raconteur on 21st century workplace
TRANSCRIPT
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?
8/10/2019 Raconteur on 21st Century Workplace
http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/raconteur-on-21st-century-workplace 2/16
8/10/2019 Raconteur on 21st Century Workplace
http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/raconteur-on-21st-century-workplace 3/16
TWITTER.COM/RACONTEURMEDIA R
21ST CENTURY WORK
Your feedback is valued by us.
Please send in your opinions to
For information about partnering
with Raconteur Media please contact
Freddie Ossberg: +44 (0)20 7033 2100,
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
8/10/2019 Raconteur on 21st Century Workplace
http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/raconteur-on-21st-century-workplace 4/16
04 RACONTEUR TWITTER.COM/RACONTEURMEDIA
21ST CENTURY WORKPLACE
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
8/10/2019 Raconteur on 21st Century Workplace
http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/raconteur-on-21st-century-workplace 5/16
TWITTER.COM/RACONTEURMEDIA R
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
8/10/2019 Raconteur on 21st Century Workplace
http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/raconteur-on-21st-century-workplace 6/16
06 RACONTEUR TWITTER.COM/RACONTEURMEDIA
21ST CENTURY WORKPLACE
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
8/10/2019 Raconteur on 21st Century Workplace
http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/raconteur-on-21st-century-workplace 7/16
TWITTER.COM/RACONTEURMEDIA R
COMMERCIAL FEATURE
TWITTER.COM/RACONTEURMEDIA R
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
8/10/2019 Raconteur on 21st Century Workplace
http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/raconteur-on-21st-century-workplace 8/16
08 RACONTEUR TWITTER.COM/RACONTEURMEDIA
21ST CENTURY WORKPLACE
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
8/10/2019 Raconteur on 21st Century Workplace
http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/raconteur-on-21st-century-workplace 9/16
TWITTER.COM/RACONTEURMEDIA R
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
8/10/2019 Raconteur on 21st Century Workplace
http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/raconteur-on-21st-century-workplace 10/16
0 RACONTEUR TWITTER.COM/RACONTEURMEDIA
21ST CENTURY WORKPLACE
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
8/10/2019 Raconteur on 21st Century Workplace
http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/raconteur-on-21st-century-workplace 11/16
TWITTER.COM/RACONTEURMEDIA
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
8/10/2019 Raconteur on 21st Century Workplace
http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/raconteur-on-21st-century-workplace 12/16
2 RACONTEUR TWITTER.COM/RACONTEURMEDIA
21ST CENTURY WORKPLACE
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
8/10/2019 Raconteur on 21st Century Workplace
http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/raconteur-on-21st-century-workplace 13/16
TWITTER.COM/RACONTEURMEDIA
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
8/10/2019 Raconteur on 21st Century Workplace
http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/raconteur-on-21st-century-workplace 14/16
4 RACONTEUR TWITTER.COM/RACONTEURMEDIA
21ST CENTURY WORKPLACE
©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
8/10/2019 Raconteur on 21st Century Workplace
http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/raconteur-on-21st-century-workplace 15/16
TWITTER.COM/RACONTEURMEDIA
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
8/10/2019 Raconteur on 21st Century Workplace
http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/raconteur-on-21st-century-workplace 16/16