The virtual office ‐ putting management ahead of facilities

Flexible working practices are now firmly established in many organisations. Cottaging, hot desking and hotelling using the technology of the 1990s can free up office space, benefit the environment and provide the flexibility demanded by workers today. Analysing and planning are the keys to providing the necessary facilities management support to ensure that flexible working is the most effective way for staff to operate and makes best use of available space. It is not a matter of replacing one rigid system with another but of testing non‐traditional ways of working that may or may not prove more efficient. For facilities managers a working knowledge of front office procedures becomes just as important as their expertise in the back office environment.