FMJ Facilities Management magazine providing industry-specific intelligence to FM and property professionals
King’s College London has welcomed around 150 employees previously working for Equans to provide facilities management services on the Guy’s and Waterloo campuses.
The staff employed by Equans, formerly known as Bouygues, transferred from New Hunts House (NHH) and Franklin-Wilkins building (FWB) to King’s and are now directly employed by the University. NHH and FWB were built as part of a 25-year Private Finance Initiative (PFI) contract between King’s and Equans which came to an end this month.
In 2019, over 400 cleaning and security staff previously employed by contractors Atalian Servest and CIS become directly employed by King’s, joining the then, newly formed E&F Cleaning and Security Services (CSS) department.
Stephen Large, Senior Vice President (Operations) commented: “The support services provided by staff are vital in keeping our University running effectively and efficiently. As the contract came to an end, it was only right that we welcome staff and services in-house to King’s.”
Nick O’Donnell, Director of Estates & Facilities said: “It is with great pride and delight that we are welcoming around 150 service management staff formally to Estates & Facilities here at King’s. Working to our Fit for King’s standard, whether it’s serving food, providing engineering support, running campus services, keeping King’s safe and secure, they provide vital support services that keep the University running.”
Frontline workers form the backbone of facilities management services, serving as the face of the brand and interacting directly with customers. Yet research by both L&G and the Living Wage Foundation reveals the majority feel overlooked and expendable.
Accelerating the problem is a growing technology gap. Despite having 2.7 billion deskless workers worldwide, representing 80 per cent of the global workforce, only one per cent of software and technology investments has been allocated to this segment. This means there is a huge disconnect between frontline workers and their headquarters, leading to lack of sufficient training, communication challenges and low employee retention.
For this webinar, FMJ has teamed up with frontline training platform Lingio to bring together a panel of experts, to discuss how easy-to-use and efficient AI tools can help create engaging and gamified learning experiences that fit the needs of underserved deskless workers. The result? Better software and learning experiences lead to improved staff engagement and reduced staff turnover by up to 95 per cent, according to McKinsey.
To register for the webinar taking place on 11 September at 11:00 am click here.
