A workplace service to assist facilities teams within organisations. Addressing issues and concerns in relation to how the office environment works, supports and enhances the workforce and the business.

1. June 2011 workplace support facilities management

2. workplace facilities The demands and pressure from the global economy are affecting the way the office environment performs. New markets, competition and technology are changing the demand streams from users and organisations. The workplace has to respond to support and optimise these operational developments. This is reflected in comments from the BFIM survey at the “Total Workplace Management Exhibition” in London on the 6th and 7th October 2010: “...the majority of businesses value the contribution of the workplace in supporting organisational development...” “...a great many understand that an improvement in the quality of a workplace can have a positive impact on the outputs and productivity of those it houses.”

3. workplace balance The survey conducted by the BIFM at the “Total Workplace Management Exhibition” in London highlights the complexities for facilities management teams: “Businesses are quite obviously looking at ways to reduce expenditure on office space. But compressing occupant densities and or dispersing teams with remote or flexible working strategies bring with it new challenges in terms of infrastructures and workplace design.” “...they expect a range of other spaces that they can seek out to support their varying work...it is patently no longer acceptable to throw in some unallocated desks to a plan and refer to them as “hot” or “hotelling” desks and think your dispersed teams will be catered for.”

4. workplace support Working with the facilities team, we can provide measures to improve the work environment support of existing operational practices. Using a common sense approach to develop frameworks which enhance the performance of the office space in an effective and efficient way. “CRE/FM departments and their strategic partners can’t just foist fewer desks and less space onto business units. They first have to prove that all the space isn’t being used all the time...” (20.4.10 CoreNet Global summit).

6. the allocation, distribution and utilisation of the workplace in a more effective and efficient way.

7. aligning the work environment to the work practices, both current and future (based on a needs evaluation and utilisation evidence).

8. the potential of the work environment as a catalyst to increase savings and improve workforce performance.

9. gaining a better understanding of the demand on the work environment; ensuring the workforce’s expectations are managed.

11. ensuring the office environment is the right size, with the right settings, for the organisation and the workforce (current and forecasted).

12. developing an environment which is based on operational measures, processes and needs.

13. assisting in workplace decision making which generates focus using evidence based insights.

14. demonstrating current work practice support and then future potential through alternative working models.

15. engaging the workforce and user groups in the process – involving and owning any transformation.

16. assessing the potential to gain further workplace benefits through new working practices (scenario work-styles).

17. reducing energy consumption from reduced quantity of office space and use.

20. space per section/setting.

21. resources.

22. user location.

23. current work practices.

24. existing workplace use.

25. existing work-settings.

26. evaluate workplace use.

27. evaluate work-settings.

28. workplace potential.

29. alignment to users.

30. alignment to organisation.

31. use of the workplace.

32. activities and functions.

34. work place observations – workflow.

35. existing adjacencies and proximities.

36. existing area allocated to different work-settings.

37. existing area distributed to different organisational processes/departments/teams.

38. how the existing work environment is used, from desks to cafe’.

39. workforce engagement, finding out how staff perceive the work environment supports their activities:

40. user satisfaction with the workplace.

41. users perception of the workplace.

42. users time undertaking activities and functions.

44. whether there is too much space, what is needed current and future.

45. how the workforce uses the work environments.

46. whether it supports the work activities and functions.

47. if there are workplace barriers.

48. how all the work-settings and spaces perform.

49. if the meeting booking system supports the work practices.

50. work-style development – more gains through new working practices.

52. workplace distribution.

53. workplace utilisation.

54. user satisfaction.

55. workplace questionnaire.

56. outcome evaluation.

58. workplace distribution This shows how the current work environment is distributed to the various sections of the workforce. It can be used to determine the needs for each section/team and how the workplace is use to support current work practices.

59. workplace utilisation Finding out how the work environment is used provides valuable information about what is working and what is not. It can be used to develop different work settings which increase both workplace and workforce performance. This can be tested and modelled prior to detailed space planning or architectural work; or it can be used to support a business case for transformation aligned to the way the organisation works.

60. workplace user satisfaction Involving and engaging the workforce can provide innovative and constructive ways the work environment can improve user ability to undertake tasks and activities. It can uncover interesting perceptions and issues; some of which can easily be rectified, others which may impose greater challenges.

61. workplace questionnaire Another mode of involving information from the workforce is through surveys, where statements can be used to measure positive and negative aspects of the workplace support. This can be interrelated to the quantitative measures to provide a rounded view of the current people/workplace relationship and offer an understanding of where workplace change can improve performance, or whether it is user or cultural transformation which is needed.

63. where redistribution and reallocation of the work environment is necessary to support current operational processes.

64. how workforce perceptions can be tackled and prioritised.

65. where the existing work environment requires to alter to enhance the current work practices (including workforce inputs).

66. how the work-settings should be formed to engage with existing work practices and operational workflow.

67. where there is room for further development of the work environment based on current work practices and what this could imply – further space reduction, more work-settings, matching more of the workforce expectations.

68. examine the implications and modelling of new ways of working based on the existing utilisation figures to determine if this would be a route for the organisation in the future.This provides the facilities department with insights of how the current work environment could be transformed to rationalise property, improve its performance and align to current work practices.

69. understanding Measures and information are the methods employed to assess the relationship between the people and the property. By setting up base-line measures an overall programme can be formatted to determine the level of data necessary to create a business case and a framework. This will provide information about the level of workforce transformation which can be immediately developed, and the level which may result in user resistance and barriers.

71. the distribution of the office environment to operational use (departments) and the areas designated to this use.

72. the utilisation of the office environment, whether the existing work-settings are used and for what purpose.This provides a measured status of the current work environment supporting the current work practices, and can be used to view the mismatches, the barriers, the issues and the inefficiencies.

75. workflow (internal and external users).

76. document management and use – storage practices supporting existing/future work practices.The information is compared, contrasted, checked, and integrated with facilities objectives and organisational aspirations to generate a “rounded” understanding of current workplace performance.

77. contact Would you like to know more about workplace support for facilities management? Contact: Rory Cochrane BA Msc E: rorycochrane@btinternet.com M: 07768 870890