Sunday 26 September 2010

Where is the workplace of the future?

Where is the workplace of the future?

The Total Facilities Management (TFM) market has grown rapidly as the integration of people, process, space and technology improves the effectiveness of client’s primary activities.  However, FM has largely been about the buildings people work in. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Facilities_management)  FM providers position their offering as a workplace integrators, providing environments for customers to excel and positively effect the wellbeing of their staff. http://www.bbworkplace.com/

Imagine this for a minute…. What will my office look like in 2020? Will I even have an office!?

There are numerous forces driving a workplace change

·        Government is turning to the sale of property to generate efficiency savings
·        Government sees property as the key to a low carbon future
·        Technology will drive the new workplace resulting in ‘anywhere’ desks and the virtual office
·        Social-economic factors are driving a change in the working population

Flexibility is not new; organisations have been delivering solutions to allow organisations to take advantage such as enabling a wider recruitment pool, lowering recruitment costs, enabling ICT to become more efficient, more agile, and more productive.

What next for FM?

What do FM providers need do to take advantage of the change?  Offer more services or continue to look to the physical environment for its bread and butter? 

There will be many changes over the coming years, and if one things for sure, there is a big prize for those who innovate and continue to support clients and customers.