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William Rub
william.rub@ifma.org
713-623-4362

IFMA Foundation Survey Identifies Top 10 Industry Trends

Houston, June 7, 2004 - Budget issues and cost reduction mandates are foremost on the minds of facility managers and have the biggest impact on maintaining the workplace, according to a new survey conducted by the IFMA Foundation in February and March, 2004.

When asked to identify the top 10 issues and trends they will face in the next year 15.3 percent of respondents ranked budget constraints as the number one factor affecting quality FM strategies and workplace solutions, while another 15.26 percent indicated cost reductions rank a very close second. Security and safety issues ranked third at 9.9 percent, while speed (related to change and the ability to get projects completed) ranked fourth with 9.42 percent.

Technology integration (9.33 percent), unpredictable events (8.98 percent), flexibility (8.72 percent), complexity of business issues (7.89 percent), culture and behavior issues (7.75 percent) and growth (7.46 percent) rounded out the balance of the top 10.

“The intent of the survey was to identify critical issues facing facility managers in order to help the Foundation prioritize its efforts,” said IFMA Foundation Chair Audrey Kaplan. “It is hoped that this new insight also will influence other providers of information on FM and that the survey will be repeated annually.”

The survey, created by the IFMA Foundation’s Knowledge Management Committee, was issued Feb. 23 and ended March 5, with 16,379 potential respondents invited, via e-mail, to participate. Of those, 1,464 answered questions online.

A full report detailing the findings and the underlying drivers behind these trends are available here.

Established in 1990 as a non-profit 501(c)(3) corporation, the IFMA Foundation is the only institution specifically designed to identify, fund and promote education and research for the advancement of facility management. Funded by individual members, chapters, councils and corporate sponsors, the Foundation’s ongoing commitment is to provide research reports, educational tools and student scholarships to advance the facility management profession and public understanding of it.