It seems clear that the old nine-to-five, five days a week is now a thing of the past.
Previous demands on Facilities Management (FM) focused on how to keep a workplace running during the height of a pandemic, like implementing one-way systems, desk layouts, spot cleaning and hand sanitisation stations. Now, the emphasis is on how the workplace needs to adapt to accommodate new ways of working.
Most organisations are considering terms like hybrid model, flexi-working, and alternating shift-patterns when thinking about the future of their workplace. The question is, have the requirements for these adjustments been incorporated into your FM strategy and reviewed by your FM team?
Staff may only need to come into the office for specific meetings, team events, collaboration with colleagues or even just to use the photocopier. Many organisations are considering extended office opening hours, weekend availability, or even 24/7 access to allow these interactions to happen.
From an FM perspective, these dramatic changes to the working dynamic need to be reviewed. It’s not just about the obvious considerations such as the impact on cleaning regimes and HVAC settings. Strategic FM should use this sea-change shift in working arrangements as an opportunity to carry out a bottom-up review of all services and how they best-meet the needs of the business and the occupiers of the building.
For example, what will be the knock-on impact of managing facilities for: travel plans, car parking, access systems, security and reception arrangements, room booking systems, catering provisions, energy consumption and carbon reduction strategies, business continuity and disaster recovery plans, H&S procedures, fire evacuation plans, maintenance strategies, and cleaning regimes. These are just some of the factors to consider in your FM strategy as we head into the future workplace.
