THE FACILITIES EVENT 2018 EXPERT DISCUSSION: THE PRODUCTIVITY PUZZLE Research shows that the workplace plays a key role in improving employee


engagement and productivity. With the UK currently experiencing some of the lowest productivity rates in the G7, speakers for The Facilities Event gathered to explore how FM can boost the bottom line and become a strategic partner to UK Plc.


making use of the WELL standard report a 30% increase in productivity and 76% level of employee satisfaction.


As the Confederation of British Industry (CBI) calls for a productivity boost to be the number one priority for business and the government, and The


Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) adding that only by investing in organisational infrastructure can the productivity puzzle be solved, where lies the


biggest opportunity for FM to contribute productivity through the workplace?


C-J Green, CEO of Servest UK, believes that worker health, wellbeing and productivity are at the top of the tree: “FM service providers exist, so customers can focus on core business activity and that’s why we do what we do. We’re there to take away the headaches! A happy and healthy workforce is an engaged and, therefore, productive workforce – so, working directly with your teams and your staff allows for the greatest improvement and contribution of productivity.”


Currently, more than 130m working days are lost to sickness absence every year in Britain and working-age ill health costs the economy £100bn a year. This is something Oliver Heath, sustainable architecture and interior design expert, sees as a defining issue: “Health and wellbeing is becoming more and more highly publicised in a world where the majority of us spend almost 90% of our lives indoors, very often at work.”


Organisations such as the International WELL Building Institute (IWBI) have started to address these issues via their WELL Building Standard which prioritises health and wellbeing within the built environment. Their careful consideration of human-centred design within both new- builds and refurbishments has been shown to have a positive impact on issues such as absenteeism as well as staff turnover with some projects reporting a 50% drop in absenteeism and 27% drop in staff turnover. Other projects


26 | TOMORROW’S FM


Oliver believes new design strategies form part of the puzzle. He said: “Biophilic design in the workplace has been shown to increase productivity by 15%, increase creativity, improve staff retention and crucially reduce absenteeism and presenteeism, potentially saving businesses thousands of pounds.


“Biophilic design acknowledges that we are instinctively connected to nature and that through exploring this connection within the spaces that we live, relax and work in, we can positively influence our physical and psychological health,” added Oliver.


Geoff Prudence, Chairman, Property, FM & Building Services Groups, believes a greater focus should be placed upon the value of workspace. He said: “Many elements such as operational cost lighting and building services and its impact on production through sensors/ technology, can be proven now, so FMs can make a real impact here. However, as leaders, we are also responsible for the emotional environment, not just the physical environment. So, what a better opportunity for some Real Leadership principles to make that change!”


“More than 130m working days are lost to sickness


absence every year in Britain and working-age health costs the economy £100bn a year.”


As the built environment makes leaps and bounds towards smart buildings and cities, Henry Mossop, Senior Business Developer at Proxyclick, said ‘proptech’ is an exciting area where FMs can make significant improvements to workplace productivity: “With the advent of the cloud and Internet of Things, technology now brings together access control, CRM and meeting room management which in turn, makes face-to-face meeting scenarios streamlined and far more productive.”


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