Alex Riche
Managing director
Concourse FM Ltd
Aligning operational overheads with business values and objectives and ensuring total cost and service levels are appropriate to the business needs is one of the biggest FM challenges today. To achieve this organisations must clearly identify how FM supports their business and which support services are appropriate, then determine a robust contract strategy, aggregating related services to minimise the number of suppliers. This aids procurement and focus monitoring so FM staff can proactively manage suppliers, ensure legislative compliance and deliver customer satisfaction. FM staff should always be an integral part of any tendering process, as they will have to mange the outcome! The efficient provision of support services and a clear vision and understanding of how they contribute to the bottom line will give companies a competitive edge.
0844 474 1555
www.concoursefm.com
Sarah Bentley
Chief executive
The Building Futures Group
Facilities management remains a predominantly hidden industry and this is one of the main obstacles when looking to attract new talent to the sector. It is an issue that will impact UK businesses as the skills gap broadens, and something that we as the representative body for the cleaning and facilities management sectors are addressing. The Building Futures Group is actively working with educational establishments and companies to promote entry routes into the industry and raise awareness of the varied careers on offer. Many of our member companies provide apprenticeships – an excellent way of providing structured progression to young people, in addition to work experience placements. We are working with employers to raise the profile of our dynamic industry and provide specialist and responsive training programmes from entry level through to senior management, helping people to achieve their goals.
020 7920 9632
info@thebuildingfuturesgroup.com
Neil Longley
MD
Opale Management Services Ltd
A “seam of discontent” exists within any FM contractual relationship, principally fuelled by unrealistic, poorly communicateds or inappropriate expectations. The shorter the relationship, the more FM is perceived as a commodity and the less valued it becomes. It is a downward cycle. It is commoditisation that threatens the relationship – the wellbeing of the FM industry impacts FM’s ability to attract capable resources and reduces its contribution to wider industry. Our challenge is to exile commoditisation. To do this we need a simple philosophy – it is up to the client to create an environment within which the supplier can be successful, and it is up to the supplier to be successful for that client. We should adopt innovative procurement techniques rather than those we have been using for the last 20 years – ones that craft the right environment and excite the supplier to success.
neil.longley@opale.co.uk
www.opale.co.uk
Martin Ward
Managing director
iSite
Rather than the biggest challenge, we need to talk about the biggest opportunity for FM. The potential sits with information – a bastion of wealth lending organisations a long-term view encompassing not just the property asset, but all facets of an estate, from workplace effectiveness to energy performance. It allows CRE and FM teams to collaborate effectively, identifying a single source of building intelligence: breaking business silos, reducing risk and improving decision making. By accessing the information buried in the layers of reporting data generated by the supply chain, FMs can unlock the building intelligence required to reach dynamic joint decisions that give the customer what they want – value. The challenge is to stop doing what has always been done; listen, swap ideas, analyse data, simplify processes to share a seat at the top table, and educate the client to see the importance of data and “intelligence” as a long-term business asset.
07904 268085
mward@isite.co.uk
Johnny Dunford
Global commercial property director
RICS
Integration summarises the biggest FM challenge faced by businesses today – whether this is buildings and bytes, or people and behaviours, the aim is to ensure FM adds value to the business. A report, commissioned by RICS, found that organisations such as the BBC and The Co-operative Group, with an integrated approach to the management of properties and facilities, successfully create better places for people to work, improved sustainability and more enjoyable places for people to visit. To achieve this, business leaders must take a strategic overview of workspace management, ensuring facilities support the business and improve overall efficiency. RICS’ Strategic FM Guidance Note, produced last year, lays out clear recommendations on how FM and business can achieve this strategic approach by ensuring heads of FM are integrated in the core values of the organisation. Only then can FM make the impact it is capable of and achieve the recognition it deserves.
jdunford@rics.org
www.rics.org/facilitiesmanagement
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