NEWS & ANALYSIS FMJ.CO.UK
WORKPLACE FUTURES 2021
BRAVE NEW WORLD
The first big FM conference of
the season marks a year since
Workplace Futures 2020, the last live
FM event before the pandemic hit.
Introducing the online conference,
Chair Martin Pickard said there was
never more important a time to share
what we’ve all learnt over the past
year, and poignantly, held a minute’s
silence for the front-line FM people
lost to COVID-19.
The overriding theme of the
conference however, was of positivity,
with a focus on how the sector can build
on its enhanced credibility and continue
to demonstrate the value FM adds
to client organisations and the wider
economy and society.
In his keynote address Simon
Titchener, CCO at ISS urged delegates to
stay flexible and embrace the uncertainty
that will continue to dog us all over the
coming months. He noted that while
working from home remains a hot topic,
employers need to understand that
collaborative work will still require an
o ice environment. The workplace has
been recast he said, as “any place and
not just four walls. It’s not a physical
asset but a bubble around an individual
to help them meet their goals.”
The most attractive employers will be
the most flexible he concluded and there
has never been a better opportunity for
FM companies to deliver this and help
drive client businesses forward.
FUTURE FORTUNES
In his overview of the economy coming
out of lockdown Ian Marson from EY
warned of an insolvency dam. Over 30
per cent of real estate firms issued a
profit warning last year and many will
struggle to continue once the furlough
scheme comes to an end. However, the
changes wrought by COVID have seen
the expectations of employees change,
which may benefit the FM sector in
the longer term, as clients draw on FM
expertise to help attract sta back into
o ices.
The UK FM market will see a drop in
revenues of -5.8 per cent in 2020, as a
result of COVID-19 and will not return to
10 MARCH 2021
2019 levels until 2022 said John Raspin
of Frost & Sullivan. More encouragingly
he predicted future steady growth,
fuelled by the convergence of digital
technology and services that enhance
organisational productivity and the
user experience. Partnership and the
co-creation of services are key. “It’s
tough to take on the future alone, which
is why collaboration will be extremely
important in the future."
The huge disruption in a shi to home
working brings an opportunity to change
how we look at property, argued Rob
Harris, Principal of Ramidus Consulting.
We need to move from building more to
building better, as operational resources
where customer needs are to the fore.
The real estate sector he said, needs to
be an agent of change in this; focusing
in the future on service, environment,
social justice and business performance.
Digital technology has advanced
exponentially over the past year and
Mark Miller, Workplace Technology
Strategist at Cisco believes technology
will be needed to support a very
dispersed workforce in the years to come
while supporting people going back
into work to be with their colleagues,
socialise and learn.
OFFICE FUTURES
What of the future of the o ice amidst
all this disruption? It was comforting
to hear Marie Puybaraud, Global Head
of Research at JLL reassure us that the
crisis has given us a unique opportunity
to realign the workplace and pilot new
concepts to help create the future of
work. According to JLL research the
majority of employees want to return to
work, with nearly a quarter (24 per cent)
opting to be in the o ice all of the time,
and 66 per cent preferring to alternate
between di erent places to work. 2020
she added, was a wake-up call in terms
of sustainability, moving it to the top of
the agenda and incorporating areas such
as health and wellness.
Baskar Sundaram of, consultancy &
strategy advisors Baachu advised we’re
all reacting to the shock of COVID and
there are so many moving parts, the
whole market is in reaction. There are
seismic changes to come he believes
over the next 10 years, but, “how you
behaved in times of crisis” will stick in
people’s minds.
Following the pandemic said Peter
Ankerstjerne of Planon Group and IFMA
we must ensure we’ve su icient business
continuity processes in place and
FMs need to embrace the new reality
of supporting home working, flexible
o ices, and third places such as a co ee
shop or lounge, whichever makes more
sense for a person to work. Flexibility
is key to help build collaborative
ecosystems in the workplace using FM as
the facilitator.
The conference organisers delivered
an excellent case study. AstraZeneca’s
Head of FM Dan Rogers and Julie Ennis,
CEO Corporate Services for Sodexo
described the delivery of services to
AZ’s giant Macclesfield campus during
the development of the vaccine. Their
presentation was a great reminder
that the best FM helps organisations
achieve their overall objectives, which
in this case was giving science the right
surroundings and services to meet their
goals.
SOCIETAL SERVICE
Simon Venn, Chief Government &
Strategy O icer for Mitie reflected on
the societal role FM has taken over the
last year, specifically in partnering with
traditional competitors to complete
in record times the Nightingale and
Dragons Heart hospitals and the creation
of hundreds of COVID 19 test centres. He
said: “I was so impressed in the way our
sector stepped up to help the nation.
The ability to rapidly adapt is a hallmark
of the FM sector and something we’ve
shown throughout this crisis.”
At the other end of the scale from Mitie,
Andrew Hulbert, Managing Director
of Pareto FM argued that SME’s have
shown they are best served to respond
quickly to customer demands in these
unprecedented circumstances. He
echoed other speaker’s praise for the
FM heroes who for “the entirety of the
pandemic went back into buildings to
clean, secure or checks assets”.
This thought was echoed by CEO of
CityFM Paul Bean who reflecting on the
ways his organisation met the challenges
of the last year, said: “this pandemic has
shown we can utilise technology better,
what works well, and what doesn’t and
the value of human contact.”
Summing up the day in her usual
incisive way, Lucy Jeynes of Larch
Consulting asked how FM can build on
the recognition it’s won in playing such a
key role in keeping the economy moving
and contribution of frontline workers?
“We know it’s a challenge so we need to
imagine the solution and lead not follow.
It’s no longer about plodding through
a contract, but leading clients in new
directions by adding value and upping
our game.”
If the sector manages to adopt just
some of the suggestions made at
Workplace Futures 2021 it will be in a
much stronger position to navigate the
post pandemic world.
The 2021 Workplace Future Conference delivered a positive message that FM
is in an exceptional position to help shape the post pandemic working world