by Brianna Crandall — June 6, 2014—At its annual conference in May, ThinkFM, the British Institute of Facilities Management (BIFM) announced that it will be collaborating with the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD), the U.K. professional body for human resources (HR) and people development, on a number of research and insight projects that will investigate how both communities of professionals are evolving and adapting to the changing workplace.
Peter Cheese, chief executive, CIPD, spoke at the conference on how the workplace impacts on the workforce and why it is vital that those tasked with managing these key resources within organizations need to work together to maximize the value of its workforce. This was followed up by Chris Kane, CEO, BBC Commercial Projects and Chair of BIFM’s Futures Group, who explained how breaking down the silos that exist between the worlds of HR and facilities management can create a truly flexible and agile working environment.
Gareth Tancred, chief executive, BIFM, commented, “There have been numerous conversations about the evolution of the workplace, but we wanted to make sure that the views of these two vital communities of professionals are brought together. We want them to share their thinking and work together to bridge the gap between people and place as we aim to add to the next installment of the workplace’s evolution.
“Working with CIPD forms part of our strategy of bringing the right people from outside of the FM profession to analyze, debate and challenge the latest thinking that impacts on the world of business, the economy and wider society.”
Peter Cheese, chief executive, CIPD, added, “The very nature of work is changing. The unprecedented scale and pace of change in the economy and the world of work means there is a critical need to ensure the ways we work, our workforces and workplace cultures are fit for today, and drive performance and growth for the future. Workforces are more diverse, with greater flexibility demanded on the part of both employers and employees, bringing new challenges and opportunities in workforce planning.
“The physical workplace is one of many factors in modern management and work that needs to adapt, with business leaders needing to continually innovate and challenge conventional wisdom about what drives performance and engagement. That’s why we’re pleased to be working with our colleagues in the facilities management industry to explore the issues, and to find solutions to the challenges they bring.”
The two organizations have a roundtable planned with leading thinkers from both disciplines in the coming weeks as well as a number of community-based discussions that will draw views from both HR and FM professionals on the significant challenges in the changing world of the workplace.
