Section 2: An Uncertain Future

THE DEFINING PURPOSE OF SPACE

While conscious that many businesses are still in a limbo between remote and in-office work, the Facilities Managers we spoke with agreed on the need for the working space. From their point of view, many employees had encountered challenges while working remotely, from unsuitable living spaces to a lack of supportive and adequate facilities.

David Isteed, Group Head of Property at Amey Group Services, claimed: "There are many people who are struggling with their wellbeing. There's a significant number of people who are wanting to come back into the office environment, and we've allowed them that option".

It’s up to the Facilities Managers to lead and make the value and purpose of the office space clear to all those who prefer working remotely. For every employee who feels distracted in their living room, there is another who feels distracted on the office floor. Peter Brogan, Head of Research and Insight at IWFM, explained:

In this home environment, you've got more power of choice. I think when we're looking at workplaces, it's that flexible workspace should offer exactly that, giving people options for different workspaces within the same workplace. And I think that's going to be important in the future in terms of reimagining the workplace itself. But also, the purpose of why people need to come to the office. I think that's going to be the biggest barrier for some people returning to the offices. Why am I here?"

Peter Brogan, Head of Research and Insight at IWFM

The office's space should, therefore, be reshaped and remodelled to enhance its new purpose and this may differ from business to business. However, it’s key that alongside this remodelling, employees need to be re-educated on the office's purpose and understand how it has evolved for the better.

THE INTERSECTION OF SPACE AND TECHNOLOGY

The implementation of technology and its related training, play a fundamental role in supporting the hybrid model. Businesses will need to employ technology to support the new physical office in the same way they supported the remote one. Tools such as mirroring and casting technology, as well as adequate training could lead to more effective in-person and online meetings.

Replacing touchpoints with facial recognition and practical devices such as no-touch sanitisers can make workers feel safer and more at ease, making the return less traumatic. However, the critical issue in this session was the lack of clear direction from managers and a scarce interest in finding new and more comfortable solutions.

For example, one roundtable participant underlined this saying: "Our managers are very on board with desk booking, both the need for it and the benefits that it brings, however, we're having to constantly push that ethos to our employees and reiterate what's in it for them."

They believed that the cultural problem often sits at the heart of the office issue, and it's the ultimate responsibility of the CEO to rectify it. But to fix the issue, businesses need to be able to quantify what productivity is and accurately measure it. To develop an office structure that works for your business, you must first establish what a successful productive "office" means to you.

But what if you've employed technology and worked to highlight how the office has changed to your employees, but still there is a hesitancy to return and inhabit a physical space once again? Then perhaps, the heart of the issue is a cultural one? This is certainly what attendees at our session indicated.

Further Insights:

Guidance and Advice to help Facilities lead Hybrid Workplace Transformation

For the past 18 months, to quantify productivity, we referred to work hours, and it's ultimately very hard to measure the hours of home workers as quantity, in this sense, does not mean quality in terms of output. In this regard, several attendees agreed on the fact that productivity is important but comes with the caveat that it's only valuable "as long as we can prove output. Are the outputs going to be measured effectively if people aren't feeling productive in their space?".

David Isteed, Amey Group Services, outlined how a good CEO must ask “what’s the right thing for our people? What makes them the most productive and maximises their wellbeing?” With all FM’s on the roundtable agreeing that the focus on people won’t go away and that we must lead from a head and heart perspective.

Customer Focus

Delivering major transformation

OVERVIEW:

The business recognised that the commercial vehicle industry was undergoing significant change and if Fraikin was to remain competitive and have the business agility to meet new challenges, it also had to change.

“The other day, I happened to overhear a conversation in the canteen between a finance person, credit controller and account manager that quickly resolved a vehicle request problem. It was a spur-of-the-moment meeting that epitomised what the change was all about. You can’t manufacture that sort of thing, it arises naturally from a collaborative, conducive environment”.

Henry Horsfall, HR Director, Fraikin

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