Educational Session Tracks

Benchmarking & Best Practices
Benchmark your company against others from around the world and learn best practices on operational processes, security standards, technology and lease negotiations. Acquire a better understanding of practices and procedures that have been successful for other organizations.

Industries & Interests
This track offers specialized topics through collaborative partnerships and IFMA's councils and special-interest groups. Industry- and interest-specific topics in real estate, manufacturing, specialized facilities, public sector issues, design, architecture and others are featured.

Global Outlook
Facility management practices can differ from country to country. This track provides an opportunity for attendees to learn about industry practices and trends from outside of North America.

Maintaining the Built Environment
Acquire tips and techniques on critical issues affecting the built environment that may be immediately implemented into practice. This track offers pertinent information on such topics as operations and maintenance (O&M), indoor air quality (IAQ), mold and energy efficiency.

People Perspective
Managers must be aware of the latest trends in workforce issues.  Attaining and retaining top talent, understanding workforce demographics and having a receptive attitude toward new policies in employee management are just some of the topics of which managers need to be aware. In addition to these skills, managers must continue to enhance their own professional skills. This track addresses topics such as creating a positive workplace, customer service, mitigating workplace violence, ADA, career positioning, professional accreditation, personal skills improvement, mentoring and leadership.

Strategic Facility Planning
Strategic planning is a top-down, vision-driven process used to develop an organization’s future value, mission and goals. Many facilities are designed and managed in the context of the company’s overall strategic plan. Strategic facility planning represents documented, long-range plans that include facility-specific goals and objectives that become the measurement for facility-related activities. This newly added track includes sessions on strategic planning, strategic facility planning and strategic management.

Sustainability
The topic of sustainability is at the forefront of business, as facility managers look for methods to create and/or maintain an environmentally sound facility. Sessions in this track offer insight into topics such as the costs and benefits of sustainability, acquiring organizational support for "greening" facilities and LEED, among others.

Trends & Innovation
In order for practitioners to remain competitive in the workplace, they must have the most up-to-date information and tools available, as well as access to ground-breaking concepts and systems. This track offers topics on innovative facility management practices, new technologies, industry trends and how they may influence the profession.