Each of us is employed to improve the effectiveness of our company in one way or another - whether it be in increasing sales revenue, making the administration or finance function more effective, improving the output of a production line, or in the case of facilities managers, to facilitate the efficient working of their company's three main assets: people, buildings and technology.

The traditional UK view of the role of office furniture in an organisation has been historically based on two main requirements; firstly to keep the paper off the floor, and secondly it is sometimes used to reflect the correct corporate image - be it in the boardroom, the reception area or the MD's office.

In the past, office furniture was often the last significant purchase made, or budget allocated, when a company was refurbishing or moving premises. In many cases, once the reception, boardroom and directors offices were budgeted for, the back offices were regarded as secondary. Often general office furniture was purchased with cost as the significant criteria, on a unit cost per head budget and the immediate operational needs of the organisation were met. Staff had desks to work at, and the areas where visitors were welcomed reflected an appropriate corporate image.

What has changed? Any facilities manager will tell you that the role and its implications on purchasing have changed enormously over the last decade. Expectations for better working environments and more demanding legislation added to the fast development of technology applications challenge a facilities manager more today than ever before.

The rising cost of space is having huge impact on every organisation's need to make their premises more cost-effective, resulting in most organisations significantly increasing capacity within their existing buildings, reducing desktop sizes, introducing more effective practices to reduce paper, be it through using off-site archival storage, storing scanned documents or using better technology to improve communication and cut down on the use of paper.

The cost of space is second only to salaries. Today's cost of recruiting, training and retaining staff is at an all-time high. Many large organisations are now focused heavily on the retention of staff and providing a pleasing, effective and efficient ,working environment  can often be a key influencer.

Fully adjustable desk frame, suitable for every size
Downtime in large organisations is becoming more and more of a problem as the reliance on technology is growing and in addition, the structure of larger organisations and the fast-paced industries in which many of them operate mean that churn rates are often as high as 30 per cent per annum or above. This has significant cost and productivity implications for any organisation and facilities managers are often reliant on outside agencies to carry out moves outside normal working hours and paying premiums as a result.

Advances in technology have also been significant in changing working practices in UK offices. The paperless office never arrived as we had all been told, but e-communication has changed the way we all work and has an obvious impact on the working environment. Flat screen technology has allowed many of us to reduce our desking sizes and is now predominant in the call centre environment where the focus is on improving effectiveness through the investment in more sophisticated technology such as IP and Voice Recognition Technology. Cat 6 cabling is also becoming more and more the norm in high-tech or design industries.

New legislation, growing year on year, covering such diverse areas as health and safety, electrics and the DDA has had a massive impact on the office environment. Compliance to UK and European regulations is no longer an option but a necessity and many facilities managers are now implementing worldwide procedures, compliance and testing to remain globally up-to-date with current and future legislation.

In 2001, the desking market in the UK was estimated to be worth £392 million, with the average UK company replacing their desking every 11 years. Looking back 11 years to 1994, even the most sophisticated of those office environments would have difficulty in meeting current legislation, far less achieving the productivity required to remain competitive in today's world market, regardless of what industry they are competing in.

Recently there has been a marked swing towards a more strategic and long-term attitude to the facilities function. Many facilities managers are becoming involved in the long-term core planning of their organisations, with insight into projected growth rates, in terms of revenue and staff, and in many cases strategic planning and cost reviews for the entire organisation. Office furniture is now an essential part of the asset management process, given that the effectiveness of any company's major assets - people, buildings and technology - are in the hands of the facilities team.

The BRSIA makes some recommendations to consider when choosing office furniture for the long-term. They advise facilities managers to try and procure desking that is not over-sophisticated, without too many parts that have to be dismantled and reassembled. It is worthwhile to use units that are symmetrical in design so there is no problem with odd numbers of left- and right-handed desks. It is also imperative to consider likely future changes in staff numbers, technology and legislation.

It is impossible to foresee which future changes will impact on the office environment. One thing is certain however: there will continue to be change. So the old view that a desk is a desk is a desk should now be revisited. Surely office furniture must now be an essential consideration in all growth strategies for every business.

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