Top tech stats: London tech firms lose out on hires post-Brexit, rogue employees and more

Welcome to your roundup of some of the past week’s most interesting surveys, statistics and reports relevant to those involved in the UK tech industry.

This week, we have statistics relating to Brexit’s perceived impact on London’s technology sector, employees going rogue with data and a very unexpected career jobs advisor.

Brexit and tech talent

London tech is starting to feel the impact of the EU Referendum result.

According to research unveiled by London Tech Advocates, one in three tech companies in London have experienced talks with potential international hires falling through as a direct result of Brexit.

The study showed that the impact of Brexit on access to talent is considered the biggest threat to the sector by 55% of London’s tech startups and scaleups.

As a result, nearly two-thirds (61%) of London’s tech entrepreneurs believe Brexit has already damaged the international reputation of the city’s technology sector.

However, 60% of British technology entrepreneurs say London is still the best place in Europe to start and scale a tech company.

Russ Shaw, founder of Tech London Advocates and Global Tech Advocates, commented on the findings: “Entrepreneurs are defined by their ability to turn challenges into opportunities and the sentiment across London’s tech sector is increasingly one of determination, conviction and ambition. Slowing down access to European talent will make growing a tech company harder, but London is focused on strengthening its relationship with tech hubs across Europe and around the world that are already fuelling our investment pipeline.”

Naughty employees

Some 24% of employees have shared confidential business information with other companies on purpose and almost 50% have received an email by mistake.

Research by Egress Software Technologies, which unveils how work email is frequently misused by employers in the UK, also showed that half of respondents said they would either delete or would delete emails from their sent folder if they had sent information to someone they shouldn’t have.

Almost half (46%) of those surveyed said they had received a panicked email recall request. Some 37% added that they don’t always check emails before sending them with 68% of those asked saying this was due to rushing.

Autofill technology caused 42% to select the wrong recipient in the list, while 8% said alcohol played a part in all wrongly sent emails.

Of those who accidentally sent an email to the wrong person, 40% said said they accidently insulted the recipient or included rude jokes, swear words and risqué messages.

Worryingly, almost one in 10 accidentally leaked sensitive attachments, such as bank details or customer information, putting customers and their own organisations at risk.

“Email is frequently misused by the UK workforce,” said Tony Pepper, CEO and co-founder, Egress. “While offending an accidental recipient may cause red faces, leaking confidential information can amount to a data breach. As we move towards the EU General Data Protection Regulation, it has never been more important to get a grip on any possible risk points within the organisation and, as this research shows, email needs serious attention.”

Career advice and robots

Approximately a third of job seekers would take career advice from a robot.

That’s according to new study commissioned by Indeed, which also found that majority (58%) of those looking for work were confident their role would never be replaced by robots or automated technology.

In the meantime, a quarter (27%)  of those surveyed said they have concerns about their role becoming automated in the future.

The top five tasks people were most comfortable with being automated were:

1.       Job search assistance
2.       News reporting
3.       Healthcare support
4.       Finance management
5.       Driving vehicles

For younger jobseekers, there’s an even greater appetite to see robots play a role. Half of (48%) those under 35 believe that automation will help make recruitment less biased and as many as a third (36%) think removing humans from the process entirely will solve the problem.

Raj Mukherjee, senior vice president of product at Indeed, commented: “Far from people fearing robots and automation, this study shows that there’s a real enthusiasm among jobseekers to turn to robots to progress their careers – whether receiving careers advice or help finding the right role.

“With new challenges facing the UK’s labour market, equipping individuals the best chances for finding the right jobs is the Holy Grail of recruiting. More data available to both applicants and employers leads to better matches, and helps eliminate human bias. AI-powered technology gives recruiters back the time to make human connections, transforms the jobseeker experience and ultimately, helps match talent to roles as Britain tries to plug its skills gap.”