FMJ Facilities Management magazine providing industry-specific intelligence to FM and property professionals
The International Facility Management Association (IFMA) and the Simplar Foundation have published the Facility Management Pulse Report which provides a quarterly snapshot (October-December 2025) of global facility management trends and for the first time includes IFMA’s inaugural Facility Management Workload Index (FMWI), which captures how workload, budgets, staffing and projects are expected to shift over the next year.
The report is based on more than 1,400 global survey responses, including nearly 1,200 facility practitioners, 200 vendors or service partners, and a small group of professionals in other roles, representing countries across North America, Latin America, Europe, Africa, the Middle East and Asia‑Pacific.
IFMA’s Q3 2025 Facility Management Index and Economic Pulse Survey, asked facility professionals whether they expected their overall workload to increase, decrease or stay about the same. Respondents included facility practitioners from a wide range of industry sectors across 80 countries, managing 3.2 billion square feet (300 million square meters) and representing a wide range of industry sectors.
The FMWI estimates workload expectations on a scale from −100 to +100. Scores above zero indicate expected increases; the farther from zero, the stronger the lean. Based on the survey responses, the inaugural FMWI reading is +43, which means more facility professionals expect their overall workload to rise.
Nickalos Rocha, IFMA’s Director of Benchmarking said: “FM leaders face steady workload growth supported by modest budgets and constrained staffing. Organisations that align planning, sourcing and risk management early will be best positioned to sustain momentum, meet demand and deliver consistent results.”
Michael V. Geary, CAE, IFMA’s president and CEO commented: “Thanks to the participation of our respondents, we’re able to provide facility professionals the strategic foresight to skillfully navigate and capitalise on evolving risks and demands. The findings, and specifically the FMWI, are of immense value in understanding industry drivers, challenges and expectations across regions and sectors. It helps ensure that FMs and their organisations are not caught off guard by factors influencing market dynamics but are better prepared to respond to supply and staffing issues, scope changes, economic conditions, regulatory impacts, and other risks and opportunities.”
To access the Facility Management Pulse Report, click here.
According to the 2026 UK Facilities Management Market Research Report by askporter, facilities management professionals want clear, verifiable evidence of work being delivered, with teams that can communicate progress in real time. This requires technology that is affordable, intuitive, and quick to adopt.
Yet the report found that:
Over three quarters of FM professionals (76 per cent) experience operational inefficiencies caused by siloed software which results in a lack of real-time visibility.
Communications challenges lead to maintenance issues, with 73 per cent of teams being forced into reactive problem-solving on a weekly basis.
A worrying level of compliance gaps, with 44 per cent of admitting that half or less of their compliance tasks are tracked and automated within their systems.
Closing this gap requires the establishment of transparent and consistent communications using affordable software that gives FM teams the ability to track, evidence and improve their services.
This webinar provides a valuable overview of the main findings of the report by askporter followed by a panel discussion by FM thought leaders on practical, strategic solutions that can help close this communications gap.
To register for the webinar taking place 29 January 2026 at 11:00am click here.
