Heading to Chicago April 11-13, the third-annual Facility Fusion Conference & Expo will feature a broad range of educational content addressing issues relevant to the performance, safety and environmental impact of today's workplace. The conference will include nearly 80 educational sessions highlighted by two interactive presentations on workplace strategy, a concept which entails aligning the ways people work with the workplace itself in an effort to maximize employee performance and minimize cost.

The two sessions are based on the publication "Work on the Move – Driving Strategy and Change in Workplaces" and will feature many of the workplace strategy experts who collaborated on the book. Their presentations will examine topics including: the forces driving workplace change, the evolution of the office, how to implement a mobility strategy, space planning in an uncertain environment, the projected impacts of alternative work, the role of technology in the workplace, and sustainability and the triple bottom line.

"The world of work is changing and so too is the nature of the office. The function, design and location of the workplace have undergone a major transformation in recent years, and the process is ongoing," said Diane Coles, MCR, director of workplace solutions at SCAN Health Plan and editor of the book. "These sessions are designed to help facility professionals better understand and optimize the future of the workplace. The authors will provide practical tools to show how to take the driver's seat and become more strategic, lead change in the workplace and promote ideas to management."

The first session, "Work on the Move: An Interactive Workshop with Authors of a new Workplace Strategy Book" will be held Wednesday, April 11, from 2:45 to 4 p.m. The presentation will utilize an interactive game environment to help facility professionals learn how to create a successful workplace strategy and use practical tools to prepare for the future of work.

The second workplace strategy session, entitled "Get Your Questions Answered at the Workplace Strategy Café," will be held Friday, April 13, from 2:15 to 5 p.m. A more in-depth session, the presentation will feature many of the book's authors and case study experts engaging participants in a discussion in which they can gain insight from companies with successful workplace strategies and take away guidance for developing their own solutions.

"Because the workplace is changing so rapidly — with mobile devices allowing us to work in different places — we're not only redefining how we work, but also the places we work," said Nancy Johnson Sanquist, IFMA Fellow, vice president of marketing and communications at Manhattan Software and co-editor of the book. "You need a strategy to determine how to ensure employees are their most productive at all times, no matter where they work, while also taking into account the triple bottom line of people, planet and profit. That's what the book, case studies and Facility Fusion presentations are all about."

A complete list of Facility Fusion educational sessions is available online.