The Leader - September/October 2008 - (Page 28) th e fu tu r e o f the W o rkp lace : W hat’ s Ne xt I s he re individually as a coherent collaborative foreign and security policy falls by the wayside. ‘Thirst wars’ begin in central and eastern European countries, and the survival of the fittest prevails. The following trends are characteristics of the Dantesque workplace and are listed as follows: n Workplace democracy decreases and hierarchical structures increase in workplaces across the globe as corporations maintain full control in an effort to protect themselves and increase profits n Environmental health hazards that have been found to affect the health of the general population are being detected more and more in the workplace environment and in the working population as workplace health and safety policies are not heeded n Weak employment policies across corporations and nations lead to high unemployment rates and social unrest which endanger stable and sustainable social development n Undemocratic workplaces put making profits first, while putting the interest of the worker last. This has led to a lack of job security, minimum wages, average benefits, no training, and nominal bargaining power n In 2007, there was an excess of highly trained workers, but as the baby boom generation retired, that trend was reversed by decreasing labor force growth and rising illiteracy rates n Most knowledge workers are still working in outdated physical environments which promote hierarchy and status with space and walls n The facilities management sector continues to struggle to support employees working from home, as a seamless n n n support service has not been developed by facilities managers The internet has become affected by a number of debilitating viruses which has left employees unable to work as business continuity plans have not been designed for these attacks Lack of worker’s loyalty leaves corporate goals to the wayside Lack of environmental quality has severely devalued office buildings estaBlIshING GloBal process roles Distinct and potentially separate from the management of a CRE/W capability area (i.e. Transaction Management, Portfolio Management, etc.), global process ownership can be described as a non-operational role focused on policy definition, process development/continuous improvement, and standards delineation. In many CRE/W groups, these process responsibilities are not well managed and only addressed periodically or as required. This fragmented and distributed process approach is indicated in survey results in that nearly 60 percent of the respondents do not have CRE global process owners. In some organizations, policies and processes might not be updated or refreshed for several years, which does not support the continuous improvement mandates that you see at most companies today. By implementing global process roles for CRE/Workplace, organizations can more effectively drive standardization of process across geographies and enable consistent local delivery capabilities. Forward thinking CRE/W organizations will often establish global process roles for strategic planning, transaction management, project management, and facilities management. These process roles can provide growth and leadership opportunities for practitioners that may not yet be in management positions. As the activities associated with a global process role are typically collateral (part-time) duties, the individuals that serve in a global process role capacity are often dedicated to some aspect of day-to-day CRE/W operations. For example, a Regional Lead for Real Estate & Facilities may also be a global process owner for real estate transaction management. In another example, the Director of Capital Projects may also be the global process owner for project management. As CRE/W groups begin to better leverage information technology through the use of integrated workplace management solutions (IWMS), the importance of global process roles will only increase. As processes are technology-enabled and CRE/W groups seek to drive increased efficiency from existing resources, process owner roles will ensure that organizations leverage leading practices and focus on continuous improvement. a Workplace prospectIve In an ideal world, what would the future workplace look like? Following the adage: “the future is not inevitable, we can influence it if we know what we want it to be,” a number of ideas, thoughts and characteristics of a preferred future vision for the workplace have been identified. Respondents to a survey questionnaire and participants in the Futures Workshop recognized them and they are listed as follows: n Every home and office will be equipped with video-conferencing capability 2 0 0 8 th e le aDe r 28 septemBer / octoBer
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