EDI TOR’S NOTE CONTACTS
Editorial Editor Ryan Lloyd
ryan@opusbm.co.uk
Advertising Account Director Clare Gapp
clare@opusbm.co.uk
Sales Executive Megan Nourse
megan@opusbm.co.uk
Sales Executive Storm Little
storm@opusbm.co.uk
Production Production Director Hannah Wilkinson
hannah@opusbm.co.uk
Designer Nigel Rice
nigel@opusbm.co.uk
Designer Daniel Etheridge
daniel@opusbm.co.uk
CEO Mark Hanson
mark@opusbm.co.uk
When January 2020 was earmarked as the month everything would change in the UK, most businesses were studiously looking towards Britain’s departure from the EU on 31st January after three-and-a-half years of filibuster and delay. Arguably the most divisive political project for the last half a century was to move onto the next phase, the transition period, and organisations of all sizes would have 11 months to prepare themselves for whatever “oven-ready” Brexit deal the Government had lined up.
EDITOR’S NOTE
The month did however have something else in store. Just two days before the official exit from the European Union, the first case of coronavirus (COVID-19) found itself on the shores of Blighty. By the last Friday in February (28th) the virus had sadly taken its first British victim and the global stock markets would witness the end of their worst week since the 2008 financial crash. Three days later, a SAGE (Scientific Advice Group for Emergencies) document suggested it was highly likely there was sustained community transmission of COVID-19 throughout the country.
On 23rd March, Boris Johnson ordered a nationwide lockdown; everyone, unless they were a designated key worker, must remain in their homes to in order to stop the NHS being overwhelmed. In less than two months, the novel coronavirus had sent shockwaves around the world; upended normality the likes of which had not been seen since the 1940s; and transformed society into an inconceivable plain of dystopian fiction.
As one early 20th century political theorist put it: “There are decades where nothing happens; and there are weeks where decades happen.” Forced to think on their feet, businesses have, over the past three months, adopted remote working practices that would have taken years to implement in normal circumstances.
This enforced experiment has placed many FMs front and centre of their organisations, ensuring the strategic deployment of whatever resources employees needed to work from home on an industrial scale, whilst simultaneously preparing the workplace for their eventual return.
At the time of writing, the country is beginning to take its first tentative steps towards adapting to a series of new variables and challenges. The sheer scale of the task facing the industry is not to be underestimated. Every part of the workplace must be risk-assessed, with new measures previously not even on the agenda leaping to the top of the ‘to-do’ list in order to mitigate future outbreaks.
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This goes far beyond ensuring two-metres social distancing and regular cleaning (although both remain imperative), it intersects with every part of the workplace, from ensuring the resilience of the supply chain and installing as many touch-free devices as possible to monitoring break- room usage and decommissioning desks in high-capacity areas. In many ways, the very culture of organisations will have to change, as the responsibility for the health, safety and wellbeing of employees rests on the willingness of others to maintain the strictest of hygiene practices. It will inevitably fall to both HR and FM to instil these expectations into the company.
Sofie Hooper, Head of Policy at the Institute of Workplace and Facilities Management (IWFM), explained in a webinar recently how she had seen a much wider recognition of the value of facilities management including frontline workers, such as cleaners and security staff, in light of the pandemic. But with this, these frontline roles would see much greater accountability over the coming years as people come to expect more of them and the wider role they play in organisations.
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In the last TFM Yearbook, I wrote about how, “widespread adoption of innovative and cutting- edge technology that enhances working practices will be key to seeing the FM industry through a transitional phase… how it steers itself through the range of cultural, technological and sociological changes, particularly in a time of political and economic uncertainty, will define its position over the coming decades.” I think this point is as pertinent as ever, but given its versatility, determination and resolve in the face of this unprecedented crisis, 2020 marks the year that, in the eyes of many, the facilities management industry came of age.
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www.tomorrowsfm.com Ryan Lloyd, Editor
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