Editor's Viewpoint
The challenges of being in FM
I was recently asked for my views on the greatest challenges that face the facilities management sector over the next few years. How long have you got, I thought.
Which is the strongest FM brand?
Formed by philosopher John Locke in the 17th century and developed by the existentialists nearly 300 years later, there is a powerful school of thought that says what we perceive to be reality is, in fact, our own subjective construction of the world.
Getting involved
FM is a busy place: it would be easy to find yourself with too much to do. But there are three opportunities that you should consider adding to your action list over the next few weeks.
A brave new world
Speaking at the Rising FMs' Careers Day in Central Saint Martins College, BIFM CEO Gareth Tancred told the audience that the world was changing at an ever-increasing rate.
Where next in the FM journey?
Like all business disciplines, facilities management is a great place for connoisseurs of buzzwords. My favourite at the moment is 'convergence'.
Oh, to be a Brazilian facilities manager
At 9pm (GMT time) on Thursday 12th June, as the Brazilian national football team began its campaign to win the 2014 World Cup on home soil, an entire planet stopped, held a collective breath and fixed its gaze upon Sao Paulo.
FM and the workplace
What exactly is the relationship between FM and the workplace? Is it limited to the services provided? Does it extend to furniture, space planning, design? What about the 'softer' issues of comfort, morale and productivity?
Thinking FM
The BIFM's annual conference, held earlier this week, clearly goes down as a success. In addition to the praise currently swirling through the industry, though, there are inevitably a few concerns arising from the event.
Bold claims – but can they be backed up?
The BFG says facilities management is one of the fastest growing professions in the UK. i-FM takes issue with this statement.
Influencing the market
The Public Accounts Committee report on the outsourcing of government services, published in mid-March, drew little interest in the FM sector: surprising, since this could lead to some big changes in policies and procedures.
Back to school
Simon Iatrou recently paid a visit to an all-girls secondary school in southeast London to see a group of FM women speak with girls who are soon to embark on the next important chapter of their young lives.
Do we all need to lighten up a little?
We sometimes wonder if the FM industry isn’t, in some ways and at some times, its own worst enemy.
Listen Up, Speak Up
It's surprising how much of what comes across our desks is fundamentally about communication.
Getting the message across
MITIE's recently published report on its research looking at the future of facilities management makes a series of good points; perhaps more than are at first apparent.
Making innovation work
Interserve's latest FM market research study has turned up some intriguing facts about client priorities in outsourcing, not least the much talked about issue of innovation.
FM events: what turns you on?
With so many events on the FM calendar, figuring out which ones you should attend can be a real challenge. David Emanuel explains why it might be good to step outside of your comfort zone.
Learning to love social media
It seems a bit unnecessary to even point it out, but we are in the midst of a communication revolution. Having turned over our personal lives, social media has rampaged through the business world. And it certainly won’t leave FM untouched.
Turning Point
Research findings we reported earlier this month suggesting that many clients might not fully trust or feel much loyalty to their FM service providers drew a range of reaction, from agreement to rejection.
Journey Planner
We hear a lot about the ultimate objectives of FM: reduced costs, streamlined supply chains, improved performance against KPIs. But we hear less about a critical angle on this: the process of getting to those objectives.
A Unified Voice Proves Elusive
Our recent survey looking at what FM practitioners think of the institute and association merger plans identified considerable differences of opinion on almost every point involved.
Word on the Street
i-FM is taking to the streets of London to see how well the average office worker knows facilities management.
Stories of Success
Following on an interesting debate at RICS early in the summer, it was clear we had near-universal agreement that the FM sector has a long way to go in convincing the wider business community what it can deliver.
Brand Management
Elliott Chase expounds on the value of 'brand' and how this applies to the facilities management sector.
What makes an FM leader?
As summer finally arrives in the UK, its FM community has been turning up the heat on the issue of leadership.
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