Category: Human Resources

COVID Highlights Importance of Agile and Activity-Based Working Models

For the past two years, workplaces have had to quickly adapt to the global pandemic, forcing them to utilize facilities management principles of agile working, activity-based working, or a combination of the two. These principles were discussed by Tony Mayfield, the keynote speaker for the recent “Facilities Management Now: An Online Educational Experience Virtual Summit.” […]

5-Step Checklist: How to Improve Facilities Management for Better Customer Service

Customer service is a tricky thing. Excellent customer service is even trickier. The facilities management (FM) function is complex and multi-dimensional, and can encompass both external and internal parties impacted by or using the facilities. Expectations from different customers can vary greatly. For example, the requirements of vendors or suppliers who may occasionally visit a […]

Cleanliness Tops Return-to-Work Priorities for Both Vaccinated and Unvaccinated Employees

With COVID-19 cases surging and the fear of contracting the next highly transmissible contagion widespread, American workers are placing a renewed emphasis on cleaning, according to a new survey by the Cleaning Coalition of America. The survey finds that U.S. workers increasingly value enhanced cleaning of the workplace and feel safer seeing professional cleaners on site—a […]

What Facility Managers Need to Know About Hybrid Workspaces

As with the concept of remote work, hybrid work may have already existed before COVID-19, but the pandemic took the idea of hybrid workplaces to the next level. Forced government lockdowns, social distancing, and other measures ensured that hybrid ways of working became more accepted and normative across many industry sectors. As such, the trend […]

Implementing a Vaccine Passport Reader Application to Help Businesses Enforce Health Security Protocols

Recent tracking finds around seven out of 10 Americans have received at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine. Furthermore, Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research shows that around six out of 10 remote workers support vaccine requirements to gain entry into places like high-rise workplaces or other such business centers. So, how can […]

OSHA Won’t Enforce Vaccine Rule While 6th Circuit Weighs Consolidated Challenges

After the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) issued an emergency temporary standard (ETS) on mandatory COVID-19 vaccines on November 4, 2021, a number of lawsuits were filed challenging the agency’s ability to enforce the rule. After the U.S. 5th Circuit Court of Appeals stayed the cases (or put them on hold), the 6th Circuit […]

What Makes a Successful Facilities Manager: Core Traits and Skills

Facilities management is a diverse, exciting industry for the capable individual. It’s also an exciting time to be in the facilities management industry. Why? Think growth. In 2020, the U.S. facilities management market was valued at $40.41 billion, with a forecast market value of $81.49 billion by 2026, according to Mordor Intelligence. That equates to […]

13 Questions and Answers About OSHA’s New COVID-19 Vaccination Standard

Here is the skinny on the Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s (OSHA) much-anticipated emergency temporary standard (ETS) on COVID-19 vaccinations for large employers. Released on November 4, the policy requirements take effect December 5 and must be fully implemented by January 4, 2022. What Large Employers Need to Know Who is covered? The ETS covers all […]

What Does Legalized Marijuana Mean for Workplace Safety?

The National Safety Council, a major U.S. nonprofit safety advocate, released results of a survey conducted as part of an ongoing effort to assess the risks of cannabis in the workplace, and the group said the results are clear: Employers must do more to educate and protect their workers. The survey, conducted between April and […]

Vax Mandate, Not Lax Mandate: Security Considerations for Vaccine Mandate Compliance

Despite rising COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations driven by the delta variant, executive leaders are pushing toward a post-pandemic return-to-work model that puts employees in the office at least two days a week. HR and IT/security professionals have been feeling squeezed between a rock and a hard place trying to meet workforce health, safety, technology, data […]