Budget issues and cost reduction mandates are foremost on the minds of facility managers and have the biggest impact on maintaining the workplace, according to a new survey conducted by the International Facility Management Association (IFMA) Foundation in February and March 2004.

When asked to identify the top 10 issues and trends they will face in the next year, 15.3 percent of respondents ranked budget constraints as the number one factor affecting quality FM strategies and workplace solutions, while another 15.26 percent indicated cost reductions rank a very close second. Security and safety issues ranked third at 9.9 percent, while speed (related to change and the ability to get projects completed) ranked fourth with 9.42 percent.

Technology integration (9.33 percent), unpredictable events (8.98 percent), flexibility (8.72 percent), complexity of business issues (7.89 percent), culture and behavior issues (7.75 percent) and growth (7.46 percent) rounded out the balance of the top 10.

"The intent of the survey was to identify critical issues facing facility managers," IFMA Foundation chair Audrey Kaplan says. "It is hoped that this new insight also will influence other providers of information on FM and that the survey will be repeated annually."

The survey, created by the IFMA Foundation's Knowledge Management Committee, was issued Feb. 23 and ended March 5, with 16,379 potential respondents invited, via email, to participate. Of those, 1,464 answered questions online.

A full report detailing the findings and the underlying drivers behind these trends will be available from the IFMA Foundation's Web site, www.ifma.org/foundation.