Facilitate - September 2021 (Full)

INFORMING WORKPLACE AND FACILITIES PROFESSIONALS S E P T E M B E R- O C TO B E R 2 021 ● FAC I L I TAT E M AG A Z I N E . C O M

Cultivating hybrid

Growing a consensus on what the model means for service provision

SEPTEMBER-OCTOBER 2021

ADAPTING TO A HYBRID WORKING WORLD ● MA RK W HITTAKER TA KES THE IW FM CHAIR ● MOUNTING WAGE PRESSURES ● A IR Q UALITY

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SEPTEMBER-OCTOBER 2021 / FACILITATE

CONTENTS FRONT DESK 06 Food services skills shortage Assessing the impacts of the pandemic and Brexit

08 In the air tonight Air quality and Covid-19

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10 UK’s first hydrogen strategy

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The gas will provide a third of the UK’s energy, says government

47 Calls to action

12 A shift of consciousness

Events, workshops and available training options

Meet IWFM Conference speaker historian David Olusoga

49 A bit about you

15 Newsmakers

Nathan Hunt, FM for Warner Music Groups UK estate

Top stories from Facilitate online in July and August

KNOW HOW

17 IWFM policy pipeline Meeting the net zero challenge

FEATURES

51 The ABC of CSR Assessing FM’s corporate social responsiblity post-pandemic

52 Nurture the future 18 Cultivating hybrid What does this new paradigm mean for service provision?

The principles behind successful talent management

53 Make storage an investment The future workplace in an age of greater individual autonomy

As companies reassess their CRE footprints, storage becomes a strategic consideration

30 The new measure

56 Open access

Calculating service levels in hybrid offices requires a nuanced solution

How technology can improve accessibility to buildings

24 Trust for life

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57 Digital waste flow 36 Common cause

COVER: ANDREW LYONS

A conversation with the outgoing and incoming IWFM chairs

VIEW POINT

Upgrade waste management with tech solutions

SUPPLY SIDE 63 A new workplace partnership

44 Perspectives Four FM professionals seek to influence your insight agenda

Cushman & Wakefield and WeWork set to ‘navigate the new post-pandemic world’

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FACILITATE / ONLINE

ONLINE

Facilitate, incorporating FM World, is the publication of IWFM, the professional body for workplace and facilities management. For information on membership, qualifications and training contact us:

OPINION

PODCAST

Institute of Workplace and Facilities Management Charringtons House, 1st Floor South, The Causeway, Bishop’s Stortford, Hertfordshire CM23 2ER, UK

PPA transparency

The Facilitate Formula

+44 (0)1279 712 620 • admin@iwfm.org.uk • www.iwfm.org.uk

Hidden charges in power purchase agreements leave businesses out of pocket, says Valpy Fitzgerald.

Meet Atalian Servest’s senior operations manager Neil Allart

September sees the launch of Facilitate’s own podcast. We’ll be adding a new dimension to conversations about the themes driving the workplace and facilities management profession and bringing you up to speed with the latest news.

We’ll also be inviting guests to isolate an issue that they regard as particularly important or hitherto insoluble, inviting them to detail what series of actions they would undertake – what constitutes their formula – for addressing it. Issues could relate to management skills, for example, or more technical problems concerning provision of service and equipment.

If you’d like to propose a persistent problem for which you have a solution, please get in touch at editorial@ facilitatemagazine.com. And if you want to sign up to listen, either find The Facilitate Formula through your existing podcast app or visit the following link for more details:

tinyurl.com/Fac0910-BTJ2

tinyurl.com/Fac0910-Podcast

tinyurl.com/Fac0910-PPA Is FM just a necessary evil?

Mark Teverson recounts a question posed to him three decades ago.

tinyurl.com/Fac0910-FM-evil The FM model should be applied to private build to rent schemes The private rented sector would benefit from the FM model.

tinyurl.com/Fac0910-BTR

PEOPLE Behind the job Meet Thomson FM’s consultant Matthew Vanstone.

tinyurl.com/ Fac0910-BTJ Behind the job

FACILITATE

YOUR AWARD-WINNING MAGAZINE Facilitate – the magazine and online news content resource of the Institute of Workplace and Facilities Management (IWFM) – keeps IWFM members and others up-to-date on all workplace and facilities management issues, ensuring you are informed of the latest developments and

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thinking.

In 2019, Facilitate won Best Magazine (10-32,000 members) award at the Association Excellence Awards, judged by a body which assesses the media brands of trade bodies, membership organisations and associations. Also, our editor Martin Read took

the title of Editor of the Year at the 2020 MemCom Awards, as run by the association for membership communities.

We are further developing our award-winning product for you, so feel free to contact us with any thoughts and ideas.

Got a story? email editorial @ facilitatemagazine.com

Redactive Publishing Ltd 78 Chamber Street London E1 8BL www.facilitatemagazine.com EDITOR Martin Read 020 7880 7664 martin.read@facilitatemagazine.com DEPUTY EDITOR Bradford Keen 020 7880 7615 bradford.keen@facilitatemagazine.com NEWS EDITOR Herpreet Kaur Grewal 020 7880 8544 newsdesk@facilitatemagazine.com SUB-EDITOR Deborah Shrewsbury 020 7880 6223 deborah.shrewsbury@redactive.co.uk SENIOR DESIGNER Seija Tikkis McPhail 020 7324 2746 seija.tikkismcphail@redactive.co.uk PICTURE EDITOR Claire Echavarry 020 7324 2701 claire.echavarry@redactive.co.uk CONTENT ASSISTANT Prithvi Pandya 020 7880 6229 prithvi.pandya@redactive.co.uk SALES — DISPLAY, DIGITAL, EVENTS 020 7880 6206 display@facilitatemagazine.com SALES — RECRUITMENT 020 7880 6212 recruitment@facilitatemagazine.com PRODUCTION MANAGER Aysha Miah-Edwards 020 7880 6241 aysha.miah@redactive.co.uk PUBLISHING DIRECTOR Joanna Marsh 020 7880 8542 joanna.marsh@redactive.co.uk Subscriptions IWFM members with Facilitate subscription or delivery queries should call the IWFM’s membership department on +44 (0)1279 712650.

Facilitate is sent to all members of the Institute of Workplace and Facilities Management and is available on subscription to non-members. Annual subscription rates are UK £110, Europe £120 and rest of world £130.

To subscribe call 01580 883844 or email subs@redactive. co.uk – alternatively, you can subscribe online at www.facilitatemagazine.com/about-us/subscribe/ Editorial Advisory Board Simon Ball, market director, Engie UK & Ireland Peter Brogan, head of research and insight, IWFM Rob Greenfield, director, Assured Safety & Risk Management Ian Jones, director of facilities, ITV Martin Stead, managing director, Sewell FM Dr Matthew Tucker, Liverpool John Moores University Jo Wake, head of global workplace, Deliveroo Kate Smith, solutions development director, CBRE Liz Kentish, managing director, Kentish and Co. Simone Fenton-Jarvis, Workplace consultancy development director, Ricoh Printed by Warners

Average net circulation 11,287 (July 2019 to June 2020) Facilitate (Print) ISSN 2752-5171

Recycle your magazine’s plastic wrap – check your local LDPE facilities to find out how.

FAC I L I TAT E S EP T EM B ER- O C TO B ER 2021

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COMMENTS / LEADER

COMMENTS MA RT IN REA D

From the editor

O LINDA HAUSMANIS

ILLUSTRATIONS: SAM KERR

CODE RED “It is unequivocal that human influence has warmed the atmosphere, oceans and land,” says the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) in a new report, which did not hold back naming the culprit – us.

The presentation of the report, an understated affair that could have been any Zoom meeting, told it plainly slide after slide: since 1970 global surface temperatures have risen faster than in any other 50-year period. Catastrophe can be avoided, say the scientists, if we combine forces and act fast. The built environment, specifically this profession, can play a leading role by catalysing the necessary change.

As we emerge from Covid-19, the way we manage and maintain our buildings can make a lasting contribution to carbon reduction.

Workplace and facilities managers are the lynchpin in organisations to drive this transition.

This month we will publish the findings of our 14th sustainability survey. The results explore the post-Covid context, the contribution to net zero and, importantly, skills and capability. As the foreword acknowledges, the strong engagement with the piece by Institute members shows that action is needed, but it warns more widely that wanting it to happen and making it happen are not the same thing. Baseline data, clear objectives and a roadmap are all prerequisites to meaningful action.

We’ll be discussing the findings in the run-up to COP26 and using them to shape our own action plan and to develop tools to assist members to leverage their vital position on this agenda. Visit the IWFM sustainability hub for more information: tinyurl.com/sustain-hub.

LINDA HAUSMANIS is CEO of the IWFM

ne in three of these leader comments over the years has focused on some kind of emergent opportunity; a chance for this profession to step up and see through a transformative organisational change in response to legislative, technological or economic drivers. Often such opportunities are only partially realised as costs and/ or board-level ambivalence hold back this department of empowerment.

Today, hybrid working represents surely one of the biggest opportunities yet – but this time, it’s one to which the C-suite has been attuned from the start.

Business owners have watched workers adapt with shocking ease to sudden relocation and are now reconsidering long-held perceptions of how and where office work is done. They recognise both the opportunity and threat that hybrid working brings to corporate culture, competitive identity and productivity. And they are increasingly aware that returning workers to offices is just one part of a more complex operation.

There are new business imperatives in play, and calls for workers to return to city centre offices simply to support said city centres ignores them.

The online world has hastened the transformation of retail, with retailers abandoning those same city centres in response to consumer acceptance of new online realities; the pandemic has surely ignited something similar with the market for offices.

The government task force that’s now considering the future of town and city centres is sure to focus on new ways of enabling businesses through different kinds of third spaces. Ahead of then, organisations will wrestle with their own determination about what hybrid means – with facilities services, whether internally or externally provided, obliged to adapt.

Providing more attractive offices, equitably treating younger and older workers, shifting workplace support from fixed locations to work groups or teams regardless of location – just some of the ways this profession will be asked to prove itself. There’ll certainly be no MARTIN READ is the editor lack of opportunity in the months ahead. of Facilitate magazine

Calls for workers to return to city centre offices ignore new imperatives

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CRITICAL ANALYSIS OF EMERGING THEMES AND TRENDS

FRONT DESK 08

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Air quality: Why good ventilation will be a vital tool in battling the pandemic

David Olusoga, speaker at the IWFM Conference, talks of a required 'shift of consciousness'

Newsmakers: Key stories from Facilitate online in the months of July and August

IWFM policy pipeline: How the profession can bridge the climate ambition gap

WORK P L ACE S K IL L S

Facing skills shortages in food services

by Herpreet Kaur Grewal

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here has recently been much discussion about staff shortages in catering, hospitality and food services in the coming year as the consequences of a global pandemic and Brexit hit the sectors.

Data analysed by catering analyst Taf Consultancy indicates that nine in 10 contract caterers are facing shortages this year. The data also shows that 51 per cent of businesses anticipate further shortages across all roles (with 39 per cent concerned only about back-of-house roles).

What this scenario has also exposed is an ongoing lack of adequate training in these sectors. Research by the City & Guilds Group has even suggested that older workers, undertrained in general by businesses, could now be used to plug some of these skills gaps. The Office for National Statistics added weight to this argument recently when analysis of data showed that allowing older people to adapt to new patterns of working such as remote working prolongs their presence in the workforce.

Adele Oxberry, CEO of Umbrella Training, told Facilitate that this longrunning problem precedes the pandemic.

“It [the lack of investment in training] had started before the pandemic but,

as a consequence of new government priorities since the pandemic, has accelerated,” explains Oxberry, adding that “Government initiatives to support a world post-pandemic, such as the Plan for Jobs and Lifetime Skills Guarantee, do not recognise the hospitality skills challenge as a priority.

Hospitality and catering as a sector, continues Oxberry, “has been pushed further back in the queue for any investment by the government”.

Demand plays a huge part in this, Oxberry adds. “The sector has a historically poor reputation in parts and demand for jobs isn’t always high.

“Kitchens in colleges and universities such as University of West London were all being closed due to a lack of demand for their culinary courses.

Mergers in colleges have also weakened opportunity for the sector, with fewer courses on offer. Colleges and education providers are required to also position themselves with local and regional priorities, so the focus has been redirected to suit those needs.”

Influencing factors, many of which have always blighted the sector, include “poor leadership, negative and highly demotivating environments, lack of

Labour shortages and price inflation are unwelcome challenges as consumer demand continues to increase

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representation from various diverse communities, or overall poor reputation”.

Supply chains The issue of staff shortages is also occurring further back in supply chain. The CGA Prestige Foodservice Price Index recently detailed how food and drink supply markets have seen widespread distribution problems and a spike in demand following the return of out-of-home eating and drinking. The report shows how June saw particular supply issues in the south of England after the return of restaurants, pubs, bars and other venues to normal operation, amplified by warm weather.

Problems were compounded by “a shortage of labour, particularly HGV drivers, as well as insufficient manufactured stocks and Brexit-related challenges with imported goods”.

As June progressed, many suppliers put mitigation strategies in place, including a refusal to take some orders in order to cap demand as well as improvements to wages and conditions to attract new employees.

The situation stabilised in July, but demand is predicted to peak again in early September when schools and businesses increase order levels.

The report reveals that food inflation stood at 1.6 per cent in June, having levelled off at a time of year when it typically falls. Non-alcoholic beverage

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PHOTOGRAPHY: GETTY

ANALYSIS / FRONT DESK

prices increased month on month, but remain below the levels of 2020.

All told, the expectations is that the remaining months of 2021 are likely to see more increases in the level of food price inflation, as a much hoped-for return to pre-pandemic normality for overall sector demand, coupled with increasingt supply costs and wage inflation, fuel a slew of further price increases.

Shaun Allen, CEO of Prestige Purchasing, said: “June brought an unwelcome realisation to operators and suppliers alike that availability of labour will be a challenge for the foreseeable future. The difficulties with HGV drivers have been particularly impactful, and operators should consult carefully with suppliers to ensure that supply chains are as lean and efficient as possible.”

James Ashurst, client director at CGA, said: “It has been a long journey back for the food service sector, and the recent disruption to supply has come at the worst possible time.

“Labour shortages and price inflation are unwelcome challenges as consumer demand continues to increase, and fragile businesses must hope that conditions start to ease in the next few months.”

Possible solutions Some bodies have suggested that sectors like hospitality could benefit if the government adapts its furlough scheme to meet skills shortages.

The government’s Coronavirus Jobs Retention Scheme was due to end on 30 September. At its peak, it provided wage support for more than 11 million workers in the UK. Trade union Unite, which played a central role in negotiating the scheme, says that in July around two million workers were still on the scheme – more than had been anticipated – and reflected on how “continuing troubles for parts of the workforce” underline that “the economy is yet to recover from the crisis”.

During the pandemic furloughed workers have been receiving 80 per cent of their wages, with 60 per cent paid by the government and 20 per cent from their employers.

Once this support ends in September, those still unable to return to work will be forced onto Universal Credit, a system that takes five weeks to provide any sort of income beyond a loan, and where the financial support is among the worst in the developed world.

Unite contends that the government also plans to cut Universal Credit by £20 per week – £1,040 per year – on 30 September, despite warnings from the union, charities and backbench Conservative MPs that this will deepen child and family poverty.

As a result, the union is calling upon the government to “think again, not to dump furlough, but to adapt it to protect jobs and to retrain workers, including using it to build the skills urgently needed to address the climate crisis and the skills shortage”.

Speaking in August, Steve Turner, assistant general secretary of Unite, said: “The end of furlough in six weeks’ time will see an overnight jobs crisis and a crash in incomes for hundreds of thousands of workers who are on the scheme through no fault of their own.

“These workers are in the very sectors that have been hardest hit by the government’s approach to managing the reopening of the economy.

“The travel, hospitality and aviation sectors which depend on tourism and travel to thrive, alongside many in manufacturing dependent on consumer confidence and global supply chains are still in a state of Covid disarray. This summer’s reopening chaos has only brought more troubles to these industries and their workforces.

A HM Treasury spokesperson said: “As a key part of our Plan for Jobs, the furlough scheme has been vital in supporting livelihoods in unprecedented circumstances over the pandemic – already protecting 11.6 million jobs at a cost of £67 billion – with this support in place until September.

“Our plan is working – there are now fewer than two million people on furlough – as the economy reopens and people get back to work, the numbers continue to fall.

Government has promised that. as the labour market adapts, “we will continue to take the necessary steps to support people find and maintain work through other schemes that form our £352 billion package – including through generous apprenticeships incentives, tripling the scale of traineeships, doubling the number of work coaches and the Kickstart scheme.”

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FRONT DESK / ANALYSIS

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he importance of air quality – as we get into what could be the latter stages of the coronavirus pandemic – has only grown.

Earlier in the year an editorial in the British Medical Journal called for governments and health leaders to focus efforts to fight Covid-19 on airborne transmission through better air quality initiatives.

Now, the government’s chief scientific adviser, Sir Patrick Vallance, has said ventilation will be a key tool in fighting this pandemic as well as any other that may arise.

A report commissioned

by Sir Patrick and published by the Royal Academy of Engineering and the National Engineering Policy Centre (NEPC) a few months ago, says good ventilation inside public buildings and on transport systems is essential to reduce the risk of Covid-19 and other infections.

In the report, engineers say the importance of ventilation is too often neglected, and that the Covid-19 crisis has revealed flaws in the way the nation designs, manages and operates buildings. Unless these are addressed, they could disrupt the management of this

and future pandemics, impose high financial and health costs on society and constrain our ability to address other challenges such as climate change.

Clear, consistent communication and advice on ventilation from government and professional bodies are needed to help building owners and operators to manage infection risks, states the report.

Clearly identifiable measures that can be implemented at a moderate cost will help to ensure that adequate ventilation is prioritised alongside more visible measures such as surface cleaning and social distancing.

The study also warns that there is an urgent need to plug skills and knowledge gaps and put in place the training, reskilling and recruitment needed to fill them.

In a series of evidentiary hearings, the Royal Academy of Engineering uncovered differing levels of organisational maturity across operators and sectors, and variation in the ability and motivation of owners to understand, manage and

AIR QUALITY

In the air tonight

By Herpreet Kaur Grewal

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to govern issues of infection control.

Investment in research and development is needed to clarify issues such as acceptable minimum standards for ventilation to support regulation by local authorities and others.

No ‘silver bullet’ Efforts to increase resilience to infection must also work alongside the delivery of significant carbon emission savings from our buildings.

These two ambitions should be driven forward in tandem and efforts across government need to be fully coordinated.

The report warns that technological solutions are not a ‘silver bullet’, and uninformed reliance on technology can even have negative consequences. For example, air cleaning using high-efficiency particulate air (HEPA) filters or ultraviolet light (UVC) can be effective in reducing infection risks in locations where good ventilation is hard to achieve.

Professor Peter Guthrie OBE FREng, vice-president of the Royal Academy of Engineering and chair of the NEPC infection resilient environments working group, said: “Buildings make an enormous difference to people’s health and we have often neglected this in the past, which is bad news in a pandemic because they are one of the most significant levers that we have to control infection.

“Longer term, this is a real opportunity to transform the way we design and manage our buildings to create good, healthy and sustainable environments for those who use them. We must also integrate this thinking on infection control into our approach to net zero, to prevent inadvertently hard-wiring a susceptibility to infection and other health risks into our building stock and management practices.”

Dr Hywel Davies CChem CSci, technical director at the Chartered Institution of Building Services Engineers, said: “We need to support owners and operators with clear and simple guidance, emphasising the importance of improving ventilation while maintaining wider good practice on infection control.”

However, in its response, the Building Engineering Services Association (BESA) said the report misses some “crucial practicalities”.

BESA said the problem was that many buildings were designed in a way that made it extremely difficult and sometimes costprohibitive to fit the systems needed to achieve adequate

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ANALYSIS / FRONT DESK

ventilation. It said the government should link its ambitions for climate change mitigation and sustainability to work on ventilation and overheating in buildings and consult with all parts of the engineering and construction sectors to get a joined-up solution.

Graeme Fox, BESA’s head of technical, said: “It is very positive that the government’s top scientist recognises the importance of raising standards of building ventilation to deal with this and future pandemics, but he is only getting part of the picture.”

Fox said professional institutions’ theoretical expertise and design philosophies had to align “with industry practitioners who operate at the sharp end and know what is achievable”.

BESA believes that building designers needed to consider practical measures such as allowing enough space in ceiling voids to add or improve mechanical ventilation systems. Enabling access for maintenance purposes, cleaning ventilation ductwork and fitting or renewing air filters were other crucial factors often overlooked during design and fit-out phases.

Buildings make an enormous B d difference to people’s health a and we have often neglected t this in the past, which is bad news in a pandemic maj major m ma ajo jor orr climate cl c change risk and health in 2016, but h he hea eal alth lth h emergency e since si sin inc nce ce e then th th 570,000 new homes had ha had d been be bee e built without climate adaptation ad ada dap ap pta tat ati ti measures and a ffurther fu urrth th her err 1.5 1 million were due to built be bu be b uilltt in the next five years. uilt Fox there were more Fox Fo x said sa s 2,500 tthan th ha han an n 2,5 2, 2 5 heat-related deaths during du uri rin ing ng g tthe 2020 heatwave in England, E En Eng ngl gla lan and nd which was higher than th tha han an n at at any a time since records began, and that the CCC b be eg ga gan an, n, a expected e exp xpe xpec ect cte ted d heat-related deaths

to treble by 2050.

Fox said: “The government needs to understand the concept of a sustainable built environment in the widest sense… Sustainability is not just about carbon and energy saving, it is also about ensuring that the facilities we build and refurbish are able to sustain human activity in the long term while also safeguarding health, wellbeing, and productivity.

“It is highly possible that a huge proportion of the homes and commercial buildings being designed now will no longer be inhabitable in a few years’ time because they are too difficult to cool and ventilate.”

He added: “The vast majority of the work needed to create safe and healthy indoor spaces will be retrofitted and so we need a strong focus on low-cost, practical measures that can actually make a difference to people’s lives… Professional institutions should not be expected to provide that kind of work on their own. This requires a joined-up approach from the whole construction and building engineering supply chain.”

PHOTOGRAPHY: ISTOCK

Overheating in buildings poses risk The association also highlighted the recent report from the Climate Change Committee (CCC), which warned that many new buildings were being developed without adequate adaptation measures, which means they would be prone to overheating as the climate warms up.

The CCC identified overheating in buildings as a

MITIGATING M EA S URES

KEY RECOMMENDATIONS IN THE REPORT

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Government should urgently map the knowledge and skills requirements across the building industry, general businesses, and the engineering professions and put in place plans to address the skills gaps identified.

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Government should undertake a rapid review of the capacity and capability requirements among regulators (including local authorities) to support and enforce standards in maintaining buildings for public health.

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Working with the National Core Studies Programme, UKRI and the National Academies, the government should put in place an action plan to address key research gaps on an accelerated basis.

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Action to meet Net Zero must be developed in a fashion that is consistent with priorities around indoor air quality and rendering buildings resilient to infections.

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G RE E N E NE RGY ST R ATEGY

Government ent en nt publishes its hydrogen gen gen ge en strategy

by Herpreet Kaur Grewal

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he government announced the UK’s first-ever hydrogen strategy this summer.

Hydrogen has the potential to provide a third of the country’s energy, including to commercial and residential buildings.

By 2030, hydrogen could play a crucial role in decarbonising polluting, energy-intensive industries such as chemicals, oil refineries, power and heavy transport by helping these sectors move away from fossil fuels.

The government is consulting on the formulation of the £240 million Net Zero Hydrogen Fund to support the deployment of low-carbon hydrogen production plants across the UK. Kwasi Kwarteng, the business and energy secretary, said the strategy “marks the start of the UK’s hydrogen revolution. This home-grown clean energy source has the potential to transform the way we power our lives

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and will be essential to tackling climate change and reaching net zero”.

Steve McGregor, group managing director of property services specialist DMA Group, said: “Commercial and residential contributions of all sizes will help create a greener, safer environment for generations and it is vital that we begin building ambitious, large-scale infrastructure with cutting-edge green technologies across the UK. By unlocking targeted investment, grants and incentives the ambition of delivering better homes and buildings, cleaner air and a safer environment is in sight. But most crucially of all, it provides genuine optimism for British innovation after what has been a turbulent 18 months.”

Julie Hirigoyen, chief executive at environmental body the UK Green Building Council, said: “How we decarbonise heat whilst delivering a fair transition for consumers is a fundamental issue for the UK’s built environment, and how our sector can play its part in reaching our national net zero target. As we look to decarbonise across the entire

construction and property value chain, hydrogen should be used where it adds most value, such as in certain industrial processes that are otherwise difficult to decarbonise.

“The future use of hydrogen is just one element of our decarbonisation journey. We urge the government to release its Heat and Buildings Strategy without delay in order to give the sector both clarity and certainty on what the future of heat will look like.”

Stewart Clements, director at the Heating and Hotwater Industry Council (HHIC), said: “Investment in hydrogen will not only, as the strategy states, create thousands of high-skill, well-paid jobs, it also safeguards the jobs and expertise we already have in our world-leading heating industry.

“Our member companies are fully behind a transition from natural gas to zero carbon hydrogen and have already been hard at work creating ‘hydrogen-ready’ products, including boilers, cookers and fires that are currently being trialled.

HHIC is actively involved in the UK hydrogen projects and has worked with manufacturers and the government on a definition for ‘hydrogen-ready’ boilers which could be rolled out from the middle of this decade.

IWFM IWF IW WFM FMM SUSTAINABILITY SURVEY 2021 Th The T he e 14t 14 14th 4th h annual IWFM su sus sta tai ain na ab b sustainability survey report, just p pu pub ubl blis ish he ed shows that carbon published, / ene en e ner erg gy y management and energy a ad add ddr dre ess ssi si addressing net zero is a sharply e es sca ca ala attin n concern among the escalating 311 peo 311 pe peop opl pl to have responded people to o the th he e 20 2 0 questionnaire.

2021 70 0 per pe per ce c cent of respondents – co c om mp mpa pa compared to 58 per cent in n 202 20 2020 20 0 and 35 per cent in 2020 2 20 018 8 – re 2018 reported that this was ttheir th he eir ir to ttop op p area of sustainability ffocus. fo oc cu us. s. Ne N Nevertheless, most sservice se erv rvic vice ce ep provider respondents sa aid d tha th tthat at they were more likely said to o pla pl p ay y a "supporting role" play rat ra ath he err th h rather than a leading one in th he eir ir org or o rg their organisation's carbon m ma an na ag ge e management planning.

The areas of carbon mentt management FM teams were least likely ny role in wa to have any wass e food sourc cing sustainable sourcing trifying fleet (40%), and d (43%), electrifying ty (conservation tion 39% biodiversity caping 35%). and landscaping 86 per cent of respondents additional forms of said that 'additional upskilling' would be essential for their personal sustainability knowledge and career development in the year ahead.

The report's authors say that this shows "a real lack in the management level crossdelivery skills that are necessary

to make many sustainability programmes successful."

One area of sustainability not seen as important or very important to at least half of survey respondents was biophilia (see article, right.). IWFM members can access the report by going to tinyurl.com/Fac0910-Sustain

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ANALYSIS / FRONT DESK

BIO PH ILIC DESIGN

Survey identifies gap in knowledge around biophilia’s benefits

by Herpreet Kaur Grewal

PHOTOGRAPHY: SHUTTERSTOCK / ISTOCK

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n the IWFM’s newly published Sustainability Survey report for 2021 (see box, opposite page) tne area of sustainability not seen as important or very important to at least half of respondents is biophilia; just 34 per cent considered the topic as worthy of being described as such.

Respondents reported that they felt least skilled and knowledgeable around biophilia (16 per cent), compared to current topics such as the circular economy (22 per cent) and outdoor air quality (24 per cent).

The IWFM report suggests that this could reflect the fact that, although biophilia was introduced in the 1980s, it has only more recently been widely recognised for its ability to improve health and wellbeing in the workplace.

In 1984, the biologist and double Pulitzer Prize-winner Edward O Wilson defined biophilia as “the innate tendency [in human beings] to focus on life and lifelike process.

Our existence depends on this propensity, our spirit is woven from it, hopes rise on its currents”.

Others argue that the recognition of biophilia goes back further. Dr Vanessa Champion, CEO of ArgentaWellness, told Facilitate in 2018 how “scientists and psychologists have since the 1960s identified the enormous benefits that living with nature confers on us” and that “it is only now that interior and exterior design is starting to celebrate this ideal to soften our environmental impact and enhance our wellbeing”.

A 2018 paper in the International Journal of Architectural Research

Scientists and psychologists have identified the enormous benefits that living with nature confers on us written by Mohamed S Abdelaal and Veronica Soebarto the authors state that “during the medieval Islamic Golden Era, higher education buildings of non-medical ‘madrasa’ and medical ‘bimaristan’ institutions applied specific techniques and strategies so that human intellectual curiosity could flourish through direct and indirect contact with nature”.

Their finding: “implementing the principles of biophilic design can have a positive impact on learners

and producers in higher education (students, staff and faculty)” and “can profoundly enhance physical, psychological, cognitive and intellectual performance”.

Others have written about how the environments in which we live and work account for more than half of our overall levels of health.

Improved social cohesion While grand schemes involving green walls can require significant maintenance, this work can be relatively cost-effective to outsource.

And at its most basic, biophilic design can be incorporated into the typical workplace at minimal cost. The establishment of hybrid working as routine may also lead to more discussion about biophlic benefits, with workers’ experience of what they perceive as a more natural working environment in their own homes bringing the topic into discussions about how the workspace should follow suit.

The British Council of Offices (BCO) acknowledged in a recent report that biophilia “at the building level can be upscaled to the level of green infrastructure, which has been linked to improving social cohesion, improving mental and physical health, lower crime, economic vitality, increased property prices, better urban microclimates and reduced pollution”.

Meanwhile, wellbeing standards such as WELL, which sets building performance requirements in seven categories relevant to health, described biophilia as a feature that can be implemented within “design, technology, and treatment strategies to provide a built environment in which the occupant's mental and emotional wellbeing is enriched”.

With biophilia increasingly recognised for its importance to health, wellbeing and productivity, and the circular economy having a critical role in meeting net zero targets, the IWFM says that it is now looking at how the institute can help build skills and capabilities in this areas as a priority.

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FRONT DESK / INTERVIEW

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hat does history have to do with the built environment? According to David Olusoga, author of Black and British: A Forgotten History, it has never been more relevant.

“Normally as a historian, the challenge is how do you make history connected to the modern day? But I don’t think that is the challenge, because history has exploded into the present,” he says.

“Events from the past, forgotten chapters in British history, particularly to do with colonialism are on the front pages of newspapers.

Statues that no one noticed for a century are now being toppled or being defended or being argued and debated about, so history is absolutely at the centre of everything.”

He is referring to the statue of slave trader Edward Colston (a man complicit in the deaths of 19,000 Africans) which was thrown into a river during a Black Lives Matter protest in Bristol in June 2020. This paved the way for local authorities up and down the country to review, modify or remove the names of colonialists, racists and slave traders on streets, buildings and schools and rethink the placement of statues, plaques and other memorials.

Many of those involved in Black Lives Matter protests (and even the climate-focused Extinction Rebellion demonstrations in recent years) are known as the Generation Y and Z cohorts. Companies have been analysing the needs of these generational groups for years in order to keep workplaces relevant and attractive for incoming graduates and recruits. Those needs have included a greater emphasis on equity and wellbeing within the workplace. Research by apartment search site Nestpick in 2019 described Generation Z – the term given to anyone born between 1997 and 2012 – as a cohort of “digital natives who value security, diversity, and autonomy, and aim to achieve it through pragmatism and determination”.

Olusoga says the vigour with

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I N T ERV IEW

A shift of consciousness

by Herpreet Kaur Grewal

David Olusoga, the British-Nigerian historian, broadcaster and film-maker, is giving a keynote address at the IWFM’s annual conference. Here he explains the challenge to the workplace status quo posed by a new generation

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INTERVIEW / FRONT DESK

which young people engaged with the Black Lives Matter protests signalled “a shift of consciousness” brought about by a generation who see the world radically differently than previous ones and “a moment comparable with the 1960s”.

The BAFTA-winning filmmaker says many in this younger generation are “furious” about what the Brexit vote means for their futures and have a keener sense of social justice.

“If you walk into a workplace in Britain, you will see diversity at the bottom, you will see black and brown faces in security, catering and cleaning – and not at the top.

We’ve got so used to that and we’ve normalised it and they [younger generation] don’t. They see that as an injustice, they recognise it almost instantly, in a way that we don’t and that is the challenge facing almost every sector – we’ve normalised the abnormal.”

Emerging generations Olusoga, who is also a professor of public history at the University of Manchester, has recently made a foray into writing children’s books.

Black and British: A Forgotten History has been published in a simplified version for a teenage audience. How tough a challenge is it to simplify such complex concepts for a younger audience?

“When I write for adults about these histories, I’m trying to reveal things thatwill come as a shock because they have an alternative vision of British history.

“Young people don’t have that alternative vision,” Olusoga explains. Accordingly, he is not revealing to them something that shocks them because it clashes with what they thought they knew; they don’t yet have what Olusoga calls the ‘fantasy island story’ version of British history - “so they are far more open.”

He also says that he has noticed that children around the age of 11 have “understood that the world is not as nice as we would want

it to be, they are beginning to understand that there is inequality” and “so they are braver and they are more willing to confront these things than I think we often give them credit for”.

Invisible workforce Olusoga recounts a story of the time he used to work for television companies with big offices. He says he used to suffer from insomnia and would often get on his bike and go into work at 5am and encounter cleaning staff from countries such as Nigeria and Iraq working their graveyard shifts.

“What shocked me as somebody in his late twenties, early thirties is that nobody saw that – it was invisible,” says Olusoga. “It was almost as if you would watch one group of people leave, and another group of people arrive at these big, clean, shiny offices. These non-white people were like ghostly apparitions, the others didn’t talk to them, they just passed them in the corridor, and their worlds just brushed against each other and that’s appalling and it didn’t shock anyone, people didn’t even notice it. ” When the Equality and Human Rights Commission published its Invisible Workforce report about the cleaning industry in 2014, it shone a light on the experiences of the kind of workers Olusoga refers to.

Testimonies from cleaning operatives – largely women, migrants and older workers –

If you walk into a workplace in Britain, you will see diversity at the bottom in catering and cleaning and not at the top

describe employees being sexually harassed by supervisors; being racially abused; being ridiculed for asking for the pay they were entitled to when they actually have received less; and having to take breaks in cupboards.

What is more, at the time during the research process, the commission wrote to more than 400 cleaning and FM firms (typically those who carry out standardised cleaning in the office and retail, transport, healthcare and leisure sectors) to conduct the research, but they only got a handful of replies. To be precise, researchers received nine written submissions and interviewed only 15 firms out of that number. The low response rate is most telling in itself and perhaps indicates a reluctance by the sector to address difficult issues head-on.

What would success look like?

Outsourced service provider Sodexo UK and Ireland recently announced a mean ethnicity pay gap of 5 per cent – revealing the inequality that is still alive in the corporate sector.

Olusoga points out how half the working population of London consists of black or non-white workers. But: “When was the last time you saw a board in a company in London that was half non-white?

Never. But all that would be is a reflection of normality.

“People ask what would success look like in a society that’s confronted with race and disadvantage, as well as class and sexuality issues? It would look like – when you left the streets, got out of the elevator on the top floor of a building and walked into the boardroom, it would look like the street you just left.”

He concludes: “That inability, that myopia that affects older people in the society is not a condition that you find amongst the young. They are energised by the fact that they see the inequities that we do not.

Our challenge is to be inspired by them and start making the changes that they will anyway.”

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TOP STORIES / FRONT DESK

NEWSMAKERS

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SUPPLY PROBLEMS HIT HOSPITALITY

Food supply markets saw distribution problems and a spike in demand in June following the return of the hospitality sector, states the CGA Prestige Foodservice Price Index. It cites a shortage of HGV drivers and “insufficient manufactured stocks and Brexitrelated challenges”. tinyurl.com/Fac0910-supply

UK LABO UR MARKET B O UNCE S BACK

The CIPD’s quarterly Labour Market Outlook survey has found that two in three firms plan to take on new staff and many plan to upskill staff to tackle labour shortages. The study, canvassing more than 2,000 employers and covering all industries, shows that employers are indicating “strong employment intentions for Q3”. tinyurl.com/ Fac0910-cipd

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O F F I C E S W I L L R E P O P U L AT E , S AYS C B R E

The government has launched its hydrogen strategy, which it says could provide a third of the nation’s energy for commercial and residential buildings, driving on “the PM’s 10 Point Plan for a green industrial revolution”. tinyurl. com/Fac0910-hydrogen

Offices will repopulate over the rest of this year, according to the EMEA Occupier Survey of 130 companies by CRA advisers CBRE. It says repopulations will be led by small firms because they are further advanced in the return to the office. Over 80 per cent of small companies report that all locations are open. tinyurl.com/Fac0910-cbre

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U N I T E U RG E S G OV E R N M E N T N OT TO A X E F URLOUG H S CH EME

WORK P L ACE GA S EX P LOS ION S ON RIS E

Gas explosions in the workplace have caused more injuries during 2019 to 2020 than any other time in the past five years, indicate Health & Safety Executive figures.

A study of the data by health and safety firm CE Safety reveals that the injuries and fatalities caused by gas safety failings such as carbon monoxide leaks and gas explosions were the worst during this period, with 41 gas explosions injuring 35 people. This was a 58 per cent rise and out of 11 fatalities over the past five years, eight were in 2019/20. tinyurl.com/Fac0910-gas

Sectors such as hospitality could benefit if the government adapts its furlough scheme to meet skills shortfalls, says trade union Unite. The government’s Coronavirus Jobs Retention Scheme ends on 30 September. At its peak, it provided wage support for more than 11 million UK workers. Unite, which played a central role in negotiating the scheme, says that in July two million workers were still on the scheme. tinyurl.com/Fac0910-unite

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FIRE SA FETY AC T PROMPTS RISK REVIEW

H UMA N S CA N A L L EV IAT E CL I MAT E CRI S IS

Landlords are being urged to prepare for the Fire Safety Act 2021 by certification firm Bureau Veritas because it poses “significant” challenges for all duty holders, who will be held to account if they fail to comply. tinyurl.com/ Fac0910risk

Human actions could still determine the climate’s future course, says August’s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change report. It warns that change is “widespread, rapid, and intensifying”.

Scientists are “observing changes in the Earth’s climate in every region and across the whole climate system”, many of them “unprecedented in thousands, if not hundreds of thousands of years”. tinyurl.com/Fac0910-human

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G E ND E R INEQUALITY DOGS SUPPLY CHAIN

PHOTOGRAPHY: SHUTTERSTCOK / ISTOCK

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UK H Y D ROG EN P L A N H EAT S UP

Ethical trade membership group Sedex says women make up half of the global workforce, but hold only 27 per cent of managerial posts and a third of supervisor roles. About 38 per cent of promotions in the past year went to women and 62 per cent to men. The data was gathered from 42,000 business sites in 143 nations and 12.5 million workers. tinyurl. com/Fac0910gender

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£7M MORE FOR F L EX IBL E A P P REN T ICES H IP S

Sectors including agriculture, construction and creative industries can now bid for a share of a £7 million fund to support new flexible apprenticeships. In his Budget, the chancellor said cash incentives for firms to hire apprentices will be doubled to £3,000, and there will be £126 million to help firms offer trainee shifts. tinyurl.com/ Fac0910-apprentice

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CON N EC T I V I T Y IS K EY

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Digital connectivity trumps location and even rental price for firms looking for new offices in the wake of Covid-19, shows research by digital firm Backbone Connect. Its study,, Connecting the Dots: What Office Tenants Want, found that 82 per cent of tenants ranked connectivity, the infrastructure which enables internet and digital activity, as “very important” when looking for a new space. tinyurl.com/Fac0910-connect

N EW P L A N N I N G RUL ES O N F I R E S A F E T Y

Developers of high-rise residential buildings must prove that they have been designed with fire safety in mind before planning consent is granted, according to rules announced in August. This involves clear site layout and good access provided for fire engines. tinyurl. com/Fac0910-fire

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03/09/2021 13:44

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PHOTOGRAPHY: SHUTTERSTOCK

POLICY PIPELINE / FRONT DESK

NE T Z E RO COMMITMENTS

Bridging the climate ambition gap With dire official warnings about climate change and the UK Government ramping up plans to achieve net zero, our profession faces another daunting challenge

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hile the coronavirus pandemic continues to change many aspects of our lives, including how and where we work, we are on the threshold of another challenge – perhaps the greatest of all: turning policies, plans and targets into effective actions to avoid the damaging effects of further climate change. Ironically, the pandemic and climate change have made this more difficult by increasing energy demand for those working from home and for cooling buildings.

KEY CONTACTS Sofie Hooper Head of Policy Phil Jenkins Policy executive policy@iwfm.org.uk

With fewer than two months until COP26, the government is under pressure to deliver its comprehensive Net Zero strategy for transitioning to a carbonfree economy. As part of this focus on ‘coal, cars, cash and trees’, it has launched its plan to decarbonise the UK’s entire transport system, including ending emissions from new cars and vans by 2035, as well as its strategy to use hydrogen for a third of the country’s energy, including for commercial and residential buildings.

SUSTAINABILITY HUB ● Our web hub brings together research, insight, guidance, resources and more – including the UN Sustainable Development Goals – to help our profession tackle the global crisis. tinyurl.com/sustain-hub IPCC CLIMATE CHANGE REPORT ● Landmark UN study warns that human activity

is changing the climate in unprecedented and irreversible ways, but a catastrophe can be avoided if we act fast. tinyurl.com/IPCC-report-21 HOW FM CAN HELP AVOID CLIMATE CATASTROPHE ● IWFM Insight Partner EMCOR explores the major role that FM can play in combating climate change – one of our 2021

Crucially for FMs, the Heat and Buildings Strategy has been delayed until October, but it is hoped that this will provide clarity on how the profession can fulfil its role in helping the UK achieve net zero by 2050. The strategy will sit alongside other developments: The Minimum Energy Efficiency Standards for privately rented property (from April 2023); Changes to the Future Homes Standard to deliver homes that are zero carbon ready (from 2025); and The proposed performance-based policy framework for commercial and industrial buildings larger than 1,000 square metres in England.

Meeting the ambitious target of a net zero economy will require a workforce with appropriate ‘green’ skills. It is encouraging, therefore, to see the government welcome recommendations of the independent Green Jobs Taskforce and recognise in its Skills for Jobs white paper the need to support technical education and lifelong learning to create the workforce to deliver a green industrial revolution.

We can no longer ignore the impact that the buildings we design, operate, manage and use have on our environment.

Sustainability must be at the core of every strategic business decision, including those made by the government, if the UK is to meet its net zero targets.

Our Policy Team will continue to monitor developments in this area, including outputs from COP26, working with key members of our community to support members in their leading role in helping to bridge the climate ambition gap.

Conference megatrends. tinyurl.com/EMCORclimate IWFM SUSTAINABILITY SURVEY ● IWFM’s 2021 Sustainability Survey took a pulse check of the sustainability priorities, barriers and opportunities for organisations in our sector. Results will be published in September. tinyurl.com/sustsurvey21

UN CLIMATE CHANGE CONFERENCE OF THE PARTIES (COP26) ● Global summit to accelerate action towards the goals of the Paris agreement and the UN tinyurl.com/COP26-conf GET INVOLVED ● Our policy work is informed by our members’ priorities. Share your views on policy matters with us at policy@iwfm.org.uk

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FEATURES / HYBRID WORKING

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CULTIVATING

HYBRID It is easy to predict a hybrid workplace as the likeliest operational model for offices post-pandemic – but much more difficult to calculate what this new paradigm means for facilities and their service provision. Over the following pages, Bradford Keen and Martin Read look at the issues that will help organisations to grow a consensus on the subject as they weigh up a range of new options ILLUSTR ATIO N S : AND REW LYONS

A cultural fit?

When the offices provided by organisations become only part of the regular workplace mix for workers, how can this profession play its part in creating and sustaining cultural cohesion?

Moreover, is that even part of this profession’s service provision? Consultant Lucy Jeynes is not sure it is.

T

“

raditionally we’ve focused on the impact we make on customer experience through the physical environments we create,” she explains.

“We call it the workplace experience, but actually it’s things like the building operating properly, the furniture and the coffee. We’re kidding ourselves if we think we’re the leaders of an organisation’s cultural cohesion. ”We do play a part in it; the space we’re creating and curating is a major element of brand, culture and work experience. But I don’t think we are the people that lead it. A director of workplace experience could lead in that role, but there are currently only a small number of people in the profession eligible to do that job. And that person would need to be in charge of FM, property, IT and HR.” For Jeynes, although FMs are typically focused on physical factors, the autonomy given to workers – as well as where and when they work – are the sole determination of HR.

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ITV’s offices, including those at Television Centre in White City, will prioritise the employee experience

FEATURES / HYBRID WORKING

Others disagree that this boundary is so fixed.

Both the outgoing and incoming IWFM chairs see development of a more nuanced relationship between departments (see feature, p36-41). And the idea, at least, of a chief workplace officer (CWO) – the suggested role leading on both these disciplines as well as IT and CRE to best ensure worker productivity – is seen as part of the profession’s conversation in response to the pandemic’s blurring of workplace boundaries.

Consultant Nigel Oseland is a fan. “Workplace is IT, HR, FM, CRE all jumbled up. The role that’s missing is a chief workplace officer or head of workplace.”

But there’s a problem. “It’s a difficult one,” says Oseland. “Someone has to take the lead but the necessary expertise and skills are so varied. The challenge is how to integrate the relevant bits of HR, IT and FM. And whoever does that needs a seat on the board, because then it’s really important.”

The complexities of workplace cost calculations in a hybrid world seem to logically suggest the kind of leadership a CWO approach could bring. Yet although the wellbeing agenda has seen some organisations embrace an HR/FM mix, it’s a slowly evolving understanding.

Will hybrid trigger a wider appreciation? ITV’s Ian Jones believes that the time is ripe for workplace teams to assert their influence.

“The way you support an office with transient people is completely different to

“It’s not about the service but the experience.

We want to give them a reason coming in, a for comi ‘destination for ‘destina collaboration’” collabor

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the way you support an office with fixed teams,” he says. “We need to generate something completely different. It’s not about the service but the experience. We want to give them a reason for coming in, a ‘destination for collaboration’.”

Plans so far at ITV include weekly popup bars for socialising with colleagues, exercise spaces on site, and outdoor garden spaces for daylight and relaxation.

Jones says this is all a lot easier as he has finally found the dream building; part of Television Centre in White City is to become the new ITV building, replete with a 44,000-square-feet floor plate to accommodate the new ways of working.

Focusing on familiar “People expect three primary things from a workplace,” says Monica Parker, “effectiveness, safety and familiarity.”

Effectiveness usually comes down to technology and furniture, she says. Safety is now about hygiene and air quality. But familiarity? Familiarity is the people.

“We’ve all been in an office with no one around and it feels spooky. If people come in and aren’t able to find their work friends, the office feels less familiar.”

Here’s where hybrid may mean more team-based delineation. Parker talks of organisations running “operating rhythm sessions” with individual teams “to better understand desired working patterns, communication styles, chronotypes (early bird versus night owl proclivities), etc.”

This requires the kind of work undertaken

by Ericsson (see box, ‘The Persona Touch’) to establish the likely characteristics of particular teams, providing accordingly.

Unfortunately, believes Parker, “Most companies have simply converted in-person meetings to Zoom meetings and not used this time to explore and fundamentally challenge the way people work. Have teams created a shared social contract about how they will work in the future?

“Culture is not created magically. It is the wake you see behind a series of behaviours. Culture cohesiveness looks different to different people. It’s not all team pizza parties and forced fun. For example, people of colour have reported experiencing many fewer microaggressions whilst working from home, and thus have – to some, paradoxically – felt more valued and connected to the culture while working from home. Aligning work patterns, creating clear communication channels, and training managers to manage remotely is the best way to create a cohesive culture.”

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HYBRID WORKING / FEATURES

A N E RIC SSON CASE STUDY

THE ‘PERSONA’ TOUCH Work carried out by international comms tech firm Ericsson, and reported by workplace performance analysts Leesman, shows how hybrid working may well be here to stay. Ericsson employed Leesman to survey 36,000 employees in 102 buildings across 52 countries

during 2020. The results showed that the typical Ericsson’s workplace experience actually ranked higher than Leesman’s own global benchmark – but that, nevertheless, figures for the homeworking experience were ranking higher still.

Naturally, certain activities

PHOTOGRAPHY: SHUTTERSTCOK

I have to go to the office

did not translate well outside of the office (51.2 per cent said their home supported informal working interactions compared to the office’s 85.5 per cent). But there was obvious enthusiasm to retain homeworking for at least part of the week, with employees reporting how homeworking

I choose to go to the office

better supported certain activities (confidential discussions, focused work, reading, creative thinking).

Pre-pandemic, 84 per cent of Ericsson employees spent less than 25 per cent of their time working from home. Now, 79 per cent said they wanted to work at least two days a week from home in future.

Understandably, employees’ individual homework settings affected the figures, with Ericsson realising that, for many, an ability to work well remotely depended as much on home capability as job role.

Ericsson’s response was to use this data to allocate employees into one of five ‘personas’ based on the characteristics revealed by individuals in the survey to give an indication of the requirements of the various workplace populations.

Each persona is based on how well 21 different work activities were supported at the office or at home.

With this analysis, Ericsson could understand: ● Regional differences in its workforce; ● The balance of employee ‘personas’ at a single site; and ● The types of work activities that would more likely be undertaken at one particular office or at home.

This categorisation paints a picture (see the graphic below), which allows the firm to calculate the balance work space type it needs for each of the offices in which surveying took place.

Ericsson has been testing out this persona approach in five pilot offices. In one, the 60 per cent of office space previously dedicated to focused desk-based work dialled right down to 15 per cent, allowing an uptick in team and socialising space as identified via the persona approach. It is too early to know what this means for Ericsson’s CRE portfolio more broadly.

I rarely go

<5%

30-35%

35-40%

15-20%

10-15%

THE TETHERED Entirely office-based because of job role or need to use tech only found in that the office.

THE OPTIMISER The office is their ideal because their home set-up is sub-optimal.

THE ADAPTER Office is the right space at the right time. Can work effectively at home, but not for everything.

THE CULTURALIST Office is where we thrive culturally and feel connected to people and brand.

THE SOLOIST Office visits are for special occasions; can work effectively from home.

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MONICA PARKER Founder of Hatch Analytics

H E A LT H A N D S A F E T Y

H&S RESPONSIBILITIES IN A HYBRIDISED WORKPLACE It is very unlikely that life as we knew it before Covid will return any time soon and everyone will need to get used to the new, different environment at work and adapt accordingly. This is easy to say but certainly much harder to do.

The duty of care and H&S obligations have remained the same for employers and managers whether staff have been working from home or in the workplace.

Any ‘out of sight, out of mind’ mentality towards homeworkers could prove problematic as staff start to return to the workplace, either partially or completely.

H&S responsibilities in a hybridised workplace may well need greater focus on parity, fairness, compassion and care – with a capital C – to avoid costly lawsuits and discrimination. It may also require financial investment in training – both upskilling and refresher – to help staff cope with the new circumstances and working practices.

Initiatives to support mental health will need to be considered and implemented. Managers will need to invest as much time as necessary to ensure that the ‘people’ part of their role is effective and meaningful. Employment contracts must be relevant to a hybrid work arrangement and changes will need to be discussed, agreed and properly docu documented. Extra or amended clauses to cover compassion compassionate leave and, indeed, provision for sick sickness and absence rela related to long Cov might also Covid p be prudent.”

MA MALCOLM TULLETT, fou founder of health and safe consultancy safety Risk and Safety Plus

22

ANDY KELLY Director of facilities management at Manchester Central

ANTONY WILTSHIRE Director of Workspace and Facilities UK&I, Edelman

DAVID SHARP CEO, International Workplace Ltd

LUCY JEYNES Managing director at Larch Consulting

RUSSELL WOOD Facilities manager at Dentsu

“It’s about empowering the individual to deliver against agreed and prescribed targets within the confines of their home and workplace environment” Soft central For David Sharp, the evermore important requirement is for good managers with strong soft skills.

“Emotional intelligence is an incredibly valuable skill to bring some people up and flatten others down, give in to some people’s demands and stand fast against others.”

Sharp’s solution is AI that understands individuals on a granular level and treats them uniquely rather than as part of many within a larger system. But for this to work, “we need sensitive managers and sensitive software”.

AI software that links employee outcomes to company objectives is essential, he says. Microsoft Viva employee experience software takes data from multiple sources about what an individual employee is doing and plugs it into the company platform to see how company and employee are performing; Sharp’s Workplace DNA does the same, albeit specifically for learning outcomes.

“FM can influence the organisation’s cultural cohesiveness by adopting software solutions that match productivity and track the relationship between people’s inputs and outcomes for the organisation,” suggests Sharp.

Culture club “The office has to be attractive, and that’s not just about facilitating

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HYBRID WORKING / FEATURES

Manchester Central Convention Complex is a non-office business that is introducing hybrid working models (see box, right)

teamwork and collaboration and innovation,” says Nigel Oseland.

“A lot of people miss the social elements of work. For a lot of people starting out, the workplace is a social place. A lot of people meet their future partner at work.

It’s where you’re mentored, meet people, establish your work ethic and philosophy of life. All five generations in the workplace still need social interaction.

“In London, most of us are spending 1.5 to two hours a day commuting, so the office has to be attractive enough to overcome that inertia. What can you do in the workplace to make people really want to come, what makes it attractive? It’s facilitation in the broadest sense, facilitating those events and meetings.”

“Workplace really has a role to play in the culture piece and engaging with staff,” says Kellie Lord-Thomas.

“And we absolutely need stronger ties with our HR team.

That is happening now as a result of our decision to permanently go hybrid.”

But Lord-Thomas admits that in her case it will be difficult for a hybrid form to work for all.

“Our biggest difficulty is how this works globally.

We’ve got the most people in our London head office and everyone’s on board with going hybrid. But in regional offices and the global south, that’s not quite the case. In those areas, because connectivity is poor, it’s better for them to be in the office. It’s going to be difficult having different rules for different areas.”

H Y BRID : BEYON D T H E OF F I CE

ADAPTING AN EVENTS BUSINESS IWFM Awards judge Andy Kelly is director of facilities management at Manchester Central Convention Complex, a non-office business introducing hybrid working How is your post-pandemic facilities service requirement likely to become different to what went before?

“The pandemic has made the business look across all departments to see how they operate. We are now a lot leaner and the FM team has had to become more multidisciplined in their ability to support various other aspects of the business which, pre-Covid, would have been classed as other teams’ responsibility.”

Is there likely to be a move to hybrid working – and how will that affect what you deliver to end users?

“Yes, we will be moving to a hybrid model. While the business is predominately about delivering events and the need to be within the venue to support this activity,

the business has recognised that hybrid working can work in our industry.

“We are in the process of drawing together our policies and procedures as to how this will work. In essence, we will move to a more output-based performance management matrix with the onus on the individual to manage and deliver to the required outputs.

“It’s about empowering the individual to deliver against agreed and prescribed targets within the confines of their home and workplace environment. We are changing our performance development review process to ensure that it is fit for purpose.

Training will be provided for all managers.”

Does this move mean changes to team structure/reporting, and if so in what ways?

“Minor changes to team structures, but these are at a junior level and to ensure our business is equipped to deal with every changing event and conferencing environment.”

How will your procedures change as a result of this move?

“Several H&S procedures will need to change such as our DSE (display screen equipment) policy to consider the risks of people working at home more, emergency procedures will also need to be adapted to reflect the roles of fire marshals in the venue and roles undertaken by staff under emergency situations.”

What will be the most significant change to how you provide service within this new outputbased model?

“The major change is supporting and empowering the individuals to adapt to the changes that agile working brings, especially as our business primarily deals face to face with our customers and clients. Our working-from-home policy will stipulate that working from home will need to be approved on a case-by-case basis with line managers.”

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HYBRID’S SOFT FOCUS With hybrid working founded on greater autonomy for teams and individuals, is the conversation about how workers are managed – and how services are provided for them – likely to be a constantly evolving one from hereon? Martin Read and Bradford Keen report

s of July, figures suggested that around twothirds of employers were planning to either introduce or expand on hybrid working over the next 12 months. FMs polled at the recent Workplace Futures conference believed by a three to one ratio that there is no chance of occupancy levels ever returning to Q1 2020 levels. A KPMG Outlook survey published as we went to press detailed a huge decline in CEOs having already or planning to downsize their physical footprint, from 69 per cent last year to just 21 per cent this. Workers themselves are watching as this extraordinary global ‘work in progress’ plays out; employers, aware of needing to keep their workforces happy while they assess the operational change options the pandemic has opened their eyes to, are sending strong signals about offering new freedoms to work to final output goals instead of one-size-fits-all routines.

Andy Alderson, CEO of Vanarama, expresses it this way: “So long as you’re working hard and living our

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PHOTOGRAPHY: ISTOCK / GETTY

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values, we trust you to work it out.”

Elsewhere this is the introduction of cute new maxims – ‘office is for input, home is for output’.

So the key ingredients of hybrid working comprise a significantly more trusting attitude towards employees and, as a consequence, their relative autonomy within teams compared with the immediate post-pandemic environment.

There may be variety in the basic design and implementation of hybrid policy, but little in terms of general direction.

“The most important thing for me is to create the best working environment for my team members,” says Nicholas Goubert, chief product & technology officer at CLARK. “It is important after all to create enough flexibility to try new ways, monitor how the team and the company perform and to keep iterating and improving.”

Goubert thinks the debate about work policy will continue to be top of mind for years to come. “The worst option is to remain stuck in the past and apply theories

that might have been relevant years or decades ago but are completely obsolete today.”

‘Completely obsolete’ is a pretty stark assessment, but it is indicative of the current state of play. Goubert talks of “building a strong culture of autonomous teams”, accepting that there will be multiple iterations of his firm’s office space as the extent to which ‘virtual clusters’ of autonomous teams feeding into an operational whole ultimately impacts on the workspace offer.

Hybrid’s give and take Others speak of the opportunity represented by hybrid to expand their recruitment footprint nationwide or even internationally, evolving their team structure alongside their workplace offer. So while hybrid means giving, in terms of operational freedom and improved office conditions, it also means more opportunity to pick who those team members are in the first place.

This kind of calculation, and with corporate eyes on a longer-term reduction in spend on space for both cost and environmental reasons, will be the drivers that keep hybrid in the spotlight long after any short burst of Q4 2021 surge of ‘good to be back’ stories hits the headlines.

Ben Willmott, head of policy at the Chartered Institute of Personnel Development (CIPD) spoke on hybrid recently at the Workplace Futures Summer 2021 conference. For Willmott, what is most important for organisations is agreeing “a strategic position on hybrid working and developing a policy and supporting guidance that reflects that strategy”. And then, “organisations should be defining hybrid working with regard to this specific organisational context”.

All of which will require more focus on that most frequently recurring theme, management’s soft skills.

“Effective hybrid working will hinge on the ability of people managers to manage properly those who are increasingly going to be split between the workplace and those who are working from home on a much more regular basis,” says Willmott. “They’ll need to get much more comfortable at how they do that, so equipping people managers with the necessary skills is an absolute foundation for effective hybrid working.”

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The task in hand It is also a case of offering hybrid working alongside or as part of other flexible working options, suggests Willmott. The CIPD is part of the government’s Flexible Working Taskforce, initially set up during Theresa May’s administration to improve workplace equality by understanding the barriers preventing employers offering and individuals taking up flexible work options.

This task force got a second wind in February with CIPD CEO Peter Cheese asked to continue in the role of chair and the body newly tasked with specifically seeking to understand and support “the change to ‘hybrid’ and other ways of working which are emerging because of the pandemic”.

The right to request flexible working, while enshrined in legislation, still suffers from having no single, universal definition. Doubtless the government is seeking to do just that, but the pandemic has pushed definitions back as hybrid’s impact is assessed. Because while ‘hybrid’ principally comprises what would previously have been termed ‘teleworking’, there lies in hybrid the opportunity to address other aspects of the flexible working pro-pandemic mega trend with all its perceived benefits: attraction of talent, improved engagement, improved job satisfaction, loyalty to the business, productivity and improved wellbeing.

“We know there’s real unmet demand for different forms of flexible working arrangements such as flexitime, compressed hours, analysed hours job share part-time working,” says Willmott, “We think there is a real risk of a two-tier workforce where home and hybrid workers enjoy considerable flexibility and other workers have very little.”

PO LL (WO RK PLACE FUTURES ATTENDEES, JULY 202 1)

WILL THE OFFICE OCCUPANCY EVER RETURN TO PRE-2020 LEVELS? 76.5%

NO

13.2% DON’T KNOW

26

Hybrid working means accepting that the move to workers spending many hours at their home office desks is a permanent one. So what legal responsibilities do workplace and facilities management professionals now face – and how did they initially adapt to the new reality?

epending on their job role or the organisation they work for, workers at home might enjoy the luxury of an ergonomic office chair, a desk and suitably set up display screen equipment (DSE) paid for by their employer while others could well be hunched over their laptops on a sofa or lying in bed.

Legal obligations from a health and safety perspective have always been difficult to decipher for locationindependent working – and this was the case even before the pandemic, says FM consultant Lucy Jeynes.

“There’s a mismatch between the liability for employers and the practical ability to mitigate that when people are at home,” Jeynes explains. “If somebody came to assess my own homeworking setup, I’d show them my office with an adjustable chair and eye-level monitor. But then I work on the sofa, in bed, in the garden, in cafés, in co-working spaces, at my house in France; there isn’t any way to make me sit properly in my chair and to stop me hunching over the coffee table on my laptop. So I don’t know how that’s going to be defined.”

D

A more equitable result

10.3% YES

Servicing multiple working locations all at once

For David Sharp, managing director of International Workplace, a solution powered by artificial intelligence is the likely long-term solution for guaranteeing H&S compliance. Consider, for example, a DSE assessment. At home, reveals Sharp, he works on a decorating table with two monitors on top and his grandkids’ beds behind him. But he might move to the lounge to work from his phone or tablet. “You can’t do a DSE risk assessment for me with one form. You’ve got to look at my life, my scenarios where I work, I might be on the train.

“There’s got to be a really big change in the way that software and applications exist to help people do their job. It’s going to be much more equitable; employers have to be ethical, and employees have to be more responsible and granular when sharing information about how they’re working.”

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During the past two years, Dentsu’s FM team has closed seven of its London offices in favour of higher occupancy at a single HQ. This has enabled the team to send office chairs to remote working employees, but their procurement focus has also been on sourcing suitably sized desks for home use. Ideal dimensions are 600mm deep and 1,000mm wide “being mindful of people’s living scenarios”, says Dentsu’s London-based FM Russell Wood.

ITV took a similar approach. “We denuded many buildings of their screens and sent thousands home,” says Ian Jones, director of facilities. “Then we realised we needed to do more so we set up a £250 bursary for everybody to buy themselves a chair and a desk.”

Dentsu is using technology to improve all aspects of remote working, including workstation compliance.

Says Wood: “We’re about to launch an automated ergonomic workstation solution from Ideagen (a

“This is going to require a whole different way of PAT testing and I’m not quite sure how we’re going to do that”

governance risk management and compliance software provider) to provide regular, automated prompts for computer users to review their workstations. How we do it now is quite reactive, using forms, but this new technology will allow us to send out reminders at certain intervals.”

At Amnesty International, all workers were provided with DSE, a chair and mouse, while those with known DSE issues were given desks. But many employees were stuck working from their bedrooms.

“To combat the way we know some of our young people are working, we opened up very early last year in June,” says Kellie Lord-Thomas, UK workplace manager at Amnesty International. “We knew some people didn’t have the best work environments; however, we haven’t seen an influx of those young people come back.

“We’ve also sent guidance on how to sit comfortably, we’ve issued lots of wellbeing information, and all of that is going to stay, but ideally we want them coming back into the office a little bit more frequently than they are.”

Lord-Thomas explains that there is uncertainty about the extent of the company’s legal obligations.

“This is going to require a whole different way of PAT testing and I’m not quite sure how we’re going to do that.

Obviously, there are concerns about privacy in the home.

We’re secure in the office but it weakens our systems when everyone’s working from home.”

A new third way One solution to this kind of concern is the emergence of a more ubiquitous class of third space, one based on the repurposing of high street retail units to offer the kind of meeting and quiet work locations that coffee shops typically cannot. A government task force to assess the future of high streets is likely to see facilitating this new generation of third spaces as part of its remit.

It is easy to envisage businesses seeing the advantage of using such spaces, and thus reducing their own overall corporate footprint. But with firms now reporting much less inclination to offload workspace, in contrast to what they were saying at the heart of the pandemic last year, it is far too early to paint a clear picture of what happens next.

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FEATURES / HYBRID: CALCULATING THE IMPACT

TAKING A NEW

MEASU

30

FAC I L I TAT E S EP T EM B ER- O C TO B ER 2021

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RE

Complexities in the relationship between workers and their workplaces have only grown through the pandemic, meaning complexities in how levels of service for hybrid model offices are to be calculated – as well as what needs measuring in the first place. Bradford Keen and Martin Read report he many recent surveys considering the postpandemic future office may vary in scope, but not generally in result: a new reality in which office workers spend perhaps two to three days in the office is a recurring theme. And if this plays out, the implications for the economy – in terms of recalibration rather than size – are seismic.

The idea of ‘blended work’ ecosystems before the pandemic has simply been hastened as a result of it. And inevitably, the introduction of different uses for the workplace will continue to stress-test FM teams as the function continues to pivot away from emergency mode towards routine enablement of the hybrid model.

So what will this mean for the office? Nicola Gillen of Cushman & Wakefield, considering the early impact of hybrid on CRE, talks of there being “an increased focus on community, both corporate and local place, to connect and provide a sense of belonging to a group of people with wellbeing at the heart of the development.

That’s really increased as a priority for occupiers”.

Says Gillan, “we’re seeing less desking and more community spaces, and overall a flight to quality”.

According to Russell Wood, while hybrid occupancy levels are likely to be at between 40 to 60 per cent, the operational requirements for FM teams will, he believes, intensify as routine adaptation takes over from the fixed servicing of space as the top item on an FM’s task list.

“Those coming into the office are doing so to pitch new clients, for example, and we need to support that by providing better facilities through enhanced LED lighting and improved quality of meeting rooms

STAT I ST I C S F RO M L E E S M A N ’ S ‘ STAT E O F T H E E STAT E – C R E L E A D E R S H I P 2021 ’ S U RV E Y

POST-PANDEMIC, WILL YOU GIVE EMPLOYEES CHOICE OVER WHEN THEY USE THE OFFICE?

41%

No decision has been made yet

37%

We will offer complete freedom

13%

We will decide for them

We will use a system that is based on a rota/first come, first served

9%

0%

All employees will be working in the office full-time

0%

All employees will be working remote full-time HAS YOUR ORGANISATION MADE A DECISION ABOUT WHERE EMPLOYEES WILL BE WORKING ONCE THE PANDEMIC IS NOT RESTRICTING THIS? Hybrid model where employees can use our office and their homes

57%

Hybrid model where employees can use our office and their homes and third space

28%

9%

Employees predominantly office-based

6% 0%

No firm plans

Employees predominantly home-based

FACI L I TAT EM AG A ZI N E .CO M

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FEATURES / HYBRID: CALCULATING THE IMPACT

WORKS PACE VOL UME

PULLING IN TWO DIRECTIONS On the face of it, a longer term reduction in office space needs is an inevitable implication of hybrid working, yet survey data implies that offices need also to ‘up their game’ if they’re to compete with the comfort of homes. But cutting space while investing in the quality of what remains may prove too crude an assessment.

and updating meeting room software.

The necessary professional capability to do this has been positively enhanced by the crisis, says Wood.

“The last eight months have made us more resilient, personally and professionally, We’ve become more multiskilled in our separate functions and done a lot of re-education about the pressures of front of house or mailroom teams to make sure these operate POLL OF WORKPLACE F UT URES SUMMER CONFERENCE AT T EN D EES more efficiently.”

WHAT SHOULD FM’S TOP PRIORITY It is this newly BE DURING NEXT YEAR? wider capability, and organisations’ Hygiene, safety awareness of it, that and compliance will allow FMs to lead on how future service Sustainability, societal impact and energy management demands are calculated.

PHOTOGRAPHY: HARRY HAYSOM IKON / GETTY

Service uncertainty For catering, says Lucy Jeynes, determining a contractor’s level of exposure to risk needs to be part of any fresh discussion of service.

“With occupancy much lower than before, why would you expect a catering company to take a commercial risk?

32

22.9 % 11.4 % 5.7 % 15.7 % 11.4 % 31.4 % 1.4 %

Getting the workforce back to the office Digital transformation and technical innovation

Employee productivity and efficiency Creating new hybrid forms of workplace

Something else

In one sense, we’ve been here before – and more than once, says Nigel Oseland.

“If you look at BCO (British Council of Offices) figures, we’ve increased density by 40 per cent over the last 20 years,” he says, assessing typical space-to-worker figures.

“Even in the last 10 years we’ve lost about two desks’ worth of space per person across the whole building. We’ve been running them at ridiculously high densities. That’s bad for noise and an infringement on personal space, especially as desk spaces get smaller – 1.4m, 1.2m or even 1m.

And of course, it’s also not going to help with cross infections.”

Enough is enough, is Oseland’s message.

“If people are in the office 50 per cent of the time, we shouldn’t be thinking about taking away 50 per cent of the space. We can reduce the number of desks, space them out and bring in more space for collaboration and focused work such as pods and quiet rooms.

“The facilities manager needs to think beyond the desk and the meeting room. The office will be a much richer mix of different work settings. And the home… is part of the workplace now; there’s no going back.”

Antony Wiltshire of Edelman agrees with much of the emerging consensus about hybrid’s focus on collaboration. “People want something different,” he says of his own firm’s employees, “space to collaborate, quiet areas, technology that welcomes hybrid collaboration and, above all, space that inspires, welcomes and delivers something they simply can’t replicate at home.”

One aspect of this flexibility can be the use of zones within workspaces that can be customised to the requirements of different teams or departments – with such zones able to be swapped out when needed.

Chad David Smith, VP product strategy at iOffice, talks of ‘clever zones’ that can be set up to limit the use of space to certain areas. This allows colleagues to work relatively closely in team units but also allows facilities staff to prioritise these areas for cleaning and implementation of safety measures.

And Ian Jones has been thinking on the same lines. Talk at ITV is of introducing hot-swappable furnishing units that are customised by team type in working group ‘neighbourhoods’, as much to allow greater ongoing adaptability of his buildings’ overall workspace as to sustain the sense of community within teams. He’s trialling it now with a view to wider roll-out.

“We’re bringing people back into the office to sit in these neighbourhoods. But if we want to change the office quickly, we can just lift up a block.”

It also gives each group some autonomy. “It allows them to work in a more agile way.”

“We haven’t made all the rules and we haven’t got it completely sorted but we’re in the middle of changing the way we work – something we always wanted to change but never did.”

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“You may need to consider a subsidy on your catering contract so that there’s always a standing amount of availability, even if hardly anybody comes in [to the officer], as a lot of catering contracts are based upon a commercial footfall.”

Other likely options are likely to include not providing a catering offer on a given weekday, or even shutting down the office on a day to allow for costs on both sides to be better understood. These decisions need to be balanced within a wider hybrid working framework.

For David Sharp, questions about change to service need to include environmental control systems.

“Are you looking at the next six months or next 60 years? Because [environmental control] systems are going to be much more self-regulated,” Sharp predicts.

“They’ll know what’s in the air and stop whatever is happening before it reaches hazardous levels. Ventilation is huge for FMs to pay attention to. Noise is very important too.”

Taking back control

“To suddenly move to an environment where you’re not in control of the lighting and the noise – that’s going to have an impact on FMs”

Of course, those working from home have greater control over that environment as it affects them specifically. Office choices about heat, ventilation and other components always represent a compromise in favour of the majority in attendance.

“To suddenly move to an environment where you’re not in control of the lighting and the noise – that’s going to have an impact on FMs in the way they use spaces and furniture and fittings.”

Consulting ISO 45003 (psychological health and safety at work) will also provide insight for workplace and facilities management teams, says Sharp.

“It lists some of the softer things we all need to consider that we never used to, such as employees’ financial security, social interaction and support, inclusion, recognition, reward and accomplishment, personal development and growth. That’s FM; you can build the environment and structure work to maximise delivery of those things.”

THE N ET ZERO DIMENSION

SUSTAINABILITY – HOW HYBRID COULD HELP With employees increasingly spread between homes, offices and third spaces, sustainability calculations and considerations are likely to require fresh thinking Monica Parker is blunt in her assessment. “An organisation’s biggest sustainability win can be achieved through the shedding of real estate, something that can only really be achieved through shared desk scenarios coupled with hybrid working.

“Along with hybrid working comes less commuting, and tracking the sustainability gains from reduced commutes will be beneficial.”

Also, “with greater adoption of videoconferencing, long-haul air travel can be cut too”.

“Our role dovetails with HR and IT more than ever before,” adds Antony Wiltshire. “Fewer attendees reduce our footprint, our waste generated, the food and water consumed and toilets flushed. We expect business travel to stay far lower than before, and we have less IT equipment in place across the office – 50 per cent fewer monitors and docks. There’s also less printing, less cleaning consumables and food stocked and purchased.”

Twenty years ago, Nigel Oseland tried to calculate his own carbon emissions when at the office and at home. It was a difficult task but one that should be achievable these days with the help of a sustainability consultant. His conclusion? Hot-desking and agile working solves the sustainability calculation conundrum; leaving

offices half-empty, lit and heated is wasteful, but when space is properly managed, balancing desk space with other spaces and understanding when work zones need to be heated or cooled, it becomes more environmentally conscious.

At ITV, Ian Jones has commissioned a company to calculate homebased and office-based carbon emissions. He’s asking for a “very simple study” using data that ITV has supplied on people, building sizes, electricity bills. He is eager to determine the shift from roughly 2,500 employees travelling to the office to around 600 and how that might affect the environment. He’ll then contrast this with the energy used in people’s homes and is optimistic that the gap would be negligible, making carbon emissions from homeworking and the agile new workplace roughly the same as it was with all employees working on site.

“The challenge, beyond the right measurement tools, is making data relevant to end users rather than esoteric and ephemeral,” says David Sharp. “Employees need to be fed the data of how they are contributing to their organisation’s carbon footprint in easily digestible chunks such as ‘how many cups of X or how many miles have I saved today?’ Or ‘how does this affect my grandchildren’s lives?’”

How all of this employee data feeds into an organisation’s broader corporate targets will require an application that can deal with it on a granular level. The good news, says Sharp, is that “these tools, if they don’t yet exist, definitely will soon”.

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of workplace utilisation. Are those areas as heavily used as they appear to be? Do more than two people ever use that large conference room? Objective observation is, therefore, required to analyse what’s really happening.

That’s where occupancy sensors and occupancy data come in. It is hard, reliable data that empowers businesses to make informed decisions. In a world that increasingly requires flexibility and real-time responsiveness to changes, truly understanding how your space is actually being utilised is vital.

Uses for occupancy data The real benefits of occupancy data lie in how it is used. At a high level, it enables property and facility teams to make informed decisions about their real estate portfolio, with huge potential cost savings. Do you need to build that new office? Could you downsize or sublet some of your current space? Can you redesign the space to meet changes in employee needs?

Further cost savings can be achieved by integrating realtime occupancy data with other building systems to automatically control functions such as heating, lighting, and ventilation based on demand – while also improving employee comfort. Some businesses have been doing this for years using simple PIRs for crude control systems, but what if you could tailor this further to adjust dynamically based on the real-time capacity?

Additionally, occupancy data can improve employee wellbeing

and experience by eliminating the friction and niggles that often occur in workplaces. How often have you struggled to find an available space for collaboration work or tried to book a meeting room for a large group only to find that all rooms are occupied by individuals, small groups or ‘no shows’? Making real-time occupancy data available to building users can put them in the driving seat to make informed decisions and boost their productivity.

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Occupancy data is collected by accurate people-counting sensors and aggregated in a cloud-based platform called True Data. This data is intelligently processed to give users a full picture of how the building and space is being used in real-time. True Data integrates with third-party systems within the building to facilitate intelligent building automation, whilst reports and dashboards provide insights for impactful space utilisation and optimisation decisions.

03/09/2021 16:40

How a True Occupancy system works 1 Collect occupancy and utilisation data Privacy protecting, BACnet ready, occupancy sensors measure people movement and building usage in real time.

Meeting M ti and d conference f rooms

Flexible and hot desking areas

Entrances and exits

2 Intelligent data processing and aggregation Data is securely transferred to and processed by our powerful occupancy analytics platform.

3 Dashboards, insights and integrations Optimise your building, space utilisation and space planning with hard, reliable data.

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FEATURES / IWFM’S CHAIRS

COMMON CAUSE N While 2021 signifies a change at the top for the IWFM, it’s in the work instigated by outgoing chair Martin Bell, and to be continued by Mark Whittaker, that a wider story of change is to be found. Martin Read reports

aturally, the pandemic looms large in this story.

It has profoundly affected the agenda of IWFM chair Martin Bell and will surely influence that of his successor Mark Whittaker. But the link between the two men’s tenures goes far beyond pandemic response, as they are in full agreement about the institute’s priorities up to 2023.

Tackling 2020 and turning adversity into opportunity For Martin Bell, how the IWFM adapted to the pandemic is something of which he is immensely proud.

“We had no playbooks, no reference guides; no idea which direction to go in. But it was important to understand what it was we could actually do.

We knew we had great adversity, but what were the opportunities?”

The first job was to balance cost-cutting with an investment in a necessarily altered service offering for members. IWFM’s output evolved quickly as new content formats – the Turbulent Times webinar series key among them – were introduced to fill the void

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in the absence of physical meetings. Meanwhile, engagement with the government also increased as FMs and their teams became suddenly crucial – and visible – to the economy.

“What we did, within weeks, was establish the necessary governance able to support the executive,” Martin says about the creation of an Extraordinary Finance Committee (EFC) to support the executive.

“The EFC was about supporting the financial governance of the organisation; to remain a sustainable business, but also to benefit and prosper in the environment.

“We were in the fortunate position that one of our co-opted non-executive directors was Paul Ash [now chair of The Chartered Institute of Management Accountants]. It made sense for him to chair the EFC and that I would provide support as a committee member.”

At the pandemic’s height, the EFC met weekly with the executive to run through cash flow forecasts and evaluate potential new activities or missed opportunities – “and all of this was highly complex in order to work through”, Martin adds.

The EFC still sits, with meetings currently monthly rather than weekly. “At the moment it

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IWFM’S CHAIRS / FEATURES

Outgoing IWFM chair Martin Bell (left) and incoming chair Mark Whittaker (right)

“We had no playbooks, no reference guides...

We knew we had great adversity, but what were the opportunities?”

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seems right to keep it going because we’re still in a situation where so much can change.”

Eighteen months later, this work has helped to sustain the IWFM’s standing among members and has recalibrated what its research, policy and engagement wings can do to expand the profession’s reach.

“It’s only when you’re leading the board that you fully realise the limitations and challenges” Martin explains. “It’s been a real eye-opener in terms of understanding just what’s possible.

“It’s taught me that what’s really important in life is to be strong and to look for opportunity. We’re capitalising now as a result of just how difficult 2020 was, but we wouldn’t have been in this position if we hadn’t been bold.”

The Communities Review A volunteering veteran, Martin came to the chair with a sense that the IWFM’s many different groups could collaborate more effectively within the wider governance of the organisation. “When I became chair, one of the things I started to ask of everything was, ‘Is this the right way to do things?’”

Out of this emerged the IWFM’s continuing communities review, focused on how the IWFM’s many groups interact with each other and report their work.

“As each committee has its own terms of reference, they don’t necessarily get the wider context of what’s going on in the organisation,” says Martin. “We’re keen to bring their chairs together so they build a rapport.

We want a culture of collaboration, and it’s about how we establish that procedurally and culturally.”

The Modern Professional Body organisation was brought in to help support this work.

“What we really wanted to ask is, what actually is the best governance we could have in a professional body? Do we actually know that, either as individuals or a board?

“The aim here is to improve the collaboration, behaviours and culture between the executive – the people paid to support our profession – and the wonderful communities we have.”

“We’re capitalising now as a result of just how difficult 2020 was, but we wouldn’t have been in this position if we hadn’t been bold”

Serving beyond tenure Although the communities review work is ongoing, the pandemic has meant few opportunities for Martin to meet with members. “If I have any regrets, that’s one. I simply did not have the capacity, with all my effort very much focused internally.”

Unusually, however, Martin will remain on the board for two more years as a co-opted nonexecutive director. “Because of the ongoing review and the relationship I have with the board and Mark, it was deemed sensible by the board for me to serve for another two years.

“One of the benefits of serving as chair during this time has been forging stronger relationships with the

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TH E E VOLVING WORKPLACE

DIVERSITY AND INCLUSION One of Martin Bell’s priorities was the initiation of a project to assess the institute and wider profession’s levels of diversity and inclusiveness. It will continue after he leaves office.

“This is where the workplace can play such a positive role,” he explains of the initiative.

Martin has two children on the autistic spectrum, one of whom he describes as “hyperfunctional but with a spiky profile, meaning he does some things exceptionally well but struggles with others”.

“When he goes into the workplace reasonable adjustments will need to be made for him. Now that term, ‘reasonable adjustments’, seems so obvious; but when diversity and inclusion reaches across

the full spectrum it will embrace everything from sexuality to all forms of disability.

“Some people can contribute in amazing ways but can’t necessarily do all things well; so what are the reasonable adjustments we need to be making? And this can never just be an HR conversation; workplace managers will need to facilitate the adjustments that have to be made.

“We should always continue to push ourselves to do things better, and I think that’s what we’ve done well from an organisational perspective in terms of diversity and inclusion.

But as we step up this activity in terms of our wider community engagement, there’s a huge amount more we can do.”

board and executive; there’s so much more we can do when we’re all pulling in the same direction.”

The sense is of a chair with plenty still to give.

IWFM CEO Linda Hausmanis is generous with her praise: “With characteristic energy, professionalism and warmth he has presided during the worst pandemic in 100 years, helping the institute to navigate a safe course through very choppy waters.

His legacy will be a more effective and inclusive institute overall, resulting primarily from the cohesion he has brought to our governance through an agenda of ongoing engagement.”

Introducing Mark Whittaker If the name of IWFM’s 15th chair sounds familiar, then you’ve likely met Mark Whittaker in his role as chair of the IWFM’s Northern Region SIG or read him on his social media channels. He’s worked hard at developing his profile in the sector and is keen to use it to be effective as chair.

Already one of IWFM’s most committed volunteers, he applied to chair the institute, a move that stemmed from “the whole reason for volunteering in the first place – to give something back to the profession”.

Yet Mark is no ordinary volunteer; he also serves at his local primary school, as vice-chair of governors – and in the recent past, at his local church, as councillor for several years.

“The link to volunteers and the membership, especially at this time, is really important and I was encouraged to become chair to re-engage and reenergise volunteering.”

As Northern Region chair, he helped to secure and retain the ‘region of the year’ title, changing the profile and attractiveness of local events.

“I wanted people coming out of our events having learned something they could use in their day job; events themed around outcomes rather than necessarily the building they were held in.”

Mark is prepared for his new role having been trained on effectively chairing committees and meetings, “but also in terms of understanding the dynamics of groups and personalities, and how to manage them in that environment”, he says.

Mark’s priorities Mark has summed up his priorities in what he’s termed his “five ‘C’s” (see box).

“Within the institute and the profession more generally there’s still a need to challenge the norm, to say ‘we need to adapt’,” he explains. “I can imagine seeing significant change in the workplace over the next two years, and how the institute responds in a distinctive way will be really important.”

Promoting the profession to young people is also on Mark’s to-do list. “One of the first

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MORE ONLINE • Martin Bell: How the chair has changed me • Mark Whittaker: an interventionist approach tinyurl.com/ Fac0910_ IWFMChairs

BIFM events I went to was at Liverpool John Moores University, where Professor Matt Tucker and [the late] Nazali Mohd Noor asked if I’d do a guest lecture. In time I realised that students were doing FM modules simply as an add-on to a building surveying degree; in their minds, they were going to go down the construction/architecture/design route. My frustration was that most had already made the decision as to which career path they wanted to go down.”

Believing that conversations about FM need to start earlier, Mark became IWFM’s ambassador for the Career of Choice national schools initiative, a project to promote awareness of facilities management in secondary schools. He worked with Alison Watson MBE, whose Class of Your Own organisation had created the Design Engineer Construct! (DEC) accredited learning programme

THE NE W BRO O M

for secondary school students, with a view to introducing the same demographic to workplace and facilities management.

“We had kids going around the school weighing up things they’d change. We then asked them to identify their priorities because, of course, in FM you have to work within budgetary constraints. And you could sense this light-bulb moment as they realised the reallife relevance to all of this.”

Following this successful local school trial, Mark hopes to see the initiative progress post-pandemic.

As the world of workplaces emerges from the pandemic, Mark is optimistic about opportunities to attract fresh blood to the profession – as well as promote the profession’s growing profile.

Short-term challenges are inevitable, not least the end of furlough and the acute budgetary challenges many workplace managers will face. But Mark sees scope in the evolving role of the workplace manager.

“It’s such a dynamic and changing environment, this role we now have around future workplaces, how the user experiences them and what they look like – it’s important we get fresh talent into the industry.

“Also, in all probability this won’t be the last pandemic in our lifetime. I think the role of FMs in developing contingencies and learning lessons from what’s happened will continue to help our profile.”

Future focus

Both men look forward with confidence. “I set myself and other people very high standards,” says Martin, “so I will always look back and think about what I could have done better. But I’m delighted with the changes we’ve been able to make to strengthen collaboration as well as the journey we’re now going on from a diversity perspective (see box, ‘Diversity & Inclusion’).

“I love our profession and want to continue in it, as well as support its advancement through volunteering. The opportunity to become chair was amazing; I’ve done something I’ve never done before and will probably never do again. The experiences you personal values of honesty, have as chair are incredible.” integrity and kindness.”

As for Mark, “I’ve always tried to be honest and upfront, treating … and two B’s people with respect. It may sound Burnley: Hailing from Rossendale, Mark supports twee, but I believe my qualities as Burnley Football Club having a person should shine through in kicked a debilitating Manchester the role of chair; to have respect United habit in his youth. “It’s a for doing the right thing and to big part of my life, a traditional work hard in support of the board, local club with links to the community. My son hates me membership, regions, SIGs and the saying this, but we continue to profession in general.” punch above our weight.”

Martin Bell and Mark Whittaker are Blogging: Mark has blogged clearly two men with common cause about FM for close to a decade, now as ‘@Whitbags’ on Twitter. at an exciting time for the sector.

WHAT MARK WHITTAKER WILL BRING TO THE ROLE The Five C’s Continuity: “I consider the tenures of Martin and Steve Roots to have been huge successes. The role of chair well into 2022 will be crucial in continuing to navigate the institute through the challenges presented by the pandemic.”

Community: “The Community Review and the need to improve the level of communication and engagement with the Regional and SIGs leaders and membership, I think, will be a key element of the chair role in the future.”

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Communication: “I have worked hard to develop a high profile and to use this and my writings to challenge and encourage those within this profession. I think such a profile will be advantageous in the chair role.”

Chartership: “The pandemic has maybe slowed progress but there’s still a desire to get that done. I’m keen to really develop the training and professional development side of things.”

Character: “My Christian faith has guided me throughout my career, particularly in the way I treat others. I try to uphold

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MARTIN & MARK ON… On wellbeing Mark: “The argument about whether people can be just as productive at home or in the office has moved on massively over the last 12 months. It’s becoming a key element of the role. You’re an FM, but increasingly also a mental health first-aider. This won't just be an HR issue, wellbeing will be a key aspect of the management side of FM. Martin believes the IWFM’s incorporation of ‘workplace’ was made, in hindsight, at just the right time now that wellbeing is being increasingly appended to workplace management job titles.

“You can really elevate a workplace discussion through its impact on workers’ sense of wellbeing, although organisations may think they won't need to worry about it if there’s a big move to hybrid workplaces; I hope we keep this commitment to people’s wellbeing on the radar.”

On net zero Martin: “It’s a major opportunity. One thing we've struggled with as a profession is being seen solely as a cost base. But I’ve found from discussions with my internal colleagues that they have net zero targets for the business but no budgets to implement anything. So when I say ‘I’m looking to establish an IFM solution across Europe’, they realise I'm potentially the vehicle through which they can deliver. It transforms the opportunity; if we’re able to evidence these value adds, it makes us far more ‘sticky’ to an organisation.”

Mark: “With everything in the media about single-use plastics etc., and just how important these issues are for young people, this can be their hook into FM as they ask ‘how can I impact the world around me?’

“It’s also about embracing the technologies. Data can transform organisations and the role of FM within organisations.”

On soft skills Martin: “The skills and knowledge to be effective in the role have changed a lot.

There are skills gaps from a technical perspective, but the bigger one is in change management expertise; that’s where soft skills are so, so important for us to develop.

“What really makes a difference is the ability to understand technical details but also be able to engage the wider business and walk it through the complex challenges associated with change.

“I refuse to describe myself as an expert; I’m a specialist, and that’s a really important distinction. What we increasingly need is an ability to involve yourself in a subject you’re always going to be learning about. There’s always something you don’t know, so for the inquisitive that gives your career a life-long appeal.

That should really help us attract fresh talent.”

Mark: “We can bring in technical expertise, so it’s about having a broad understanding and

awareness to be able to talk with authority. Going forward there’s a whole range of different skill sets and knowledge broadening out from what was historically a case of either hard or soft services expertise and never the twain shall meet.

On the evolving FM conversation Mark: “Recent IWFM work on procurement has been fantastic.

A lot of what organisations want is an industry-recognised structure, for example, the new NEC4 FM contract suite. IWFM’s work with the Social Value Portal too, those conversations have shifted quite a bit.

“I don’t think we’ll revert to conversations about commoditisation of the industry, demographic time bombs, all those various circular arguments.

They’ll still be there, but I think the debate has changed and the way facilities managers view themselves has as well.

Martin: “There’s that phrase ‘a rising tide lifts all boats’, and I think that’s what’s happening in terms of the professionalisation of behaviours in the sector.

“I refuse to describe myself as an expert; I’m a specialist”

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THE BEST OF THE SECTOR’S DISCUSSION AND DEBATE

VIEW POINT 44-45

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Perspectives: Monica Hill, Nicola Hannam, Will G van der Laak and Debbie Penn

Shumon Choudhury on his experience as an IWFM Impact Awards judge

Julie Hulme on how the pandemic has impacted the in-house / outsourced debate

Warner Music Group’s Nathan Hunt gives us an insight into his career to date

Where are we now?

How do we get there?

Universities are adopting hybrid learning at a rate previously unimagined. A mix of online lecturing and face-to-face smaller groups, staff working in agile ways and continuing measures in response to Covid-19 is creating challenges for FM teams in delivering services in an efficient and effective way.

Using appropriate technologies will support this shift; for example, live building occupation information feeding into ventilation systems, or adjusting cleaning levels. The challenge for FMs in higher education is to understand how available technologies can be applied to our setting, and how they could influence the development of technologies with specific relevance to the sector.

Research is required to understand current use. We need to review technologies in all sectors as well as potential technological developments to assess which are likely to benefit FMs in higher education.

The first stage is to gather information from FMs in universities on what they are using, within different categories of technology (data driven, robotics, and so on).

Input from institutions will be needed to understand usage and needs and to gather case studies.

A sustainable way of keeping the provision of information on this up to date is also needed.

The Association of University Directors of Estates (AUDE) is looking at this topic, LUCY BLACK is working with its head of facilities partner Sodexo. & student The outcomes accommodation at the University will help FMs in of Plymouth higher education and chair of the to take advantage AUDE Strategic of technological FM special developments. interest group

PHOTOGRAPHY: SHUTTERSTOCK

Where do we need to get to next?

We good, reliable information about technologies that could help us deliver services. A central source of independent data about current use across the sector, what peers in other universities are using and their

N OW > N EX T > H OW

Learning curves Where are we now, where do we need to get to next, and how do we get there? experience of it, as well as what is being used in other sectors could be beneficial.

Understanding the available opportunities is key, as is having sufficient information about how technologies can enable FMs to have the right conversations with technical experts. We need sufficient knowledge to make informed decisions and produce business cases to enable implementation, leading to better value for money and support for evolving campus operations.

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VIEW POINT / PERSPECTIVES

M O NICA HILL

N ICOL A H A N N A M

ARCHITECTS OF OUR FUTURE

APPLY YOUR D&I LENS

MONICA HILL is workplace manager at law firm Pinsent Masons LLP

NICOLA HANNAM is company secretary and chief of staff at CIPFA

I

’m so inspired to be a part of the workplace profession right now.

Ours is a productive industry focused on improving service operations and enhancing the workplace experience.

Helping to deliver this new future, right at our fingertips, is technology – much of it being tech we already know.

Technology has always played an important part within the workplace but never did we think it would matter so much. It is allowing us to rethink the way we work, and to embrace, empower and transform our workplace experience – in the office and at home.

Despite the shock of 23 March 2020, making working from home a new experience for many, I am astounded at the way we have all adapted and embraced our new way of working.

But as we return, the workplace and facilities management profession is helping to shape the future of work. Organisations choosing to work from

home are devising new strategies to make this a permanent reality. It’s set to disrupt the status quo and create an entirely new energy for the future.

Some buildings are destined to become large empty and unproductive spaces. Others are filled with possibilities for redevelopment, optimising space and making technology a fundamental part of the building fabric.

We are in the process of creating an enhanced and healthier workplace for all users. Getting this right will surely boost productivity levels.

Following the digital roadmap has helped our facilities teams to be more flexible and reliable.

They have found ways to simplify the complexities of our changing business needs and to confidently deliver a comprehensive end user experience.

Let’s continue along this upward trend, think holistically and deliver an agile and collaborative working environment.

More change is on the way; are you ready?

We are in the process of creating an enhanced and healthier workplace for all users 44

I

n the race to create the hybrid workplace, we must remain vigilant to ensure it is accessible to and inclusive of everyone.

Early data is showing that younger workers favour being in the office more than their older colleagues. The reasons vary but include younger people in cities having less space in their living arrangements than older workers. However, those from older generations tend to have caring responsibilities and favour more time working from home.

An immediate concern, then, is whether the hybrid model could create a generational divide.

Young employees benefit from being mentored, formally and informally, by their older colleagues. As many with in-office experience know, a great deal of learning and sharing happens during informal moments.

Younger staff build relationships with older employees during casual exchanges. These older colleagues often become advocates for their mentee, helping them to work on new projects or secure promotions. How do we compensate for that if we don’t take steps to consider the potential generational divide? How are we going

to build that into the way we work? How can we use the workplace to ensure equal access to this support for development?

Workplace and facilities teams already play a huge role in delivering accessible and inclusive workplaces but need to be even more thorough as we redesign our hybrid workplaces.

Young employees benefit from being mentored, formally and informally, by colleagues Spaces should encourage mixing, facilitate informal exchanges and opportunities for learning, which most of you reading would have been saying for years already.

The work-life balance is key and I believe the hybrid model has much to offer many workers. But we need to proceed with caution, compassion and understanding. We need to reflect before rushing the redesign of our offices.

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Visit www.facilitatemagazine.com for more regularly posted opinion columns. Topical, inspirational, angry or amusing – we consider all relevant comment. Get in touch at editorial@facilitatemagazine.com

PERSPECTIVES / VIEW POINT

WILL V D LA AK]

D EBBIE P EN N

BE BOOK SMART

EVOLVING RELATIONSHIPS

WILL G. VAN DER LAAK is a senior CRE and workplace solutions lead

DEBBIE PENN is account director, commercial FM at Mainstay Group

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’d like to recommend three books that have helped to make me a more all-round ‘client-side’ CRE professional, enabling me to deliver a triple bottom-line – People, Planet and Profit (Value).

The Employee Experience Advantage by Jacob Morgan (2017) “How to win the war for talent by giving employees the workspaces they want to go to, not have to go to, the tools they need and a culture they can celebrate.”

The book focuses on improving the employee experience, resulting in higher engagement. Shortterm band-aid solutions to boost engagement result in a short-term “champagne effect”. What you want is a long-lasting effect by creating an experience.

Key lesson: Handing over a fantastic new workplace and ‘walking away’ is not enough. With the FM partner, I have maintained the “Spirit of Day 1 Novelty” and obtained higher Employee Net Promoter scores.

The Elemental Workplace

by Neil Usher (2018)

“Everyone deserves a fantastic workplace.”

Why you need a fantastic workplace, how to create it and what it comprises.

Key lessons: Workplace should be in permanent beta mode. It is not a oneoff project you invest in before occupying it and expect the asset to remain unchanged for X number of years. And imitating fancy workplaces like Google does not make sense. The workplace should reflect your own corporate culture.

Where is my Office? by Chris Kane with Eugenia Anastassiou (2020).

There has been a real disconnect between providers of space and those who occupy the finished product. What is required is ‘Space-asa-Service’. A company’s property portfolio can be used for organisational change and should move from being a cost centre to value creator!

Key lesson: We need to un-silo CRE/FM, HR, IT and procurement – and not only when there are workplace projects!

Short-term band-aid solutions to boost engagement result in a shortterm ‘champagne effect’

T

he role of workplace management teams has never been more important. Workers are readying themselves for their first trip back to the office, with many having been away for more than a year.

First impressions are vital and a reassuring smile from the receptionist, security guard or concierge will stay with people for a long time, calming any ‘first day’ nerves.

Looking ahead, workplaces will be used differently, with colleagues seeking social, collaborative working rather than just sitting alone in front of a PC. This is where workplace management will come into play. As ‘agile space reconfigures’, we will be setting up workspaces for classroom-style meetings, training zones, and any other set-ups our colleagues need.

FMs will shift from working quietly in the background to being at the forefront as the ‘go to’ person for helping people log back into their phones, use long-forgotten meeting equipment, and find newly allocated desk spaces.

Hygiene and cleanliness will remain our key focus and our teams need to be highly visible so building users feel safe. They will

want to see touch-points cleaned and meeting rooms sanitised after use.

We will be the workplace’s ‘unsung heroes’, keeping our communities safe.

The environment of the workspace will also become critical as users need to know how the air they breathe has been conditioned. It is vital that we give our own workplace teams a clear understanding of the measures and controls in place for fresh air management – and the tools to allow them to confidently explain what we are putting in place to ensure that their working environment is safe.

Our teams need to be highly visible so building users feel safe From security to cleaning and from maintenance technicians to FMs, we are the glue that holds together the workplace community.

This is a revolution for our sector, as our roles shift from operational to strategic to cultivate safe, cohesive communities.

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VIEW POINT / INTERVIEWS AND ACTIVITIES

Get in touch at editorial@facilitatemagazine.com or reach us @Facilitate_Mag

VOL UN T EER V IEW P OI N T FRO M AN IWFM IMPAC T AWARDS JU DGE

Shumon Choudhury

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’ve recently had the opportunity to be a judge in the 2021 IWFM Impact Awards Team of the Year category. It has been rewarding but challenging. Choosing a winner wasn’t easy but the judging process revealed just how much talent we have in this profession.

We are a profession full of passion and transformational leaders who provide structure for their teams to achieve – even in our challenging climate currently. Reading through the entries has provided me with insight into the dynamics of a successful team: effective communication, personal development and career progression and reward and recognition.

A team is a dynamic group that needs to be encouraged to work more efficiently while being rewarded for its good work. It needs to be full of members who are eager to learn, develop and grow, taking

on new skills to tailor the offering to their clients or organisation.

The effects of Covid-19 have revealed a resilient profession. Frontline FM workers have shown determination and bravery.

These teams have often been led by inspirational leaders capable of prioritising culture cohesiveness and on-thejob training to ensure that short and long-term commercial goals are met.

It is clear that the IWFM Impact Awards is seen as the gold standard.

While everyone would prefer to win, I can safely say that being a finalist is a huge accolade worth celebrating. In all of the finalists’ submissions, we saw workplace and facilities management teams that had created an impressively employee-focused culture, implemented efficient processes that have streamlined operations, and provided an environment to achieve professional and commercial excellence.

For me, working alongside experienced judges has been humbling and educational. I have learned from them as I have learned from those who have entered the awards.

There is a huge amount of talent, insight, knowledge, experience and motivation in this profession.

SHUMON CHOUDHURY is residential property manager at Lendlease

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DITCH THE OLD SCHOOL MODEL JULIE HULME is commercial director at Expeditious Services, and member of IWFM North and IWFM Customer Experience group

T

raditional contract management in FM is what I describe as ‘old school’: long hours travelling between sites for planned face-to-face meetings between office hours. While many believe these ‘real life’ visits are essential to contract success, they often paint a distorted view of a contract and can lead to contract manager burnout.

The effects of Covid-19 have shown that the old school model is not necessary. Instead, we have seen the value of online communications and remote working. We were lucky because this was already our approach to managing contracts with clients. So when many account managers at other organisations were struggling to adjust from real life meetings to the digital realm, our processes carried on as normal.

Successful contract management simply does not need contract managers onsite; if anything, it’s counterproductive.

Security in particular and FM more broadly have been slow to adopt modern work practices and embrace new technology. But Covid has resulted in clients wanting to explore new ways of working.

We’ve also found an insourcing model to be advantageous in nurturing relationships with clients, bringing teams closer together, and delivering economic benefits. These evolving relationships from new management models improve efficiency and remove the burden of success solely resting on one contract manager’s shoulders – rather, it’s spread across the account management team.

I envisage that more teams will be adopting similar models to keep up with modern workplace management. It reduces costs, and benefits the environment, employee wellbeing and client relationships. While many other organisations are shifting to be remotely managed – why not FM contracts too?

Covid-19 has shown that the old school model is not necessary

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CALLS TO ACTION / VIEW POINT

D I A RY Events, activities and publications for your attention

KEY EVENT 11 O C TO BER 202 1

IWFM Impact Awards 2021: The workplace and facilities management industry’s most prestigious event celebrates outstanding best practice and ingenuity from an influential profession that touches many areas of life. tinyurl.com/IWFM-Awards21

INDUSTRY WIDE Covid’s impact on events Many traditional face-to-face events are skipping 2021 entirely, planning a 2022 return. Others, as listed below, will continue in physical, online or hybrid formats.

be subject to change. Visit tinyurl.com/IWFM-webinars 8 SEPTEMBER – 12 P M

Negotiation and leadership with business coach Tom Flatau

Sustainability 2021 – a discussion with Inenco on our latest research.

22 SEPTEMBER– 12 P M

Smart buildings: an introduction with Elogbooks 29 SEPTEMBE R – 12 P M

Customer experience guidance and toolkit with IWFM’s CX working group.

6 -7 O C TO BE R – LONDON

Smart Buildings Show Learn to make intelligent buildings more economical for owners and functional and safe for occupiers. tinyurl.com/Fac050621-smart

IWFM FACE-TO-FACE TRAINING 20 -21 SEPTEM BER 202 1 – LON D ON

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IWFM EVENTS 22 SE PTE M B ER– HARROGATE

IWFM North Region Golf Day Meet new members and guests for golf, networking, a BBQ and prizes. tinyurl.com/IWFM-north-golf

4 -5 N OV EMB E R 2021

Introduction to facilities management - 3 days Everything you need to know about workplace and facilities management as a new career path. tinyurl.com/Fac0910-introFM

Contract management: commercial models - 2 days Got a failing contract? Learn how to put it back on track. tinyurl.com/Fac0910-contract 10 -11 N OV EM B E R 2021

16-17 N OV EMBER 202 1 – LON D ON

FM strategic sourcing: ISO41012 - 2 days Find out how strategic sourcing can reduce costs, improve quality and deliver better outcomes. tinyurl.com/Fac09010-ISO41012

Contract Management: Commercial Models - 2 days Understand the key elements of an FM contract and acquire the techniques to improve delivery of current and future contracts. tinyurl.com/Fac0708-contract

Effective facilities management professional - 3 days Learn to create and sustain effective operations. tinyurl.com/Fac0910-effectiveFM

IWFM’s weekly webinar series covers a variety of topics with expert guests. Listings may

Effective Property Management - 2 days Learn to manage and maintain your property portfolio with an effective property strategy. tinyurl.com/Fac0708-propmanf2f

IOSH working safely - 1 day As an employee, how are you responsible for your health and safety in the workplace? tinyurl.com/Fac0910-IOSH-WS 8 -10 D ECEMB E R 2021

IWFM LIVE VIRTUAL TRAINING 2 2-23 S EP T EMBER 202 1

FM Strategy - 2 days Learn about how your business strategy impacts facilities services and understand how to evaluate it and improve it. tinyurl.com/Fac0708-facmanstrat 6-8 OC TOBER 202 1

IOSH Managing Safely - 3 days Ensure that your team is working safely with our practical step-bystep guidance. tinyurl.com/Fac0708-IOSH-safe 13 -14 OC TOBER 202 1

Managing Building Services - 2 days Reduce risk and improve your building services. tinyurl.com/Fac0304-MBS

Effective facilities management professional – 3 days Discover skills, knowledge and techniques to create and sustain effective operations. tinyurl.com/Fac0506-effectiveFM

IWFM ONLINE ONLY ON L IN E AT OW N T I M E

Innovation Find out how to generate innovative ideas, select them and manage risk when applying them to your organisation. tinyurl.com/Fac0708-Innovation ON L IN E AT OW N T I M E

Building personal resilience for professional success Have trouble dealing with challenges and change? Become more resilient in the workplace. tinyurl.com/Fac0708-resilience ON L IN E AT OW N T I M E

2 1-2 2 OC TOBER 202 1

Operational Space Planning - 2 days Design and use space effectively to improve customer experience. tinyurl.com/Fac0910-op-space

20 -21 OC TOBER 202 1 – LON D ON

IWFM WEBINAR SERIES

Effective property management - 2 days Manage and maintain your property portfolio with an effective property strategy. tinyurl.com/Fac0910-propmgmt 2 2 N OV EMBE R 2021

24 -26 N OV EMBER 202 1 – LON D ON

15 SEPTEMBER – 12 P M

13 SE PTE M BE R – LONDON

IWFM Conference 2021 – Emerging Stronger This year is a hybrid event, pairing the physical and digital in a curated blend of thought leadership and best practice. tinyurl.com/Fac050621-smart

10 -12 N OV EMBER 202 1 – LON D ON

Communication for professional success Is your communication in the workplace hitting the mark?

Improve your skills to drive professional and personal success. tinyurl.com/Fac0708-comms

2 N OV EMBER 202 1

Introduction to team leading - 1 day Discover the PIER model and learn to lead your team to success. tinyurl.com/Fac0910-team

ON L IN E AT OW N T I M E

Managing workload Feel swamped with never-ending work? Find out how to manage. tinyurl.com/Fac0910-workload

FACI L I TAT EM AG A ZI N E .CO M

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FAC I L I TAT E S EP T EM B ER- O C TO B ER 2021

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A BIT ABOUT YOU / VIEW POINT

Walking through the building and bumping into artistes can be slightly surreal But most of my time is spent making sure my teams are OK and have what they need to do their job properly.

Would you describe your role as predominantly operational or strategic?

BE HIND THE JOB

Nathan Hunt What do you do? I’m an FM for Warner Music Groups UK estate. I manage soft service teams / contracts, plus HS&E.

What attracted you to FM, and how did you get into the industry? I just stumbled into the industry. My manager at the time explained how interconnected facilities are with the business and that pretty much hooked me.

How long have you been in your current role? I joined in April 2020 – so I was a pandemic joiner!

Operational and strategic in a way. My teams are all operational, but I manage a lot of HS&E items as well which allows me to assist from a strategic standpoint.

How many people are there in your FM team, and to whom does the FM team ultimately report? Including contractors, which are an extension of our team, we have about 40 staff. We report to the VP of international real estate and facilities.

My top perk at work is… I get to work at a top-tier music company and get to meet some fascinating people in the industry. We also have an

amazing restaurant on-site that I manage, so plenty of perks come from that alone!

What has been your biggest career challenge to date? I think it would be silly not to mention Covid-19; like most people we have been preparing and changing plans based on the government’s guidance. Trying to get that right has certainly been a task!

If you could change one thing about the industry, what would it be? I would change people’’s opinion about facilities staff. We’re involved in every part of an organisation and make sure the business can effectively and safely run!

Any interesting tales to tell? None from Warner Music, unfortunately. I did, however, work for a large shopping centre in the UK and every day there was a completely different battle! We once had all the smoke vents open in the torrential rain, which pretty much flooded the centre.

Nightmare!

If I wasn’t in facilities management, I’d probably be… In the military/ emergency services. Most people in the industry would agree that we are people-

NATHAN HUNT is an FM for Warner Music Groups UK estate

pleasers and like helping when we can.

Which ‘FM/Workplace myth’ would you most like to put an end to? That we have a magical way of making one desk freezing and the desk right next to it super-warm! It’s not how the systems work!

What single piece of advice would you give to a young facilities/workplace manager starting out?

Become a knowledge sponge.

Learn anything you can! Get on courses, find people that know more than you and ask them questions! Too many people in the industry think they’re stuck in their role, but a course would open up so many doors for them!

What was the weirdest day you’ve had in the office?

Because I started during the lockdown, I’m still not really used to the music industry yet, but walking through the building and bumping into artists can be slightly surreal.

What FM job in the world would you love more than anything? I think I’d like to work for the NHS; I think managing such a stressful location like a hospital would give a strong sense of satisfaction when you get to go home, and you know the NHS staff can do their job properly.

And where would FM be an absolute nightmare? Retail FM is horrendous! There’s not enough downtime sometimes to get work done.

Do you see yourself predominantly as a task or a people manager? I think

Your life outside FM mostly involves… I’m a bit

I’m more of a people manager; I have specific items that I manage myself, like contractor management and reviews.

of a gaming geek, so I tend to spend a lot of my time doing that or watching TV / chilling out with my partner.

FACI L I TAT EM AG A ZI N E .CO M

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The UK’s largest Cleaning & Hygiene event

BUSINESS MEDIA LTD

INFORMING, INSPIRING AND CONNECTING THE INDUSTRY The Cleaning Show 2021 returns to London on 2–4 November following one of the most challenging times for the cleaning sector in a generation.

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03/09/2021 16:01 15:08 02/09/2021

THE LATEST LEARNING AND BEST PRACTICE

K N OW H OW 52

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55

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An impactful talent management strategy relies on four core principles

As businesses reconsider their CRE footprint, storage looms as an important requirement

Water mist systems can be an integral part of your fire protection plan

Low-code software could offer greater internal freedom to manage service provision

4

1

Set your baseline Calculate the carbon footprint of your business activities. For example, if working in a corporate office environment, you might establish the amount of carbon emitted because of the heating, lighting, ventilation and other equipment in the building.

This gives you a baseline from which you can make demonstrable improvements.

2

Consider procurement How we procure goods and services has a major impact on the success of a CSR programme. Engaging suppliers is the first step toward a more responsible supply chain. Create forums ROD GLENN is for your organisation health, safety, and suppliers to discuss environment, better ways of working quality and and share best practices. CSR director at CORP OR AT E S OCIA L RES P ON S IBIL I T Y SPIE UK This may feel like you’re giving away business secrets but meeting CSR goals needs a collaborative approach.

Key to procurement is FM's corporate social responsiblity input may understanding the next need reassessment post-pandemic. Rod Glenn generation of sustainable and/or renewable energy breaks the basics down in this five point primer technologies. As technology advances, buildings will be able to produce renewable energy, hot desking arrangements, Consider how hybrid create healthier environments, accompanied by automated working may alter needs and help cool the atmosphere. light, heating and ventilation Reduced office occupancy FMs need to understand how controls. In doing so, FMs resulting from hybrid working these systems are operated and can have a profound impact creates potential for offices to maintained, and the benefits on returning offices to the be occupied inefficiently and they bring in a future where social, collaborative spaces for energy to be used when it the easy fixes are no longer we have missed whilst having doesn’t need to be. FMs can enough to meet stricter CSR and a significant bearing on add value by helping clients sustainable goals. energy expenditure. implement clean and safe

The ABC of CSR

PHOTOGRAPHY: XXXXXXXXX ISTOCK

3

Act ethically People realise that good CSR practices are indicative of a well run and resilient business.

Placing ethics at the core of your business practices is an opportunity for upstream and downstream value creation. For instance, collaborating with your supply chain to create more sustainable products for use across the estates that you manage helps customers meet their objectives, and positions you to attain higher value that has a positive impact on your bottom line. It also puts your supplier in a position where they have more valuable products for which they have a market – a win-win scenario.

5

Work in partnership Achieving CSR goals involves many stakeholders, from senior managers and employees on the customer side, the broader supply chain of the organisation you’re working with, and everyone in your own organisation and supply chain.

This is complex, but a fantastic opportunity for FMs to drive economic and social change.

Never has there been greater awareness of our relationship with the environment, the impact the spaces we inhabit have on our health, and the positive effects of productive collaboration, whilst having time for ourselves. In many ways FMs find themselves at the confluence of many of these changes, and it’s up to the industry to play its part in overcoming these challenges.

FACI L I TAT EM AG A ZI N E .CO M

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KNOW HOW / CAREER DEVELOPMENT

W

e often observe people who have achieved more than others and comment on how ‘talented’ they are, but what does this really mean?

I’ve read many books that analyse the difference between talent and success and the answer is always the same: it’s about application, grit, desire, and the determination not to quit. To use one word, it’s about resilience.

Take me, for example. At school I wasn’t the most intelligent pupil, but I would say I was one of the most determined. That determination and tenacity has been instrumental to my success.

Resilience comes from four key ingredients: ● Interest – loving what you do; ● Practice – focusing on improvement; ● Purpose – believing that your work matters, CLAIRE which often comes from CURR AN is cultivating your interest managing and honing your abilities director of from practice; and Linaker

● Hope – believing you can overcome your challenges.

Hope works hand in hand with all three components to determine how you respond to failures – if you get up and keep going or stay down and be defeated.

Creating an impactful talent strategy For your talent strategy to succeed, you have to embed the same four key ingredients within your business to support your people on their road to success.

1

Interest The first step (and most important in my opinion) in getting any talent strategy right, is about identifying the right individuals to invest in, both in terms of time and money. This may not always be the best “paper” candidate or the supertalented individual that is not a team player or the well-polished individual that’s never been challenged.

What it will be is the person that has the right attitude. It will be the person who does what they do because they love it. I

PRO G RE SSIO N TE CHNIQUES

Nurture the future Genius may be 1 per cent inspiration and 99 per cent perspiration – for most of us it’s flexibility and durability that count. But to these you must add strategy, says Claire Curran

believe that I have only started to really excel when driven by the love of what I do. This is what I want for all of our team members.

2

Practice Once you have the right candidate with the right attitude, you need to support them in their dreams and desires to make them love the business as much as the existing team. Supporting talent comes in lots of different forms and is a continuous golden thread that weaves throughout their journey. At Linaker we always: ● Thoroughly induct into the business; ● Create a training path and demonstrate the business’ commitment to it; ● Review development and have open discussions regularly; and ● Provide the right tools for the role, from IT to ergonomics and uniform to vehicles.

3

Purpose There’s nothing worse as a sports person and team player than training hard, being at your peak and then being left on the bench; it’s the same in business.

Once a person has a path and they practice and hone their craft, you have to fulfil the promises you have made as an employer.

You have to give them the respect to allow them to do what they have been trained to do and to be responsible for their output.

This means that when you are creating paths for people to progress, you have to be really honest about how fast they can get there and what the expectation is.

4

Hope If you get the above three steps right, you will have nurtured an individual who believes that they can make a difference as part of a business that makes a difference.

They will work with tenacity and positivity to move the business forward and make things happen for the greater good. They will have the confidence to talk openly and engage with your business as part of it, not just working for it.

In essence, we are all talented. We all have abilities, skills and expertise, but how much effort a person chooses – and is inspired – to invest in deploying those talents determines how successful they will be, both for themselves and the business.

52-53 KH Talent_Storage_Sep-Oct 2021_FM World.indd 52

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EXPLAINER / KNOW HOW

PHOTOGRAPHY: STUART KINLOUGH IKON / ISTOCK

What items should companies store?

With an office downsize or a relocation to a similar size space comes a decision on what to move, store, recycle, refurbish or donate. This ranges from office furniture and IT equipment through to artwork and furnishings.

These decisions need to be made in advance of any move so create a detailed digital asset list that includes each item and its condition – this is vital to note before an item leaves a site to go into storage.

A digital list is easy to update and accessible by multiple people. These platforms are generally provided by a partner and are more advanced than Excel – they will include images, allow designated users to ring-fence items, and update in real-time whenever a change is made.

Deciding what to store will differ by company. Key considerations include: ● The cost of storage; ● How long you expect to leave an item in storage; and ● The cost of a new item if you didn’t keep the old one and need to repurchase.

The alternatives to keeping or storing an item often come with a cost too. Refurbishment is a great option from a sustainability perspective but has a cost. Donating unwanted furniture or IT equipment is another option and many of our clients do this to support charities in their local communities.

It may be tempting to store items in the workplace, perhaps in a spare office or a basement. However, this has drawbacks. Office estates are a lot more expensive per square metre than warehouses – a central London office could be 10 times more expensive than a warehouse on the outskirts

of the city. We’ve seen several examples of items stored in offices without any real inventory or asset list, leading to new items being purchased because someone didn’t realise they were being stored. Items can also degrade and become damaged if not stored properly.

Working with a storage partner is a viable solution for many businesses.

But it’s not as simple as finding the nearest warehouse and booking space – there are important considerations if you want your storage to become an investment.

What to look for in a storage partner A storage partner should: ● Be on the ball when maintaining your asset list, monitoring item conditions STOR AGE STR AT EG I ES

and the time each individual item has spent in storage. ● Offer a flexible lease as well as a suggested timescale for storage. It’s simply not worth storing something for so long that you pay more in storage than the value of the item(s).

We work with our clients to set target dates. Once that date arrives, we contact our client and ask them if they want to continue with storage or look for alternative options. ● Provide security – if you are storing a safe that contains important documentation, make a record of who knows about it and how they will access it in case of an emergency.

This may sound obvious, but if only one or two people have the code R ACHEL and both leave HOUGHTON the company is managing while the safe director at is in storage Business then that’s a Moves Group

How to make storage an investment

Donating unwanted furniture or IT equipment is an option problem. Look for a partner with a gated facility, CCTV, and alarm systems. Some will also have physical security. If we have a client with multiple high-value containers, we distribute them across the warehouse to further reduce risk. ● Offer insurance – make sure that your partner is insured and compliant, and request a condition report before anything goes into storage.

Storage needs to be treated as a strategic decision. Failure to do so could lead to wasted financial resources and a cluttered inventory. Get it right and you’ll be in total control over your assets.

As companies reconsider the physical footprint of their workplace in the postCovid business landscape, storage becomes an important investment consideration, says Rachel Houghton

FACI L I TAT EM AG A ZI N E .CO M

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03/09/2021 13:54

REGISTER TODAY FOR The UK’s largest Cleaning & Hygiene event The Cleaning Show 2021 returns to London on 2–4 November following one of the most challenging times for the cleaning sector in a generation.

BUSINESS MEDIA LTD

INFORMING, INSPIRING AND CONNECTING THE INDUSTRY Organised by the British Cleaning Council and Quartz Business Media, the Cleaning Show has become the ultimate destination for the cleaning and hygiene sector to connect, learn and discover new products, services and suppliers.

REGISTER FOR YOUR FREE PASS AT

ORGANISED BY:

cleaningshow.co.uk

Are you ready to step up?

Are you due an IWFM membership upgrade? More importantly, are you selling yourself short?

Your grade reflects your career; it demonstrates to employers, colleagues and recruiters your knowledge and experience, and the impact you can make in an organisation. These factors affect your marketability and career trajectory.

If your career has progressed beyond your membership grade, you could be holding yourself back.

If you feel you are ready to step up, please send your CV to membership@iwfm.org.uk

Contact us today E membership@iwfm.org.uk T +44(0)1279 712 650 iwfm.org.uk

54

For more information, log into your IWFM account and click on the ‘Membership’ tab.

FAC I L I TAT E S EP T EM B ER- O C TO B ER 2021

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EXPLAINER / KNOW HOW

FIRE SAFETY

Mist is a must Water mist systems can be extremely effective at managing and preventing the spread of fire, says Jade Musto

R

esearch from the Fire Protection Association and RISCAuthority shows that the average large loss in the event of a fire is £657,074 – so it’s critical that facilities managers ensure that the building is fully protected against fire, such as by having the right suppression systems in place.

Water mist systems can be extremely effective at preventing the spread of fire, but only when used properly. Below, I explore the vital considerations for FMs looking to use water mist systems as a part of their fire strategy, and the importance of third-party accreditation when it comes to installing and maintaining systems.

What are the key considerations for FMs?

1

Water mist systems must be designed with the building environment in mind This is because there are fewer appropriate standards or certification systems for water mist systems and components are bespoke and not interchangeable.

Because the systems are specific to the building, those responsible for fire safety should seek input from an accredited third party – someone who has the knowledge and experience to carry out a thorough inspection before installation, so that they can be sure that they will be effective.

PHOTOGRAPHY: ISTOCK

How do the systems work?

Water mist systems lower the temperature and reduce the oxygen concentration of the fire so combustion cannot be maintained, and the flame is extinguished.

Although these systems are not a replacement for sprinklers, they are increasingly commonplace in commercial buildings. One reason is that they emit a finer spray of water – causing less damage to

the contents of a building when extinguishing a fire.

As they require less water than sprinklers, they also take up less space – making them an appealing option for certain buildings. As with any suppression system, however, they must be properly installed and regularly inspected to guarantee maximum effectiveness.

2 JADE MUSTO is head of suppression system testing at the Fire Protection Association (FPA)

BS 8458 water mist testing Water mist systems must be tested prior to installation. BS 8458 testing gives designers and installers peace of mind that their systems have been tested to the highest possible standard and will perform as intended should a fire break out. FMs should seek assurance that this testing has been

carried out before continuing with installation, as it will help to ensure not only the competency of the water mist system but also of the installer. The FPA is improving fire safety standards across the built environment through its UKASaccredited fire testing facilities, which offer testing on residential and domestic water mist systems according to BS 8458: 2015.

3

Maintain nozzles An accredited third party should regularly test water mist nozzles to make sure the systems will operate effectively in a fire. Nozzles should be removed and sent for testing after 10 years of service and be tested every five years after that as set out in the NFPA 25 Standard for the Inspection, Testing, and Maintenance of Water-Based Fire Protection Systems.

FMs, and those responsible for building fire safety, should re-evaluate their building’s fire strategy and approach, including the use of fire protection and prevention measures, to make sure they reflect any changes that have occurred following the pandemic.

It may be that some businesses have changed location because of changing staff numbers or a move to more flexible working practices.

In such cases, fire strategies will need to be reconsidered to address any new potential risks – this includes looking at what fire protection systems they need in place, but also other fire-related procedures such as developing a clear fire evacuation plan.

FMs should seek support from an accredited third party on installation and maintenance of water mist systems to ensure the safety of the building and its occupants – and protect you against liability should a fire occur.

FACI L I TAT EM AG A ZI N E .CO M

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KNOW HOW / EXPLAINER

ACCESSIBIL I T Y

Open access Workplace accessibility can and should be improved through technology, says Stuart Finnie

H

istorically, workplace accessibility was informed principally by building regulations. However, in recent years, as we seek to become more inclusive to support those with physical or mental considerations, workplace strategies have evolved to think beyond the physical environment to understand how individuals interact with a space. There is now greater awareness to prioritise physical and mental wellbeing at work.

Benefits of an accessible workplace Designing a workspace with the wider working population in mind is the right thing to do. An approach of ‘people first, workspace second’ ensures a workspace is created to fit the needs of all employees.

With 8.4 million working-age adults in the UK identifying as having a disability (25 per cent of the working population), accessibility in the workplace is a key topic being considered by employers.

Organisations are considering accessibility in all aspects of workplace creation.

When an organisation’s infrastructure is designed with accessibility in mind, it delivers benefits at an individual and organisational level. Recruitment and retention improve when workspaces are personalised and accessible, as they enable individuals to thrive, feeling more comfortable in their workplace.

Companies that embrace physical and mental accessibility principles expand the

56

pool of talent available to them and put themselves on a stronger footing when encouraging diversity of thinking and enabling staff to work from the office.

Technology-enhanced accessibility Not all disabilities are visible. According to ONS data, one in every 6.8 people in the UK experiences problems with mental health in the workplace. Businesses must go beyond physical accessibility features to help employees manage. Mental wellbeing must be considered, from ensuring the most appropriate lighting is used to managing noise levels and providing adaptable workstations.

1

Cater to everyone’s needs Seamless integration of technology allows for personalised settings and environments focused on each individual’s needs. ‘Accessibility tech’ is becoming increasingly prevalent, with personalised app-based software transforming the future landscape of the workplace. Software is now available to help people with learning considerations. For STUART example, a dyslexic FINNIE is employee can be regional supported to read and principal, write by speaking text design – EMEA out loud, using the at Unispace

software to check spelling and dictate the text. Similarly, investment in accessibility hardware – touchless entry, speech recognition systems and hearing loops in meeting rooms – are now more commonplace in the offices we design.

2

Solutions need to be intuitive Accessible technology must be harmonised with the specific needs of the individual in mind and implemented using software that is aligned to office tech. Avoid bolt-on solutions to guarantee maximum uptake among employees who are familiar with and/or have received proper training to understand the benefits of these measures.

3

FM’s role Technology that aids accessibility must be universal in its use in the workplace and the role of the facilities manager is critical in the ongoing education, consistent application, harmonisation and testing of these tools for the benefit of all users. The right mix of strategy, design and technology empowers individuals and enables better outcomes from teams, across a range of accessibility needs.

Investment in accessible workspaces that use assistive technologies can deliver measurable benefits for individuals and organisations. These technological solutions empower employees but also enable businesses to draw from a wider and more diverse pool of talent.

FAC I L I TAT E S EP T EM B ER- O C TO B ER 2021

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EXPLAINER / KNOW HOW

E

ffective waste management needs technological solutions, which is why we rolled out Mo:dus digital platform at St Pancras International Station in London. We are using data to improve the flow of waste and decrease the station’s landfill footprint.

At St Pancras, there were disparities over who was creating what type of waste, and as a result, how costs were apportioned.

The problem with the previous method was that each producer’s size is irrelevant to the waste they create, accumulating a different amount depending on their service.

To counter the challenge, every waste producer was given a lanyard to help manage their waste. When they bring their excess for disposal, the operative in the service yard scans each different type of waste and where it’s coming from. The recycling of food, glass, and general landfill all gets weighed and recorded. Everyone’s using the same tools with no extra resource, at no extra cost for the client or end user.

By using technology, the station operators, High Speed 1 Limited and Network Rail (High Speed) now have access to a kilogrammeby-kilogramme account of who’s creating what so everyone is charged correctly. This has led to positive repercussions – retailers are more careful with their waste and thinking more about recycling.

Technology changes the way people think, which is essential for challenging the waste problem, and developing solutions that otherwise wouldn’t have been possible.

instances of single contaminated bags, and one instance of two contaminated bags. Thanks to this data, we can work with producers to help them separate waste in advance, supporting them to avoid contamination and increase recycling streams.

Outside the box

JAMES BR ADLEY is director at The Churchill Group

By analysing data, we can follow patterns and trends. People who wouldn’t normally be decisionmakers can become leaders and influence the course of a project.

When we implemented our technology at St Pancras for cleaning purposes, the team embraced it.

This is where the solutions to waste management stemmed from. By

WA ST E MA N AG EMEN T

Digital waste flow With a rising population and expanding urbanisation, waste management needs a future-proof solution – the answer lies in technology, says James Bradley

using technology, the site manager quickly noticed there was a problem with waste because St Pancras is not only a major transport hub but also a destination for leisure and shopping.

It was here the site manager suggested exploiting the technology that was being applied to cleaning and using it for the waste management problem. The site manager simply set up a Teams channel, dropped the information in, and his idea was picked up quicker than having to go through the traditional process of multiple managers. Without the benefit of technology, none of this would have been possible.

Tech changes conversations Technology does more than just innovate projects; it innovates people. Because of technology St Pancras now manages its waste more efficiently, and that same tech empowered a site manager to instigate change.

By applying the benefits of technology to urbanised places such as St Pancras throughout the world, we have the potential to make a huge difference to our waste management crisis and inspire people to think of the bigger picture.

PHOTOGRAPHY: ISTOCK

Reducing landfill Another typical challenge is addressing the number of contaminated waste bags.

Contaminated waste must go to landfill, which is hugely inefficient and unsustainable.

We can track the number of contaminated bags each day, as well as determine which producers these are coming from. For example, on 15th April there were two

FACI L I TAT EM AG A ZI N E .CO M

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KNOW HOW / EXPLAINER

includes the technology used and the way the installation is designed, built, maintained and operated.

Once refrigerated cabinets reach their end of life, facilities to recycle this WEEE must comply with BATRRT. This ensures waste is diverted from landfill, and hazardous waste regulations are met.

This kind of waste contains a complex mixture of often hazardous materials. These can cause environmental and health problems if they are not managed properly. In addition, these components can be recycled and reused.

such as new in fixture point of sales systems, extra shelving or cabinet conversions may also be needed, which need to be project managed carefully.

Removal of existing cabinets sometimes goes hand in hand with these large development programmes. Refrigeration systems can be collected and stored in safe warehousing whilst refit of the retail facility takes place, swapped for alternative refrigeration assets, or recycled. Complete project management of these processes means no additional haulage is needed, helping to reduce costs and carbon footprint.

Why now, and what next?

REFRIGER ATION SYSTEMS

Cool recovery A key area where retail facilities managers can reduce their organisation’s carbon footprint and make cost-savings is in the operational efficiency of refrigeration systems, says Matt Davis

R

evisions to hazardous waste regulations are putting pressure on retail premises to reassess their strategy for when refrigeration systems reach their end of life. While retailers won’t be forced to change refrigeration assets by 2022 in line with the revisions to the Environmental Permitting Regulations and new air emissions targets under the Industrial Emissions Directive, introduced in 2018, many assets are already being phased out from systems that contain hydrofluorocarbons (HFC refrigerants) in favour of climate-friendly alternatives.

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More stringent standards have been established, using better application of the best available technology/ techniques (BAT) element of BATRRT (Best Available Treatment Recovery & Recycling Techniques).

Principles of BATRRT Under the WEEE (waste electrical and electronic equipment) directive, an approved authorised treatment facility (AATF) must use best available treatment, recovery and recycling techniques to reduce emissions and protect the environment. This

These revisions are designed to protect the environment and combat climate change.

Refrigeration systems containing HFCs are already being phased out across many estates for climate-friendly alternatives that don’t emit greenhouse gases. FMs have a duty of care to manage estate assets effectively, considering energy costs, repair or replacement and an exit strategy for end-of-life materials that does not harm the environment.

Employing the right tech

A fully compliant air abatement system must be in place as part of the recycling process, to treat and diminish the release of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) found in fridge cabinet insulation foam.

This is required to reduce emissions that are harmful to the environment.

The machinery is connected to an abatement system manufactured especially for our operation, compressing material in a continuous process to capture blowing agents, fumes, and dust.

Time to refresh This three-stage compacting Retail is a fast-changing process: industry, and the physical ● Runs from sensors within the store is constantly evolving, machinery; including the layout and ● Collects harmful gases; and management of refrigeration ● Ensures air emissions limits cabinets. Development are reached. programmes can range Regular monitoring from corrective of emissions, using maintenance to air measurements, energy initiatives continues to such as PAT-testing, confirm that BAT parts fitting or requirements are adjustment, which applied to waste all help to extend MATT DAVIS treatment operations, the life cycle of is director in advance of the refrigeration systems. of Davis implementation date Rebranding and Commercial in 2022. modular upgrades Services (DCS)

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EXPLAINER / KNOW HOW

C

oding – creating instructions for computers and communicating with them through programming languages – requires expertise, takes time and doesn’t come cheap. No/low-code options do everything that coding does but without having to code.

Rather than off-the-shelf solutions, no/low-code solutions are tailored to business needs.

SOFTWARE S OL UT ION S

Opportunity to optimise

takes months and any changes can only be actioned by the coder and often not in real-time. In contrast, no/low-code solutions can be set up in days, cost less, and allow for changes to be actioned instantly.

FMs need to optimise the use of space and delivery of services.

Focus points include: ● Space availability to make or amend room/desk bookings; ● High-traffic areas and time periods for delivery of primary FM services (cleaning, catering etc.); ● Monitoring assets for preventative maintenance; and ● Enhancing energy usage; for example.

PHOTOGRAPHY: ISTOCK / SHUTTERSTOCK

FM example As the workspace environment changes, a business might require more permanent desk contracts.

No/low-code allows for continuous changes to platform applications, so that the user can make adaptations.

For instance, where x number of desks were previously offered on a bookable basis, they may now be required on a permanent basis Monday to Wednesday. Unlike coded platforms that require coders to make changes (which takes time), a no/low-code user ( a member of the organisation) can change their availability instantly. You don’t need to know anything about coding to make these changes.

All information is available on a central, cloud-based platform that provides real-time information.

FMs have access to data across multiple sites that can be accessed remotely at any time.

While no/low-code and coded platforms perform similarly in terms of functionality, the real benefits lie within the speed of no/ low-code’s implementation. The development of coded platforms

The low-down on low-code No or low-code software allows FMs to benefit from internal control of systems when requirements change, argues Steve Higgon A cohesive approach

Digital skills divide vs. no code Tweaking an application isn’t as scary as it sounds and can be managed internally by a single user.

If an organisation acquires another facility, a user can go to the no/lowcode platform and add information regarding location, rooms, desks, general space availability, etc.

Essentially, a new facility can be set up for immediate use and monitoring while if a particular room becomes out of use it can be removed from a booking list. Users can adjust the platform to whatever is happening at a specific moment.

STEVE HIGGON is CEO of TAAP, The Agile Application Platform

No/low-code solutions improve business-wide collaboration.

FMs can alter and personalise applications to suit needs and responsibilities that may differ across locations. As the workspace environment continues to change, organisations’’ needs in terms of space, desks and rooms remain unstable. It’s easier for a business to implement a no/low-code solution that can be tweaked quickly to reflect any changes to operational models. Coded systems are also likely to become outdated faster.

Research from Gartner projects that the no/low-code development market will reach $13.8 billion in 2021, an increase of 22.6 per cent from 2020. It’s fast-growing, with new workflows and solutions in development every day.

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1

ABOVE AND BEYOND THE FIRE SAFETY ACT 2021 As the Act attracts controversy, Nick Rutter, FireAngel’s chief product officer, shares ways to cut fire risks in social housing

2 CONTROLLING CORROSION

Real-time monitoring is enabling HVAC systems to operate more efficiently, cutting energy waste, chemical use and upkeep costs, says Toby Hunt from Guardian Water Treatment 60

Key takeaways: ● Social landlords can use remote monitoring and cloud connectivity of smoke detectors to enhance fire protection. ● We should aim for a combination of IoT, robust fire detection and alert systems and evacuation plans unique to each resident’s needs to replace on-site waking watches. ● Use sensors that build on traditional fire alarms and carbon monoxide detectors to provide holistic support.

For example, installing a stove guard would prevent cooker fires by switching electric cookers off before a fire can start. ● Use a safety solution for fire detection and prevention, with a central cloud-based dashboard to access device Read the and sensor data. Monitor data full article over time to highlight trends. For at tinyurl. example, it can identify why a com/Fac0910tenant’s alarm is often triggered. fire-safe

3 ACHIEVING SOCIAL VALUE

Now’s the time for social value to take centre stage, says Sarah Maguire, social value manager at Fusion21 Key takeaways:

The Know How learning continues at facilitatemagazine.com.

Below is a summary of the key takeaways from a selection of our onlineonly articles

Key takeaways: ● Monitor oxygen levels to keep HVAC systems healthy and operational. Oxygen is the precursor to all corrosion, either directly damaging pipework and components or by creating conditions for bacteria to thrive. ● Check for changes in pressure as this could mean a leak in the system, risking oxygenation and water loss. Realtime monitoring technology checks pressure to ensure the system is airtight;

particularly important after planned maintenance activities such as flushing. ● Don’t panic. If you have the monitoring systems in place with access to accurate, real-time data you will can mitigate the threat of corrosion. ● Check data on pH, temperatures, steel corrosion rates, glycol concentration and crevice corrosion.

● Embed your social value requirements and aspirations in frameworks and contracts so that suppliers, contractors and clients are on the same page from the start. ● Engage your suppliers and contractors early on, ahead of the tender process as this will lead to greater ownership of the later contract. And understand bidders’ cost models. ● Level the playing field for SMEs – this is one of the core goals of social value. Consider how the procurement process can make work more accessible to SME providers. ● Be flexible – social value can take many forms. Be creative and collaborative to find out the best solutions for all stakeholders.

Read the full article at tinyurl.com/ Fac0910-socval

Read the full article at tinyurl.com/ Fac0910-corrosion

FAC I L I TAT E S EP T EM B ER- O C TO B ER 2021

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“We continue to work with Ground Control, as they offer a comprehensive, quality, good value and responsive service. Their sustainability record is outstanding and their ethos is one that mirrors our own. They are a pleasure to do business with.”

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Stay on track of your professional development Workplace and facilities management is ever-changing; it can be difficult to keep up. Stay on top of your profession with our Academy short courses.

Our courses cover a range of areas including; • Overview of facilities management • Workplace essentials, behaviour and strategy • Leadership and management • Procurement and contract management • Property and building services management • Strategy and innovation • Business continuity and compliance • Quality management and customer service • Core business skills.

Delivery methods In house Virtual training Online Members of IWFM are entitled to a discount

Contact us today E academy@iwfm.org.uk T +44 (0) 1279 712 631 iwfm.org.uk/professional-development

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OUTSOURCED SERVICE MARKET NEWS AND ANALYSIS

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Q&A with Lorraine Davis, chair of BICSc and Mitie’s new director of cleaning services

Financial: NHS Test & Trace services boost Serco’s half-year profits

Sodexo gives £1m to SMEs and not-for-profits to fund apprenticeships

WO RK PLAC E EXPERIENCE

PHOTOGRAPHY: SHUTTERSTOCK / ISTOCK

WeWork and Cushman & Wakefield embark on workplace partnership

by Herpreet Kaur Grewal

F

lexible space provider WeWork and real estate giant Cushman & Wakefield have entered into a strategic partnership to navigate the new post-pandemic world of remote working and flexible workspace.

The partnership intends to provide clients with office operations by combining WeWork’s proprietary platform of workplace experience management software and hospitality experience with Cushman & Wakefield’s asset and facilities management services.

Together, WeWork and Cushman & Wakefield will “work to unlock opportunities to provide landlords and businesses with the ability to create a differentiated workplace experience for tenants and employees in the new hybrid world of work where flexibility remains at the forefront”.

As a part of the partnership, Cushman & Wakefield will provide $150 million [about £108 million] as an investment in a planned merger between WeWork and BowX Acquisition, which would help to reposition WeWork, which has been near collapse financially in recent years.

Sandeep Mathrani, CEO of WeWork, said: “As Covid-19 has fundamentally changed the way people work, businesses and landlords have had to rethink their approach to workspace. Partnering with Cushman & Wakefield will combine WeWork’s industry-leading workplace experience management platform and hospitality-driven community teams with Cushman’s world-class global client and property portfolio to create a solution that helps both landlords and businesses meet the demand for flexible workplaces to fit the changing needs of today’s workforce.”

Cushman & Wakefield executive chairman and CEO, Brett White, added: “With flexible workspaces being an important component of the hybrid workplace, we’re excited to partner with WeWork to demonstrate how global occupiers and investors will benefit from the power of two global leaders providing unmatched accessibility to flexible offerings, best-in-class technology and a seamless tenant experience.”

Find out more Visit facilitatemagazine.com for daily outsourcing news

F IN A N C I A L

ISS GROUP UPGRADES OUTLOOK FOR 2021 ON STRENGTH OF INTERIM RESULTS ISS Group says that important milestones have been achieved in its strategy to turn around business signal an improved outlook for free cash flow for 2021.

The Dutch-based group’s interim trading results for 1 January to 30 June show organic growth was 0.2 per cent in the first half of 2021 (H1 2020: 3 per cent) and 5.8 per cent in Q2 2021 (Q1: 5.6 per cent), supported by strong solid demand for above-base services, especially deep cleaning and disinfection. Portfolio revenue continues to be affected by generally moderate reopening of global activities after Covid-19 lockdowns, reflecting the wide variations across nations covered by the group.

The operating margin (before other items) was 1.5 per cent in H1 2021 (H1 2020: 2.2 per cent) – or around 0 per cent excluding restructuring costs and one-offs. Free cash flow was DKK 1.6 billion in H1 2021 (about £182 million) driven by improved operating profit and working capital development. The group says a large part of the cash flow from working capital is temporary and will result in a cash outflow in the second half of 2021.

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SUPPLY SIDE / BUSINESS NEWS

As sustainability tops many businesses’ agendas, I anticipate increased demand for more sustainable cleaning solutions, such as cleaning products that are chemical-free and have reduced packaging or equipment, like scrubber-dryers, that use less water and energy than traditional appliances.

How will you be harnessing technology to improve cleaning operations?

Q &A

Lorraine Davis Facilitate talked with Lorraine Davis, chairman of the British Institute of Cleaning Science (BICSc) and new director of cleaning services at Mitie How has the pandemic changed the way Mitie’s cleaning services are provided?

It’s been two months since I joined Mitie and, as can be expected when starting a new role, I’ve dedicated a big part of this time to get my head around both the cleaning business and how it fits within the wider Mitie Group.

Viruses and bacteria can spread with a simple touch and as the pandemic started it became imperative that cleaning regimes focused on frequently cleaning these critical areas. As a result, more and more of our cleaning colleagues, who usually had night shifts, can now be seen working while our customers’ employees are at the workplace to ensure that touchpoints are frequently disinfected.

Although many tasks are now done during the day, cleaning during out of office hours remains a key part of any cleaning regime. But, unlike before the pandemic, this time is now mainly dedicated to completing tasks, such as vacuuming and misting, that can disrupt our clients’ employees or could be harmful to people not wearing the appropriate PPE.

My vision is really clear, we continue to focus on, and invest in, our people and our technology. That was a big draw in me joining the company and I am determined to drive that agenda even harder.

Using technology to support the work our cleaning colleagues do is key to ensure that we can deliver excellent services for our customers.

As virus and germs cannot be seen by the naked eye and not many people know the science behind them, it can be difficult to get customers to buy-in to these solutions. In the autumn we’ll be launching our Cleaning Innovation Centre which will help our customers as well as our colleagues understand more about how our technology solutions work.

We’ve committed to rolling out technology and innovations across all of our contracts but, before we can do this, we must show our customers that these solutions will maintain the highest cleaning standards. We’ll do this by holding forums and workshops to explain to our customers the science behind these solutions and to show how they can limit the spread of infection – the proof is in the Petri dish.

For some contracts, we’ll also hold trials so clients can see first-hand what an innovation-led cleaning service looks like. Convincing customers about the value of technology is only part of the equation. We need to take our cleaning colleagues on this journey too. So after discussion with colleagues in the Mitie Leadership Team, we decided that we’ll open some of these real-life cleaning demonstrations to our cleaning colleagues so that they can experience how these technologies work. We’re also planning new BICSc accredited training modules which, as chair of BICSc, I know to be an excellent way to introduce the science behind the new technologies to our colleagues.

I anticipate increased demand for more sustainable cleaning solutions

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Has the pandemic led to cleaners and the cleaning industry becoming more respected?

It has brought down some of the misconceptions about cleaning and improved people’s attitude to our operatives but we must continue to ensure that their work is recognised and valued. While life returns to some sort of ‘pre-pandemic’ normal, we know many people will be more respectful of our frontline heroes.

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BUSINESS NEWS / SUPPLY SIDE

FINA NCIA L

A P P REN T I CES H IP S

SERCO’S HALF-YEAR LEAP IN PROFITS BOOSTED BY TEST & TRACE SERVICES

Sodexo gives £1m for SME apprentices

by Facilitate team Serco has announced a 19 per cent growth in revenue to £2.2 billion in its halfyearly results.

The company’s operating profit increased by 31 per cent to £116 million for the six months to June.

Serco has more than 500 contracts in 20 countries in the areas of defence, justice and immigration, transport, health and citizen services. Its profits have been bolstered by the company’s involvement in NHS Test & Trace Covid-19 services.

Chief executive Rupert Soames insisted last year that the impact of the pandemic on Serco’s profits was a “big fat zero”. Serco upgraded its profit guidance in June when it anticipated more demand than previously from its contract to run some government Test and Trace services.

Announcing an interim dividend of 0.8p per share to investors, the first since 2014, Soames said the business had grown rapidly in the past two years – its balance sheet boosted by its acquisitions of US firm Whitney,

IN BRIEF Kier reshapes UK construction business to grow Kier has outlined a new structure for its UK construction business to support its aim for sustainable growth in key sectors across England,

Bradley & Brown and FM and cleaning firm Facilities First Australia.

The statement says about 17 per cent of Serco’s revenues for the half-year were from Test & Trace work.

Soames said: “These are very strong results, with revenue up 19 per cent, underlying trading profit up 58 per cent, and free cash flow up 61 per cent. We have had extremely strong order intake, and the book-to-bill ratio was 190 per cent, which bodes well for the future. Our three largest divisions – Asia-Pacific, North America and UK & Europe – all delivered good growth, and this reflects both the trust our government customers have shown in us during the pandemic, and Serco’s ability to respond to their requirements with speed and at scale.”

He added: “Serco has grown rapidly in the past two years, made possible by the investment we have made since 2014 in transforming our culture, systems and processes, regaining the trust of customers, and building a strong and experienced management team.”

Scotland and Wales.

The structure consists of five business units including four regional divisions, its maintenance offering, as well as two newly formed functions that will focus on operational excellence and closer alignment to clients and markets, offering sustainable solutions.

Mitie sets out roadmap to a net zero carbon estate by 2025 Mitie has announced its roadmap to achieve a net zero estate by 2025. The FM provider currently has a portfolio of more than 50 sites in the UK, and pledges to have four net zero properties by the end

of the financial year 2022, and thereafter an additional 14 net zero sites every year to reach a fully decarbonised estate by 2025.

The commitment is part of Mitie’s Plan Zero pledge to use its expertise in facilities and energy management to reach net zero

Sodexo is providing £1 million of its apprenticeship levy to support 106 new apprentices in “numerous small companies and not-for-profit organisations to upskill their workforce” including those in hospitality.

The money is helping to train people for roles across many sectors including trainee paramedics for the London Ambulance Service and health and support staff for community organisations and sports clubs in areas such as Salford, Worcester and Bath.

The levy is also funding a staff member at a primary school in Salford – near one of Sodexo’s main offices – enabling them to gain a Level 5 qualification.

In addition, Sodexo is offering its levy to help several hospitality workers in the hotel and catering industry as firms across the UK face recruitment problems owing to the pandemic.

Large businesses such as Sodexo can give up to 25 per cent of their apprenticeship levy to other bodies. In February’s National Apprenticeship Week, it vowed to donate £800,000 a year to benefit SMEs and not-for-profits. Having increased the amount given to other bodies to meet this commitment, Sodexo has given a total of £1,000,629 since 2019.

carbon for its operational emissions by 2025.

NHS Property Services bolsters board with four appointments NHS Property Services, which runs about 10 per cent of the NHS estate, has appointed four nonexecutive directors

to the board. Nick Moberly and Adrian Belton join from roles in executive teams at NHS trusts. Mark Lomas becomes a non-executive director of People, Culture and Diversity & Inclusion, and Caroline Wehrle takes the role of non-executive director of audit and governance.

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BACK PAGE / NOTED AND QUOTED

EPHFMER A “IT NEVER ENDS. THIS PROFESSION HAS TO CONTINUALLY EVOLVE; WHAT WE THINK IS LEADING PRACTICE ONE DAY WILL SIMPLY BECOME ESTABLISHED GOOD PRACTICE THE NEXT DAY.” M ARTIN BE LL , O UTGOING IWFM CHAIR , ON THE RE LE NTLE SS DE V E LOPMENT OF THE WORKPLACE A ND FAC ILITIE S M ANAGEMENT ROLE

“When you look at the impact of the pandemic, it’s both facilities managers and human resources who’ve been asked to give best practice advice on wellbeing and mindfulness.”

NE W IWFM CHA IR MARK WHITTAKER ON THE INC RE A SING LY SYMBIOTIC RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN FM A ND H R DISC IPLINES

“The correlation between employee experience and customer experience has always been strong: it’s now overlapping, and the workplace is critical to that, particularly when the workplace is the home. Our challenge is to provide a great workplace experience in the widest sense.”

JA M IE M C D O NALD, VP OF CU STOMER OPER ATIONS AT ALCUM US, O FFERS A REMINDER THAT WO RK PLAC E E X PE RIENCE STRETCHES BEYOND THE PH YSIC A L WO RK PLACE

“There is perhaps a danger that if FM doesn’t get its act together, the ‘ownership’ of employee experience will be claimed by HR and we could be back fixing the radiators if we don’t lead the thinking.”

CON S ULTA N T L UCY JEY N ES ON T H E I MP ORTA N CE OF F M I N T H E N EW H Y BR I D WORK I N G EN V IRON MEN T

70% “70 per cent of your tech investment budget should be on tech that is mature and in use in your sector – 20 per cent on emerging tech. Up to 10 per cent on bets ;)” CON S ULTA N T CH RI S W ESTON S UG G EST S A ‘ RUL E OF T H UMB’ FOR AVOID I N G BEI N G L EF T W I T H UN S UP P ORT ED OR IN CA PA BL E T ECH S OL UT ION S

“HOW DO THE IMPROVEMENTS IN HOMEWORKING PRODUCTIVITY EQUATE WITH THE 18 MONTHS OF CUSTOMER SERVICE ISSUES AND COMPLAINTS THAT MANY CONSUMERFACING COMPANIES ARE STILL APOLOGISING FOR?” F M MA RK E T I N G S PE C I A L I ST JUL I E BI RC H Q U E ST I O N S T H E CL A I M S O F I M PROV E D P ROD UC T I V I T Y A M O N G REMOT E WO R K E R S W H E N CUSTOME R CO M PL A I N T S A RE O N T H E R I S E

“The Workplace Regs is such an important and useful piece of legislation – it covers all the basics of what FMs need to do and SO many people still aren’t aware of it! The ACOP is the best and most user-friendly way to digest it and it is freely downloadable here: tinyurl.com/fac0910-acop.”

CON S ULTA N T BET H G OODY EA R S EEKS TO EN S URE T H E W I D EST P OS S I BL E AUD I EN CE FOR A D OCUMEN T W IT H P ERH A P S T H E BI G G EST P OT EN T IA L I MPAC T

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It’s time to upgrade your cleaning

Unleash the power of real-time data with Tork Vision Cleaning

The cleaning industry is faced with increased demands on quality, operational efficiency and hygiene – all with limited resources. Tork Vision Cleaning identifies when and where there are service needs in your facility.

This helps you meet expectations by maximising efficiency and resources so you can work smarter and secure the new hygiene standard.

Learn more at: tork.co.uk/vision-cleaning tork.ie/vision-cleaning Tork, an Essity brand

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