FM as a driver for High(er) Performance

There can be a misconception that Facilities Management is facilities maintenance. In practice it can, should and must fulfil a higher and greater purpose. Fundamental to this is the idea of delivering great workplaces that enable great people to do great things.

Organisations are facing an extraordinary period of societal and technological change. However, by working collaboratively with disciplines such as HR, IT and designers, Facilities Managers should be well placed to engineer the workplaces of tomorrow that are able to rise to these challenges.

During the Summer we invited a cross-section of industry wide experts to an afternoon workshop in order to delve more deeply into these ideas. Alongside colleagues from Place Partnership, we were joined by Chris Moriarty, Director of Insight & Engagement from the Institute of Workplace and Facilities Management; Jane Clay from international architects practice, Gensler; Jon Himoff from consultants Unwork; and Stephen Marks, of Mind Body Building. Our panel provided a unique perspective, with everyone representing at least one of the three elements fundamental to a successful workplace: technology, people and place.

A truly productive environment will see all these elements sitting together in balance: businesses need a desirable, practical, flexible workplace supported with robust infrastructure to attract and retain the best talent.

Even in a time of greater flexibility through advancements in technology, our natural propensity towards tribalism and inherent desire to be around others keeps bringing us back to a shared workplace, something that can be demonstrated particularly strongly in the co-working marketplace.

It is as the nexus of these deeply interconnected ideas where Facilities Managers can play a vital role, advising our clients in order to deliver better environments that provide maximum value and deliver better performance. In the past, flexibility or collaboration may not have been seen as high priority as the provision of (usually static and inflexible) workspace was a given. In a world that is increasingly driven by technology there is an arguably greater need than ever for workspace designed to facilitate collaborative working to drive performance. Moreover, there is now an increased emphasis on wellness and wellbeing, not least due to policy drivers on mental and physical health and productivity but also in view of what employees seek from their employers and their workspaces. The availability of greater levels of natural light, quieter working areas, break-out or idea sharing spaces and provision of amenities such as fitness classes, yoga or a coffee shop are becoming increasingly commonplace, as are corporate flexible working policies.

Greater discourse between professional bodies and organisations like the IWFM and CIPD will help to broaden understanding on workplaces as a whole, with suitable initiatives discussed, identified and communicated through their members’ organisations.

Changing our thinking is as vital as changing our physical environment and, just as the cellular office layout has been proven inefficient when compared to open plan, we must also do away with restrictive ‘column thinking’ and move towards more open, cross-discipline and multi-disciplinary ways of working.

The outcomes from the session were clear: the future will be focused increasingly on growth in collaboration and innovation in technology, driven by employees and customers. The workplaces of tomorrow will be shaped increasingly by the pace and scale of technological developments and the extent of investment in this will define its productivity. A happier workforce should be a more productive workforce. In a world where highly skilled people are increasingly sought after, the business of tomorrow is far less likely to succeed unless it places collaborative, creative working front and centre, within an environment designed to facilitate this.

Our panel favoured a cross-functional stakeholder approach, with HR, finance and IT representing the needs of the business, the people working within it and the infrastructure that enables this, with Facilities Management as the glue. These three disciplines working together with a common purpose will drive transformation and create the organisation of tomorrow. The broad scope of Facilities Management should be viewed as a key strength, allowing business to harness data in order to influence space, place and design that will ultimately drive performance for the benefit of all economic stakeholders.