9. User Empowerment in Workspace Change

Summary

Facilities management is often seen as the instrument of change in organisations. However, this relatively new profession is itself undergoing a revolution, with the emergence of participative involvement of building users in change management decisions. This chapter outlines a user-centric approach to building operations and management in which the identifying, managing and sharing of building-related information are key. As more information is shared with users, so employees have the potential to become more empowered to make decisions about their own workspace. The chapter describes how users resist change, and how the negative energy of resistance can be transformed into a positive force. Empowering building occupants leads to positive attitudes that generate a constructive and creative space planning process. This helps facilities managers achieve the objective of providing workspace that both meets users' needs and is a tool for getting work done.