FMs at ease with moves and relocations, says PHS Survey

Despite the fact that most office moves happen with less than three months notice and with no formal process to guide them, most are also well managed by FMs and are completed quickly and to budget, according to the 18th PHS Quarterly Facilities Management Survey, which was published in January 2008. Half of the facilities professionals interviewed also said that they couldn't have improved on their last move, suggesting that FMs are comfortable with this regular process.

The Survey, in which 202 facilities managers were interviewed by telephone in October 2007, investigated the role of the FM and others in the planning, management and implementation of office moves; encompassing all types, ranging from whole premises moves to internal or departmental moves within the same building and site closures.

It revealed a good degree of mobility within the UK business community, with well over half of surveyed organisations having moved three times or more in the past three years, and nearly half expecting another move within 6 months.

Respondents were questioned about the most recent moves carried out by their organisations; the most common of which were internal or departmental moves (carried out by 66% of respondents), followed by moves to new premises within the same area (25%). Less than 5% of moves involved a major geographic relocation; while the most popular reasons for moving were expansion (38%) and internal reorganisation (31%).

Encouragingly, nearly half of all respondents (48%) had recycled or reused furniture and other office items internally following their move, while over a third (37%) had used external suppliers for recycling or disposal.

A number of differences emerged between the responses of public and private sector FMs. The private sector moved more frequently, and more often to accommodate business expansion, while the public sector moved more for PHS Group internal reorganisation purposes. The public sector had the edge when it came to planning and organisation though, spending more on hiring suppliers to help (including removal companies, architects and designers), receiving more notice before a move and planning its moves further in advance. Public sector respondents were also more likely to involve the help of a specialist property department.

Peter Cohen, chief executive of the PHS Group plc, comments, "The PHS Quarterly FM Survey was launched for the benefit of our customers, to reveal interesting and relevant facts for Facilities Managers about their industry and about the practices and opinions of their peers. We hope the results of this survey will inform and support the business community in reviewing procedures for moves and relocations."

PHS Group plc
KellyAnne Ralph
Tel: 029 2080 9090
www.phs.co.uk