DATES FOR THE
FM DIARY
18-20 JUNE 2019
www.facilitiesshow.com
01 JULY 2019
RICS Integrated Property Services
Conference
Cavendish Conference Centre, London
rics.org/propertyservices
01-02 JULY 2019
Facilities Management Forum
Hilton Deansgate, Manchester
www.facilitiesmanagementforum.co.uk
11-12 SEPTEMBER 2019
RWM Exhibition
NEC, Birmingham
www.rwmexhibition.com
16-17 SEPTEMBER 2019
IOSH 2019
ICC Birmingham
www.ioshconference.com
17-19 SEPTEMBER 2019
FM Expo
Dubai World Trade Centre, UAE
www.fm-expo.com
08-10 OCTOBER 2019
UK Construction Week 2019
NEC, Birmingham
www.ukconstructionweek.com
16-18 OCTOBER 2019
World Workplace 2019 Conference
Phoenix Convention Center, Arizona, USA
www.worldworkplace.ifma.org
11-15 NOVEMBER 2019
Workplace Week London
www.workplaceweek.com/uk/
london-2019
26-27 NOVEMBER 2019
CIBSE Build2Perform Live 2019
Olympia, London
www.build2perform.co.uk
JUNE 2019 7
If you have any knowledge of FM news from across the
world, please feel free to get in touch with our assistant
editor Sarah O’Beirne at sarah.obeirne@kpmmedia.co.uk
Survey reveals
workplace design is
the greatest asset to
business success
Results from a recent YouGov
survey commissioned by offi ce
design and build company, Oktra,
has highlighted how important the
offi ce environment is to the offi ce
worker.
Research of over 2,000 British
employees across three diff erent
generations found that 43 per cent
believe the design of their workplace
encourages innovation and
creativity – a substantial statistic
to consider, especially for creative
and tech companies. With creatives
frequently drawing inspiration from
their surroundings to develop new
ideas, UK business owners must
reassess their offi ce environments
in order to remain at the forefront
of creativity in their industry.
Furthermore, over a third (36 per
cent) of respondents would be
less likely to take sick days if they
worked in an inspiring workplace.
The research also found an
overwhelming 85 per cent agree that
visitors and clients typically make
a judgement of a business based
on their workplace. While over two
thirds (79 per cent) believe that if
they were looking for a new job,
a well-designed workplace would
make them more inclined to want
the position, providing evidence that
the design of an offi ce is a valuable
and persuasive asset when looking
to both attract top talent and win
potential clients.
Workplace wellbeing has become
a topic that cannot be ignored or
treated as merely a box-ticking
exercise. According to the results,
temperature, lack of natural light
and noise levels are currently
the biggest workplace wellbeing
concerns to British offi ce workers.
Considering a typical day in the
offi ce can range between 7-12
hours, it is undeniable that the
environment in which they
work needs to accommodate and
support their daily requirements
in order to maximise productivity
and wellbeing. A well-designed
workplace with the right lighting,
acoustics and air conditioning can
help resolve some of these issues
aff ecting wellbeing.
GDPR COMPLIANCE
‘SKIN-DEEP’ ON FIRST
ANNIVERSARY
A recent survey of over 1,400 UK SMEs commissioned
by information security specialist, Shred-it, has
revealed a positive understanding and engagement
with the principles of GDPR on its first anniversary but
highlights key areas of concern under the surface.
The findings show that 72 per cent of UK SMEs report
being ‘very aware’ of its requirements. However, 60 per cent
reported that the recent changes to data protection have
had a ‘slight’ or ‘no’ impact on their business, while eight per
cent did not know. The figures highlight a possible cosmetic
understanding of GDPR and key areas of concern around the
more complex aspects of full compliance.
When asked about GDPR readiness nine in 10 rated
themselves as a ‘4’ or ‘5’ out of 5; the main actions taken
were reviewing policies (45 per cent) and emailing customers
for consent (35 per cent). These are considered to be the
lighter ‘front end’ aspects of GDPR compliance according to
Shred-it’s experts.
The survey data showed that one third (32 per cent) of
SMEs reported that GDPR has had a ‘great’ or ‘considerable’
impact on their business. When those businesses that
had experienced challenges with GDPR compliance were
probed further, they cited data breaches and disclosure
requirements as the main challenges, with healthcare (27
per cent) and real estate (25 per cent) the main industries
a¢ ected with those specific areas. Small proportions also
reported issues with subject access requests, again with
healthcare (28 per cent) and real estate (15 per cent) being
the main industries a¢ ected.
Of the 10 per cent that said they were ‘not quite’ or ‘not at
all’ ready, who rated themselves as a ‘1’ to ‘3’ out of 5, 42 per
cent (54 businesses) said they have not been dealing with it;
when asked what was holding them back, their unprompted
reasons were that data protection authorities were ‘only
interested in bigger companies’, it was ‘not applicable to us’,
it was ‘too complicated’, and they were ‘too busy’.
FMJ.CO.UK NEWS & ANALYSIS
/www.facilitiesshow.com
/www.facilitiesmanagementforum.co.uk
/www.rwmexhibition.com
/www.ioshconference.com
/www.fm-expo.com
/www.ukconstructionweek.com
/www.worldworkplace.ifma.org
/london-2019
/www.build2perform.co.uk
link
/propertyservices