Business Reporter

Donald Trump imparts his property market expertise as he praises Asia’s major development but warns China is ripping us off You could forgive Donald Trump for having other things on his mind. Fresh from a rollercoaster “will he-won’t he” saga over a potential presidential bid, the controversial billionaire has made headlines with his fiercely combative [...]

The smooth running of the Olympics will depend on the efforts of thousands of temporary workers. But how can you engage those on short-term contracts? The total workforce for the London Olympics will exceed 100,000. Many of these will be temps representing companies supplying the London Organising Committee of the Olympic and Paralympic Games, but [...]

The economic downturn may prove to be the catalyst for organisations finally realising they cannot afford to ignore employee engagement as a business tool For years “employee engagement” was one of those phrases bandied around by HR, to which the rest of the business felt obliged to pay lip service but would essentially ignore. The [...]

Room for improvement Staff working in the retail and utilities sector are likely to be the least engaged in the UK, a study by the Institute of Customer Service suggests. The findings were based on feedback from customers who rated staff for their willingness to help and how bored they seemed. Those working in banks were seen as most engaged. Global engagement is rising Despite [...]

It can be a long and winding road to sustainability but in today’s competitive world it’s a journey an increasing number of businesses are taking In times of economic strife, unnecessary fads tend not to last long. Yet the past few years have seen companies continue to tackle their carbon footprints and develop sustainability initiatives. [...]

The transport and logistics industry has emissions on its mind Emissions are big news across the business world. Businesses consuming more than 6,000 megawatt hours of electricity a year must report their energy usage under the CRC Energy Efficiency Scheme. But because this only covers core operations, energy expelled through logistics only impacts businesses directly [...]

With new Rail track and infrastructure projects having a lifespan of several decades, assessing changing weather patterns is a vital part of planning at Network Rail. John Dora, principal systems engineer for climate change, works closely with organisations including the Met Office and the Environment Agency to assess the likely impact of climate change. “We [...]

Extreme weather can potentially sink a business. So why doesn’t the unpredictability of the elements feature more heavily on the boardroom agenda? Seemingly out of the blue, we’ve just seen the wettest April and are experiencing the coldest May in more than 100 years. Such unseasonal weather underlines just how vulnerable the UK economy is [...]

Businesses will have to adapt their risk approach in line with changing weather patterns over the coming decades. According to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, the average summer temperature in the UK will increase by three or four degrees by the 2080s, while instances of what we now would call a heatwave [...]

Employers should think more creatively about how they use their existing pay pot to retain their talent Pressure on the pay bill is challenging employers to use their reward budgets as effectively as possible to ensure staff remain motivated and engaged. A recent survey for Hay Group found two-thirds of organisations intend renewing their reward [...]