Late in 2020, a year almost no one was sad to see end, we put out a call to top real estate and facility management experts to ask them what they expected to see in our industry in 2021. Specifically, given how much disruption the coronavirus pandemic caused in 2020, we wanted to know which changes experts thought might be permanent, and which might be seen as reactionary, and therefore eventually phased out.
The responses include four experts’ predictions for 2021. There are some definite trends in the four opinions: Implementation of cutting edge technology will continue to be crucial throughout 2021 as many facility occupants will continue working from home. Space needs will continue to change, and existing space will continue to need to be monitored, analyzed, and adapted to provide physical distance. In many ways, this is anathema to facility managers’ mandates from the last decade or so. But this de-densification trend is one that will certainly continue in 2021 and likely beyond. And finally, there will be continued focus on health and wellness initiatives. Just as sustainability has been folded into a facility manager’s day-to-day responsibilities, so too will health and wellness be inextricably linked from standard facility operating procedure.
