Search Results for: facilities

October 25, 2016

How tech giant EMC standardised the design and management of its office portfolio ⁰

by Cathy Hayward • Case studies, Facilities management, Features, Workplace design

This summer’s headlines have been full of discord, a cacophony of angry voices either directed at continental Europe, or at the Brexiters who voted for Britain to leave the European Union. But EMC, a global leader in information technology-as-a-service which has recently been acquired by Dell, is a leading light of European integration through its One Team approach to workplace management and design across Europe, the Middle East and Africa (EMEA). Over the past three years, the EMC Global Real Estate and Facilities Team (GREF), which supports more than 12,000 people in around 130 office locations across 50 countries in EMEA, has transformed from a group operating independently, to a fully-aligned team which provides a uniform and standardised approach to workplace delivery and management to enable greater business success.

October 24, 2016

How and why employee fitness became part of the corporate agenda ⁰

by Michael Page • Comment, Wellbeing, Workplace design

As the national obesity crisis worsens and a regular flow of statistics inform us that we’re a nation in trouble, with no demographic escaping the threat, we seem to have become obsessed with how fit or unfit we are. This is reflected in our growing interest in how many calories we consume and how much exercise we manage – right down to how many steps we take a day. No surprise then that this interest has started to manifest itself in the workplace where employee fitness appears to be an issue addressed in the boardroom. Last year, research carried out by The Workforce Institute at Kronos revealed that almost 75 per cent of workers (a total of 9,000 were questioned) believe that wearable technology, designed to capture vast amounts of biometric data and manage health risks, could lead to increased efficiency and productivity in the workplace. Measuring levels of physical activity is but a small part of the obsession with health and well-being which has infiltrated the workplace overall. There is also physical evidence, from the desks that we sit at to issues of bicycle storage and showering facilities, that we are mindful of our health.

October 18, 2016

New CoreNet Global / HOK report explores impact of coworking on corporate real estate ⁰

by Mark Eltringham • Coworking, Flexible working, News

The UK Chapter of CoreNet Global, in partnership with HOK’s WorkPlace practice, has released a new report that studies the impact of coworking from a corporate real estate (CRE) perspective. With coworking now one of the fastest-growing sectors of the commercial real estate market, the new report, Coworking: A Corporate Real Estate Perspective, examines the drivers of coworking from the demand and supply side, the industry risks and implications for corporate real estate, as well as information about the owners, coworkers and centres. The CoreNet Global / HOK Coworking report highlights the ideas that changing business priorities and the need to attract talented people, reduce real estate costs, improve speed to innovation and increase productivity are driving corporations to consider different workplace models, including on- and off-site coworking.

October 18, 2016

The global uberification of commercial property and the workplace ⁰

by Anthony Brown • Facilities management, Features, Property, Technology, Workplace design

Technology doesn’t just transform the world, it reshapes our language. So, we all need to get used to the word uberification as well as the idea of it. Based on the success of the on demand taxi service Uber, the word refers to the way a product or service becomes available to customers on demand via the Internet. Customers book a service only at the point of consumption. This represents an entirely new commercial model and is the defining characteristic of the new 21st Century economy. Uber may have provided the tipping point, going from start up to market valuation of $66 billion in just 7 years, but its success has given us a name for a process that is reshaping businesses and customer experiences across the entire economy, including in the commercial property sector.

October 13, 2016

Collaborative spaces are replacing the traditional office boardroom ⁰

by Sara Bean • Facilities management, News, Technology, Workplace, Workplace design

Connectivity and flexible working means that office meetings are shrinking in size as employees fail to show up to almost half of scheduled meetings; leaving the traditional large workplace boardroom obsolete. Teem’s Workplace Productivity Analytics Index carries out a regular aggregated analysis of meeting room data from over 2,000 customers worldwide and found that globally, only six percent of meetings have 10 or more attendees, while 76 percent of meetings include only one to three participants. In addition, 20 percent of meetings are booked within 15 minutes of taking place, making it difficult for facilities and IT managers to plan suitable space and secure equipment needs for employees. The data also claims that large meetings can drain productivity, which is why businesses are increasingly investing in large conference rooms and instead opt for collaborative spaces where smaller groups can meet privately.

October 11, 2016

Weird science; how workplace professionals are in danger of obsessing about data ⁰

by Jess Brook • Comment, Workplace, Workplace design

There’s been a series of reports recently and a lot of PR to back them up, plus we’re headed at pace into the workplace event season. Pretty soon we will be neck deep in data. And misleading headlines. Some of it is good. Some of it is bad. We need to be wary of the data, the science behind some of it and the wild claims made as a result. There’s a great piece about how big data isn’t the answer to our problems in Wired. One argument it puts forward is this: “today’s data sets, though bigger than ever, still afford us an impoverished view of living things.” It feels like there is a poor view of the workplace right now. One problem here is the commercial imperative to get results. That means the PR teams pick over the bones of what might be quite thin research and then bold arguments are extrapolated. It means detailed insights are blurred by headline grabbing claims, or simply not there in the first place.

More often it means ‘research’ doesn’t generate anything new – which is not good for headlines. So, reports are dressed up as pseudo-science. This is not just an issue unique to UK the commercial property and workplace arena either. Only recently Dana Carney has challenged her joint research into the power of body language with co-author Amy Cuddy. Carney is arguing the results of research were false, plain wrong, based on bad science. This undermines valuable work being done by other groups in the market place – i.e. the great unwashed comprising directors of estates, HR professionals and facilities managers begin to tire of data and grow a little weary of the whole experience.

It’s confusing for the very people that need informing, educating and influencing so that they make intelligent decisions about their workplaces. For example, you cannot measure 28 factors relating to physical space and then argue that it allows clients to link workplace design to key business drivers such as employee engagement and organisational commitment. To make such a leap you need to focus very hard indeed on organisational culture and the behaviours of the people in that organisation.

Too often the key themes of culture and behaviours are not so much in the back seat, but left at the kerb side as the research vehicle heads off down the highway. Criticisms of open plan and the use of offices by those in a leadership position need to be placed in the context of that organisations whole way of being. It can work if allowances are made for culture and behaviours.

Allegedly, 89 percent of senior leaders have a private office. This is not open plan. True open plan, and where benefits of open plan are seen, is when everyone exists and works on a level playing field with numerous and varied alternate work areas being made available. Again, it’s not just about the spaces available. Some companies will introduce the variety and do nothing to change with behaviour to allow people to understand, embrace and feel able to use these new and different spaces. It’s the same way the presence of a DJ and dancefloor don’t mean that people will automatically dance – just think of the bad parties with no atmosphere and awkward people.

Workplace professionals have a duty to think this data through before making any claims, arguments or indeed, any recommendations. Too many decision makers in the C-suite are saying right now: “OK, based on this data I’ll put everyone in open plan, buy sit stand desks for all and provide people with some enclosed settings and we’re good to go,” and still find the business is no more engaged or innovative because it’s not based on how the company actually operates and does not factor in people, change or culture.

We all need to check this data thoroughly before making too many easy headline grabbing and PR driven conclusions. After all, it’s not always easy to know good from bad – just ask a doctor. Doctors may know the latest scientific research but they evaluate patients at a personal level before any application – and businesses need to do the same. Likewise, an Oxbridge or Harvard professor like Amy Cuddy or Dana Carney should be generating good science, but that’s no excuse for not constantly challenging the research that comes through.

Don’t take these PR headlines about workplace for truth. Let’s be careful out there people.

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Jess Brook is Workplace Strategist at Hatch Analytics

October 10, 2016

Just a quarter of workers would tell employers about mental ill health ⁰

by Sara Bean • News, Wellbeing, Workplace

Almost half of UK workers (44 percent) know a colleague who has had to give up work because of stress, while more than a third of people (36 percent) say that colleagues have complained about feeling stressed to their employer, but received no support. As a result, most people (56 percent) don’t feel comfortable talking about depression or stress in the workplace. The fourth annual Employee Insight Report from Capita Employee Benefits, released to coincide with World Mental Health Day today (October 10) suggests that stigmas remain and companies should be doing more to encourage their workers to open up about mental health issues. The findings reveal that just 33 percent would feel comfortable talking to their employer if they have a mental health issue, like depression; 75 percent of respondents said they have felt stressed at work over the last 12 months but only 20 percent have taken time off work because of stress.

October 6, 2016

UK Government kicks off tender process for vast public sector property framework ⁰

by Mark Eltringham • Flexible working, News, Property, Public Sector

The UK Government will this week start the latest tendering process for the Estates Professional Services framework. Originally set up in 2008, the framework covers all central and local government property as the administration sets to rationalise and modernise the country’s entire public sector property estate and help to reduce the £8 billion annual spend. The terms of the framework were updated in an August 2016 briefing, laying out a series of case studies highlighting best practice as well as offering guidance t those firms who wish to bid for work across a range of product and service delivery models. The last set of contracts for services are due to expire in March 2017 and the Government remains committed to the inclusion of smaller providers. The framework covers a range of property-related services, including the reduction and divestment of parts of the estate, the renegotiation of leases, a reduction in running costs, support for the government’s sustainability agenda and the facilitation of flexible working and property sharing initiatives.

October 6, 2016

Gallery: BCO awards UK’s best workplace to university in Norwich ⁰

by Sara Bean • Architecture, Case studies, News, Workplace design

Norwich’s The Enterprise Centre at the University of East Anglia has been named as the Best of the Best workplace at the British Council for Offices’ (BCO) annual National Awards in London. The office was also recognised as the Best Corporate Workplace in the UK, joining a list of six other award winners recognised for excellence in office space. The BCO’s National Awards programme recognises top quality office design and functionality and sets the standard for excellence across the office sector in the UK. The University of East Anglia’s The Enterprise Centre was praised by judges for showcasing low carbon and sustainable design at its best. Judges commented that the workplace offered a wide range of highly flexible accommodation with incubation and collaborative spaces for new and developing businesses in a building equipped to deliver for the 21st century.

September 27, 2016

Boost predicted for commercial property transactions across the UK ⁰

by Mark Eltringham • Flexible working, News, Property

The next five years will see demand for commercial property in the South East of England expand at a faster rate than in London according to the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) Annual Occupiers Survey 2016. The survey, conducted in association with EY and Savills found that a fifth (20 per cent) of UK property decision-makers expect to increase rather than decrease the amount of space they own or rent in the South East. In total, a net balance (percentage expecting to expand minus percentage expecting to downsize) of 13 per cent more respondents in the South East expect to increase, rather than decrease their portfolio, nearly double the figure for London at seven per cent. The net balance figures showed the lowest indication of growth was in the South West, at four per cent. The survey also revealed that 41 per cent of UK firms expect to expand the amount of UK property they own or rent over the next five years while only 8 per cent expect to downsize.

September 16, 2016

CoreNet report sets out how technology will reshape corporate real estate ⁰

by Mark Eltringham • Events, Facilities management, News, Property

The speed of today’s technological advances is dramatically reshaping the way that corporations manage and use their real estate. It’s a dynamic that has significant consequences for the workplace, urban development and the overall lifestyle of the average worker. Those are the unsurprising conclusions of a new report from trade association CoreNet Global, which was discussed this week at the organisation’s 2016 Summit – EMEA, held in Amsterdam. As ever, the devil is in the detail so the report is worth exploring to get a sense of just how imminent many of the changes will be, especially because they will converge to create a perfect storm of change for the workplace. This marks the new era out from the past when technology developed in more predictable ways. Several CoreNet Global Gold Strategic Partners contributed to the report including CBRE, Deloitte, ISS, JLL, Newmark Grubb Knight Frank, Sodexo and Steelcase.

September 1, 2016

Commuting is making us more stressed and more fat, claims study ⁰

by Mark Eltringham • Flexible working, News, Wellbeing

The average UK commuter adds almost 800 calories to their diet every week as a result of their journey to and from work, according to our new report, Health in a Hurry, from the UK’s Royal Society for Public Health. The study of around 1,500 people claims that the average time spent commuting in the UK has increased in recent years to almost an hour a day, and suggests longer commutes are therefore potentially shortening lives. The report highlights the impact of travelling to and from work caused by forms of passive commuting including rail, bus and car. It says that this part of the daily routine has a huge impact on the public’s health and wellbeing with longer commute times associated with increased stress, higher blood pressure and BMI, and reduced time available for health-promoting activities such as cooking, exercising and sleeping. Commuters in London have an average journey of 79 minutes while it is just under 45 minutes for people living in Wales.