FIS has been out and about promoting the sector at the Workspace Design show and Future Build 2023 where we launched our new Procurement Research and our new Site and Pre-Construction Guides to Drylining, here’s a visual round-up of what we’ve been up to…
The Construction Industry Joint Council (CIJC) has issued a a revised Promulgation Notice to reflect the increases in the National Living Wage and National Minimum Wage which will come into effect on 1 April. The General Operative rate is the only one directly impacted by the changes and has increased to £10.42 per hour.
Open Doors 2023 gets underway next Monday 13 March and will provide an opportunity for people to take a look behind the hoardings of more than 230 sites across Great Britain during the week! From HS2’s Old Oak Common Station in London to Perth City Hall being refurbished by BAM in Scotland and Willmott Dixon’s BIM Cave ‐ VR Room to CITB’s National Construction Colleges, we know that seeing construction in action can directly lead to a new entrant joining our industry.
Kier, an Open Doors Industry Partner, has highlighted in Building the importance of actually showing young people how construction is “shaping the way we live, travel, work and learn for the better”, so please get out and about to support your sites next week and “give people the confidence to dream big and pursue a career right here in construction”!
You can support Open Doors on social media using the hashtag #OpenDoors23
The Condor Collective are partnering with The FIS on Project Happiness; to better understand the metrics around topics such as mental health, retention, apprenticeships, collaboration, communication and general happiness of the people and businesses that make up the fitout sector.
The Outlook: Construction and the fit-out sector
Construction contributes £117 billion to the UK economy (6%) with 2.4 million jobs in the sector, 7% of the UK total. You are an important bunch!
According to the latest Construction Skills Network (CSN) report an extra 225,000 construction workers may be needed by 2027 to keep up with projections. This means the Greater London construction industry would have to increase current recruitment by 3,450 new workers each year to deliver expected projects, in addition to retaining its current workforce.
For the industry to meet increasing demand, it is imperative that construction leaders have useful and relevant data to inform their decisions around engagement, attraction and retention. Culture and employee engagement are crucial metrics for any construction company in the current climate.
For business leaders to be fully informed, they need access to up-to-date, sector specific benchmarking data relevant to size and location of their business. With this information leaders and employees can more accurately compare, and learn about the successes and challenges most applicable to them.
How will Project Happiness help business leaders?
The benchmark data gathered in this process will inform business leaders of engagement within the fitout sector, allowing leaders to make informed decisions on engagement and impact retention for their own teams.
All FIS members who participate & qualify* will receive their own set of results against the benchmark data.
Sample questions:
“I still see myself working at my company in two years’ time” – The data we gather around questions like this will deliver insights on an individual business’ retention, as well as loyalty & overall engagement levels in the fitout sector.
“My manager coaches me and supports my professional development.” – The data we gather around questions like this will deliver insights on career progression & development and engagement derived from purpose & mastery in the fitout sector.
“Decisions are communicated clearly and openly by the leadership team.” – The data we gather around questions like this will deliver insights on company cultures in the fitout sector and to what degree are businesses adopting modern leadership practises.
“I would feel comfortable discussing my mental health with someone at my company.” – The data we gather around questions like this will deliver insights on how individual businesses are investing in support and allow us to benchmark how well the sector is ensuring mental health support & training is a priority.
Employees, why participate?
We want to hear from as many employees working in the fitout sector as possible on topics such as engagement, leadership, learning & development, collaboration & communication in fitout companies and across the sector.
This mass data capture will provide a snapshot of how the sector approaches employee engagement, and from the insights we will be able to look at what can be improved not only to retain employees at business level, but also attract new people into fitout.
This is an opportunity for all employees to have a voice and a platform to report on how they feel their employer is performing and how they feel about the industry as a whole. The more people who participate, the clearer the picture we gain insights in to.
All employees who complete the survey before the 1/7/2023 will be entered into a draw to win a £250 gift vouchers!
FIS Consultant Len Bunton looks at the importance of keeping records and why this is vital. It is not uncommon for disputes to emerge on contracts that were concluded 3-4 years ago, so your records need to be collated and stored and archived, because you never know when you might need them.
These monthly Blogs are designed to help FIS Members avoid common traps and build on our focus on collective experience. They share ideas about improving the commercial management of your contracts. In other words, instilling best practice into the way FIS members run and manage their business. What I have endeavored to suggest is ways to ensure you get paid on time, and what you are due.
FIS announced the winners of its inaugural Innovation Awards at a ceremony held at is Conference in London.
In front of a packed audience at the Business Design Centre, the winners of the 2023 FIS Innovation Awards were announced and presented. The Awards recognise and celebrate innovation in the finishes and interiors sector showcasing companies that are paving the way for greater efficiency and collaboration. The aawards comprised four categories: Product Fit-Out, Product FF&E, Digital and Sustainability.
All entries were independently assessed by a panel of expert judges and the winner of each category was announced in front of a live audience. The winner of each category was then invited to deliver a short pitch on their innovation to the audience, who then determined the overall 2023 Innovation of the Year winner.
The 2023 award winners are:
Innovation of the Year
FireDNA for its Passive Fire Product Monitoring Software
Product – Fit Out
Eekowall for its off-site manufactured eekowall panels]
Product – FF&E
Rockfon for its modular slatted wood acoustic wall system, Lamella
Sustainability
Adaptavate for its plasterboard alternative, Breathaboard
The awards and event were supported by sponsors Etag Fixings, Protektor, Fire DNA and Payapps.