Search Results for: management

April 18, 2013

Is facilities management evolving into workplace management?

by Mark Eltringham • Comment, Facilities management, Technology, Workplace

Not so long ago, there used to be a lot of talk about the overlap between facilities management and professions such as HR and IT, much of it to do with the endless search for the true meaning of the nascent FM profession. Now there is open talk of convergence of these three and other disciplines as we adapt to the changing world of work. The nature and implications of this new order for those professions, and the role of facilities managers in particular, is the subject of a new book called Moving On: Facilities Management to Workplace Management by Graham Jervis.

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April 5, 2013

Rigid attachment to best practice “killing” talent management

by Sara Bean • Knowledge, News, Workplace

A rigid attachment to ‘best practice’, rather than a focus on business needs, is preventing many organisations from unearthing and nurturing staff to drive their business forward and the danger of such an inflexible approach is killing organisations’ ability to properly manage talent. According to Anna Marie Detert, KPMG’s UK Lead for Talent – a tendency to copy or adopt the latest fad or fancy must be challenged if employers are to understand the talent they truly need to succeed, and plan effectively to find and keep it. (more…)

March 19, 2013

Survey: Work and poor management biggest cause of stress

by Sara Bean • News, Workplace

Work is the most stressful factor in people’s lives with one in three people (34 per cent) saying their work life was either very or quite stressful – and the top cause (32 per cent) is frustration with poor management. Research commissioned by Mind found work more stressful than debt or financial problems (30 per cent) or health (17 per cent). However, employees don’t believe that managers are actively tackling causes of stress in the workplace, with only one in five people saying they felt their line manager took active steps to help staff manage stress (22%) or mental health conditions (19%).

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March 11, 2013

Time to mothball facilities management’s stuffed shirts

by Simon Heath • Comment, Facilities management

Much hand-wringing and angst in the world of Facilities/Workplace Management at the moment. The usual existential paranoia about relevancy and the need for a seat at the top table; the search for differentiation when pretty much the whole industry does the same things in the same way; hoping to standardise as much as possible under the guise of best practice and looking for ways that add value that won’t put a further pinch on already tight margins. As ever, new legislative and regulatory frameworks will keep the talking heads occupied and BIM (and other new tools) will continue to keep the cash tills ringing at software companies.

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February 19, 2013

Room for improvement in public sector workplace management

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

Last week technology company Citrix announced that the UK Government could cut its property costs by a third by adopting flexible working policies. It used a Freedom of Information request to discover how much space each public sector employee in the UK is allocated and how much it costs then applied a formula to work out how this would be affected by greater adoption of flexible working. What was interesting was not just the up-front argument you would expect from an ICT provider but also the discovery that the average employee is allocated 1.1 workstations with some enjoying 1.6. (more…)

October 9, 2025

Is a smart building worth it? My research says the answer is an unequivocal yes

by Dr Matthew Marson • Comment, Property, Technology

For my book, The Smart Building Advantage, in which I tracked the evolution of the recent built environment, I trawled through more than a decade’s worth of data. I wasn’t short of material. I studied the Salesforce Tower in San Francisco, 22 Bishopsgate in London and NEOM in Saudi Arabia, amongst many extraordinary examples of how buildings and technology can work together. From these, I concluded that smart buildings are like chameleons in the way they’ve adapted to meet the shifting demands of the corporate zeitgeist. (more…)

September 23, 2025

Sustainable Design Collective hosts ’speed dating’ style talks

by Joanna Knight • Environment, News, Workplace design

Members of the Sustainable Design Collective including sustainability specialists from leading workplace design practices, such as Perkins & Will, TP Bennett (main image), BDP, JRA, Overbury and Siren Design, are offering the opportunity to join ’speed dating’ style round table discussions. To be held on Wednesday 1st October, 4-6pm at the Crypt on the Green in Clerkenwell, manufacturers, suppliers, designers, project and facilities manager are invited to join one of the round table discussions hosted by SDC members. After 20 minutes, the whistle will blow and that’s the opportunity to change tables. Topics include: Achieving greater circularity; Understanding Supply Chains & Adding social value; Sustainability & Technology; Project Assessments. (more…)

September 18, 2025

Lead boldly, pivot strategically: redefine change leadership, before it redefines you

by Jennifer Bryan and Louise Robey • Business, Comment, JB

Change management is no longer just a discipline, it’s a mindset. In today’s hyperconnected, rapidly evolving business landscape, the ability to lead through constant transformation has become the defining characteristic of exceptional leadership, and one that is weighing heavily on all leaders. When leaders claim that “people don’t like change,” they’re missing a fundamental truth about human nature. We navigate change every single day, adapting our morning routines when a loved one falls ill, finding alternative routes when our train is cancelled, or pivoting our plans when circumstances shift. Change itself isn’t the problem. The issue is that people don’t like being changed or having transformation imposed upon them without agency, understanding, or involvement. (more…)

September 16, 2025

Just one more CoreNet? Give it to me.

by Esme Banks Marr • Comment, Property

Last week, CoreNet Global’s EMEA Summit returned to Amsterdam, and with it, the familiar rhythm of connection, conversation, and the occasional déjà vu. I’ve attended a handful of these, and every year I tell myself I pretty much know what I’m in for… and yet, I keep coming back. Why? Well, let me unpack. First, let’s talk about the setting. Amsterdam is one of those cities that feels like it’s permanently on the front foot. It’s forward-thinking, relentlessly innovative, and always busy shaping the future. From cycling-first urban design to a thriving HQ and campus workplace scene, it’s a natural stage for a conversation about “Innovate to Thrive”, this year’s conference theme. I’ve always had the sense that the city itself lives that mantra. (more…)

September 16, 2025

Ten projects named as 2025 Urban land Institute Europe Awards for Excellence finalists

by Freddie Steele • News, Property

Ten projects from eight countries across the EMEA region have been announced as the finalists in the sixth annual Urban Land Institute Europe Awards for Excellence, which recognise exemplar projects and programmes in the private, public, and non-profit sectors. This year’s finalists comprise cutting edge refurbishment, restoration and new build projects, and include residential, healthcare, mixed use, education, community, laboratory and office projects from Italy, Germany, the UK, Belgium, Sweden, Denmark, France and Spain. (more…)

September 3, 2025

BCO pilots new office grading system as industry calls for reform

by Neil Franklin • News, Property

The UK’s office grading system is no longer fit for purpose, according to new research from the British Council for Offices (BCO). A report authored by JLL for the BCO found that fewer than three percent of professionals in the sector support the current system, with almost all calling for change. The report, Redefining the Market: Beyond Grade A, proposes a new scoring-based framework designed to reflect the shifting priorities of occupiers, investors and developers in an era shaped by flexible working. It sets out a 100-point matrix across four categories – physical quality, sustainability, technology and amenity – aiming to provide a more transparent and adaptable standard. (more…)

August 31, 2025

Measuring and rewarding what people do at work? It’s a rat trap, baby, and you’ve been caught

by Mark Eltringham • Features, Wellbeing

Life imitates art. Scientists have discovered that lab mice may be conducting their own experiments on us. A paper published in the journal Current Biology speculates that mice seem to be testing their testers. They do this by deviating from simple behaviours such as responding to rewards to work out what might happen. “These mice have a richer internal life than we probably give them credit for,” explained Kishore Kuchibhotla, senior study author and an assistant professor of neuroscience at Johns Hopkins University. “They are not just stimulus response machines. They may have things like strategies.” (more…)