Search Results for: management

June 27, 2017

BIFM calls for views on the scope and future of facilities management profession ⁰

by Mark Eltringham • Facilities management, News

As part of its ongoing commitment to the FM profession and its members BIFM has commissioned research by independent consultants 3edges, to explore how well equipped the facilities management profession is to support the future world of work. As part of the study, a survey has been issued direct to BIFM members this week, covering aspects about individuals and their roles, the FM profession, workplace and BIFM. All BIFM members are invited and encouraged to participate. It is hoped that the findings will inform BIFM’s future direction as a professional body, enabling the Institute to refine its offering to both its members and the FM profession.

June 2, 2017

Revised guidance is published by the BIFM on space planning and management ⁰

by Sara Bean • Facilities management, News, Workplace design

The British Institute of Facilities Management (BIFM) has issued updated guidance to help in-house FM teams understand what is involved in managing and changing space. The revised Space Planning and Management Good Practice Guide aims to provide practical advice on the tools and techniques that can be deployed when planning and managing space, clearly illustrating the processes involved and enabling facilities managers to set overarching space management strategies for their organisation. Key areas covered in the guide include space demands, strategy and standards, programming and managing projects and the technologies available to help with the process. The guide has been updated by its original author Joanna Eley, director of Alexi Marmot Associates.

May 18, 2017

Reflection on facilities management and the people I’ve met along the way ⁰

by Paul Carder • Comment, Facilities management

I’m in reflective mood. Yesterday was #WorldFMDay, I thought I should reflect on my affection for, and criticism of, Facilities Management (or Facility Management). It is merely one person’s perspective. But it may provide a viewpoint, perhaps useful (or not) for the younger professionals joining our sector. There are some great, varied, and sometimes well-paid careers ahead for people who pick up the education and variety of skills needed in today’s FM market. And to keep my friends happy, I’ll take the widest definition of FM that you may find! It is different in almost every organisation, and only limited by what one chooses to add to the FM portfolio. And the confidence shown in FM by the leadership of that organisation. That confidence is in the people who lead, manage and deliver FM – and there are some great leaders, managers and ‘do-ers’ around the world. It is a truly global sector.

May 17, 2017

Yes, facilities management press, your bum does look big in that ⁰

by Simon Heath • Comment, Facilities management

I suspect we’ve all got one of those friends. Needy. Constantly seeking validation. Of a new partner. Of a new outfit. Of their choices for all aspects of their life. If the industry media and chatterati are to be believed, facilities management is becoming just such a friend. Handwringing articles asking how FM can best demonstrate the value it brings. In actual fact, the sector seems to be in robust good health. It benefits whatever way the market moves. New buildings means new work. Fewer new buildings means more attention required on ageing stock. Fadism and bandwagon jumping mean there’s constant changes to be made. All grist to the mill of the hardworking facilities management professional at the coalface.

March 27, 2017

New report identifies ways facilities management contributes to business success ⁰

by Neil Franklin • Facilities management, News, Property

RICS in collaboration with IFMA has now published the full version of Part III in its ‘Raising the Bar’ research series. The report, written by Occupiers Journal, makes a case for how facilities management makes contributes to business success and organisational effectiveness and reviews the current state of the FM sector. An Executive Summary of Raising the Bar: From Operational Excellence to Strategic Impact in FM is also available. Both versions of the review identify the key issues facing the facilities management sector and suggest ways forward for how FM can build recognition and understanding within the boardroom, among other business leaders, and with related infrastructure groups.

February 28, 2017

A report into facilities management that is hard to swallow ⁰

by Simon Heath • Comment, Facilities management

I’ve wanted to write this piece for a while. I suspect it’ll piss a few people off. But I need to get it off my chest. I’ve held off writing it because I have been worried that it will be seen as disrespectful to the memory of a well-liked and respected member of the facilities management community, Chris Stoddart. I never knew Chris. But from what I’ve heard from those who did, his reputation is well deserved. I hope that Chris’ friends, colleagues and family will understand what I have to say and why I’m saying it. I was at last year’s Think FM event where the BIFM launched The Stoddart Review in Chris’ memory. The aim was to explore the link between workplace design and management and productivity.

February 13, 2017

Neuroscience can function as a management tool for personal development ⁰

by Mike James • Comment, Workplace

More and more employers, especially big corporates, are looking at ways to improve employee satisfaction, creativity and productivity. The business of managing change in the workplace has received much attention. It’s a clever game, and one that’s fuelling a booming growth in neuroscientific consulting. Coaching staff to embrace change and think about personal growth, alongside individualised learning programmes are hot topics in the business world. Brain science is a growth industry and it’s providing interesting answers to many important questions about why affecting change in the workplace has historically suffered low success rates, and how that can change.

January 12, 2017

Recruitment, change management and morale are chief HR challenges in 2017 ⁰

by Sara Bean • News, Technology, Wellbeing, Workplace

While a fifth of respondents to a study commissioned by Cascade HR revealed the topics most likely to keep HR awake at night in 2017 said they don’t foresee any challenges as Brexit begins to unfold, the remainder highlighted recruitment, managing organisational change and staff morale as the overriding struggles they expect to encounter. While 80 percent of participants said their organisation is OK, good or excellent at managing major change, significant areas for improvement were also identified, with 61 percent stating better communication is required, 57 percent striving for greater staff involvement/engagement and 50 percent highlighting the need for improved planning. Of the 275 industry professionals questioned in the survey, to uncover their plans and fears surrounding Brexit and other significant economic developments, 59 percent said they will rely on technology to help them manage such change.

January 6, 2017

Thirteen ways the physical environment shapes knowledge management

by Agustin Chevez and Laurie Aznavoorian • Facilities management, Premium Content, Work&Place, Workplace design

Knowledge management (including its creation, transference and storage) within an organisation is now widely considered to be one of the primary drivers of a business’s sustainability. Driven by changing demographics, businesses are recognising the ways in which valuable knowledge is lost when employees leave the organisation, including when they retire or are made redundant in response to changing economic conditions. Geyer, an Australian design practice, is just one organisation that has undertaken important research to understand the role of the physical environment in knowledge management.The aim of the research was to explore the kinds of environments and their attributes (if any) that could support the management of knowledge in an organisation. The research also aimed to expand the focus of existing knowledge management literature; from information technology to workplace design.

November 21, 2016

Ethics a grey area for staff, when management fails to lead by example ⁰

by Sara Bean • News, Workplace

A third of people have taken a sick day in the last two years when they weren’t really ill, and one in 10 said that every sick day they’ve taken in the last 24 months has been false, a new study of British workers claims. And men are more likely than women to take a sick day when they’re not genuinely sick (36 percent of men compared to 30 percent of women). The survey of 2,000 employed adults in the UK also found that 36 percent would rather work for a company that paid them more, over one whose ethics they agreed with. Fifty-six percent of people in the study would continue to work for a company that avoided paying tax, and 14 percent said they currently work somewhere with managers or senior staff members that they believe are dishonest in their company’s tax returns. Yet despite all of this, nine out of 10 people say they do uphold ethical standards in their workplace.

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.