FMJ Facilities Management magazine providing industry-specific intelligence to FM and property professionals
THE FM PROVIDER’S VIEW
MARTIN REED,
CEO AT INCENTIVE FM GROUP
Some of the predictions did happen and in particular we have seen the ongoing uncertainty of Brexit impact consumer environments, such as retail. This is manifesting itself in different guises but with a real emphasis on future cost base and service charge budgeting.
However, they were not the biggest issue to hit our industry. That would have been the pressure on costs in a market where clients expect to pay lower margins but want no less or in some cases more service from their providers. Buyers are largely charged with the responsibility of delivering even better value for their ultimate clients and longer-term viability and operational reality can often be a secondary consideration.
This has resulted, at least in part, in some of the big names in our sector getting themselves into trouble over the last year and a number of smaller single service companies have also gone out of business as a result of this tough market.
Immigration: For 2020 in the short term I expect that the Brexit issue will continue to be a disguise for slow decision making rather than a real impactor. The medium-term issue around Brexit for our industry is the supply of a good quality labour force wherever they come from. Current government immigration strategy is specifically opposed to attracting workers around the average salary of £28.5k per annum which is exactly the ones our sector, the NHS and social care need.
Digitisation: People will talk about the ‘internet of things’ but we will still be looking forward to this and how it might develop rather than it really impacting our industry in this year. I think that is 2022+ before we start to see real impact.
Social Conscience: In 2020 I think we will continue to see more of a focus on social conscience, not just for the facilities and client workforce but also the wider network. The impact that we have on the environment, society and communities and the benefits we bring will be under greater scrutiny and may become a key purchasing criteria. Staff wellbeing will also be increasingly at the forefront of business as companies compete to attract and retain a depleted talent pool and start to understand the benefits this brings in terms of productivity and engagement.
THE IWFM’S VIEW
CHRIS MORIARTY,
DIRECTOR OF INSIGHT & ENGAGEMENT AT IWFM
Twelve months ago, we were reflecting on a year bookended by shocks. The fall of services giant Carillion had cast such shade that the wobble of another megalith, Interserve, called into question a model once thought unshakeable. Who could have predicted a December General Election? With the only certainty, uncertainty, we think many of 2019’s predictions will remain in focus.
Evolution is, by definition, slow. How contracts are outsourced and managed is FM key critical and while the theme hasn’t bobbed above the parapet in 2019, there has been much activity below it. We continue to advocate a value driven approach and our partnership with NEC to develop an FM-specific contract form is expected soon to bear fruit. Elsewhere our work with the National Social Value taskforce will mean a standard metrics framework to measure social value in contracts.
Social value, providing a wider community of public benefit, is linked to wellbeing, a key theme this year. Journalist Martin Read argued recently that while providing healthy and productive work-spaces isn’t novel, “measuring workplace productivity has brought to the mainstream a range of wider human issues. It’s not that wellbeing is new…its component parts are being better defined as actionable elements.”
Technology also dominated the discourse; and we will keep it there as we explore its role in high performing workplaces, building on the challenges identified in our 2018 research. It found the profession unready or unable to think beyond the present tech toolbox, despite predictions of exponential advancement in machine capacity and learning.
On both wellbeing as on technology, we want to help organisations create connected and successful workplaces, and the trick is moving from a position of helping us to do our job effectively to redefining it as one which helps everyone else do theirs in our more business centred way. It’s the difference between providing a yoga room in the space plan and a proactive strategy for workforce wellbeing; or between installing sensors to monitor use and a technology strategy to enhance experience. That people are being employed in both private and public sectors with specific responsibilities in wellbeing, social impact, technology architecture tells us these themes will endure.
The obvious 2020 rollover is Brexit. If markets hate anything its uncertainty; yet one beneficiary of the stasis is the ‘space as a service’ market. Despite recently publicised troubles, Wework and peers, are posting significant numbers with research showing a new ‘coworking’ space opening in London every five days. Uncertainty makes their flexible offer a more attractive proposition than long term traditional leasing arrangements.
Space-as-a-service looks set to grow, but we suspect organisations will hedge to a blended approach, skirting wholesale change, with other players entering the market.
The dominant matter for 2020 is climate. David Attenborough dubbed it “the major challenge facing the world”. The built environment contributes 40 per cent of the UK’s carbon emissions and if we have any hope of achieving “net zero” by 2050 then a serious plan is needed. Workplace and facilities leaders have been quietly contributing to carbon reduction for some time. Can they lead further change?
Despite everything the new decade holds excitement. The innovators have worked diligently in the background and, with insights projects on both wellbeing and tech (the latter with Microsoft), we look forward to helping guide the profession forward.
