The facilities management sector is at an inflection point. Colliers’ Occupier Cost Index (OCI), drawing on data from 4,000 buildings across 28 countries and covering 26.3 million square metres of office space, reveals a structural misalignment that forward-thinking organisations can turn to their advantage. Offices across Europe are operating at just 30 to 40 per cent occupancy, yet FM delivery models remain largely static — presenting a compelling opportunity to unlock significant savings while improving service quality.

The findings are a call to action, not a counsel of despair. The annual cost to keep an employee in the office stands at €9,809 per full-time equivalent. Were that figure recalculated on actual usage, it would rise to between €25,000 and €33,000 per person. Colliers estimates that organisations adopting adaptive, technology-driven FM models can unlock savings of 25 per cent or more without compromising quality — a prize that merits serious board-level attention.

Three cost trends within the OCI deserve scrutiny. Overall FM costs fell one per cent year-on-year, driven by lower energy prices and deferred refurbishments. Beneath that headline, soft services costs rose eight per cent, reflecting inflation and heightened security demand, while IT costs increased six per cent due to rising labour and licensing pressures. The divergence signals that static, schedule-driven contracts are absorbing inflation in precisely the areas that flexible, occupancy-linked models would contain.

Technology is the enabler. Nicholas Marsh, Head of Enterprise FM Advisory, EMEA Occupier Services at Colliers, noted that tools to align FM services with real-time occupancy already exist, but adoption remains patchy. Ireland presents a strong case for urgency: Ibec research shows 63 per cent of Irish companies do not plan to increase on-site attendance in 2026, and almost half expect employees in the office just two days a week. With hybrid working embedded across technology, life sciences, and financial services, FM models designed around full occupancy are structurally misaligned with Ireland’s largest office-occupying sectors.

FM leaders should focus on three priorities. First, commission an occupancy analysis benchmarked against the OCI’s 28-country dataset to quantify the gap between contracted costs and actual usage. Second, renegotiate service contracts to introduce variable, occupancy-linked pricing — particularly for soft services where inflation is sharpest. Third, invest in real-time building intelligence platforms that automate service delivery in response to attendance data, reducing waste and improving the occupant experience simultaneously.

The opportunity identified by Colliers is real and realisable. In Ireland, where hybrid working is the dominant mode and multinational occupiers hold large, underutilised office portfolios, the case for adaptive FM is as strong as anywhere in Europe. Organisations that act now will reduce costs, improve service alignment, and position FM as a strategic contributor to performance rather than a fixed overhead.

(The views expressed by the writer are his/her own and do not necessarily reflect the views or positions of BusinessRiver.)