April 28, 2016

London’s office occupiers likely to move out to regions over next decade ⁰

by Sara Bean • Cities, Facilities management, News, Property

The high costs associated with accommodating staff in London will lead to a trend over the next decade of office occupiers moving away from the capital to the major cities around the UK. This is according to the 2016 edition of property consultancy Lambert Smith Hampton’s annual Office Market Report, which highlights the significant and growing difference in premises, staff and housing costs between Central London and the UK’s other key cities. For cities such as Bristol, Manchester and Birmingham, staff and premises costs (including rent, business rates, day-to-day running costs etc) for a new-build office collectively amount to just over £50,000 per workstation. Measured on the same basis, a workstation in London’s Midtown area carries an annual cost of well over £80,000. In practice, this means that the overall cost of occupying a new-build office in a location such as Bristol for 500 staff stands at £27m per annum; in Midtown, the total cost would be over £13m higher each year.

April 27, 2016

Half of employees say mobile working makes them more productive ⁰

by Sara Bean • Facilities management, Flexible working, News, Technology

Most employees now have access to mobile devices in the workplace and this ability to work anytime anywhere means that 49 percent of respondents in a new global study by the Economist Intelligent Unit (EIU) say mobile working has the greatest impact on productivity, while for 38 percent it determines how satisfied they are with their employer. The study, sponsored by Aruba, claims that companies rated by employees as ‘pioneers’ in how they support mobile technology saw a rise in productivity (16 percent), creativity (18 percent), satisfaction (23 percent), and loyalty (21 percent) when compared to organisations that were poorly rated at supporting mobile tech. While a respondent’s age was not found to be a factor of how mobile technology impacts their performance and engagement, four out of ten Millennials did admit they would never work for a company that didn’t allow them to use their own devices for work, compared to 22 percent of all employees.

April 26, 2016

New agreement to drive sustainable property development in Europe ⁰

by Sara Bean • Cities, Environment, Facilities management, News, Property

The World Green Building Council (WGBC) – a network of national green building councils aimed at influencing the green building marketplace – has announced that its Europe Regional Network has signed a Memorandum of Understanding to help drive sustainable property development with the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD). The EBRD works to support the development of the private sector across Europe, the Southern and Eastern Mediterranean and Central Asia, and the provision of modern real estate infrastructure is essential to support economic expansion and diversification in these regions. The new agreement provides a framework to cooperate on a number of areas of sustainable building practices, including promoting best industry standards and practices for energy and resource efficiency, climate resilience and building sustainability; promoting innovative zero-waste design, green urban planning and low carbon emissions; engaging in policy dialogue; and mobilisation of financial resources.

April 23, 2016

Latest Work&Place + Performance management + Design and people ⁰

by Sara Bean • Facilities management, Flexible working, Newsletter, Property, Work&Place, Workplace

This week’s Newsletter features the latest issue of Work&Place, which presents a truly global perspective on the forces redefining our relationship with work. In news, the Government extends the One Public Sector Estate scheme and London’s commercial property sector is unaffected by the Brexit jitters. The three day working week is the ideal scenario for the over 40s; current performance management practices discount the digital workplace; and employees spend too much time checking work emails at home. Mark Eltringham says design what you like but don’t discount the impact of adding human beings to the mix; how people have been writing guides to good ergonomics at least since the early seventeenth Century; and that Charles Eames came to have mixed feelings towards his most famous chair. Download our Insight Briefing, produced in partnership with Connection, on the boundless office; visit our new events page, follow us on Twitter and join our LinkedIn Group to discuss these and other stories.

April 22, 2016

The new issue of Work&Place is now available to read online ⁰

by Mark Eltringham • Facilities management, Premium Content, Property, Work&Place, Workplace, Workplace design

The new issue of Work&Place is available to view online. As ever it presents a truly global perspective on the forces that are redefining our relationship with work and how designers and managers are creating workplaces and working cultures to help firms and people thrive in the new era. This issue includes: Francisco Vazquez Medem looking at the current state of flexible working in Latin America; Ian Ellison finding the unlikely candidate for the missing piece of the workplace puzzle; Andrea Hak assessing what we can all learn from Yahoo’s recent trials and tribulations; Serena Borghero engaging in the ongoing quest for the truly engaged workplace; and Baptiste Broughton gauging France’s unique revolutionary spirit and how it applies to the worrkplace. Each issue of Work&Place, sponsored by Steelcase and Condeco, is read by well over 60,000 workplace professionals worldwide and invites all those associated with the industry to share their own thoughts and experiences during this tumultuous era. Illustration by Simon Heath.

April 22, 2016

LEED certified green buildings in Canada reach a significant milestone ⁰

by Sara Bean • Environment, Facilities management, News, Property, Workplace design

LEED certified buildings in Canada have led to a cumulative reduction of over one million tonnes of CO2e in greenhouse gas emissions – the equivalent of taking 238,377 cars off the road for a year. Along with this milestone the Canada Green Building Council (CaGBC) announced that in the first quarter of 2016 it certified the 1000th LEED Gold project in Canada. LEED Gold, the second most rigorous level of certification, now makes up 38 per cent of all LEED certified projects in Canada – the highest percentage of all levels. This is evidence of the industry’s enhanced capability to achieve higher levels of building performance. Among the most notable projects that earned LEED certification in the first quarter of this year was the certified LEED Platinum TELUS Garden Office Tower in Vancouver, BC, a one million square foot development in the heart of downtown Vancouver that features one of Vancouver’s largest solar panel collections on the office’s rooftop.

April 21, 2016

How and why Millennials are shaping the future of remote working ⁰

by Sara Sutton Fell • Comment, Facilities management, Flexible working, Workplace, Workplace design

The future is here. Millennials, the youngest generation in the workforce, are now the majority generation at work. Their potential impact has been discussed for decades, but we’re finally seeing results, as this generation not only enters the workforce, but assumes management-level roles, makes their voices heard, and shifts how we approach work. But why does the Millennials attitude and approach to work have such an impact on how, when, where, and why we all work? And why should employers pay attention? It’s because this generation is shaping remote working. They’ve got sheer numbers behind them. In 2015, Millennials surpassed Generation X to become the largest generation in the American workforce. The vast majority of Millennials want flexible work options, especially the ability to work remotely. In survey after survey, Millennials, more than any generation previously, say that work-life balance and remote work is important to them.

April 21, 2016

Brexit referendum has not diminished demand for London office property ⁰

by Sara Bean • Facilities management, News, Property

Political uncertainty over the Brexit referendum has done little to diminish demand for London office property, despite it causing the commercial property market to experience a nervous start to the year. According to the latest research from Colliers, the number of vacant offices still remains low, with occupiers appearing to be relatively un-phased by external political and economic upheaval. There has been some high profile lettings and a healthy number of new large scale enquiries in the first quarter of this year – but transactions and searches have become protracted and supply shortages are undermining occupier expansion plans. However demand for office space amongst media and tech firms is diminishing in some locations. While Q1 2016 figures show that media and tech accounted for 38 percent of demand for office space across London, in the traditional media enclave of the West End, the figure fell to just 13 percent of demand, down from 45 percent in 2015.

April 19, 2016

UK Government extends groundbreaking One Public Sector Estate scheme ⁰

by Mark Eltringham • Facilities management, Flexible working, News, Public Sector, Workplace design

A groundbreaking scheme which encourages UK local authorities to reduce the space they occupy, share offices and cut the amount of property they own is to be extended. The Government is inviting new councils to join the One Public Sector Estate scheme which already has more than 100 participants including Derby City Council (pictured). It has allocated an additional £35 million to expand the programme with councils encouraged to apply for a share of funding. The Government hopes all councils will be signed up by 2018. Although the scheme is in its infancy and results are not yet fully known, the most recent 24 partnerships are expected to generate around £138m in property sales and save £56m in running costs over the next five years, as well as free up space for 16,500 new homes. The scheme is jointly delivered by the Local Government Association and the Cabinet Office’s Government Property Unit. Our special report on innovative approaches to public sector property can be found here.

April 18, 2016

Workplace Trends talk + Productivity + Flexible working in London ⁰

by Sara Bean • Facilities management, Flexible working, Furniture, Newsletter, Workplace, Workplace design

In this week’s Newsletter Mark Eltringham with the Hitchhikers guide to the workplace – his talk at the Workplace Trends Conference; Darren Bilsborough’s concerns around commuting and productivity; and Paul Goodchild suggests that as office continues to evolve so too do the materials used within it. Why work friendships can contribute to a lack of creative diversity in the office; women could be damaging their careers by taking competition too seriously; and stress and sitting are draining productivity in the UK. The development of the fourth industrial revolution; the CIPD on increasing the uptake of flexible working in the Capital and IFMA and RICS work together to help shape a single FM career path. Download our Insight Briefing, produced in partnership with Connection, on how the boundless office can be freed from the shackles of time and place and access the latest issue of Work&Place. Visit our new events page, follow us on Twitter and join our LinkedIn Group to discuss these and other stories.

April 17, 2016

How can commuting to your choice of office affect staff productivity? ⁰

by Darren Bilsborough • Comment, Facilities management, Flexible working, Property

To say that I am obsessive about the subject of productivity in the workplace is an understatement. It is integral to much of the subject matter I write about, including the core theme contained in my book Don’t Worry About The Rent. Whilst undertaking research, it was important for me to get to the bottom of the decision making processes that many businesses go through when choosing office space. I was well aware of the predisposition for the commercial real estate industry to ask questions around size, cost and location, but I was particularly interested in what other issues might rise to the surface and become “top of mind” for management to consider around office choice. Predictably, I found that tenant surveys, including those undertaken by Colliers International confirmed that the two major issues management would consider were size and cost. The next biggest issue however was a surprise and it related to concerns around commuting.

April 15, 2016

Office demand prompts rise in level of London commercial construction ⁰

by Sara Bean • Cities, Facilities management, News, Property

London has reached the highest level of commercial construction since 2008, with activity totalling £7.4 billion. According to JLL and Glenigan’s latest UK Commercial Construction Index the level of speculative office development under construction in Central London totalled 8.3 million sq ft at the end of Q1 2016, well ahead of the long term average (5 million sq ft) indicating that developers are continuing to respond to London’s burgeoning requirements for new office floor space. In the West End office market alone, construction started speculatively on nine schemes in the first quarter of this year totalling 596,997 sq ft; the highest level of commencements since the end of 2014. The largest starts were at Brunel, W2 at 241,000 sq ft, which is scheduled to complete in 2019 and The Foundry, W8, a refurbishment planned to complete by the end of this year totalling 110,000 sq ft.