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PRO NEWS
Fun bumps up productivity
The majority of UK businesses fail to effectively monitor productivity, according to a new survey.
NOVEMBER 2016 PRO INSTALLER
www. proinstaller. co. uk
The last FIM Expo was at the RAF Museum, Cosford, near Birmingham.
The study, from HR software and employment law advice company, BrightHR, reveals only eight per cent of companies regularly monitor productivity metrics, while less than a quarter( 22 per cent) believe it is something that needs to be monitored more closely. More than a quarter of businesses( 28 per cent) believe that fun and play in the workplace reduce productivity more than administration tasks( 24 per cent), absenteeism / sick leave( 16 per cent), staff training( 14 per cent) and lateness( eight per cent). Author and productivity expert Graham Allcott, who compiled the‘ It Pays to Play: Play and Productivity’ report with BrightHR, said:“ We live in an age where, in theory, productivity should be booming, but in the UK at least, it’ s been flat-lining for a decade. Technology affords us so many exciting ways to improve productivity, whether it’ s through software to automate or make tasks easier, the ability to work flexibly from home, or the opportunities provided by the information age and global connectedness. But there is also a downside, which many businesses just don’ t see or mitigate.“ Many workers feel like the boundaries between work and life are blurring, that they’ re required to check email constantly no matter what time of day or night, or that they’ re being monitored and micro-managed. So creating a culture of trust, where people can feel engaged to have fun at work and participate in constantly improving productivity has never been more vital.”
BrightHR’ s research highlights the positive impact workplace fun has on staff morale, creativity and productivity. Their research shows 62 per cent of employees who had no sick days in the last three months experienced some form of fun in the workplace. The research also found 58 per cent of people who hadn’ t experienced workplace fun had been off sick 11 or more days, compared to 42 per cent of those who had experienced workplace fun.
‘ reduce the low-value tasks to make the space for what really matters’
“ Culture doesn’ t just happen,” continues Allcott.“ It needs nurturing, and business leaders need to do everything possible to reduce distractions and think more creatively about how to reduce the low-value tasks to make the space for what really matters.” But the majority of business owners surveyed take a simplistic view of employee engagement and its relation to productivity, with almost two-thirds( 63 per cent) believing that the top attribute of an engaged employee is being fully committed to achieving results. Paul Tooth, co-founder and chief executive officer of BrightHR, said:“ It’ s alarming to find that so many British businesses simply don’ t measure productivity, and more than this, they are in the dark about the real business benefits of it.”
www. brighthr. com
UNION HITS OUT AT FIRE PREVENTION CUTS
The Fire Brigades Union has warned about the dangers of cuts to the fire service, following a new report from the Home Office revealing the amount of fire safety work has dropped over the last five years. The Home Office’ s‘ Fire Operational Statistics Bulletin’ showed:
• The number of home fire risk checks and fire safety audits have dropped by a quarter in five years.
• Fire and rescue services are spending less time on public safety campaigns and initiatives.
• 10 %( 4,300) of staff have left the fire and rescue service in the past year.
PIGS FLYING HIGH
The People in Glazing Society( PIGS) Birmingham event saw the highest attendance for the glazing network, just ahead of its first international PIGS at GlassBuild America in Las Vegas in October. PIGS organiser Sarah Ball from Balls2 Marketing said:“ The glazing industry has been in good health over the past two years. It’ s great that PIGS has become an essential part of the calendar – companies from across the supply chain recognise it’ s the perfect chance to get out and
• The average age of a firefighter has increased to 41 as the number of young firefighters is slashed by 40 %. The union has also warned of a‘ generational time bomb’ as the number of young firefighters aged between 16-24 has dropped by 40 % in the past five years reflecting a lack of recruitment. The average age of a firefighter is now 41. Andy Dark, FBU assistant general secretary, said:“ We are deeply concerned about the impact of job cuts on the public’ s fire and rescue service.“ The government’ s data shows that fire services are now cutting back even further on fire prevention work because the workforce has been stripped. Fire services are struggling to cope with the current workload.“ The government have prioritised balancing the books over all else, including public safety. These figures paint a damning picture of today’ s fire and rescue service, which is simply not safe in the hands of this government.“ Resources continue to be slashed, it’ s taking longer to get to fires and more people are dying as a result.” In October, the latest FIM Expo- organised by the Fire Industry Association( FIA) – took place at the RAF Museum, Cosford, near Birmingham.
about to catch up on the latest news in glass and glazing.
It featured many of the UK’ s leading fire detection and alarm manufacturers and focused on showcasing the latest products and developments in this sector of the industry. FIM Expo is for anyone working in this area, whether as an installer or maintainer of fire detection and alarm systems, a manager of such systems in commercial premises or as an architect or person specifying what type of fire protection systems should be installed in a building.
www. fia. uk. com
“ At the heart of PIGS’ success is the generosity of our sponsors bringing home the bacon. All of the money goes behind the bar to get the party started and it’ s become something of a tradition to guess at what time the kitty runs dry.“ For Birmingham, we actually ran a sweepstake. Iain Britton from Edgetech UK was the winner of a pack of Percy Pigs for being nearest to the time, 7:45pm.”