How do you choose the right FM provider for your business?

Outsourcing your facilities management operations can bring many benefits, including increased efficiency, and access to specialists who may suggest innovative changes as well as just minding the shop. But with a wide range of FM companies out there, how do you select the right FM provider?

Previously, we highlighted some questions you might consider when vetting facilities management companies, but here we look at a few more that might help you to make the right choice.

Do they have experience working in your sector?

Even an apparently straightforward task like cleaning is going to involve different challenges in a manufacturing environment, say, than in an office. Someone with relevant experience will have the operating infrastructure in place, enabling them to hit the ground running.

Also, differences might be regulatory – a spill in a factory could involve hazardous material which can’t legally be responded to by just ordering someone to grab a mop. Other clients will have their own specific working requirements. A defence sector facility might need careful vetting of anyone entering certain spaces.

It’s valuable if the FM partner can demonstrate they have worked in your sector, and understand it.

Ask who they have worked with that resemble you. Ask if such a client is willing to provide a reference. Like any reference, of course, this doesn’t just give you details. The FM partner you want will have clients willing to provide a good reference.

Case studies can be a very useful tool in choosing any service provider. If a company can discuss how they worked with someone like you, and detail specifically the processes and gains involved, you can proceed into the relationship with confidence rather than hope.

How can they help to ensure you remain compliant?

Facilities Management is a particularly regulated sector. As well as more general obligations, there are a suite of specific compliance issues – fire safety, electrical safety, energy performance of buildings rules, and many others. In practice, you leave it to your facility management partner to fulfil these requirements, but in principle, the obligations are yours, so you want to be sure they are being met.

Process is key, here. Of course, you will want to have a positive feel that senior management understand the importance of staff training, regulatory compliance and so on. But expect more than the subjective. Does the FM company have detailed, written processes for selecting and training staff, monitoring both preventative and reactive work and so on? Have they turned those internal processes into relevant ISO and FM-specific accreditations?

How do you check compliance issues once you are working with this company? Is there someone who will always pick up the phone? The best partners are the ones where a phone call is always an option, but usually not a requirement. Ask what CAFM (Computer Aided Facilities Management) software they use. Does the system let you log or check issues 24/7? Does it let you view the status of compliance obligations? The partner you want regards transparency as a tool to demonstrate things to you, not a burden.

What savings are you trying to achieve, and how might you measure them?

Following on from what was discussed above, a good CAFM system doesn’t just cover external obligations, it addresses your own business objectives. Does your partner’s system allow you to see at a glance whether the KPIs agreed in your SLA are actually being met?

In an earlier blog, we addressed the topic of why metrics matter in FM. We won’t duplicate that here, except to reiterate the core concept – “what gets measured gets done”. A good FM partner will agree SMART goals (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, Time-bound), and will provide you with the tools to check on those goals.

Beyond systems for monitoring, ask yourself what reason there is to believe that the company will actually deliver value for money. Case studies showing success in real instances certainly create confidence. And, in general, you should get more efficiency if you can consolidate all of your hard and soft FM into one provider that outsources as little as possible and fully manages any specialist subcontractors in-house.

Do they offer you value for money?

Value in FM goes well beyond figuring out how to shave a penny off a routine activity. When you sit down with the leadership team, do they start by telling you how they do things, or asking how you do things?

Do you judge that this is the sort of company where you can speak to the boss if you have a real concern? Will they view you as a small box in a big chart of revenue points, or as valued clients, helping to develop bespoke, flexible partnerships delivering demonstrable business improvement?

You want a partner who will begin by understanding you and will then create a unique solution that combines their systems and your specific needs. Ideally, one who will pay attention to your business requirements, always seeking ways to improve the model through innovation and best practice.

How might they be able to support your wider business objectives?

We define facilities management as maintaining and improving the buildings and grounds of an organisation in order to support the objectives of that organisation.

Bright, welcoming workplaces can boost energy levels and have a measurable impact on the wellness and efficiency of staff. The right workplace environment promotes employee engagement, in turn driving a business forward to achieve its aims and objectives.

Many organisations will have incorporated carbon reduction and other environmental targets into their business plans. According to a report by the World Economic Forum, buildings currently account for 40% of carbon emissions, so facilities managers potentially play a huge role in this area. This could be as simple as using environmentally friendly cleaning products, or as ambitious as overseeing a switch to new technology such as solar panels and heat pumps.

A good FM company should be able to outline their sustainability credentials and also identify how they will implement these, helping your business to achieve your environmental goals and targets.

At Precision Facilities Management, we’re passionate about delivering a first-class service to our clients of all shapes and sizes. If you’re interested in finding out more about how we could help, call 0116 366 6508 – we’ll be happy to answer these questions and more!