Alternative Workplace Solutions (AWS) Continue to Evolve

There are many reasons why the shift to Alternative Workplace Solutions (AWS) continues to develop momentum, not the least of which is a confluence of environmental factors.  We are simultaneously experiencing fundamental shifts in different dimensions, each of which in its own right would have caused change.  The fact that a significant generational change in the workforce is occurring at the same time as near-cataclysmic economic change presents unique challenges and opportunities.  Organizations all over the world are adapting to these realities.  How well they do may determine their eventual success or failure.

Clearly there is no “one size fits all” workplace solution.  Each organization must understand itself at a deep level and engage in a thoughtful exercise to determine the optimal solution given its unique set of circumstances.   This is not to be under appreciated.  Too many companies lean too heavily on outsiders.  They may be subject matter experts in design, workplace strategies and the like, but they are not subject matter experts in you.  Only you can fill that role.  Using outside consultants correctly will be an essential part of successful workplace transition, using them incorrectly will be part of failure.

The Scale and Speed of Workplace Change

A common theme I hear is that the speed of life in general and business in particular has increased to the point it is difficult to keep up with.  Don’t expect that to change - ever.  The rate of technological change will continue to increase.  As it does its implications to workplace and personal technology will increase, including the increasing merge of the two dimensions.

Technology changes and continuing globalization will continue to drive new workplace strategies.  Already we see organizations spreading their global reach while at the same time reducing their footprint.  Both of these strategies influence the workplace in fundamental ways requiring increased attention to corporate and societal culture.  Making culture transition a key part of your change management process is a critical step in promoting acceptance. 

We hear and see a lot about alternative workplace solutions in technology companies.  Often these are characterized as being more open, less private, having higher collaborative qualities and leveraging technology.  All well and good.  But not every company fits that profile.  In these cases it is especially crucial that FM practice leaders focus on the details of business processes, communication systems, naturally occurring culture shifts, and how these can be managed and leveraged.  Not all alternative workplace solutions will result in dramatic “new world” makeovers of space, but all of them will result in multi-dimensional change which must first be anticipated, channeled, and finally implemented with great care.  Alternative workplace projects are not to be taken lightly.

A Growing Tension Between Real Estate and Technology Change

While real estate and technology are often supportive strategies to each other, they have much different life cycles, and both represent large investments.  Real estate decisions typically have life cycles measured in decades while technology changes every three to five years.  This fact alone sets up ongoing tension as the two evolve over their separate time lines but must be managed in tandem with each other.

When either approaches a point of change then the tension between the two increases.   A real estate strategy to increase density and collaboration (often characteristics of alternative workplace projects) is likely to require increased technology investment.  A real estate strategy decision may allow downsizing or redeployment of space but depends upon technology for successful implementation.  The risk of fast moving technology changes obsoleting real estate strategy is real, making integrated planning between the two functions more important now than ever before.   Increasing real estate agility through portfolio balance helps to dampen investment risk, with the benefits of easing and speeding investment decisions.  One way of increasing agility is to increase the ratio and vary the life of lease space in the portfolio, but this too comes with a set of compromises that must be balanced and accommodated.

At the bottom line alternative workplace solutions are an increasingly important tool in the FM/CRE toolkit.  But they must be customized to each unique set of circumstances, environment and culture to be successful.  They must anticipate and support the nuances of your organization and are thus more likely to succeed when implemented by those who best know the organization, its goals, challenges and culture.

Using the Balanced Scorecard to Improve Strategic Alignment

The building blocks of strategic alignment; business strategy, FM strategy, organizational infrastructure and processes and FM infrastructure and processes, combine with strategic fit and functional integration to act as the foundation upon which real alignment is built.  While understanding this conceptual base is necessary, it is only the base.  Strategic alignment is an ongoing process and can sometimes be hard to discern, given its conceptual nature.  That is where the balanced scorecard comes in, providing a way to measure FM strategies and outcomes in a way that is clear, relevant to the business, and actionable.

A balanced scorecard measures four dimensions; financial, customer, internal processes, and innovation/learning.  This broad view of the business, as opposed to a traditional financial or operational metrics only view, provides a deeper perspective of current operating performance and future performance drivers.  Because of this broad view perspective, the balanced scorecard is best viewed as a management system, not a performance indicator.

To build a successful balanced scorecard for FM organizations you must address each of the four dimensions.

• Financial Perspective:  How is FM maximizing shareholder value?
• Customer Perspective:  How is FM performing in ways that matter most to its customers?
• Internal Process Perspective:  What are the factors needed to build strategic capabilities and efficiencies?
• Innovation and Learning Perspective:  What are the knowledge, skills, and systems needed to sustain continual improvement?

You can see how these four dimensions act upon each other.  Learning, for example, supports continuous improvement of internal processes which in turn results in higher customer focus and satisfaction.  By linking the four dimensions of the FM balanced scorecard to enterprise strategy FM’s help align their unit strategy with the overall strategy of the business.

This linkage to enterprise strategy is critical.  Many FM’s have balanced scorecards that are FM centric, focused primarily on traditional FM metrics.  While this may indeed indicate how well your operation is performing in relation to broad based FM benchmarking metrics, it may do little to illustrate how your FM department is supporting or hampering the overall goals of your specific business. 

And that is the point, isn’t it?  Understanding how FM relates to your overall business, how you can provide positive support to the enterprise, how you can leverage FM to the benefit of your business are all good things to do. 

In today’s business world being able to demonstrate value and leverage are two critical elements of success.  Those who do these well are at a strategic advantage.  They can explain FM value and importance in specific business-centric terms, they demonstrate attention to improving customer outcomes, they learn and innovate to the benefit of the enterprise.  In doing all of this they act as thought leaders, anticipating and fulfilling the needs of their organizations, aligning FM with the enterprise at strategic and operational levels.

Is that you?  Does it sound like your FM group?

It should.

IFMA Releases Trends and Outlook Forecast

Last summer I was privileged to participate with a group of invited panelists at IFMA HQ in Houston, Texas.  Our topic of discussion was identifying and understanding current and emerging FM trends.  IFMA recently published the findings of this working group.  Kudos to Shari Epstein (IFMA), and Kurt Neubek, AIA and Joanna Yaghooti, AIA, both of Page Southerland Page LLP.  They have done an excellent job of organizing and condensing the material from the two day conference.

You undoubtedly are not surprised that Sustainability is listed as the top trend in today's FM world.  But, there are others to be sure.  Here is a quick listing of the Top 10, according to the assembled panel.

1. Sustainability
2. Complex Building Technology
3. Economic Recession and the Aging Building Stock
4. Preparedness
5. Quantity and Complexity of FM Data
6. Finding Top Talent
7. Elevating the FM Profession
8. Evolving Skill Set and Business Acumen
9. Enhancing Workplace Productivity
10. Changing Workplace

Visit http://www.ifma.org/events/fm-news-articles/05032011-fm-trends.htm to see a summary of the report and order your own copy. 

Relationship Management Is Key to Strategic Business Alignment

When working to strengthen FM strategic alignment with the business do not overlook the importance of a strong relationship management program.  “Program” implies that this effort is intentional, as it should be.  Too many FM’s make the mistake of concentrating solely on the immediate project or task and do not pay enough attention to purposefully managing stakeholder relationships.  Relationship management, however, is a critical element of FM success, especially at the leadership level.

• A close relationship between functional leadership and customers ranked fourth among enablers that help increase strategic alignment.  (Luftman and Brier)

• Conversely, lack of a close relationship ranked first out of fourteen identified alignment inhibitors. (Luftman and Brier)

• Business executives repeatedly downplayed the value of formal organizational structure, but frequently emphasized the critical role of relationships in achieving strategic alignment. (Chan)

The best relationship management programs are not only intentional but also multi-level.  Peer-to-peer communication occurs on a routine frequency at all levels of the organization, informing the alignment process up and down the FM chain.

While it is beneficial that these interactions occur at all levels it is most important that exchanges at the business unit and executive levels be especially well tuned.  This is where the most important information resides and where FM has an opportunity to learn the most about stakeholder issues, plans and initiatives.  With this knowledge FM leaders can be proactive with projects and services in a manner that best supports core business outcomes.  That is, after all, what alignment is about.

At the strategic level executives will want to be intentional about maintaining contacts and a pattern of communication which shares information.  These conversations take many forms, some of them of a more informal nature.

At the tactical level there are many ways to increase the alignment dialogue.  One common methodology is to designate specific Customer Relationship Managers to interact with their counterparts or senior executives in business units.  Often this takes the form of a zone management program in which building specific information and projects  are shared, but it need not be that tactical.  If it is, the strategic dialogue should be a specific touch point as well.

Alignment, however, is not a one way street.  While FM may be seeking to align its strategies and operations with core business strategies this process also informs stakeholders about FM’s capabilities, forward leaning attitude and willingness to be a true partner in the business, not just a “call me when you need me” service provider.  It is a critical difference.  The more business stakeholders accept FM as a full partner in the enterprise then the more leverage FM can apply to positive effect.

Aligning FM with Enterprise Strategy – What Works?

Aligning functional operations and strategy with enterprise strategy first requires correctly understanding what alignment is.  I think the best practical definition I’ve run across is from Y.E. Chan who says,

“Alignment is best described not as a uni-dimensional phenomenon but as a superset of multiple, simultaneous component alignments that bring together an organization’s structure, strategy, and culture at multiple levels, with all their inherent demands.”

Multi-dimensionsal, simultaneous, and I would add, ongoing alignments.  Sounds like a messy process and it sometimes can be.  But there are a number of tactics that will help to make the alignment process successful.

A top down approach with a clear focus on business strategy is essential.   The changes required during serious alignment projects often require top-down motivation to overcome inertia and turf issues.  Senior executives are closer to enterprise strategy and have the ability to exert influence across the organization, and the ability to fund technology and other initiatives. 

The alignment framework must be strategy driven.  It’s all about consistently applying the same key strategies across the organization in a manner that maximizes adoption, market reach and shareholder value.  If the framework is focused on non-strategy issues then the lack of a unifying driver can present obstacles that stymie the effort. 

Operational metrics and customer satisfaction help to drive alignment initiatives.  Metrics to the rescue, again.  It’s hard to align something that you do not clearly see or understand.  Correctly quantifying operations and customer satisfaction provides a way to measure alignment gaps and prioritize projects based on expected benefit and importance to successive alignment initiatives.

Adopt continuous improvement and six sigma as alignment tools.   Hopefully you have already been using continuous improvement and six sigma protocols to optimize your own processes.  Alignment initiatives present the opportunity to take this to the next step, expanding the boundaries around your processes to include outside functions in which there is an important relationship in either direction.

Revisit mission statements to assure relevance and alignment.  It may sound obvious (because it is) but many organizations have not aligned their mission statements to be complimentary of each other.  If these statements are indeed the pointer on your compass to success, then different parts of the organization are moving in different directions at different speeds and with different levels of concern.  Making sure that mission statements express common values and outcomes all the way down the line helps everyone keep their eyes on the same goals.

Make alignment important to everyone.  You think it is now?  Maybe.  Making alignment a reportable element that influences performance reviews and compensation will guarantee it gets the attention you want it to get.