FOCUS INTERVIEW
38 DECEMBER/JANUARY 2020
REFERENCE NOTES
(1) www.iwfm.org.uk/professional-development/training
(2) www.rics.org/uk/surveying-profession/join-rics/get-charteredin
fm/
(3) The Social Impact of FM. RICS Strategic Facilities Management
Case Studies, Series 5, October 2017
(4) www.fmj.co.uk/atalian-to-acquire-servest/
‘Race in the workplace’, carried out by
Baroness Ruby McGregor Smith, former
CEO of Mitie, people from black, Asian
and minority ethnic (BAME) groups are
still underemployed, underpromoted
and under-represented at senior levels.
Chapman feels much more can be done to
improve diversity in FM, helping to make it a
career of choice for a more diverse cohort.
“People of all backgrounds need to be
given more of an opportunity to progress,”
he argues. “This is why we need to push to
identify talent internally, and look at the
governance of recruiting so that every role
is advertised to encourage people to move
up and progress. We also need to bring in
people from other industries, sectors and
walks of life who can start challenging
and changing things for the better. My
first recruit was from the dental industry,
an ex-dental nurse who is now in a client
development role because what I was
looking for was drive and passion.”
He continues: “Our Chief Digital O icer,
Lewis Richards, also hails from outside the
industry having joined from the world’s
largest systems integrator, DXC, in 2018. He
has brought fresh eyes to how we handle
data – how we can interpret it and how it
can deliver something really worthwhile.
“For example, we have enhanced our time
and attendance system to help improve
data accuracy, communicate with frontline
workers and acknowledge high performers.
The system will enable recognition of
frontline workers who are doing a really
good job and identify people who might
be struggling to fulfil their duties, with the
aim of being able to support them more.
The system is designed to help not only
with payroll, but salary reviews and career
opportunities, and help determine those
who might benefit from furthering their
skills and training.”
It’s something he’s backing because it
ticks all the sustainable objectives, he
says. “Good communication is of immense
importance, because the main challenge in
any FM company is a disconnect between
head o ice and the front line.”
Entrepreneurial spirit is one of the
company’s key values, which is being
encouraged through a new initiative – the
One Project. This is a Dragons’ Den-style
competition that aims to allow colleagues
at all levels and locations throughout the
business in the UK and Ireland to become
Atalian Servest’s next entrepreneur.
Explains Chapman: “The idea is to get
everyone from frontline colleagues to our
o ice colleagues looking at their respective
disciplines – whether security, cleaning
or catering – and come up with and share
innovative ideas. We will then profile the
best, help support their ideas and develop
them through to implementation. In this
way we can remind everyone in the business
about our values and what they mean, while
providing fresh ideas for our clients.”
THE FUTURE OF FM
For Chapman one of the ways to promote
diversity in FM is to make it more appealing
to school leavers and graduates by
promoting the many vertical markets open
to those who join the sector. “If you want
to work in a certain sector, for instance the
media as I did at the Guardian, you can
satisfy the same ambitions in FM, but twin
it with a well-paid job. I call it the wedding
table chat, when people ask what do you do?
“When I said I worked for Arsenal, I would
get more interest, based on the brand
name. In reality I was working in business
development for Arsenal. This is why we
need to start looking at FM as disciplines
and the contribution we make, with the
outcome being that we help the workplace,
the community and the environment, but
through our many di erent roles. Not just
the brand name of the organisation.
“Our primary purpose should be to have
responsive passionate people within our
businesses, and to create a culture where
everyone, from the MD, business director,
operations manager right through to the
front line, convey these same principles.
It’s time for genuine change, and it’s not just
about replacing everyone on your board, but
o ering a way of communicating, listening
and sharing all of the ideas coming through.”
Matt Chapman is Chief Marketing and Development
O icer (UK & Ireland), Atalian Servest.
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