The model for facility management is evolving.
Peter Ankerstjerne of ISS, a facility management services firm based in Europe, observed that the industry’s focus shifted from inputs to outputs and now is arriving at outcomes, reported gtm.
Building owners and operators desire tangible and beneficial outcomes from service providers rather than simply focusing on fixed outcomes and prices. In the case of an office building, this means delivering a space that is productive, compelling and makes great work from the occupants possible.
In another indication of the move towards outcomes, energy management vendors are emphasizing their capacity to offer “facility optimization” capabilities.
For example, top analyst firm Verdantix, noted that a “a new category of software is rapidly coalescing as vendors from multiple segments launch propositions to enhance the financial and operational performance of building portfolios. The prime objective is to link data about facility-level performance on multiple dimensions with financial optimization across the entire building portfolio.”
The greater attention to outcomes for facility management will become clearer in the future, as firms such as WeWork keep expanding. Productivity of workers will become a key metric. However, this begs two questions.
- What techniques can buildings use to help occupants become more productive?
- What do these changes imply for buildings owners, operators occupants, and vendors?
Many reports have examined the productivity of employees in offices. Some have looked at factors such as temperature, air quality, employee interactions, and design. Additional studies have looked into how these effect the happiness of employees, a factor linked directly to productivity and retention. These revealed that greater temperature control, better air quality and more interactions were all positive factors in performance.