

meaning change management pro-

grammes have often been accom-

panied by outsourcing, where staff

may be transferred to a dedicated

provider of non-specialist services,

and a greater use of contract labour.

“Organisations are being forced to

think about the way in which they

operate,” says Richard Goold, execu-

tive director at Moorhouse Consult-

ing. “This includes the need to dif-

ferentiate between what is core andnon-core in terms of what they do and

to engage with outsourcing providers

which can take on the non-core com-

ponents and deliver them at a cheaper

cost with no degradation of service.”

Paul Lambert, associate director at

management consultancy Hay Group,

says companies looking to go down

this route need to ensure they identify

the right blend of core and contracted

workforce for their particular busi-

ness strategy, and then contrast that

against the likely future shape of the

business, taking into account antici-

pated requirements and both reten-

tion and retirement trends.

Such outsourced relationships can

offer both risk and opportunities toemployers and employees, he adds.

“For employers, care needs to be taken

to identify what is core, high value-

adding work and to make sure the

skills are not lost to the core business,”

© DIAMONDSKY IMAGES

CHANGING WITHTHE CHANGING TIMES

CHANGE MANAGEMENT Nick Martindale finds out how companiescan best deal with a constantly evolving business landscape

Take care to

ensure skills are

not lost to the

business

The leadership team

needs to demonstrate the

benefits of change

Raconteur on 21st Century Workplace

Documents

Transcript of Raconteur on 21st Century Workplace