NEWS & ANALYSIS FMJ.CO.UK
ASSOCIATION NEWS
OUTLOOK FOR THE OFFICE IS UPBEAT -
FM MUST BE READY TO DELIVER
Paul Bagust - Global Property
Standards Director, RICS
8 MARCH 2022
The past two
years has
underpinned the
value of facilities
management
professionals
and as COVID
restrictions come
to an end in the UK
the need for their
services aren’t set
to change any time soon. The results of the Q4
data from RICS Commercial Property Monitor
confirms that o ice space is still important, with
two thirds (66 per cent) of survey participants
stating o ice space is essential for a company to
operate successfully.
Over over three-quarters (76 per cent) of
contributors’ report that they are seeing a relative
increase in demand for flexible and more local
workspaces, and when asked if space allocation
per desk had increased in the wake of the
pandemic, 69 per cent report that more space
has been allotted to individual desks. Although
the prevailing thinking is that that oœ ices are
still essential for businesses, 87 per cent of
respondents report repurposing some of the oœ ice
space for other uses.
This data indicates a more encouraging position
than we might have imagined 18 months ago, and
shows that the industry must be ready to engage
and adapt, be flexible and deliver. FM providers will
continue to play a vital role. As companies look
to diversify their workplaces and potentially look
for hotspots, making sure workplaces align with
their company goals, whether that’s compliance
with COVID measures through to sustainability
credentials, it will be the FM professional who can
make sure these are fulfilled.
The Commercial Property Monitor reaœ irms
a change in how organisations and the people
who use their buildings work, which brings an
opportunity to attract new people to the world of
FM. Just as it was at the start of the pandemic the
next stage is likely to bring some uncertainty as
people make decisions about how to map out the
next steps. Data can always help support decisions,
and IBOS can support FM professionals in advising
clients what’s best for their future business goals.
Attracting people back to the workplace and
instilling confidence in those who have worked
with clear government guidance to protect their
safety will be more of a challenge now that masks,
distance and even isolation rules have ended.
People will naturally be hesitant and sound data
that puts the user experience at the heart of the
insight will help organisations reassure their users
or occupiers.
We’re approaching the publication of our latest
FM quarterly survey. In the past few quarters we
have seen sustained demand for FM services for
the healthcare sector and we can only anticipate
further demand. In line with more occupants
returning to the oœ ice, the second half of 2021 saw
a rise in demand for services within the business
sector. This all suggests further challenges and
opportunities for FM, as demand for the sector’s
service continues to rise and more firms look to
increase their headcounts.
To contribute to the next RICS FM Survey visit
www.rics.org/uk/news-insight/research/marketsurveys/
uk-facilities-management-survey/
The UK Government
has o icially set us
on the path from
pandemic to endemic
with the removal of most
restrictions, and yet for
many there remains big
questions on where we go
from here.
Attitudes towards the workplace and its
convergent spheres of space, technology and culture
have taken a giant leap since restrictions came in,
but to where? Many thought it was forwards, but it’s
as though organisations have been propelled into a
world of fog without a sense of their bearings.
Amid such uncertainty, can businesses evolve their
workplace strategies to accommodate what they
have learned about how people work best or will
they return to the safety of the familiar?
In situations like this, organisations need
leadership and workplace and facilities managers
have a major stake in providing it.
Last month, we oœ icially launched IWFM
Conference 2022 and we have themed it ‘Agents
of change’ precisely because there are a number
of major challenges where our profession can lead
the way, not least on environmental, social and
governance matters; using the levers that are in their
hands to help their organisations make progress on
these crucial 21st century imperatives. Substantive
questions like this will be the focus on Wednesday 8
June 2022 when we welcome delegates to 30 Euston
Square, London, for a day of inspiration, insight and
discussion.
Innovator, engineer and inspirational leader
Yewande Akinola MBE will open the conversation
with her reflections on being an agent of change;
and as chair, she’ll keep the discourse and ideas
flowing throughout the day, culminating in a
keynote on wellbeing from the inimitable Ruby Wax
OBE, actor, writer and mental health campaigner.
Author, commentator and blogger Christine
Armstrong will discuss the future of work – a subject
that has rarely, if ever, been more topical. Aª er the
biggest workplace shiª in over a century, how can
people and organisations thrive and grow in this
new paradigm?
On the topic of risk and decision making for
leadership, delegates will benefit from the expertise
of Professor Kevin Fong OBE, consultant in
anaesthesia at University College Hospital and a
specialist in risk, decision making and innovation.
Lastly, what is workplace and facilities
management’s role in creating eœ ective, sustainable
workplace change? Futurist Matt O’Neill will pose
that very question in an interactive session, so
thinking caps will be essential headwear.
In an agenda that’s all about change, these
renowned thought leaders will oœ er a future-focused
take on the inter-related subjects of the future
of work, technology, innovation and wellbeing.
Keynotes will be complimented by practitionerled
sessions, weaving their ideas into real life and
practical takeaways.
Let’s get back together,
enjoy this incredible line
up and network face-toface
once again.
AGENTS OF CHANGE
IWFM CEO, Linda Hausmanis
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