It is certainly a challenging time for facilities managers. With Covid still in the background there is massive pressure to maintain high standards of health and safety, let alone the physical environment. There are multitude of roles that must be covered. However, it should not be a surprise to see facilities managers use this lockdown to their benefit. For example, this could be the time to re-examine their premises and office design, ensuring they are ready to hit the ground running when the lockdown ends. A revaluation of this nature may also allow them to discover areas where they can reduce excess facilities capacity. Or perhaps they will go further and completely re-design their office space to cater for this new breed of remote workforce, improving the agility of their organisation and the employee and customer experience.
Employees have had no choice but to work from home. Surveys suggest that many of them have felt more productive working like this, however the return to the workplace is inevitable. One of the challenges is managing this transition back into the workplace.
To be proactive in supporting a return to work, the Sustainable Facilities Management Index (SFMI) has set out a three-point plan:
Restart: The report recommends facility managers take responsibility for implementing new hygiene and social distancing measures. Where employees will adopt new ways of carrying out their work – which may include some days continuing to work from home – managers should assist with forming these new habits.
Reset: Increased homeworking has accelerated the digitisation of working practices. To future-proof businesses, facility managers should consider further digitisation of their processes, particularly on supply-chains. Also, opting for local contracts may better-support sustainability. Carbon-emissions from home working should also be included in future sustainability monitoring.
Reinvent: The report recommends managers give attention to supporting resilience and wellbeing using people-centric services. Where unemployment is rising, managers could assist with social mobility and getting people back into work. Strengthened partnerships between providers and clients is also noted as a positive result of a challenging period.
Immediate Implications
There will be increased costs because of a higher demand for Soft FM skills such as cleaning, security and front of house. The economic downturn also means there is going to be a new candidate pool available who, with limited training, could complement additional requirements in Soft FM.
The future looks like…
Increased costs will be the result of greater demands on Soft FM employees. Moreover, the long-term contracts held between FM companies and clients may cause contractual issues in light of the new way of working. This will need resolving and a level of operational flexibility added to ensure safe operations. Naturally, the increased cost is ultimately likely to reach the consumer in one way or another. However, it may be possible to mitigate some costs through:
Technology that reduces human contact such as video meetings, interviews and through tracking attendance i.e. no signing into buildings or exchanging hard copy timesheets.
Reduced building use could conversely lead to a reduction in Hard FM expenditure such as building maintenance and furniture, fixtures and equipment costs.
The coronavirus has the potential to shift working patterns altogether. Companies that have been forced to embrace remote working may find that some of their employees wish to continue home-working once closures are lifted. Indeed, if this crisis proves that people are able to do their jobs productively at home, why should they bother coming back to the office at all? It is important to remember that work is what you do, not where you are.
In summing up, it is likely that Covid will make the FM industry an even more attractive proposition than what it was prior to the pandemic. Humans have a desire to demonstrate care and responsibility. The crucial role played by FMs across the UK throughout the past few months cannot be ignored or forgotten, and nor should it. With that said, it is likely we will witness an increasing number of people seeking roles within the industry as and when employers are ready to hire again.
It’s important that facility managers use this time to explore trends and best practices that may become standards in the future - support for a blended workforce or socially-distant floor plan concepts, for example. The workplace continues to evolve during and post the coronavirus pandemic - it’s up to facility managers to evolve right alongside it. Now is the paramount time to have the right facilities managers on the bus. People who can adjust, learn and adapt to these unprecedented times and beyond.
Moorcroft have worked with some of the biggest companies in the FM sector. We don’t just want to work with you, we want to understand your culture, your ambition and what kind of people fit your company. How do we do this? Well, we talk to real people and build real relationships. Technology is vital to all our work. However, it is no substitute for picking up the phone. This is what we do and our skill lies in identifying the right people – we pride ourselves on it! We have a proven track record and we strive to work with the best people for each project.
If you have a recruitment requirement, please contact Simon Moorcroft in the first instance.
Email: simon@moorcroftconsulting.com
Website: www.moorcroftconsulting.com
Twitter: @MoorcroftRec
