After the “Trêve des Confiseurs”, which is unfortunately increasingly theoretical in a particularly troubled world, we sincerely hope that the start of the new year is as auspicious as possible for everyone.
It’s also said that the start of a new year is a time for wishing and often making good resolutions. To do so, we need to look beyond the usual verbiage of 2024 with enthusiasm and conviction.
The ambient pressure and challenges are always present - it’s not a calendar change that’s going to revolutionize the world for better or worse - but we need to have the courage, the desire, and the will to put positive things in place and, why not, try out new approaches.
During my career, I’ve learned that the 1st quarter of a calendar year is for reflection, the 2nd for fine-tuning the model and making the final decisions, and the 3rd for applying the measures so that the results come out in the 4th quarter. This approach may be a little simplistic, but it has at least one merit: it forces us to act quickly.
In the field of facility and workspace management, there’s certainly a lot to be done, even if some aspects should already have been planned during the previous quarter:
• Prioritize the year’s activities by focusing on 3 to 5 “hot” issues to be monitored by Top Management.
• Put in place the resources who will be the decision-makers and facilitators.
• Activate the necessary technologies and, if not, implement them as quickly as possible.
• Implement at least one quick-win for the teams to show that there is momentum and change.
• Communicate objectives from the outset and set a framework.
• Listen as soon as you get back from the Christmas vacations: there are often some very good suggestions from team members, sometimes in unexpected ways (“you know what I saw, and thought was great during my vacation at such and such a place…”).
• Take advantage of the start of the year to set up flexible, more dynamic spaces.
• Check facility management data and modify parameters according to previous annual results: with telecommuting, do we have to maintain heating in all premises indiscriminately? etc.
Why deprive us of taking interesting and constructive initiatives when, unlike many business sectors which remain static and unchanging, the workspace and facility management sectors are real mines of proposals and progress.
We wish you an excellent start to 2024.
Happy reading and see you soon.