Overview
The IWFM Market Outlook 2023 survey findings will be published on 2 May, providing a ‘state of nation’ report for the workplace and facilities management sector, including vital insights into the market’s performance over the past year, the profession’s expectations for the coming year, and IWFM’s thinking on navigating the main challenges impacting FMs today.
The new report reveals answers to some of today's biggest questions. How worried are FM leaders about the state of the UK economy? What adjustments are companies making to strategies for the coming year? Are sustainability and EDI plans being shelved as a result of the slowdown? Where are the opportunities in today's FM market and how do you exploit them?
Join us as our panel discusses key findings from the report, their implications, ideas for navigating the sector’s key challenges, and advice on where IWFM can provide support.
Your panel for this episode:
Jenny Thomas (host): Director of Communication and Insight, IWFM.
Sofie Hooper: Head of Policy and Research, IWFM.
Stuart Rutherford: Senior Research Manager, IWFM.
Mark Whittaker: Chair, IWFM; General Manager and Consultant, Thomson FM.
Speakers
Sofie Hooper
Sofie Hooper leads on the IWFM’s wider policy and public affairs work, helping to raise the voice of the Institute, its members and the wider workplace and facilities management sector. She engages with stakeholders to ensure best practice is taken on board and concerns affecting workplace and facilities professionals are mitigated.
Covering a wide range of activities and areas, sustainability, workplace and building safety form the core agenda. Sofie has been leading on IWFM’s Building Safety Manager work programme, feeding into the legislative process towards the Building Safety Bill. She provided the Secretariat for the Competence Steering Group’s Working Group 8, which developed the Building Safety Managers competence framework.
In addition to being the co-author of the Group’s report, Safer people, safer homes: Building Safety Management, she is a regular contributor to Facilitate. Building on WG8’s recommendations, Sofie is a part of the Interim Executive of the Building Safety Alliance, a cross sector collaboration which is working to improve holistic building safety competence across the occupation phase. She is also a part of the Steering Committee for the DLUCH sponsored PAS 8673, which is setting the competence specification for Building Safety Managers.
Stuart Rutherford
Stuart Rutherford is the Senior Research Manager at IWFM, supporting efforts to drive insight and change within the profession.
He has spent the last 20 years working as a researcher and thought leadership content creator, including five years at Rentokil Initial, where he oversaw research and priority projects across multiple FM service streams and geographics.
Before joining the IWFM, Stuart led Grant Thornton International’s flagship research programme into mid-market businesses in 28 countries across a range of topic areas, including sustainability.
Jenny Thomas
Jenny has led on IWFM’s Marketing Communications strategy since 2018, helping to define, shape the Institute’s vision and mission and amplify its voice.
She has over fifteen years’ experience developing and delivering insight-led strategic communications campaigns, change management initiatives and stakeholder engagement strategies both in Whitehall and professional body environments.
