COVID-19 has been the most powerful game changer across industries the world has ever seen, and it epitomizes the meaning of the term itself. It comes as no surprise that conventional facility management best practices simply will not work in the post-COVID environment.

The call is for a new workplace paradigm and supporting workplace services, all driven by seismic shifts created by the pandemic. As workplace design and capacity changes, CRE/FM is rising to the occasion to offer technology-based solutions and strategies for corporate boards and the C-suite.

In addition to COVID-19 challenges, FM leaders must also overlay these integrated components with a reinvigorated commitment to sustainability. Available technology addresses energy conservation, waste management and carbon reduction. The investment community and a younger global cohort of employees are interested – and involved. For the enterprise, business goals and corporate finance will be connected to sustainability goals issued by critical third parties including the government, potential investors and even talented job seekers. Smart, efficient buildings will not only enhance the employee experience, but will also help to meet sustainability goals.

What is needed is an integrated approach to technology across all domains of facilities – from smart buildings to user experience related apps, to work order systems. Companies may be at different points along the technology maturity curve, but the one thing they do not have is the luxury of time. The call for action is now, and the vision is clear.

Whether the scale of the enterprise is a startup with few employees or a Fortune 500 firm with millions of square feet of assets throughout the world, it is only through workplace technology that enterprises can evolve quickly to meet the new realities of the post-COVID-19 workplace. Central to the new workplace challenge is the need to address new and nuanced notions of real estate capacity, workplace design, services, supply and demand, and the requirement to assess portfolio performance. None of this will be possible without technology and a clear technology implementation strategy that optimizes both in-house and externalized supplier market technological capabilities.

It is imperative that owners and operators of corporate real estate leverage technology to make decisions and enable asset management, workplace experience and portfolio strategy in the post-COVID workplace. But this is easier said than done. Companies must assess their technology stack, streamline and optimize it, then supplement it with the capabilities of their delivery partners.

This is no different than designing a product and bringing it to market. Design, sales, supply chain issues, engineering, procurement and manufacturing technology must all be integrated and on the same page for it to work.

Therefore, the first task for an FM will be to achieve expertise in the full range of workplace-specific applications, such as building access control, air quality, energy efficiency and waste management. Larger client companies may have their own proprietary software running these applications, but in many instances, it will be up to the FM team to offer integrated application software as a service. Then, data provided by the application must be translated into business digestible insights and action items.

This is a formidable task because, for one reason, most FM suppliers traditionally assess their goals and productivity on a monthly reporting schedule. But technology provides data on a real-time basis. In hyperactive markets, such as India, where it is commonplace for businesses to grow by 50 percent yearly, workplace space planning can happen on the fly.

Fortunately, the effort dedicated to achieving expertise in the technology of workplace apps will pay dividends for both the user and the provider. In addition to offering real-time space planning, technology will enable planned maintenance to evolve into risk-based maintenance – at tremendous cost savings. Smart buildings and the Internet of Things (IoT) already empower machinery to talk about their vital signs, such as refrigerant leaks and pump vibration.

In the post-COVID-19 workplace, the user experience will be paramount. Technology will have a significant impact on visitor management, meeting room booking, wayfinding on large campuses and food service. Insights that are driving innovation on this front include interpreting workplace access and IT log-on data to make the best use of so-called dead space within buildings.

In addition, simple, yet costly everyday functions such as hospital-grade restroom cleaning are using IoT to send data on real-time consumption of paper products. In the post-COVID-19 workplace, custodians whose jobs traditionally consisted of scheduled bathroom inspections and paper replenishment are now being tasked with meeting a constant hour-by-hour demand for paper products. Custodians are being told to reduce large amounts of wasted and “disappearing” supplies – especially since paperless hand drying blowers are known to spread airborne germs.

To be sure, all of FM is measured by ROI. Retrofitting is expensive, but in today’s world modernization makes a lot of sense for new construction. What is mandatory? What is nice to have? An in-depth understanding of the best available technology empowers in-house FM professionals and their retained advisors to synchronize business and sustainability goals with their CRE space.

First, structure a post-COVID-19 framework. Start with an assessment of who needs to return to the workplace, balancing work-from-home with mission-critical on-site attendance. Leverage technology to solve problems and have that technology in-place and ready, primarily, to ensure workers’ safety and protection.

Know which services must be retained for the enterprise, and which can be terminated. Does the building need to keep its cafeteria? On the other hand, what mission-critical resources does the workplace offer to employees? Do these resources need to extend into the work-from-home office?

Then, measure the effectiveness of an all on the same page FM deployment. Finally, write an outsourcing contract based on expertise and performance, ideally a five-year plan. Just as the internet revolutionized commerce on a global level, COVID-19’s influence will have lasting, irreversible effects on the way the world conducts business. All things considered, the pandemic has generated a flight to technology and a consensus that facilities are not just suitable places to work, but desirable, safe spaces to do business in a meaningful way.