STRATEGIC AMBITIONS
WFM seen as key to government industrial strategy plans
RIGHTS AND WRONGS
Sector seeks changes to the employment rights bill
RETAIL SHIFTS
How security is evolving to tackle new criminal behaviour
Channelling change
WFM’s Gen Z intake describe their career aspirations as the sector works on attracting its next generation
A TRUSTED COMPANY WITH AN INDUSTRY LEADING REPUTATION
BUILDING SERVICES & MAINTENANCE
Jones
FRONT DESK
10-year plan What the infrastructure and industrial strategies mean for FM
Moral duty to help Supporting young people to find work 09 FM’s concern over rights bill Businesses’ open letter seeks employment rights bill changes 12 Tackling the hiring challenge Economically inactive workers could plug the labour gap 18 Shaping FM’s future IWFM’s policy work contributes to positive change
FEATURES
20 All rise How the WFM sector aims to become more attractive
Careering ahead IWFM volunteers are showcasing the profession
A sense of zoomers What WFM’s own Gen Z cohort expects from their careers
The wars in store Manned security is evolving to combat retail criminals
VIEW POINT
42 Perspectives Four Rising FM members seek to influence your insight agenda
44 A bit about you ‘Behind the job’ with Michelle Stansfield and Anna Rech
KNOW HOW
49 Healthy use of AI Smarter tech means better FM and enhanced patient care
50 Competent maintainer Legalities around building smoke control systems maintenance for effective fire safety
52 Purposeful pest control
Guided by technology, sustainability and animal welfare
53 Regs on rodents change
The Glue Traps (Offences) Act 2024 means FMs need to take a different approach
55 Retrofit for resilience
Proper planning, engineering expertise and risk management makes data centre retrofits robust
57 Beat the overload
Working women need to protect themselves from cognitive overload
SUPPLY SIDE
62 Shift in user expectations informs new catering brand Elior UK’s Calum McLaren discusses recent research on how catering must support wellbeing
COMMENT
No fully office-based future
Cubicle-filled offices are already a relic of workplaces past. And despite the efforts of some to turn back the clock, my children’s generation will never work nine-to-five, five days a week, in an office, says Ronni Zehavi, CEO and cofounder at HiBob. b.link/FacilitateD25-020
Solar car ports for energy security
The government’s decision to open a consultation on the potential for solar car ports to increase the UK’s ability to generate electric power and improve the country’s energy security is welcome, says RenEnergy’s founder Damian Baker. b.link/FacilitateD25-021
AI for smarter workplace design
Embedding AI and smart building technology is now considered best practice for supporting intuitive interactions with office systems, says Paul Scott, chief technology officer at Matrix Booking. b.link/FacilitateD25-022
Building occupation is not a stage
More than 90% of a building’s life cycle its occupational ‘stage’. But really, can a building’s occupation be a phase or a ‘stage’ when it is in fact its very reason to exist? asks Facilitate editor Martin Read. b.link/FacilitateD25-023
REPORTS
Disillusioned older workers
There is a pattern of “disengagement and disillusionment” among older employees, particularly men, according to report by consultancy People Insight.
b.link/FacilitateD25-024
Contract catering grows
Contract caterers saw a 9.5% year-on-year increase in sales during Q1 of 2025, according to research by consultancy CGA by NIQ, in partnership with Bidfood and UKHospitality.
b.link/FacilitateD25-025
Time to tackle poor IAQ
Around 30,000 UK deaths a year are estimated to be attributed to air pollution, and costs the economy around £27 billion.
b.link/FacilitateD25-026
Workers want meaning
Those who began their careers during or just after the pandemic are neither antioffice nor pro-remote – they want meaningful work.
b.link/FacilitateD25-027
YOUR AWARD-WINNING MAGAZINE
Facilitate is the magazine and online news content resource of the Institute of Workplace and Facilities Management (IWFM). We inform members and others about the latest thinking around workplace and facilities management. In 2019, we were judged Best Magazine (1032,000 members) at the Association Excellence Awards, the body which assesses the media brands of trade bodies, membership organisations and associations. In 2023, Facilitate and IWFM were judged to have conducted the best association digital transformation at the same awards, the work
described as ‘a stellar example of how a digital transition driven by deep understanding of the audience’s needs can future fit a professional body’s content strategy. At the same time opening commercial opportunities for new revenue streams’ Got a story? email editorial @ facilitatemagazine.com
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Editorial Advisory Board
Simon Ball, market director at EQUANS UK & Ireland; Rob Greenfield, regional health & safety consultant at Croner; Kate Smith, executive director, consulting at CBRE UK; Liz Kentish, managing director at Kentish and Co; and Simone Fenton-Jarvis, co-founder and director of workplace consultancy The Human-Centric Workplace.
Printed by Warners
Average net circulation
10,977 (July 2022 to June 2023)
Facilitate (Print) ISSN 2752-5171
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OPPORTUNITY STRIKES AT A TIME OF CHANGE
At a time when all eyes are on the future, it feels incredibly appropriate that this issue of Facilitate should be given over to our Rising FMs community. That’s because, as the Government launches its 10-year infrastructure strategy, these are the workplace and facilities management professionals who will be keeping the show on the road in a decade’s time. Our mission to invest in their skills, cultivate their expertise, and create an environment that supports their continued professional development has never felt more important, or more urgent, than it does today.
All of which creates a moment of huge opportunity. WFM underpins nearly every aspect of this longer-term strategic aspiration, and without a well-trained, dedicated and professional WFM sector, it’s destined to fail. So it’s exciting to see how this new generation leads us on this transformative journey.
With our focus on sustainability, workplace innovation and professional standards, IWFM’s objectives have rarely been more closely in lockstep with the national direction of travel. The work we do, through our Rising FMs network, our Academy and mentoring programmes – and more – is all designed to support our new entrants to become the WFM leaders of the future. It’s something I hope will energise and inspire our new Chair, Andrew Hulbert, as much as it excites me. I’m delighted to welcome him at such a critical time.
Finally, my heartfelt thanks go to our departing Chair, Mark Whittaker, whose four years in the role have had such a profound impact on the IWFM’s governance and the Institute more widely.
LINDA HAUSMANIS is CEO of the IWFM
This is my first opinion piece since the announcement that I am to succeed Mark Whittaker as IWFM chair – a role I could not be more excited to fill.
With IWFM’s Rising FM’s network having played such an important part in my journey, it’s fitting that I’ve been asked to introduce this edition of Facilitate, with its focus attracting new blood to the sector and the work of today’s Rising FM members.
The camaraderie, commitment and sheer effort put in by the group’s volunteers and the opportunities it offers for those willing to get stuck in hugely benefitted me when I was involved during the group’s early years. It’s heartening to see so many past and current Risings’ members mentioned in the pages of this edition.
Risings is an amazing network for members to become involved in during the early stage of their careers; it helps instil confidence in networking with others and it can significantly expand members’ horizons.
Of course, there is work to do in changing external perceptions of our sector and attracting the next generation of WFM practitioners, and we shouldn’t shy away from the challenges we face in addressing this issue. I’m pleased to see how the current generation of Risings is tackling the issue through initiatives such as its network of risings champions. I will do whatever I can to support the group’s work in the years ahead.
Risings is an amazing network for members to be involved in during their early careers
We’ll come back to my intentions as chair in an interview scheduled for inclusion in the next edition of Facilitate. However, one of my manifesto commitments is to see more engagement with the IWFM community. Through our various groups, we have so many impressive people going above and beyond in different areas. I want to ensure we listen to them regularly.
There is, I think, something uniquely ‘FM’ about the Rising FM’s
network, and perhaps IWFM’s wide-ranging volunteering groups in general. Maybe we make such good volunteers because it is in the nature of our day jobs to expect and deal with out-of-hours calls? In any case, here’s to all of our brilliant volunteers. As your chair, I’m looking forward to working with you.
ANDREW HULBERT
is
chair-designate
of the IWFM