Search Results for: one public sector estate

June 11, 2018

Coworking is breaking away from its cultural and geographical stereotypes

by Gary Chandler • Comment, Property, Technology, Workplace design

There is a persistent image of a coworking space as a sort of glorified serviced office for tech and creative startups who can’t afford the eye-watering rents in the areas they need to be. This is usually in the technology hothouses of the world’s major cities where they can work alongside the corporate giants and fellow innovators that thrive there. The reason such perceptions exist is because they are largely true. It’s no coincidence that coworking spaces have thrived up till now in the world’s most expensive property markets – in London, Hong Kong and New York, serving exactly the sorts of start-ups and freelancers who rely on proximity to their potential clients.

April 19, 2018

Number of skyscrapers under construction in London tops 500 for first time

by Neil Franklin • News, Property

The number of skyscrapers being built in London has exceeded 500 for the first time, raising fears of further damage to the capital’s skyline. There are 510 towers of more than 20 storeys under construction or in the planning process, more than ever before. That is a rise of 12 per cent on a year ago, according to the annual report by GL Hearn, the property consultancy, and think tank New London Architecture. A record 115 towers are already under construction, up from 91 in 2016, but the number of applications is down by 10 per cent, according to the study.

February 21, 2018

Cities must harness potential of new technology to keep themselves moving

by Neil Franklin • AI, Cities, News

The UK Government needs to develop a new transport strategy based on local partnerships to keep up with technological advances in areas such as self-driving cars, claims a new report. Rethinking Urban Mobility has been published by engineering company Arup, in collaboration with the London Transport Museum, law firm Gowling WLG and transport company Thales. The report coincides with the publication of a similar study from the World Economic Forum which claims that autonomous and shared vehicles, digitalisation and decentralisation of energy systems require new approaches to mobility.

September 28, 2017

How smart workplaces increase performance and attractiveness ⁰

by Kati Barklund • Case studies, Facilities management, Premium Content, Technology, Work&Place, Workplace design

The workplace can and should be used as a strategic tool to support work and cooperation, to shape the experience of the brand and to produce competitive advantage for the organization. Even when not used as a strategic tool the workplace still affects all these parts and there is always a risk that the workplace has instead a negative impact if we are not aware of the relationship and really use workplace as a strategic tool to affect attractiveness, productivity, efficiency and sustainability. The workplace makes a great difference and it is becoming an important differentiator between successful and less successful organizations. I also strongly believe that the workplace management area is a key for us in the FM industry to bring FM to a higher level, to shift from cost focus to more value focus, and this is something we need to do together within the FM industry and we really should take the driver’s seat. But, let’s start from the beginning.

June 14, 2017

Workplace wellbeing is now embedded in the very bricks and mortar of the building ⁰

by Sion Davies • Comment, Wellbeing, Workplace design

For some time now, the debate about how the workplace adds to the bottom line of an organisation has focused increasingly on the subject of wellbeing. There are plenty of good reasons for this, with the issue subject to both the push of employers as well as the pull of employees. Everybody thinks it’s a good idea and it’s easy to see why. Wellbeing is about business ethics, recruitment and retention, productivity, physical and mental health, work-life balance, absenteeism and the management of a flexible workforce, and all the other things that underpin the success and health of an organisation and each individual. It suggests a more positive approach to the workplace than either health & safety or occupational health, both of which remain disciplines more focused on reducing risk and harm than promoting positive outcomes, as is the case with wellbeing. Neither is it about something as raw and nebulous as productivity, which remains difficult and even impossible to measure for knowledge and creative workers and only offers a single dimension on a key workplace issue anyway.

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 1, 2017

Fresh concerns raised about council investments in commercial property market ⁰

by Mark Eltringham • Comment, Property, Public Sector

As we reported last month, the level of investment in commercial property undertaken by UK local authorities is raising serious concerns within both central government and the real estate sector. Now, a fresh warning has been issued by the former business secretary Sir Vince Cable that councils face potential bankruptcy if the property bubble bursts. In recent years councils have faced an average 37 percent real term cut in government funding and so have taken to borrowing large sums at low interest rates from the Treasury’s Public Works Loan Board to reinvest in commercial property ventures. The move has already been identified as risky by the Government’sown Public Accounts Committee and Cable joins a chorus of voices in expressing doubts.

February 22, 2017

MPs criticise the Government’s response to gender pay gap recommendations ⁰

by Sara Bean • Flexible working, Legal news, News, Workplace

If the Government will fail to achieve its goal of eliminating the gender pay gap in a generation if it continues to ignore the evidence which it is being given, a cross-party committee of MPs has said. The Women and Equalities Committee is disappointed with the Government’s response to a series of recommendations it put forward last March, which it says shows that the Government is not effectively tackling the structural causes of the gender pay gap. While the Government’s recognises the business case for reducing the gender pay gap and acknowledges structural factors contributing to the pay gap, including women doing jobs for which they are overqualified, concentration in part-time work, and being penalised for taking time out of work to raise children; it rejects most of the Committee’s seventeen evidence-based recommendations for addressing these issues. Instead it highlights gender pay gap reporting, as “key to accelerating progress,” and maintains that current policies on Shared Parental Leave, flexible working, and supporting women back into work are adequate.

October 31, 2016

Newsletter: Self-image problem + Top tech trends for 2017 + Offices more productive places? ⁰

by Sara Bean • Case studies, Facilities management, Flexible working, Newsletter, Technology, Wellbeing, Workplace, Workplace design

In this week’s Newsletter; Steven Lambert argues millennials’ love of mod cons may make them dislike noisy open offices; Cathy Hayward describes a tech giant’s One Team approach to workplace management and design; and Mark Eltringham says FM is not alone in thinking that it doesn’t shout loudly enough. The majority of people prefer working in an office; Gartner highlights the top technology trends; a belief Brexit could improve European commercial real estate investment opportunities; and the majority of freelancers don’t want more employment rights. Automation could swallow a sixth of public sector jobs; flexible working behind growing popularity of self-employment; and corporate real estate sector is reducing energy consumption, carbon emissions and water usage. Download our new Briefing, produced in partnership with Boss Design on the link between culture and workplace strategy and design; visit our new events page, follow us on Twitter and join our LinkedIn Group to discuss these and other stories.

September 27, 2016

Businesses failing to look at workplace effectiveness in the right way ⁰

by Tim Oldman • Comment, Facilities management, Property, Workplace design

This month, the director-general of the Confederation of British Industry (CBI), Carolyn Fairbairn, suggested that productivity growth across all parts of the UK economy should be the number one priority for business and government. And the CBI isn’t alone in emphasising the importance of honing in on and tackling the ongoing productivity problem. According to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development’s (OECD) economic forecast summary, published earlier this summer, productivity has been exceptionally weak since 2007 and doesn’t show much sign of abating nearly ten years later. Labour productivity per employee has failed to markedly rise since the global downturn and the UK is still miles behind the G7 average – that’s according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS) quarterly figures and CBI data. So, to echo Fairbairn, reviving British productivity is essential to sustain growth and living standards.

September 6, 2016

Post Brexit business confidence returns but overall uncertainty remains ⁰

by Mark Eltringham • Cities, Legal news, News, Property

Blink and you’ll miss some news item on Brexit, so here’s just some of the stuff we’ve picked up on the last few days. It’s hard to imagine that any of these stories might be woven into some sort of coherent narrative, especially when the Prime Minister has yet to announce any details or timescales for the UK’s mooted withdrawal from the EU, if not the Single Market. Some of the ifs and buts are laid out in this excellent blog, but the reality is that nobody really knows what will happen and, as the writer suggests, the UK may not have the expertise to deliver a coherent withdrawal anyway. In the meantime, there appears to be some sense that business is returning to normal. The key CIPS/Markit survey of business confidence has bounced back both quickly and strongly and there are other signs that not all is doom and gloom. That said, there are clear signs that overseas partners are spooked amid the uncertainty even though the still low Sterling exchange rate continues to make the UK attractive.

June 24, 2016

Property and workplace experts have their say on the Brexit outcome ⁰

by Mark Eltringham • Architecture, Comment, Facilities management, Property, Workplace, Workplace design

Well, the results are in and the UK’s electorate has voted by a narrow margin for the country to leave the EU. There are likely to be other developments but whatever you make of the UK’s decision to vote to leave the EU – and I think it’s fair to say most independent people think it’s inexplicable – there’s no doubt that it will have a profound impact on the UK’s economy, relationship with the world, culture, working conditions and markets. What it will mean in practice won’t be apparent for months or years, of course, but that hasn’t stopped experts who work in the property, workplace, design, legal, HR and architecture sectors having their say on its potential implications. We’ll look at these specific issues in more detail going forward but for now, here’s a round-up of those we have so far, which we’ll keep updated throughout the day as the dust settles on what will prove to be a momentous decision for the UK, Europe and rest of the world.