Team diversity boosts bottom lines, December was a flop for retailers, and more trending news
The news professionals in the UK are talking about now, curated by LinkedIn’s editors. Join the conversation in the comments below.
Diverse executive teams positively impact a company’s bottom line, according to a new study by McKinsey & Co. The research into more than 1,000 big companies in 12 countries found that those that ranked in the top 25% for ethnically diverse executive teams were 33% more likely to post greater profits than competitors in the bottom quartile. Gender diversity showed similar results. Despite the evidence, advancement for both groups still remains slow, the study notes. ? Share your thoughts: #DiverseExecTeams
Retailers just suffered their worst December since 2010. Sales fell more sharply than expected last month, according to new stats from the ONS, with a 1.5% dip on November’s results – the biggest month-on-month fall since June 2016. However, analysts claim the drop in sales is due to shifting consumer habits and isn’t down to the squeeze on household finances – they point to November’s Black Friday period as being the cause of customers’ reluctance to spend in December.
Ryanair has agreed to increase the wages of its UK pilots by 20%. The low-cost airline said secret ballots at each of its 15 UK bases resulted in the pilots accepting the pay deal. Ryanair ended up engaging in pay negotiations after pilots threatened to strike in the run up to Christmas. Meanwhile, the Irish firm is still locked in negotiations with pilots in Spain, Italy, Ireland and Germany. It also emerged today that two parliamentary committees have referred Ryanair to the UK employment and tax authorities for investigation after it declined to answer questions about its pay and employment practices late last year.
A Softbank-led consortium closed an $8bn deal with Uber, making the Japanese conglomerate Uber’s largest investor. As part of the deal, the ride-hailing company will expand the number of board seats to 17, reducing the influence of ex-CEO Travis Kalanick – who got $1.4bn from the deal, and end a lawsuit brought forth by investor Benchmark against Kalanick. It’s a big win for CEO Dara Khosrowshahi, who has sought to turnaround the company’s legal and workplace controversies as it prepares for a potential IPO in 2019. ? Share your thoughts: #UberSoftbankDeal
Ofcom has revealed a list of the most complained about broadband providers. The watchdog’s data shows TalkTalk and Plusnet were the worst broadband providers in Britain for customer satisfaction in Q3 2017. A rise in complaints about TalkTalk’s broadband service coincided with the firm’s closure of one of its call centres – it decided to do so after discovering employees were scamming customers. The least complained about providers from June to September last year were Sky and EE, with seven and 10 complaints per 100,000 customers, respectively.
Idea of the Day: It can be difficult to stay happy when you’re out of work or afraid of losing your job, says happiness expert Gretchen Rubin. But there are ways you can pull yourself out of it: “Even if you don’t think you can feel happy, you might be able to feel happier.”
“You may feel like you’ve been pushed a giant step backward; that you’re out of control of what’s happening to you. Look for a place where you can move forward and take control. Learn to do something new ... Clean something up ... Create something beautiful.”
What's your take? Join the conversations on today's stories in the comments.
— Emily Spaven / Share this using #DailyRundown
MCIPS |Senior Commercial|Procurement Category Manager
6 年High streets sales dipped because online shoppers were busy buying stuff on black Friday.Shopping trends changed since amazon started Nov black Friday sale.
Continuous Improvement professional. Expertise in Supply Chain, Finance and Administration for increased customer value, employee engagement, operations excellence and financial performance.
6 年Is it not conceivably the case that the most profitable companies are the ones most likely to experiment with diversity hires, gender quotas and the like? For example Google is cult like in its pursuit of "diversity" in all aspects of diversity except the one that matters most, diversity of thought. The promotion of people based on factors such as race, ethnicity, gender etc to achieve some arbitrary reflection of national diversity is, by definition, sub optimal. The best person for the job regardless of extraneous factors such as race, ethnicity and gender is the most reliable and honest approach to hiring, assuming you want your business to succeed. Personality traits such as intelligence and conscientiousness are far more meaningful than these "diversity" characteristics.
RETIRED
6 年I am being made redundant this week for the 2nd time in 3 years. Not the best time of year for anyone to lose their job and I have re-evaluated a lot of things. I am at that “clear out and trying something new” stage and now know what aspects of my role I like and don't like. Wish me luck!!!!
Hospitality Business Manager
6 年I don't believe December was a flop for retailers .November and December figures should be combined and average worked out.Shopping trends have changed because of Black Friday.