FOCUS TOTAL FACILITIES MANAGEMENT
30 DECEMBER/JANUARY 2020
REFERENCE NOTES
(1) www.amaresearch.co.uk/report/fmmarket
2018/
(2) www.i-fm.net/fm-audit-report-2019
(3) www.iwfm.org.uk/insight/research/marketoutlook
THE IMPORTANCE OF INNOVATION
Whether the FM service provider is o ering a
single specialism or TFM package, the IWFM
Market Outlook report(3) notes that innovation
is crucial.
“Innovation is definitely a requirement of
a single service agreement,” says Zoe Watts,
Commercial Director, Vacherin (catering
specialist). “The core benefit of a single service
contract for a client is the specialist expertise
the provider brings to the table. As a catering
specialist, Vacherin’s role is to think outside
the box and continuously improve our o ering.
Single service suppliers should never rest on
their laurels. Innovation is a central part of
remaining competitive. Once an organisation
becomes stagnant, clients will go in search of
something new. Providers should continue to
strive for a best-in-class benchmark.
“How innovation should be measured
depends heavily on what is being o ered. If it is
a creative new menu, for example, results can
be measured by sales in a restaurant, customer
uptake and feedback. Benchmarking against
other suppliers on the high street is also a good
measure for how well the innovation is working
for the client. Key performance indicators linked
to innovation are o en integrated into the
contract with the client from the outset. Clients
want to know there’s futureproofing in place for
the services being delivered to their business.
“Continuous innovation really is the only
way to compete in a crowded market. With
so much competition, the focus has to be on
continuous development to stay ahead of the
curve. With technology constantly evolving
and client expectations rising, every service
provider needs to spearhead development and
innovation. Those that stand out will be the
ones that are proactive in their approach and
not reactive. It is creativity mixed with expertise
that makes a business shine.”
James Dunnett, IT Director, EMCOR UK,
argues that the benefits of innovation in a
TFM service must be tangible and measurable.
“Innovation should be included as one of
the key performance criteria in any industry
contract where the relationship between the
client and provider is more collaborative and
less transactional,” he says. “Having said that,
it’s important to look beyond the semantics of
innovation and continual improvement – they
are one and the same. Both culminate in a
single organisation, or group of organisations,
seeking to add value to their existing services
or products.
“This means it’s important not to view
innovation solely as a cost-saving tool that
a supplier must generate over the life of a
contract, but rather to look holistically at what
this investment will bring in terms of benefits
to all stakeholders. Innovation in this sense
requires collaboration between the client
and the provider to achieve better results,
whether that is in customer engagement
and relationship management, or processes,
systems, logistics and so on. This, in turn,
requires all parties in the TFM value chain
to work together to create shared values
in order to ensure that the innovations are
both relevant, impactful and successful.
“In summary, quantitative measurement
should track the benefits that the innovation
will bring. These should be quantified in a
range of ways, including financial and nonfinancial
quantitative measures as well as
qualitative improvements.
“Innovation benefits should, where
possible, always focus on driving from
qualitative to quantitative non-financial
and on towards quantitative financial (cost
savings or cost avoidance). In other words,
focusing on agile solutions to deliver value
and advantage across the entire value chain,
sustainably and economically to the benefit
of all stakeholders.”
THE FUTURE OF TFM
Jeremy Campbell, Director of Business
Development, EMCOR UK, summarises
how he sees TFM contracts developing over
the next few years.
“We expect TFM will continue to be seen
as a sound outsourcing principle and service
option for UK business. However, if current
trends are anything to go by there will be
key di erences in the quality and flexibility
of these contracts. This trend should also
see a growth in the split between long-term
collaborative partnering agreements on the
one hand, and short-term TFM lowest-cost
service bundles on the other.
“Long-term collaborative TFM would include
things like:
Stronger support from centralised centres
of excellence, which will also be key to
ensuring that best practice, innovation
and shared learnings can be delivered to
clients.
Use of technology to ensure delivery
of services is e icient, performance
is transparent and that information is
available for clients to make good data-led
decisions.
A drive towards collaborative business
relationships to allow for a flexible delivery
model that can adapt to the needs of an
ever-changing world while still creating
value.
An increasing focus on workplace and
wellbeing, with the understanding that
a happy workforce leads to productivity
improvements for the best possible
delivery.
“Lowest-cost e iciency TFM, on the other
hand, will see companies:
Treating TFM as a homogeneous
commodity, and as such they will seek to
bundle multi-service channels together.
Seeking lowest price through the TFM
strategy.
Have a go-to-market mentality every
two to three years. This also means that
contracts of this type will be transactional
in nature.
“Whichever strategy, it is clear that
contracts will have value for money as a
key component but will not compromise
workplace productivity and wellbeing, as
these elements will undoubtedly enhance
performance and delivery e ectiveness.”
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