New FM standard. How a property affects people’s behavior

Technical Committee ISO / TC 267 is actively developing a new standard for Facility Management ISO 41015 / AWI – Facility management influencing behaviors for improved facility outcomes and user experience.

The purpose of the new standard is to demonstrate how the functions of facilitation management can respond to the needs of the organization by building the behavior of people in the building. For companies that have been working with reliable FM organizations for a long time, simply providing technical services is no longer enough. They want to see how managing the operation of the facility improves the user experience, atmosphere, well-being of people, their mood and productivity.

Consider the main tenets that the developers of ISO 41015

According to the new standard, it is extremely important to determine the needs of the organization and the so-called circles of influence and control. These are the goals and areas of work that the FM company can and has the right to influence in accordance with the contract. Also, at the first stage, restrictions are identified, obstacles that the organization facilitates. It is also important to understand the culture of the client enterprise and the relationship with top management in order to correctly build a “influence” strategy.

Since a negative reaction to change is normal behavior for most people, the new standard offers the path of least resistance through process automation. These are building automation and control systems, lighting sensors, water taps with water supply sensors, access systems to buildings through automatic turnstiles, etc. These are technologies that do not require additional actions from building employees, which positively affects their quick adaptation and adoption of changes.

Influence on people through social factors and the subconscious. Researchers of the social behavior of people have long come to the conclusion that the individual behaves according to his environment and copy the behavior of other people around him. In practice, if garbage is scattered around, then leaving your piece of candy paper or a glass of coffee next to it is normal, if the noise level in the building is high, then the staff will automatically speak louder, etc. Thus, clean rooms, building decoration, lighting, temperature inside change people’s behavior and adjust to the way you need to work.

Often, corporate culture involves reducing the negative impact on the environment, promoting a healthy lifestyle among employees. Here you can not do without a direct impact on the staff, which is likely to negatively meet the changes. For such cases, the new standard recommends the development of formalized documents regarding company policies and standards, building a strategy for active and direct communication with people, paying special attention to opinion leaders within the company.

Thus, the new standard describes procedures and recommendations for managing changes in people’s behavior through the daily work of facilitation management companies. Bringing the external and internal structure and systems of the building in line with the goals of the client, to change people’s behavior, improve their productivity and loyalty, is becoming a key task of FM companies around the world.