April 25, 2005—Facilities managers now prefer the Internet as a means of keeping up with market trends and service developments, according to a new poll carried out for service group PHS.
The research, drawing on interviews with 200 FMs, found that 88 percent view the Internet as useful or essential, with word of mouth ranked second at 84 percent. Two-thirds said they took time out to attend conferences and exhibitions, where their interests were mainly product demonstrations and networking opportunities.
The Internet users tend to log on frequently, with more than half doing so more than a few times a week. Most often visited were suppliers’ Websites (25 percent of responses), followed by government Websites (21 percent) and business and industry sites (16 percent). A surprising 73 percent of FM professionals questioned in this survey said they did not belong to any sort of trade association.
PHS currently carries out a quarterly survey of the FM sector in conjunction with FMX magazine. For more on the survey, visit the PHS Web site.
