Editor's Viewpoint

Singing your praises

1st December 2015

Change is a fundamental theme in FM, a constant feature in both practice and discussion. Change in contracts and providers, change in the services themselves or how they are provided, change in work or the workplace.... Change is FM's middle name.

An empathic workplace

18th November 2015

In 1950, computer scientist and mathematician Alan Turing - the protagonist in 2014 biopic The Imitation Game - devised a test that would seek to answer one big question: can a machine think?

A living wage?

2nd November 2015

Sunday 1st November marked the beginning of Living Wage Week, a special week organised by the Living Wage Foundation to celebrate the 14-year-old initiative and its signatories.

Working your brand

29th October 2015

After a couple of decades in and around FM you might think I'd be used to it, but I am not. Every time we look at brand perceptions I am surprised by the competition, by the numbers involved and by the diverse views on who the market leaders are.

Awards with legs

30th September 2015

FM awards season is upon us, with the BIFM celebration due in October and the PFM bash following on in November. Those are the two big ones, and they always leave me with the same feeling: are they enough?

Facilities or workplace?

21st September 2015

A growing contingent of FM professionals is championing a transition to the term 'workplace'. At the nucleus of their argument is a belief that this more accurately reflects the discipline as it exists today and would accord it greater respect.

Brands talk, and people listen

26th August 2015

'Brand' is one of those ideas that can seem a bit too trendy for their own good. Of course this particular concept means something in the fast-paced and increasingly global commercial world; but what's it got to do with real life?

Where's the proof?

16th July 2015

I am a marketer's dream. In the two minutes I wait for a Northern Line train to reach the platform at London Bridge Station, I will have meticulously dissected every poster in my view.

Power to the people

30th June 2015

In recent months we've seen frequent declarations that FM is about people, not buildings. True, but this isn't news: FM has always been about people.

Confidence breeds success

29th May 2015

Gaining in confidence is key if facilities management hopes to overcome many of the longstanding challenges that have blighted its development.

Can FM save us from the end of the world?

22nd April 2015

If facilities management is to have a stake in our future, what role can the profession play in shaping the world we will come to live in?

What does FM want?

31st March 2015

An impending general election is an easy and obvious hook. Cue journalists from every sector to prepare new feature articles and comment pieces: 'what does [insert industry name] want from a new government?'.

Business Confidence Monitor: why you should join in

23rd February 2015

Confidence across the UK economy generally has fallen recently as businesses become more cautious about their prospects in the year ahead. Does that trend apply to the FM sector, too? It would be good to know.

Brave New Workplace

20th February 2015

The future of working will be defined by the convergence between people, workplace and the mass of data this produces.

Changing times

28th January 2015

So, Brookfield is setting out to conquer the global facilities management market. This is significant news: for one thing, it is evidence of just how grown-up FM now is as a business sector.

Shattering glass ceilings

20th January 2015

The WIFM Conference has always had a penchant for empowerment. In its third year the event did not disappoint, bringing together a range of speakers to discuss some of the keys to overcoming adversity.

What now for the BFG?

7th January 2015

For many, the announcement that the CSSA had decided to reverse its merger into the Building Futures Group will have come as a complete shock.

Changing of the seasons

19th December 2014

The season of excess is almost upon us, but before we are permitted to give in to gluttony, it would be useful to reflect on the past 12 months.

Issues, trends, challenges and questions

28th November 2014

In these times of change there’s a lot of truth in the notion that if you’re not moving forward, you’re moving backward. So how hard should facilities management work to shape its own future?

A framework for dreamers

19th November 2014

Has an organisation so well versed in the intangible finally produced a tangible outcome? Simon Iatrou looks back at Workplace Week 2014.

Brand rankings: should you care?

31st October 2014

The honest answer is no. But also yes: you should know how your business is perceived in the marketplace by both customers and competitors.

FM celebrates two of its stars

17th October 2014

The BIFM Awards 2014 were more than a celebration of facilities management; they were also a celebration of two people who had a profound impact on the profession and made a huge contribution to its overall progression.

Looking younger

1st October 2014

The more conspiratorial amongst us have always seen a streak of competition in FM, specifically in the jockeying for position and influence that may (or may not) be going on between various industry bodies.