Search Results for: performance

December 13, 2013

Highest ever BREEAM outstanding score for PwC’s HQ refurbishment

by Sara Bean • Company news, Environment, Facilities management, Property

PwC’s nine-storey headquarters at One Embankment Place in London has surpassed all BREEAM scores to date for both new build and existing structures. The 450,000 sq ft commercial office building located at Charing Cross station in London has achieved a milestone 96.31 per cent BREEAM Outstanding score, including a 100 per cent score for materials, transport and management. Built in the early 1990s, the structure, which comprises a basement below the station and nine floors of office space above it, has had a complete office refit and refurbishment as well as full central plant replacement in the basement areas, roof and terraces. Achieving a high BREEAM rating and EPC score was a priority of the refit, which was achieved while some 2,000 staff remained in occupation. (more…)

December 13, 2013

One of the most important things we need at work is shelter from the storm

by Nigel Sikora • Comment, Workplace design

The challenge of providing the optimum level of acoustic performance in an office is one of those issues that everybody accepts is very important, has at least some understanding of and has a degree of awareness of the solutions. Yet it has proved to be one of those intractable issues that suffers both from some important misperceptions and which also has to be balanced against other challenges when it comes to designing offices, not least the most significant trend of the past twenty or thirty years, namely the shift to open plan working. At the same time we have seen a shrinking of workstation footprints and the greater use of mobile phones and other technology. All of these changes have focussed attention on workplace acoustics – currently one of the most talked about issues in the workplace, and visual privacy – one of the least talked about.

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December 10, 2013

New guidance on energy management published for facilities managers

by Sara Bean • Environment, Facilities management, News, Property

The British Institute of Facilities Management (BIFM) has published new guidance on energy management for facilities managers. The Energy Audits Good Practice Guide presents good practice for some of the important energy management procedures, ranging from developing an energy policy to deciding which improvements to make. It is designed to enable facilities managers to compare the results of an energy audit with good practice in both energy use and energy related procedures in order to manage their organisation’s energy costs. Part of the BIFM’s series of Good Practice Guides providing practical guidance for facilities management professionals the Energy Audits Good Practice Guide, which is supported by Hoare Lea, also includes practical tips and considerations for improving energy use, managing energy costs, and protecting the environment. (more…)

December 6, 2013

Extended rights to flexible working could prove a logistical headache for employers

by Pam Loch • Comment, Flexible working, Workplace

A recent decision by the government could result in emptier offices on Fridays and Mondays as staff vie with each other to work from home. This is because from April 2014 onwards, employers will have to be prepared to consider flexible working requests from any employee, not just for employees who have children under the age of 17 or responsibilities as carers. One of the more challenging areas for employers is how to manage condensed hours requests and to keep enough staff covering core office hours, without affecting the business. This could result in employers having to juggle competing flexible working requests from employees who they may not be able to accommodate all at the same time. (more…)

December 6, 2013

Don’t be caught by surprise by the hidden costs of commercial property

by Richenda Oldham • Comment, Facilities management, Knowledge, Property

According to Colliers International’s recent Global Investor Sentiment Report, 2014 will see an increase in commercial property investor confidence, with 74 per cent of UK based investors saying they were more likely to risk investing across all property sectors, although offices remain the most popular category to invest in. Yet despite this vote of confidence, it seems strange to report that the real costs involved in property acquisition and maintenance, are frequently overlooked by the purchasers. It appears that businesses often have a patchy knowledge of the range of costs involved in owning or leasing commercial real estate, which is surprising when you consider that a company’s biggest single investment next to its workforce is commercial property.

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December 5, 2013

New report finds lack of consensus in measurement of social sustainability

by Sara Bean • Environment, Facilities management, News

A lack of consensus on what is to be reported on and measured makes comparison difficult when measuring social sustainability. This is one of the key findings of the first annual Sustainable FM Index report, which examines how sustainability is embedded within facilities management service companies. Compiled by Acclaro Advisory, the University of Reading and Workplace Law; the index provides a comparative assessment of FM providers within the UK market. The results, which can be applied to internal and outsourced organisations, aims to showcase achievement, as well as highlighting areas of weakness to stimulate change and raise the delivery of sustainability. The companies which made the index, including Carillion, CBRE and Vinci facilities, have reported high levels of commitment to sustainability in terms of the governance, social and environmental criteria assessed. (more…)

December 3, 2013

Meeting the management challenges of caring for home workers

by Pam Loch • Flexible working, Workplace

Flexible working is on the rise. However, as reported today, while employers are happy to equip workers with the facilities required to work away from the office, there is a worrying level of unwillingness amongst many bosses in checking the safety and comfort of home workers. Employers have a duty of care to their home workers under health and safety legislation and the Working Time Regulations 1998. This means that care should be taken by employers to ensure that home workers operate in a safe and appropriate environment. This duty of care goes beyond supplying an ergonomic workstation. Managing home workers requires a varied set of management skills and best practice processes. (more…)

December 3, 2013

Majority of businesses acquire employee data; far fewer apply it, claims report

by Mark Eltringham • Facilities management, News, Workplace

Peter Drucker’s old adage that ‘what gets measured gets managed’ may be a cliché, but it’s endured to become one because there is a lot of truth in it. Now a new report commissioned this year by recruitment consultants Alexander Mann Solutions and the HRO Today Institute has found that firms that use employee data to inform strategic decision making outperform their competitors around 58 percent of the time. Which is great except the survey of HR managers and directors at over 300 companies also found that only a third of businesses use data in this way. This is in spite of the fact that nearly all (90 percent) of companies acquire employee performance data. According to the report, Success: How metrics & measurement correlate with business, nearly a third don’t use the data in any way whatsoever.

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November 28, 2013

RICS ‘Think Strategic’ campaign opens with advice to FMs on cutting costs

by Sara Bean • Facilities management, News, Property

The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) has published the first in a series of monthly articles offering practical advice from leading industry professionals for FM practitioners. It marks the beginning of RICS new ‘Think Strategic’ campaign designed to encourage FM professionals to think and act more strategically by providing the tools to develop an FM plan that will directly feed into their wider corporate objectives. The idea is to help FM leaders demonstrate the value of the profession to business and gain a competitive advantage. Click the link Why cutting FM costs can have a business-wide impact to access the first of the articles, which are all available to download for free from the RICS website. (more…)

November 25, 2013

Over half of managers ‘constantly worried’, with real estate most stressed sector

by Sara Bean • News, Property, Workplace

Over half (51 percent) of managers say they feel ‘constantly worried’ and a disturbingly high number (40 percent) have experienced depression as a result of being stressed. The research, which was carried out by YouGov to support Bupa’s Healthy Minds programme polled the views of 6,000 employees across a range of industries, job levels and regions. It found that real estate is the UK’s most stressed sector, with more than half of workers (54 percent) feeling the pressure and a further one in five struggling to cope (20 percent) and worried about the effect of stress on their health (22 percent). With one in six adults experiencing a mental health problem at any given time, the impact on businesses is significant in terms of staff absence, productivity and performance.

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November 14, 2013

As economy picks up, change management is greatest employment challenge

by Sara Bean • News, Workplace

The latest figures from the Office of National Statistics show that the unemployment has fallen to 7.6 per cent, its lowest rate in more than three years, and the signs are that employers can plan for the future with renewed confidence. In a poll conducted at the recent Chartered Management Institute’s National Annual Conference, 74 per cent of managers said market conditions for their business are currently more conductive for growth than they were last year. Their biggest management challenge in the coming year will be implementing change initiatives, with other priorities being: coordinating business development activities; getting the best performance out of their team; achieving results with fewer resources; internally promoting their department as a value-adding business partner; and managing and bringing through star performers.

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November 13, 2013

Workplace Week highlights the changing shape of the office

by Richard Byatt • Comment, Events, Facilities management, Workplace design

‘High Street’ at Network Rail’s Milton Keynes base

This year’s Workplace Week which took place last week was a great success, with more people participating and more money raised for charity. Across the week, over 500 people took part, visiting innovative workplaces, attending the Workplace Week Convention or going along to one of the many Fringe events. Workplace Week is organised by Advanced Workplace Associates and supported by CoreNet Global, BCS, RICS, FMA and BIFM. All proceeds go to the Children in Need charity. Around 60 people joined the speakers at the headquarters of PWC on London’s Southbank for the Workplace Week Convention to discuss ‘Driving productivity through the connected organisation.’ The informal atmosphere and roundtable format encouraged participation, with a focus on developments in organisational design, change management and technology.

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