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To help prepare the facility management profession for the future, IFMA periodically conducts a trend forecasting network with a panel of industry experts to identify emerging trends. Following the workshop, IFMA conducted a broader industry scan, including literature searches, other IFMA research, and trends gleaned from IFMA members and industry conferences throughout the year. All of this material was then sorted, prioritized and distilled into this report.
The specific objectives of this study were to:
- Provide insights to help IFMA maintain its leadership position regarding the future of the profession;
- Identify how IFMA can help prepare members for the most relevant issues anticipated in the future;
- Understand the changes that facility managers will face in the future;
- Assess what skill sets facility managers will need to stay competitive;
- Recommend what facility managers should do to position themselves for changing industry trends in the years ahead.
Executive Summary
Globally, the profession of facility management continues to mature and evolve in many facets. Facility managers today are expected to understand their company’s core business and contribute to the bottom line—not only by reducing facility costs, but also by improving the productivity, revenue generating capacity and image of the entire organization. Evolving trends indicate that FM professionals have greater opportunity to add value to their organizations through efficient management, improved technology, and strategic planning.
It is up to the facility management profession to ensure that we are all performing at a level that will meet or exceed these expectations. The 2010 IFMA forecasting retreat highlighted the many challenges and opportunities that await the FM professional in the coming years. Some of the key topics discussed have been identified in previous IFMA forecast reports, and continue to be as relevant today as in the last decade, sometimes with a new emphasis. Though the topics discussed throughout the workshop are interwoven, they have been organized into three categories:
- Externally-driven trends,
- Internally-driven trends, and
- Organizationally-driven trends.
| Table of Contents |
| Understanding the Future of Facility Management | 1 |
About the Study
| 1 |
| Objectives | 2 |
| Executive Summary | 2 |
| Findings and Forecasts | 5 |
| Externally-driven Trends | 10 |
| Internally-driven Trends | 12 |
| Organizationally-driven Trends | 16 |
| Appendix: Panelist Workshop Topics | 24 |
Exploring the Current Trends and Future Outlook for Facility Management