With the pace of change in the public sector, estates professionals must stay ahead of the curve to reimagine the estate. Whether it’s supporting hybrid working or enabling data insights, estates teams need to step up to create the right conditions for next-generation services.
In partnership with GovNews, Concerto hosted a webinar on futureproofing the public sector estate.
In this post, you’ll discover highlights from the webinar including insights from expert speakers and practical strategies to futureproof workspaces.
Estates 2.0
The Estates 2.0 webinar took place on the 11th of December, bringing together public sector leaders and NHS professionals to share insights and learnings on the future of the estate.
The event featured an expert panel, a Q&A and a practical demo of Concerto. Panellists included Xavier Nuñez, Smart Place Digital Innovation Lead at Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole Council, Tim Peake, Senior Property Analyst at UK Parliament, Michael Sullivan, Deputy Head of Estates for Fire Safety & Compliance at St George’s University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, and Matt Hickley, Business Development Manager at Bellrock.
The webinar covered three topics:
- Blue-Sky Thinking
Dealing with here-and-now problems can get in the way of strategic thinking. Focusing on the bigger picture of future possibilities and emerging trends helps leaders go from being stuck in the details to blue-sky thinking.
- Smarter Spaces
The new wave of smart buildings enables a shift to predictive and proactive management. New technologies such as generative AI and sensors are helping to reduce the administrative burden and streamline facilities management.
- The Data Edge
Harnessing the power of data is not just about the frontline, but the back-office too. Bringing estates data together can elevate experiences, streamline operations and drive strategic decision-making.
It’s not about tech for tech’s sake
Often digital transformation is held up as an end in itself. But it’s not about tech for tech’s sake. Revisiting an organisation’s purpose and business goals is a crucial first step. Whether that’s helping to enhance staff experience or modernising public-facing services, it’s about leveraging technology to support, enable and accelerate organisational goals.
A clear use case can help ensure that leaders from across the organisations can come together with a common purpose. Understanding the target cohort and the anticipated benefits helps to keep everyone on track.
Working with the business
Ultimately, it’s about estates leaders working with the business to reshape spaces for the future. There’s no one-size-fits-all. For UK Parliament, for example, its purpose is to enable democracy. MPs have specific needs about how they use space which don’t necessarily fit with accepted wisdom about modern open-plan spaces. That’s why it’s important to get to the heart of what the business needs and work backwards from there.
Managing cultural change is an often overlooked aspect of estates management. Engaging with staff is key. While creating collaborative, open-plan spaces may on the surface modernise the estate, that setup may not work for a team that requires quiet spaces for focused work.
People must be confident that any proposed change will benefit them and not simply be a money-saving exercise. Often, it’s a balancing act. The business may look to save space and rationalise the estate, but that needs to be weighed against the potential impact on staff experience and retention.
Making hybrid work
Hybrid working is an example of a strategic driver for change that requires careful change management. In the wake of the pandemic, attitudes to the workplace have fundamentally shifted. It’s important to understand staff hesitations and concerns about hybrid to address them. It’s not necessarily about focusing narrowly on square metres utilised, but creating spaces where teams are happy and productive. Estates leaders can work with teams to re-engineer spaces to reflect the changing condition of work. While issues like long-term leases can be a barrier to change, leaders can think now about what is needed so they don’t get caught out when their contracts are up for renewal.
From reactive to predictive
In a world where public services are stretched and demand is rising, it’s easy to get stuck in firefighting. But leaders must break away from being reactive and start being predictive. This is the only way estates professionals can stay ahead of the curve in a rapidly evolving environment.
In the housing sector, for example, Awaab’s Law is set to bring in new responsibilities to protect tenants from mould and damp. Currently, many organisations identify and address issues using stop condition surveys, resident reports, and staff visits. But all of these are reactive. Instead, a shift is required to detect patterns and predict when and where damp and mould are likely to become issues. This requires a fundamental shift from offline data to real-time data, enabling meaningful proactive decisions.
Data-driven public services
But if you don’t have the right data coming in, you’ll be unlikely to find meaningful solutions. Harnessing powerful insights from data requires leaders to shape up their systems. Now is the time to take stock of what is currently collected and reimagine what would be useful and how those data flows could work. In some cases, it might be that data is being collected that is surplus to requirements and not being acted on. Getting clarity about the data you collect now and what would be useful in the future is key.
Leveraging smart buildings
Getting the right data helps build solid foundations for smart buildings. Forward-thinking public sector leaders should have leveraging tech like sensors and the Internet of Things on their radar. Our panellists had innovations in the pipeline such as Wi-Fi based sensor systems in office spaces. This is new and emerging territory for public services. Sharing learning with peers and looking at best practices can help to shape and refine plans. This kind of technology requires investment. Leaders need to model how solutions help save money on running costs so they can be assured they are sustainable.
Securing sustainability
Sustainability is another top priority for estates leaders. To move the dial, leaders need to integrate sustainability into their pipeline prioritisation processes so it’s not considered an afterthought. This might mean considering options to refurbish existing property rather than building from new as a default.
Energy use is another major consideration. Forward-thinking leaders are already looking into the possibility of alternative approaches. For example, that could look like building distributed systems of heat pumps or a centralised energy centre. This is unchartered territory in the UK but there is much to learn from Scandinavian countries leading the way on green energy. Of course, this kind of major infrastructure requires investment. Leaders must consider infrastructure renewal and factor it into plans now to secure long-term sustainability.
Data-driven decision making
As part of the webinar, Matt Hickley, Business Development Manager at Bellrock gave a demo of the Concerto Integrated Workplace Management System (IWMS). He shared insights about how other public sector leaders use it to take a strategic view of their estate, driving enhanced experience and generating efficiencies.
See the bigger picture with Concerto
Concerto is the UK’s leading CAFM and estates management system. Built by FM geeks who loved playing with Lego as a kid, the software is modular, meaning you can pick the parts of the system that best match your needs.
Winner of two PFM awards for Experts in Partnership, Concerto is trusted by clients including NHS England, HMRC, the University of Oxford, the London Fire Brigade, and many more.
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