6 July 2018 | Martin Read
The chairman of BIFM has responded to members voting at yesterday's AGM in favour of a special resolution to become the Institute of Workplace and Facilities Management.
Stephen Roots told members that in voting for the new name, "you have also approved the direction we have set out for the next phase of our proud and progressive professional body".
"IWFM will be the professional body for the facilities and workplace profession - working to advance the profession representing those who contribute to workplace productivity and to operating and optimising our built environment."
The four-month long debate over the institute's 'Manifesto for Change' proposals set in train a debate that, said Roots, "has been hugely informative and has engaged our members with our future direction in a way which is a first for us".
To receive special resolution approval, the vote in favour of the name change required three in every four votes - a figure it achieved.
"To have achieved that must, I think, be regarded as a resounding endorsement for our new direction," said Roots.
To those who voted against the proposal, or otherwise expressed concerns about it, Roots said that the institute "is today and will remain in future, fundamentally the professional body for all facilities managers".
"What we will now do both in name and in deed is to reframe expectations of the FM role, adding to it without taking anything away - and that includes our Britishness.
"We are changing our name, not our geographical focus, but we do acknowledge that many of our members, including those overseas, have broader outlooks and we will continue to work closely with them as we have done for many years.
"We have been preparing the ground for some time to strengthen our foundations and fit ourselves for a future of sustained development. Our plans to refresh our brand and systems are already in progress and now that you have decided, we will adopt our new name and our new look before the end of the year."