No results found, please try a different search term.
Shanghai, May 2026 – ISS, a leading global integrated facilities management services provider, today officially launched the 2026 Facilities Management Outlook Report. Grounded in deep insights from ISS’s 2025 global and China client engagement surveys, the report focuses on the unique challenges and growth pathways in FM market. It identifies the industry’s core tension: the workplace performance gap between strong recognition of workplace value and gaps in investment and execution. It also outlines actionable pathways centered on performance alignment, digitalization, measurable employee experience, and full-life-cycle cost optimization, helping enterprises maximize FM value amid economic headwinds and budget constraints.
Click here to download the report.
Global Perspective: The Workplace Performance Gap Emerges as a Core Industry Challenge
The report reveals a fundamental structural tension in the global FM sector: 83% of business leaders acknowledge the workplace as critical to organizational performance, viewing it as a key driver of productivity, employee engagement, talent attraction, and organizational resilience. Yet a striking disconnect exists between belief and action:
60% prioritize cost optimization and efficiency as their top strategic imperative;
68% cite macroeconomic pressure as the most significant industry influence;
46% identify digitalization as a key disruptor, yet only 20% include it in their core FM investment agenda.
This “high awareness, low execution” disconnect, compounded by operational pressures, economic cycles, and digital capability gaps, has created a defining workplace performance gap.
China Focus: Resilient Growth and Value Realignment Amid Budget Constraints
Budget discipline with industry resilience: In 2025, 61% of Chinese enterprises reduced their FM budgets (most by ≤10%), making cost optimization and efficiency their top priority. Cost pressures have accelerated industry upgrading, with rising enterprise expectations for service standards, technical capabilities, and risk compliance.
Workplace value recognition remains underdeveloped: Only 64% of Chinese clients recognize the workplace’s positive contribution to business performance, notably below the global average of 83%. This gap highlights the need to strengthen a clear value narrative: optimized workplace → enhanced focus and engagement → improved organizational performance.
Economic pressure and digitalization: dual engines of industry transformation: 29% of respondents name economic pressure and cost reduction as the top industry disruptor, while 22% prioritize digitalization and artificial intelligence. Combined, these two factors account for nearly half of market sentiment and have become defining forces shaping the industry’s direction.
Four Core Directions for the Future of FM
Cost logic redefined: Shift from isolated cuts to full-life-cycle facility performance optimization, tightly linking cost discipline with organizational effectiveness and business outcomes.
Service model evolution: Move from reactive, basic operations to proactive, end-to-end employee experience enablement, becoming a strategic pillar of enterprise talent strategy.
Comprehensive digital upgrade: Use intelligent tools to quantify service value and deliver measurable ROI validation.
Value boundary expansion: Evolve from passive compliance and risk control to active value creation for sustainability, fully embedded in corporate strategic objectives.
“An economic downturn is often the best moment for industry value revaluation,” commented an ISS spokesperson. “For FM providers that can demonstrate tangible business value, deliver digital capabilities, and understand client-specific industry dynamics, the current environment represents a strategic opportunity to build differentiated advantage.”
About the Report
The 2026 Facilities Management Outlook Report is based on ISS 2025 global and China client engagement surveys, with selected benchmarks from the 2025 Facilities Management Benchmark Report. It provides global and regional market insights to support strategic decision-making for FM industry stakeholders.
About ISS
ISS is a leading global integrated facilities management services provider with 125 years of heritage, operating in more than 60 countries and regions. Having entered China in 2005 and built a local presence for over 20 years, ISS delivers professional facilities management, workplace experience, and sustainable operations solutions to a wide portfolio of multinational and local clients.