Columnists
December 1, 2015
Despite its drawbacks, LiFi has the potential to revolutionise office design 0
by Paul Goodchild • Comment, Facilities management, Technology, Workplace design
During 2016, we can all expect to be hearing a lot more about a new technology called Li-Fi, which uses light to transmit high speed data. Li-Fi has already been trialled extensively in lab conditions and now for the first time it has been installed in an office in Tallinn, the capital of Estonia. It […]
November 25, 2015
This might be the reason why firms are failing to fully engage their employees 0
by Matias Rodsevich • Comment, Knowledge, Technology, Workplace
One of the enduring quests organisations continue to undertake is that for the fully engaged employee. They do this for very good business reasons. Managers who understand the benefits of employee engagement can expect to reap the substantial benefits of a more collaborative work environment. In turn, this will lead to an engaging and productive […]
November 23, 2015
The benefits of peeling back the layers of the workplace onion 0
by Darren Bilsborough • Comment, Flexible working, Technology, Workplace, Workplace design
The onion metaphor is normally used to describe the layers which must be peeled away to get to the all-important “core” of a problem or issue. The biggest question that is normally asked with respect to choosing office space based on the promise of improved productivity, is quantifying the value of the various initiatives that […]
November 18, 2015
Women earn less than men because they make different choices, report confirms 0
by Mark Eltringham • Comment, News, Workplace
In spite of its own attempts to link it to the gender pay gap a new report, Opportunities and outcomes in education and work: Gender effects, released yesterday by the UK Commission for Employment and Skills (UKCES), merely confirms that the key factors that determine how much people earn are the jobs they do and the […]
November 12, 2015
The three workplace professions need to face up to a new reality 0
by Mark Eltringham • Comment, Facilities management, Technology, Workplace
The modern workplace consists of an often unholy trinity of people, place and technology and each of these facets has its own associated profession; HR. IT. FM. Six letters. Three disciplines. One big mess. When life was simple, with people generally going to work in the same place and at the same time, each of […]
November 9, 2015
Business success is progressively less related to employment levels 0
by Mark Eltringham • Comment, Technology, Workplace, Workplace design
If you want to understand exactly how the economy has changed over the last few decades, one of the most important statistics is also one of the least remarked upon. It is the growing disconnect between a firm’s earnings and the number of people it employs, a statistic that puts paid to the lie that […]
November 5, 2015
Data transforms the roles of offices and the people who manage them
by Philip Ross • Comment, Facilities management, Technology, Workplace
The modern workplace creates the physical,technological and cultural point of intersection between a number of abstract or movable facets of the business, including people, technology, culture and creativity. That has always been true to a large extent but with the growing complexity of exactly how, when and where we work, this role of the office as […]
October 27, 2015
Seven ways your choice of new office may boost business performance 0
by Darren Bilsborough • Comment, Facilities management, Property
There are generally four main reasons why a business considers changing to new office space: your business is growing and your existing office can’t be expanded to accommodate that growth; your need for office space is reducing due to a change in business circumstances; your office lease is nearing expiration: you are prepared to explore […]
October 26, 2015
An updated green building standard designed to meet wider business objectives 0
by Sue Gregson • Comment, Facilities management, Legal news, Property
The publication in September 2015 of the revised ISO 14001 Global Environmental Management Standard has been heralded as a move that will “shift business focus on the environment from compliance with regulations and direct operations, to placing the environment at the heart of thinking and strategy.” This will assist businesses around the world to respond to […]
October 22, 2015
Seven ways to make your office work for different workstyles 0
by Brittney Herrera • Comment, Flexible working, Wellbeing, Workplace design
The conversation around office space is shifting. Baby Boomers brought us cubicles, and as millennials joined the workforce, so did the trend of a collaborative, open office. Now, as Generation Z begins to make its way into the workforce, it’s more important than ever to make sure that your office appeals to all generations, and […]
December 1, 2015
How our preconceptions can lead us to fail the office design bench test
by Mark Eltringham • Comment, Furniture, Workplace design
The office furniture design scene certainly came alive in the early 1990s. New ideas and new technologies wove themselves into the grand narrative of new ways of working. Everything was possible and there was no longer one best way of doing things. In New York, Chiat Day’s offices featured touch-down desks, garish crimson floors and […]