A look at current trends and data

Citation

Nolan, S. (2010), "A look at current trends and data", Strategic HR Review, Vol. 9 No. 6. https://doi.org/10.1108/shr.2010.37209fab.008

A look at current trends and data

Article Type: Research and results From: Strategic HR Review, Volume 9, Issue 6

Story 1

Collaboration to fuel workplace innovation

Businesses are entering a “decisive decade” when the workplace will be transformed and ways of sharing and developing ideas will be dramatically accelerated by new opportunities to collaborate online. This is according to an international study developed by The Future Foundation for Google Enterprise.

The study gathered opinions from 3,500 employees across the UK, France, Germany, Japan and the USA, as well as 12 experts in innovation and business transformation. It explores how new technologies will dramatically alter working practices in developed economies, affect the creativity and productivity of employees and evolve the roles of HR and IT managers. It warns that companies will need to address significant cultural and organizational changes to become leaders in the ideas economy. Key findings include the following.

Contribution culture

The study reveals an 81 percent correlation between collaboration and innovation, showing that the more employees are given the opportunity to collaborate, the more ideas they will contribute. However, many organizations are yet to embrace the new technologies that enable collaboration. Only 12 percent of employees surveyed expressed satisfaction with the technology available to them at work and 44 percent say the technology they use in their personal lives is better than that available to them in the office.

Reward and recognition

Another key challenge for organizations in the decisive decade will be motivating and incentivizing staff to generate ideas. The biggest incentives for employees to come up with creative ideas are financial reward (45 percent) and recognition for their achievements (39 percent). A total of 58 percent of employees say they would already be coming up with more creative ideas for their employers if they thought they would be rewarded for them.

There is a discrepancy emerging between existing systems for encouraging innovation and rewarding staff accordingly. Forty-four percent of employees say their company has systems in place to allow for the contribution of ideas, but only 19 percent have bonus schemes to directly reward ideas generation.

HR and IT interaction and integration

As human interaction becomes a core part of innovation and business success, elements of the HR and IT functions will integrate. HR will be more responsible for ensuring that employees are motivated to collaborate and innovate, while IT will provide the infrastructure to enable it.

For more information

Visit www.futurefoundation.net

Story 2

Social media is key to better internal communications

Organizations that have adopted social media for internal communications have reaped measurable benefits, while those that fail to keep up will pay the price by becoming less competitive. This is one of the key findings of a study into using social media for internal communication conducted by Melcrum. Carried out between January and February 2010, it surveyed more than 2,600 internal communication professionals from 1,800 organizations around the world.

Key findings include the following:

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  More than half of internal communicators say their organizations do not have a social media policy in place. The level of social media expertise and experience among the profession is poor, with more training needed.

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  Social media has changed the roles and responsibilities of global internal communicators. Practitioners are rapidly changing focus from controlling communication to influencing colleagues. Leaders are embracing “two-way employee communication” but still rely on email and e-newsletters.

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  Gaining budget, overcoming IT restrictions and management fearing a loss of control and reputational damage are the biggest barriers preventing communicators from implementing social media tools within their organizations.

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  Organizations who have successfully adopted social media for internal communications have gained business benefits in terms of million of dollars.

Divided opinions

The split between those who believe there is a clear business case and positive results, and those who are unsure of the business value and results social media can bring within an organization is split. A total of 47 percent believe the business case for social media is “very clear” or “clear,” while 46 percent suggest it is “very unclear” or “unclear.”

The biggest benefit for internal communicators that have already put together a business case for the use of social media within their organizations is innovation and idea exchange (41.5 percent), followed by employee engagement (38.4 percent) and knowledge management and collaboration (30.8 percent). This was backed by the fact that 54.3 percent of respondents said that “getting employees to talk, share information and collaborate” was the “most effective” use of social media within global organizations. Building communities was second, while connecting to and learning from Generation Y employees was found to be the third most effective use of social media.

According to the study, many organizations have now moved well beyond the social media experimentation phase. Businesses are increasingly spending significant budget on redesigning and rebuilding their communication strategies and intranets, with social media at the very heart of every operation. Those that have, such as AEP, Sabre, Netapp, Deloitte and Van Marcke, have reaped benefits measured in millions of dollars in savings, business improvements, increased productivity, and better employee retention.

For more information

Visit www.melcrum.com

Story 3

European managers concerned by work-related stress

Concern about psychosocial risks such as stress, violence and harassment is increasing in European organizations, according to data released by the European Agency for Safety and Health at Work (EU-OSHA) from the European Survey of Enterprises on New and Emerging Risks (ESENER).

Psychosocial risks concern most European companies

Four out of five European managers express their concerns about work-related stress, making stress at work as important as workplace accidents for companies (79 percent). Work-related stress is very acute in health and social work (91 percent of companies regard it as of some or major concern) and in education (84 percent). Despite high levels of concern, only 26 percent of EU organizations have procedures in place to deal with stress.

The ESENER also shows that 42 percent of management representatives consider it more difficult to tackle psychosocial risks, compared with other safety and health issues. The sensitivity of the issue (53 percent) and lack of awareness (50 percent) are the main barriers for dealing effectively with psychosocial issues, according to the findings.

Workers’ involvement is a key factor in health and safety management

The survey shows that workplaces with employee participation are much more likely to see successful health and safety measures implemented. This is particularly the case for smaller workplaces where it is an important trigger for effective management of psychosocial risks. A total of 84 percent of companies with formal onsite employee representation have an occupational safety and health (OSH) policy or action plan, compared to only 71 percent of companies without formal representation.

Measures to deal with psychosocial risks such as violence, stress and bullying are applied about twice as frequently by enterprises consulting their employees than by those designing their measures without the participation of employees.

Small size need not be an obstacle to effective risk management

ESENER found that the main barriers for dealing with health and safety issues are lack of resources (36 percent) such as time, staff or money, and lack of awareness (26 percent). Survey evidence also shows that even smaller companies are able to carry out in-house risk assessment, but need support in the form of expertise, guidance and tools to manage their risk management process effectively and to design and implement successful preventive measures.

3.5 For more information

The full ESENER report and a summary in 22 languages are available at www.esener.eu

Story 4

CIOs gaining influence globally

In a global survey of 2,655 senior IT professionals undertaken by Harvey Nash and PA Consulting Group, 71 percent of participants revealed their role was becoming more strategic and, for the first time since the survey began, over half sat on the operational boards for their companies.

Moreover, the survey reveals that for many, the recession has acted as a catalyst for the IT department to prove its value to the business, with three-quarters successfully demonstrating cost saving and operational efficiencies to their CEO in the last 12 months.

But increasing influence has not been accompanied by a rise in job satisfaction, and significant variances in chief information officer (CIO) remuneration, particularly as a result of the devaluation of the British Pound and higher UK taxes, suggest the most talented technology executives may look to change jobs and even move abroad as the economy begins to pick up. A total of 43 percent of CIOs globally expect to be in a new job within 24 months.

For more information

Visit www.harveynash.com

Sara Nolan