resource centre
Space Planning: Moving into the Space Age
Source: www.fmxmagazine.co.uk
As rising commercial property prices continue to increase pressure on UK companies, Franck Crosnier suggests ways facilities managers can help
We’re all aware that houses in the UK have continued to soar in value, but what has been less well publicised is that the commercial property sector has also enjoyed a boom. Figures from the Investment Property Databank show that commercial property has produced average annual returns of 15 per cent over the past five years, well ahead of any other asset class. Now many companies are feeling the pinch. Recent years have seen a spate of relocations out of London to cheaper areas of the UK, or even abroad to locations including Eastern Europe, as businesses seek to reduce overheads and benefit from cheaper property and skilled labour costs.
Property is rarely as central to companies’ strategies as it should be, despite being often the second highest cost to businesses after staff wages. The average annual cost of operating a workstation in the UK is £6,422, including rent, fit-out, utilities, FM and rates. This figure excludes IT, which adds another £6,000 per station. It is worth noting that this national average masks the fact that it is in general 33 per cent more expensive in London – and the average cost in the West End (without IT) is a staggering £14,778.
Counting the cost
So what can companies do to make savings? Although many forward-thinking businesses involve FMs in such decision-making, all too often their expertise is overlooked. In these days of rising costs, it is more crucial than ever that facilities management plays a pivotal role in making genuine savings, while providing a suitable environment for staff.
Every aspect of the total occupancy cost (TOC) of a business can be challenged, and FMs implementing a smarter approach can certainly increase companies’ efficiency. Hard FM, covering buildings and assets, accounts for 20 per cent of the TOC, so an expert plan from the FM to refocus maintenance and allocate the right amount of resources to each asset will help to prioritise capital expenditure.
Management costs typically amount to two per cent of the TOC, but this is an area where costs should be driven down carefully because this is where the value resides. Adopting a truly integrated FM solution rather than separate contracts with individual suppliers is possibly the best way for companies to enjoy improved performance, alignment of objectives and save the cost of ‘man marking’ – the duplication of FMs and their client operatives monitoring each other’s work.
Expenditure on soft FM can only be prioritised through a smart approach – we have a duty to pay decent wages to cleaning, security, reception staff, and so on. Also, soft services contribute to the well-being of building users’ staff and help to maximise companies’ revenue stream. Synchronising FM services to avoid duplications of management and effort is one smart approach. Taylor Woodrow’s strategic alliance partnership (SAP) encourages sharing of knowledge, skilled labour and technology, all directed towards providing an improved customer service and better value for the client.
As energy prices increase, the cost of utilities at five per cent is not only an escalating cost but one which is a key CSR (corporate social responsibility) issue for companies seeking to drive environmental and social improvements. FMs are in an ideal position to instigate energy efficiency improvements to generate significant savings. The remaining 60 per cent of the TOC is often seen to be a fixed cost – the combination of rent, rates and the annualised cost of fit-out and moves and changes – allowing for 10 square metres of internal space traditionally allocated per person.
Strategic Space Planning
One area where FMs can make a real difference is through challenging the actual need for space and releasing surplus space through a combination of initiatives to change work styles. This strategic approach is then supported by tactical ways of optimising space utilisation at the same time as encouraging and supporting staff to work from home or share desks, for instance.
It is shocking but true that in most cases, between 40 and 60 per cent of a company’s total workspace is empty at any time. But before any new framework or working practices are suggested, detailed occupancy surveys can detect when, where and how a space is utilised. Space is traditionally granted by seniority, with higher-ranked staff being allocated a bigger area of the office than junior employees. It can also be allocated by need – where detailed surveys of spatial needs of specific roles are required, or by teams or departments.
Improving the efficiency of the workspace must go hand-in-hand with maximising the business contribution from staff. A happy workforce is more likely to be a productive one, and improving the staff experience is a crucial element to space planning. The proximity of the FM team within the business is essential to ensure that changes are well communicated to staff, and to have the ‘buy in’ of new working practices. Underused space could, perhaps, be used to introduce further break-out areas, or staff facilities, like a gymnasium, canteen or mixed-use retail area to bring in extra revenue.
Working practices are also changing. Employees are using the traditional workspace less, so it’s imperative that FMs enable flexibility by assessing requirements and implementing cost-effective solutions. One way businesses can release expensive wasted space is to facilitate the growing trend towards flexible working. According to recent statistics, 28 per cent of companies now offer home working, a 12 per cent increase since 1998. The National Office for Statistics also reports that average working hours are now down to 31.9 per week as part-time working increases.
The successful implementation of a flexible working environment involves enabling the right people to work in this way, and the management of staff and movement. FM services can assist companies through diary management via a helpdesk or reception, and managing services such as travel, parking and cancellations.
Appropriate space provision combines ‘bookable’ and flexible ‘non-bookable’ areas. Bookable areas include assigned desks – workspace permanently allocated to a person or job function; hot-desks – workspace reserved on a first-call basis and dedicated to a specific person or role; and meeting rooms assigned on a first-call basis. FMs can manage the reservation service via a helpdesk or reception. Non-bookable areas might comprise a mixture of booths for short-term quiet use, confidential phone calls or one-to-one meetings; break-out areas for informal group working and impromptu discussions when a meeting room is not necessary; and touch-down areas to allow visitors briefly to gain network or internet access.
Businesses must also provide the right services to enable efficient flexible working patterns, including home-worker support. These include reception and visitor management; audiovisual and technical support; catering; cleaning; post and courier; printing, copying and stationery. There may also be the potential for a concierge service, dependent on the scale of hot-desking operations.
Dedicated IT provision for all staff is key to maximising efficiencies. Installing wi-fi systems and, where possible, supplying staff with laptops rather than PCs encourages movement and flexibility of workspace usage. Careful planning of structured cabling systems will greatly improve connectivity to data, IT, phone and control systems, and also decrease disruption when relocating work stations. Reviewing the filing and data storage procedures of a business will also free up expensive space by eradicating duplication, prioritising document storage lengths, enhancing security, improving accessibility and encouraging paperless office practices.
IT is also crucial to space optimisation in a wider sense; efficient communication between customer stakeholders, space planners, the project delivery team and supply chain can be achieved through all parties having access to a central system throughout the project lifespan. Taylor Woodrow’s specialist Technology Centre team has developed a web-based project collaboration tool combined with a standard method of information control that allows us to publish and share graphical models and information in a fixed format for co-ordination of space planning and project delivery activities. During refurbishment or new-build projects, the FM team should feed into the CAD and architect teams to maximise the benefit of 3D modelling and reduce the possibility of problems occurring later.
Companies who have used the expertise of FMs to optimise workspace and have embraced modern working practices such as flexible working are already reaping the rewards. As well as reducing the total occupancy cost of property, such improvements are also believed to enhance employees’ work/life balance. The Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development sees a significant correlation between flexi-work and staff motivation, which translates into real benefits in terms of performance and retention.
Further information
Franck Crosnier is customer director at Taylor Woodrow Facilities Management.
