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necessarily the ways it can be utilised to add strategic
value to organisational performance. To meet this
challenge the sector will need to increase the capacity
of FM skills sets to include data analytics. Alongside this,
in terms of recruitment strategies the RICS in particular
is looking at how we can bring in a more diverse range
of people into the profession, including people who
have gained skills outside the sector who can share
their expertise.
2020 will also see the continuation of the long
conversation we’ve had around adding value and
avoiding commoditisation in FM contracts. We’ll see an
improved level of collaboration in an industry that is
o en adversarial. The importance of ethical business
practices will only increase and I sense a strong focus on
having really good governance and values in business.
Over the past year a lot of FM firms have reiterated their
commitments to ethical procurement and ensuring
they’re very clear on their procurement strategies will
be a focal point of next year. To help with the process,
RICS, which in 2018 launched a professional statement
aimed at professionals who outsource FM services to
help reduce risk, increase transparency, and further
trust in procurement in FM, will publish a code of
practice aimed at the global market early next year.
With the
Government,
investors and
occupiers
putting more
emphasis
on social
value and
responsible
business
than ever,
in 2020, the
FM industry
will need
to respond
accordingly.
This should be seen as an opportunity for FM to
demonstrate its strategic impact – particularly on
reducing waste and supporting the circular economy.
As businesses look to the people responsible for
operating their buildings to be able to help them deliver
on their corporate values it's a really good place for FM
to be in, and this expectation of FM is going to be the
opportunity. The circular economy is an FM led solution
and if FM doesn’t step up to this someone else will.
The so-called uberisation of FM which emerged
this year will continue, with more and more agile
firms coming in and o ering di erent types of service
delivery. We’ve seen this in other sectors, for instance
in real estate with WeWork, and we’re likely to see more
of that in FM.
As smaller tech and data led firms move into the
sector this may enable us to attract more people into
the profession. In this way, disruption is not necessarily
a bad thing, it should be seen as a positive change,
rather than a threat to a traditional sector. However, if
the traditional FM providers don’t recognise that they
need to respond to those disruptors and see them as
something they can ignore then the sector will risk
being le behind. There is a fork in the road coming
which is the data piece versus the human piece and
the FM sector needs to determine how they align and
deliver that.
THE FM PROVIDER’S VIEW
MARTIN REED, CEO AT INCENTIVE FM GROUP
Some of the
predictions did
happen and in
particular we have
seen the ongoing
uncertainty of
Brexit impact
consumer
environments, such
as retail. This is
manifesting itself
in di erent guises
but with a real
emphasis on future
cost base and service charge budgeting.
However, they were not the biggest issue to hit
our industry. That would have been the pressure on
costs in a market where clients expect to pay lower
margins but want no less or in some cases more service
from their providers. Buyers are largely charged with
the responsibility of delivering even better value
for their ultimate clients and longer-term viability
and operational reality can o en be a secondary
consideration.
This has resulted, at least in part, in some of the big
names in our sector getting themselves into trouble
over the last year and a number of smaller single service
companies have also gone out of business as a result of
this tough market.
Immigration: For 2020 in the short term I expect
that the Brexit issue will continue to be a disguise for
slow decision making rather than a real impactor. The
medium-term issue around Brexit for our industry is
the supply of a good quality labour force wherever they
come from. Current government immigration strategy
is specifically opposed to attracting workers around the
average salary of £28.5k per annum which is exactly the
ones our sector, the NHS and social care need.
Digitisation: People will talk about the ‘internet of
things’ but we will still be looking forward to this and
how it might develop rather than it really impacting our
industry in this year. I think that is 2022+ before we start
to see real impact.
Social Conscience: In 2020 I think we will continue to
see more of a focus on social conscience, not just for
the facilities and client workforce but also the wider
FM CLINIC
Paul Bagust
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Martin Reed
ADVICE & OPINION
link
/www.fsifm.com
