NEWS & ANALYSIS FMJ.CO.UK
ASSOCIATION NEWS
RICS FM SURVEY PREDICTS DRAMATIC CHANGE IN
UTILISATION OF WORK SPACE
Tarrant Parsons, Economist, RICS
THE PEOPLE BEHIND THE NUMBERS
8 JULY 2020
As some of the
restrictions
imposed during
lockdown now begin
to ease, it has become
clear that the legacy
of the health crisis
will lead to some
substantial longerterm
changes in the
way people work and how buildings operate.
To help shed light on some of the issues facing
the sector as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic,
feedback to the latest RICS Facilities Management
Survey has been especially useful.
Of particular interest at this point, opinions
and expectations were collected regarding the
proportion of the workforce that would likely
return to the workplace as before once the
lockdown has been li ed. While it is early in the
process of unwinding the lockdown, the largest
share of contributors currently believe that less
than 60 per cent of workers will return, relative to
the pre-COVID norm. It goes without saying that
such a major reduction would cause a dramatic
transformation in how space is utilised in the
future.
For those that do return, employers will need
to consider carefully the new measures to be
introduced in order to ensure the safety and
wellbeing of workers. Survey participants feel
the most important features to bring in include
new hygiene facilities, more rigorous sanitation
schedules, increased signage and guidance around
the building, clear rules around the number of
people on the premises at one time, and ensuring
the setup is appropriate for workers to be able
physically distance themselves. There was also
a widely held view that, where possible, all
employees should be given the flexibility to work
from home if they wish to do so.
Survey participants were also asked to rate
on a scale of 1 to 6 how prepared they were for
the reopening of buildings, with 1 being not at
all prepared and 6 being completely prepared.
In the latest returns, the highest proportion of
contributors (46 per cent) gave a score of 5 out of
6, while the average rating came in at 4.7 out of
6. Encouragingly, both indicate a relatively high
degree of readiness for re-openings even if there is
still more work to do at this stage.
It is also interesting to see how the pandemic
has reshaped demand for FM services to varying
degrees across di erent sectors. Indeed, while the
retail sector has unsurprisingly seen a sharp fall in
demand, at the other end of the scale, the survey
feedback points to demand accelerating sharply
within the healthcare sector. Meanwhile, a flat
trend was reported across the education, private
industrial and other private sectors, although
this stands in contrast with the modest growth
reported across each of these areas in the previous
survey results. It remains to be seen exactly how
these patterns will unfold going forward, with
some e ects set to be more transient than others.
Nevertheless, it does seem likely that at least some
of the shi s in demand resulting from the COVID-19
outbreak represent longer lasting structural
changes. On that front, the insights gathered
through future surveys will be even more valuable
in providing a clearer understanding of the postpandemic
landscape.
For more details visit
www.rics.org
For months now, we
have all followed
the COVID-19
pandemic and o entimes
the focus has been
on the numbers: how
many people have been
infected and, worst of
all, how many lives have
been lost. It is crucial to monitor these figures,
of course, but they are also impersonal and only
provide a limited understanding of the awful
impacts of the situation.
Away from these numbers are all of the people
struggling as they su er the impacts of, amongst
other things, disruption, isolation, fear, anxiety,
stress, and, tragically, grief. Then there are
the organisations forced to close or limit their
operations, which of course has a ripple e ect:
people’s lives turned upside-down and livelihoods
threatened or taken away through no fault of their
own.
While many in our industry have been on the true
frontline of the pandemic, keeping our buildings
and people safe, IWFM’s Customer Experience team
has been on a di erent kind of frontline: engaging
with and reacting to our members’ needs since
lockdown measures changed everything. If we can
be certain of anything in these uncertain times, it’s
that a lot of people are under tremendous strain,
whatever their circumstances.
As lockdown began, we understood the need to
be dually proactive and reactive. In practice, this
meant ramping up our member outreach with
phone calls and emails to check in on them, while
at the same time preparing to support members
as best we could, anticipating that, to help our
members through these ‘turbulent times’, we would
need ready-made solutions.
Flexibility has been key; so, too, strategic planning
to ensure we covered all bases, from personal and
professional worries to membership concerns.
Solutions have varied from providing discounts
and deferments to pointing professionals to useful
guidance and insight to help them navigate the
crisis. Sometimes, people simply need someone
to listen, which highlights another key focus of our
work: our ‘tone of voice’ to ensure members receive
the same standard of empathy and compassion
with each interaction.
The reactions to our engagement strategy have
been overwhelming. At a time when we were all
distanced, the power of human interaction and
compassion – even by telephone and email – truly
came to the fore. A lot of members have been
grateful simply for being contacted and o ered
support, while many others have reached out
in distress and le the interaction relieved and
grateful. If there is greater job satisfaction than
helping others, I cannot conceive it.
It seems the human cost of COVID-19 will be felt
for some time, but if we continue to support one
another, I am sure we will emerge from this crisis
with renewed hope and exciting opportunities. The
way many of us work is likely to change indefinitely
and you can guess which profession will lead and
facilitate the change. The economy will rely heavily
on our profession to rebuild; in the meantime, we
encourage the profession to lean on us.
Sofi a Erleigh, Head of Sales and
Customer Experience, IWFM
/www.rics.org
