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Simple truth

If your Workplace isn't working, your business can't perform.

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Frustrated?

58% of CEOs say “they need a consultant’s help to improve productivity”.

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Anxious?

56% of CEOs say “employee performance is their highest concern”.

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Uncertain?

51% of CEOs cited “hybrid  working” as their biggest challenge

Want a High Impact Workplace that is Streamlined, Cost Effective, Efficient and that Supports your Strategic Objectives?

Dig deeper

If you want to get ULTRA-CLEAR about YOUR specific strategy, and figure out what you should be doing in your business RIGHT NOW, to leverage your workplace…

Click here and we will share with you…

01
How you could potentially operate your Workplace for free.
02
The 4 biggest mistakes organisations make when it comes to their workplace.
03
The 5 dominant workplace metrics that lead to improved organisational performance.
04
How the productivity potential of your workplace is 30X greater than the costs management usually focus on.
05
The 9 workplace elements that deliver a positive ROI on your workplace.
Dig Deeper...
Creating a Workplace that your people like is a competitive advantage

The results speak for themselves:

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33

%

33% Higher levels of engagement amongst employees

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+

30

%

Employees are 30% more connected to the company's culture

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+

20

%

Employees are on average 20% more productive

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9

%

Employees are 9% less likely to leave the organisation

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What we do

Comprehensive facility and workplace solutions:

Strategic Integrated Workplace & Facilities Management
Implementation of EWM-360 Blueprint
IWFM Reviews and Alignment with Strategy
Business Process Reengeneering
Asset Condition Assessments
Workplace Experience Assessments and Recommendations
Workplace Service Delivery Mobilisation & Implementation
Workplace Service Specifications
Development of Service Level Agreements (SLA's)
Life Cycle Cost (LCC) Assessments & Management
ISO 41001 Global FM Standard Implementaion
IWFM Sourcing Strategies
IBOS Deployment, Implementation & Benchmarking
Deployment & Implementation of Strategic Relationship Management-360 (SRM-360)
Enterprise Asset Management Systems
Computer Aided Facilities Management Systems
Building Information Modelling
Business Continuity Planning
Sustainability Reviews
Safety, Health, Environmental, Quality & Risk Management
Space Utilisation Appraisals
Performance Monitoring & Management
Relocation Management
Why workplace management?

Only 13% of employees are satisfied with their workplace experience.

The Pandemic has changed the way your employees work and poor workplace spaces have disenfranchised employees who don’t want to come back because they have now built a better workspace at home. 

The game has changed and if you want to keep your best people you will need to change too.
You need a workplace better than any other business in your industry, one that will make your people feel like they're working with best leaders and the top companies out there.

WorkplaceFundi will help you achieve a high impact workplace that is streamlined, cost effective, efficient and that is integrated with and fully supports your strategic objectives.

The EWM-360 Blueprint.

EWM-360 Blueprint
Empowering People with Choice.

Empowering employees means giving your employees the freedom to work, where and when they choose and to act accordingly.

Enhancing Place through Experience.

Focussing on  experiential workplace strategies, fosters employee engagement, greater  productivity and talent retention.

Enacting Purpose through Process.

Purpose of organisations, purpose of work, purpose of workplaces all are contemporary topics of deliberation. All are a way to harmonise around something aspirational in elevating organisational cultures to address the pressing imperatives of today.

Empowering People with Choice.

Empowering employees means giving your employees the freedom to work, where and when they choose and to act accordingly.

Enhancing Place through Experience.

Focussing on  experiential workplace strategies, fosters employee engagement, greater  productivity and talent retention.

Enacting Purpose through Process.

Purpose of organisations, purpose of work, purpose of workplaces all are contemporary topics of deliberation. All are a way to harmonise around something aspirational in elevating organisational cultures to address the pressing imperatives of today.

Approach

Easy 5-Step implementation roadmap.

1

Experience.

A deep dive assessment and report on the employees experience both working from home and the workplace. This forms the fundamental base data and insight from which the workplace strategy is formed.
2

Evaluate.

Marry and the assessment against the business, workforce, CRE and the workplace strategies. 
3

Engage.

A performance assessment and The integration of all workplace disciplines for the benefit of all stakeholders.
4

Execute.

Deploy the IBOS standards to deliver operational excellence.
5

Excel.

Managing the workplace and how to measure the metrics that matter most.
Approach

Easy 5-Step implementation roadmap.

1

Experience

A deep dive assessment and report on the employees experience both working from home and the workplace. This forms the fundamental base data and insight from which the workplace strategy is formed.

2

Evaluate

Marry and the assessment against the business, workforce, CRE and the workplace strategies. 

3

Engage

A performance assessment and The integration of all workplace disciplines for the benefit of all stakeholders.

4

Execute

Deploy the IBOS standards to deliver operational excellence.

5

Excel

Managing the workplace and how to measure the metrics that matter most.

#58

Financial Services

Top 20 Global Bank
#48

Professional Services

Top 3 Global Accounting Firm
#34

Commercial

Leading Food Manufacturer
More testimonials...
Izak Van Der Merwe
Systemic co-engineering of Creation into the Universe. Synthesizing identities.

“Andrew is an outgoing, focussed and dedicated team player, aware of the detail and appreciating the strategic challenges. He is never too busy to assist and will also admit when he "doesn't know". Andrew is aware and sensitive for current and relevant issues in his working space. I will run onto the field with Andrew!”

Christian Asslet
Facilities Management AdvisorSol Plaatje University

“Andrew is a passionate industry leader and an enabler of the organisation's value and strategy. Andrew's ability matched with sound judgment, and communication skills enable him to formulate compelling and innovative solutions and lead others through difficult change management initiatives in the built environment.”

Daniel De Wet, CMgr, FCMI
Head of Estates Systems & Data Department for Work and Pensions

“Frequently working together on Strategic projects, I have found Andrew's vast industry knowledge, industry network and Strategic views indispensable. Not only did this have a profound impact on projects and initiatives delivered but it also impacted me personally and helped me grow personally and professionally. “

John Boehler
Managing Executive at Vancegro hospitality

“Awesome operator-will work with him anywhere”

Frequently Asked Questions.

Will EWM-360 reduce my real estate costs?

The short answer is Yes this is a real opportunity to reset your expensive real estate costs. In a time of economic turmoil, there will be an understandable tendency to further slash already anorexic budgets. In many organisations, where the management of workplace is seen as ‘non-core’ these activities are typically perceived to be less valuable than core activities.  

This makes them a more likely target for economy-focused challenges and cost-cutting. There will be recriminations and much weeping and gnashing of teeth but, the reality is that we need to shift the focus and rhetoric from the economic downturn, junk status and job losses, to proactively managing the transition to new ways of working.

Progressive organisations equally will want to retain what has until now been the unmeasurable value add benefit of those expensive properties in reinforcing brand values, corporate culture, creativity, collaboration, and innovation and recognise that creating and managing amazing workplaces means their people can do amazing work to start growing the business again. This is not about aesthetics alone it’s about improving their business performance, employee experience and brand value.

So, smart organisations invest in their people, technology and workspace. For these organisations’ workplace is core to what they are about.It is the tension between costs and value that sits at the heart of the plans you will need to formulate to make the most of this workplace opportunity. These disruptive forces require organisations to change rapidly. Infrastructure and workplace services need to be agile and adaptable to that change. Only if we are focussed on achieving this, will we find the opportunity to emerge economically stronger, as individuals, as organisations, and as nations.

Whose responsible for the workplace?

As the CEO, if you were to ask this question of your Board what would be the response? Perhaps more poignantly, who would respond? Who is responsible for the workplace? Is it Corporate Real Estate? Finance? FM?, HR? or even IT?

In truth, all of these disciplines can all lay claim to managing a part of the workplace that is critical. But, we advocate, that unless the CEO delegates overall responsibility for the Workplace to one person the workplace will remain in a permanent state of disarray and you will lose the potential benefit the current Workplace revolution promises.More recently other more progressive companies are beginning to see their workplace as an organisational and competitive advantage enabler. Accordingly technology and human capital are rising to equal importance. This is facilitating a healthier change in reporting lines to HR or IT.

A Workplace team lead with a direct reporting line to the Chief Executive Officer is preferable. This role acts as a super-connector to removes obstacles, foster collaboration and oversees an environment in which peer-to-peer information sharing, collaboration and production can occur. They will need to engender a ‘one team’ approach across all disciplines and to empower the Workplace team to act as integrators, not just facilitatorsThe companies that have executed on this intent and that are learning from their employees about their workplace needs are showing marked improvement in employee engagement, productivity, effectiveness and competitive advantage and perhaps the most telling, customer satisfaction.

In almost all the organisations I consult with there is  a fragmented approach to workplace strategy and the reporting lines of those responsible for the workplace. In my experience, most in-house facility and workplace teams report into the Chief Financial Officer (CFO) or the Chief Operating Officer (COO). Perhaps unintentionally this almost guarantees a cost-driven approach where utilisation rates and cost per metre squared are the metrics by which the teams are measured. 

How do we maximise the commercial potential of our workplaces?

Considering the cost impact of the workplace, it is puzzling that there has up till now been little or no assessment done on its effect on the commercial impact of organisations with little or no connection having been made about the vital contribution of the workplace as a performance inhibitor or facilitator. 

However, progressive organisations recognise that creating and managing amazing workplaces means their people can do amazing work to start growing the business again. This is not about aesthetics alone it’s about improving their business performance, employee experience and brand value.

So, smart organisations invest in their people, technology and workspace. For these organisations’ workplace is core to what they are about.The centrality of workplace to individual and organisational activity means that the workplace strategy is important at an organisational level because it can, amongst other things, be used to project an organisation’s purpose and brand, boost productivity, attract and retain talent as well as initiate and support change.

Smart dynamic businesses have long recognised the importance of delivering a differentiated and engaging experience for their customers particularly in the service sector. Why then have we not applied the same philosophy to creating memorable employee experiences in our own backyard?

How do I get people back to the office?

Forward-thinking organisations will need to articulate a revised workplace strategy now. Alignment with what will unquestionably be a new set of challenges will not be achieved by ‘carrying on regardless’.

The remote working experiment that was being conducted in some organisations will now become a pre-requisite for those workers that we’re able to operate successfully from outside the workplace during lockdown. This has undoubtedly accelerated the take up of remote working but there will be a significant and permanent transition to more of the same where this is feasible. Organisations will need to invest in technology to meet the needs of their home-working employees to maximise the likely benefits in reducing real estate costs.

There will need to be a shift in attitudes and workplace culture to support this, but the rigidity of an office only based environment simply won’t be viable or excusable.Organisations will also need to deal with the economic shock from the prolonged period of lockdown and this will likely mean a complex and challenging cocktail of less staff, more space, more services, higher costs and less flexibility.

How do we increase productivity in the workplace?

The  ‘productivity’ debate within the knowledge work environment is the subject most likely to fuel vociferous discussions amongst workplace professionals. When only 53% of employees agree “that their Workplace allows them to work productively AND 30 % of employees actively disagree!, Business leaders should be highly concerned with productivity and with performance.

This is reflected in the predictive Index Annual CEO Benchmarking report in 2021 which said that:

58% of CEO's say they needs a consultant’s help to improve productivity.
56% of CEO's say employee performance is their highest high concern.
51% of CEO's cited employees “working well remotely” as their biggest challenge

There is no all-encompassing panacea for the workplace productivity debate but why with employees representing 90% of an organisation’s cost base, would businesses not be driven to invest financially & intellectually in ensuring that their working environment will optimise employee performance?

This is why the first stage of our process does a deep dive into understanding clearly which factors will directly and positively affect measuring how effective workplace environment design and management contributes to employees performing at their peak. The most influential and successful companies in the world utilise the workplace strategy as a tool for competitive advantage.

They acknowledge that workplace is high on their business agenda. It is a way of enabling their people to deliver their best contribution to their organisations every day, inspired by their experience, supported in their work endeavours and unencumbered by failures in services or systems.

Want to know more?

Your questions answered.

Is your workplace Future Ready?

Leaders Workplace Assessment.

1. Non-Experiential
2. Emergent Organization
3. Engaged, Empowered or Enabled
4. Pre-Experiential Organization
5. Experiential Organization
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
  • 1 – Non-Experiential

  • 2 – Emerging

  • 3 – Engaged, Enabled or experienced

  • 4 – Pre-Experiential

  • 5 – Experiential

This Leaders assessment measures how well your organisation invests in the experiences of their people, measuring over 3 scientifically proved areas:

Empower People with Choice - Empowering employees is important for growing a sustainable business. True growth is the product of multiple people working together compounding organisational strength and capabilities.

Enhance Place through Experience - Expectations for a satisfying, productive experience are higher than ever. EWM-360 is the response to these expectations, providing a more nuanced approach to the overall workplace experience.

Enact Purpose through process - A purposeful workplace conveys a regard for corporate social responsibility, the environment, health, and wellness, and diversity, equity, and inclusion.

The WorkplaceFundi Leaders Assessment tool looks at the most important variables across these domains. These variables include the factors that matter most to employees and those that can be used as data inputs into a model that can determine the likely return on your financial investment in the Workplace, in terms of organisational improvement, individual productivity, employee wellbeing absenteeism, talent attraction and retention.

Go on give it a spin and see where your workplace is on the path to an Experiential Workplace.

About

Who we are.

Andrew Mason is the WorkplaceFundi.

WorkplaceFundi, was founded in 2015. The word ‘fundi’ is believed to derive from the Nguni word ‘umfundisi’, meaning ‘teacher’.

Andrew has been ‘teaching’ organisations across a range of disciplines how to grow their businesses, with significant success by making workplaces into super-catalysts of productivity.

Having worked with an astonishing range of clients and guiding them to harness and leverage the power of their workplace to spur growth and attract and retain talent, Andrew is a true fundi of ‘Putting Productivity in Place’.

The story of how a UK-born wannabe-architect got to be known by an Nguni name is one worth hearing…

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