News

Haulage companies are constantly looking for ways to increase efficiency and profit and their quest for time saving now stretches into cyberspace, according to a study by the Chartered Management Institute (CMI).

However, the survey found that employers in transport and logistics view internet activity as a "massive timewaster", with 86% blocking inappropriate web sites and 5% imposing curfews on internet use. As a result, 10% of employees in the sector believe their organisation is a "dinosaur"  when it comes to accepting new technology, and more than half think their company waits too long before adopting new technology.

In contrast, the majority of respondents – all aged under 35 – said they used the internet for professional development (67%) and 48% said it was useful for research. Just 39% of managers focused on its use as a social space for sites such as Facebook or MySpace.

Ordnance Survey HR director Jan Hutchinson says: "The low-level adoption of technology is in tandem with employers' belief that internet use is a time waster. It's something that must be looked at because the longer this situation is allowed to remain unchallenged, the greater the likelihood UK employers will fall behind international competitors."

A CMI spokeswoman adds: "Organisations need to harness the comfort levels these individuals have with internet-based resources, because failure to do so will lead to frustration and the loss of top talent at best, or  worse, an open door for competitors to build advantage through a better equipped and enabled workforce."