What's Holding Back FM and Property teams from Adopting Technology in 2024?

Stepping back into the world of facilities management (FM) after 2.5 years feels like entering a familiar yet rapidly evolving landscape. While some aspects have advanced, others remain stubbornly unchanged, which is frustrating given the critical role of property and assets across the UK. Property, as you know, is a key driver in economic growth but also contributes over 20% to carbon emissions, so it is important that this is managed effectively.

In my opinion, the FM sector is at a boiling point: there's a demand for green skills, an aging workforce, an intensified focus on net zero, a return to the office, and the transformative impact of AI. These changes are happening against the backdrop of the wettest summer on record, new building safety regulations, and a new government.

Despite these shifts, one constant remains: the frontline operations teams and facilities managers. These silent heroes ensure our buildings' cleanliness, safety, compliance, and security. As businesses push for a full return to the office and hybrid work models settle, FM teams face unique challenges and opportunities. Balancing optimal office conditions with fluctuating occupancy levels and diverse demands from occupiers requires innovative technology and resources.

My role now extends beyond FM and involves speaking with various teams across aspects of property aiming to drive operation efficiencies or reduce risk within their property and assets. As someone new to working closely with real estate teams, I am shocked by how these professionals manage property. It’s crazy that many of these teams still rely on spreadsheets and email to handle critical lease information, project plans, and capital expenditures. These teams are essential for designing new buildings, managing decarbonisation projects, generating income from land and property, and facilitating project delivery.

Leaning into Net Zero for a moment, it is a hot topic right now and according to a recent survey, 70% of sustainability leaders say too much time is spent on admin, causing delays in decarbonisation projects, with 17% admitting they rely solely on manual processes. These inefficiencies extend across the entire property landscape across many different teams. The impact shouldn't be ignored.

I speak to various facilities professionals and property teams who tell me that their organisations heavily rely on them to capture key information to share at board meetings or steering committees, but this can take days or even weeks for many teams to scramble together. Despite sustainability becoming one of the biggest drivers for businesses, climbing the agenda in boardrooms, it doesn’t always have the budget attached. This adds more pressure to operations teams, and yet many leaders expect detailed reports without equipping their teams properly.

It is no surprise that year after year, FM teams face shrinking budgets, leading to increased operational inefficiencies that directly impact the health and value of properties. According to IWFM’s recent report, the percentage of organisations that increased FM budgets ticked up by just one percentage point in the last year, from 39% to 40%, while 33% of respondents reported a drop likely absorbed by inflation. How do we expect these teams to deliver against key objectives if they don't have the budget or tools?

Seriously, I couldn’t imagine doing my job today on paper, sending my deal reports and territory plans in the post, and using old ordnance survey maps to get to client meetings. Even with an iPad, it wouldn't enable me to do the job I have today. Unfortunately, these examples reflect the plight of many property and FM teams managing critical tasks with outdated tools, struggling to meet modern sustainability and operational efficiency demands.

What is frustrating to see is that, for years, we have emphasised the importance of data to make strategic decisions on assets. Yet still, teams are either not capturing data correctly or haven’t been given the tools to help them capture it. I have heard that paper and pen are still used to capture critical statutory compliance information!!

Fortunately, a trend I am seeing is the growing appetite for greater control of asset data. Some organisations rely soley on suppliers to capture and report on compliance, but these suppliers often hold onto the information, leaving organisations unclear on their overall compliance.

A question to ask yourself, your team and your supply chain, do you have control of that data, or do they?

In my opinion, having full control of the data puts you in the driving seat, creating an opportunity to leverage key data to make timely and informed decisions. This then enables your facilities managers and property teams to optimise operations, predict maintenance needs, and address issues proactively, minimising downtime and reducing costs, directly impacting the P&L.

There is a clear desire to improve ways of working in front-line teams and implement tools to reduce admin, make more informed decisions on compliance risks, net zero goals, income generation, and ultimately keep people in these properties safe.

So what is stopping organisations from adopting technology in 2024? Will it be a huge fine or workforce burnout that forces the hand for many?

If you care about your colleagues, your building's carbon output, and your employers ESG goals, surely you would want your team to have the right tools to help them deliver this, right?

Whether you're a business leader, a facilities manager, or someone involved in real estate, it’s time to advocate for the right resources and systems that will drive efficiency, sustainability, and growth. I would love to know what is stopping you?

Comment below, I would love to continue this conversation.

If this has been enough to trigger change, get in touch and I can show you how Concerto enables the above and more..

Thanks for reading my first blog, if you got this far. :-)