Emma Wharton FRICS is Client and Customer Director for the Palace of Westminster's Restoration and Renewal Programme at the UK Parliament.

Currently, Emma is taking a sabbatical from her work at Parliament to set up Wharton Studio. This unique agency combines property strategy consultancy, graphic design and visual arts. Three disciplines that Emma has been passionate about for many years.

Emma explains how following her heart led her to a successful career in FM.

Why, and how, did you choose to work in FM?

Many moons ago, I studied Human Geography at university, which centred on the interaction of society and space – how space, be it the built environment of a city or an office, impacts society and vice versa. Since then I worked in media and then as a strategy consultant in an architecture firm, before moving to Parliament, where I have been for the past nine years.

Reflecting on it now, my career path was never intended. I went where my heart took me. But looking back, my degree subject matter and then the communication skills I learned during my first job working for a start-up media agency, which grew rapidly, provided an incredible foundation and quick learning curve. The moral of this for me is to do what feels good and have a flexible plan, rather than trying to engineer a path too precisely.

In 2019 I am taking a sabbatical from Parliament – I am going to work as an independent consultant with other organisations through my company Wharton Studio. I'm also looking at working with a fascinating AI start-up – the management of space has never needed technology as much as it does now.

Would you recommend a career in FM to other women?

To me, FM is a career in understanding the interface between people, space and technology, and leveraging that relationship for business purposes. Essentially to enable people to work at their very best, but sustainably. FM has been stereotyped in the past in a way that it was perceived as a very 'male' career. In fact, it is a crucial enabler for culture change and for an effective agile workforce and as such is now getting far more attention in the boardroom.

What I'm saying is – it's not and shouldn't be a gendered career choice – it's simply an interesting one and a very interesting time for the industry! Like all roles, a diverse range of views from diverse backgrounds creates better solutions.

Diversity, equity and inclusion

Building a 21st century professional body through championing diversity, equity and inclusion.

“Across Parliament we have a diverse workforce and we aim to provide a positive, inclusive working environment where people are valued for the skills and experience that they bring to work.”

Emma Wharton FRICS zoom_in

Emma Wharton FRICS

You have achieved a lot in your career. What are you most proud of?

Hands down I'm most proud of the Restoration and Renewal Programme at Parliament. The Palace of Westminster has 1,100 rooms and dates from the mid-1800s. It is one of the most iconic and significant buildings in the world and is Grade I listed. Together with Westminster Abbey and St Margaret's Church, it forms part of the UNESCO Westminster World Heritage Site. I was part of a very small team that provided evidence to the Joint Committee on its restoration and renewal.

The committee ultimately recommended that Parliament temporarily move out from the Palace of Westminster to undertake the major refurbishment works. I'm also particularly proud of the client team I have built, who are working with the design team of the Palace to develop the stakeholder requirements for the design of the Palace.

Parliament had a reputation for being a male-dominated space. Is this still true?

In terms of who we employ, Parliament has a very good ratio of women to men. It is an equal opportunities employer and, in fact, when we released our Gender Pay Gap report the mean pay gap for the House of Commons was 1.7% compared to the average pay gap of 13% in public bodies. In one area, Parliamentary Digital Service, the mean gap was -5.21%. In this case, women had a pay lead over men due to the number of women holding more senior positions.

In estates, typically, there are more men than women. I will often be the only woman in a high-level meeting, but I don’t see that as a disadvantage. Rather I'm part of a positive change that is happening over time and hope in a small way to be a role model.

However, rather than concentrating just on gender, I think that diversity is absolutely essential in the workplace if we are to see good decision making. Across Parliament we have a diverse workforce and we aim to provide a positive, inclusive working environment where people are valued for the skills and experience that they bring to work. Our aim is to be representative of the society we serve.

London-Houses-Of-Parliament-Skyline-UK-Shutterstock

What future challenges does FM face, and how can they be addressed?

The perception of FM I mentioned earlier remains a key challenge – to demonstrate in the boardroom the value of how good FM, in efficiently utilising property assets, drives productivity benefits for the organisation. RICS has the platform to promote that change in the perception of FM. In fact, I think referring to it as FM has been holding us back. This is now being recognised through BIFM becoming IWFM and IFMA launching Workplace Evolutionaries in the UK.

Secondly, FM professionals need better data. It's a data-driven world and for too long we have been reliant on anecdotal evidence. FM can leap the hierarchy by having much better control of its resources and the ability to use data to get ahead of the organisation – to suggest solutions, not just respond.

Are there any insights you have gained in your career that you would like to share?

Keep solutions simple and focus on creating welcoming community spaces for teams to work in and for networks to develop, rather than focussing on the individual. Human nature makes us want to feel part of a community and our workspaces should facilitate that to get the best out of teams, promoting both wellbeing and productivity. And take charge of your data, you'll be creating the strategy instead of just responding to it.

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