STRATEGIC ROLE OF FACILITIES MANAGEMENT IN RELOCATION OF OFFICE SPACES TO SUPPORT CHANGE AND BUSINESS GROWTH

Abstract

Relocation is a complex decision-making process and can be viewed as one of the numerous strategic decisions that an organization needs to oversee involving accommodation change. Past studies has concentrated on site selection decision-making but there has been limited studies on the strategic role of Facilities Management (FM) in accommodation planning during relocation. The aim of this paper is to accentuate the importance of including FM in relocation decision-making to add to the attainment of the organizational objectives.

This paper investigates how organizations align their relocation decision-making with business objectives and the strategic role of FM in accommodation planning during relocation. The attention in on relocation as part of an organization’s strategic management process. The paper draws on existing literature on the process and impacts of occupier relocation.

A multiple-case study approach is adopted where the relocation management of ten organizations is evaluated post-relocation. The approach involves conducting interviews with these ten organizations of small to medium size to understand more about their relocation process and encounters.

Despite the different objectives of a company and their various reasons for relocation, common conclusion can be made for a general comprehension of the strategic role of FM in relocation of office space. FM need to understand the business need and align relocation to meet user requirements and support the business objective. This paper also aims to add to the current, yet limited, understanding on organization’s relocation management process and is of worth to corporate real estate professionals.