Recalibrating workplaces for resilience

While several new protocols have been introduced, the most critical element would be the physical workplace itself. How can facility managers shape the future of work in the post-COVID-19 era?

- RASHMI NAICKER

All the workplace ‘trend forecast’ set by industry for the year 2020 has been completely mutated by the Covid-19 pandemic. In a post COVID-19 world, we are already witnessing the emergence of several new scenarios. Experts across the globe predict that there won’t be “a return to normal” for many industry sectors, at least for a while; in particular, for the workplace, travel, retail and hospitality sectors.

It’s expected that we’ll have fewer public touch screens and more voice interfaces and machine vision interfaces. Business travel and daily commuting may decline as we embrace ‘work from home’. Video conferencing and webinars are already a set norm. There will be better monitoring using IoT and Big Data, among other things. So, how does the future look for the FM industry in all this?

Those that embrace change will already have accepted the fact that there will be a ‘new normal’, and will be developing strategies for success. As FM companies look to revise their strategies, it is imperative that they also look at their organisational design to ensure fitness for purpose. Change may well be needed in the categories of people, benefits and rewards, organisational structure, and processes.

Indeed, any change in strategy should trigger a diagnostic review. Many managers try to develop a new strategy but then forget to check whether the organisation is finely tuned to implement it. Fine tuning an FM organisation is not a one-off exercise; it should be built into the organisational DNA.