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Conference ends in challenge to the industry

Published: 12th February 2010

Thursday's Workplace Futures conference tackled head-on the fundamental issues in FM: people, service and profit. The result was lively discussion driven by strong speaker presentations, leading to the conclusion (yet again) that we are under-selling this industry.

The conference programme was built on the rationale that facilities management is all about people: their skills, competence, commitment and ongoing development. But FM is also a business discipline and therefore about profit: a healthy bottom line is as critical to the client as it is to the supplier. The vital link between people and profit is service delivery, the ideal being a robust target-driven solution capable of flexing with changing needs.

But comparing client objectives with provider objectives can be a case of staring into a chasm rather than just a gap. How can you pull the two into alignment to build a coherent strategy fully focused on workplace well-being and profitable for both sides?

The programme was managed from the Chair by the skilful Lucy Jeynes, MD of Larch Consulting, to ensure that all angles of the key issues were considered – and delegates were not shy about joining in an active and engaging discussion after each presentation.

Highlights of the day included:

Craig Knight, Managing Director, Prism at the University of Exeter, on the psychology of space management and understanding the impact of change

Alison Halfpenny, Director, Humanics, onthe recruitment and retention basics: how do you get good people onboard and keep them there?

Kieran McGivern, Director – Property & Facilities Management at BDO,on thinking creatively about service delivery in order to do more for less

Martin Pickard, Principal at FM Guru, on blending training, experience and communication to build a successful team

Nick O'Donnell, Head of Global Real Estate and Facilities at the Financial Times, on finding a supplier that understands your needs as a client

Tony Sanders, Managing Director - Commercial, Interserve FM, with a supplier perspective on whatbuyers need to do and know

Andrew Wilkinson, Head of Managing Agent Business, Atkins Asset Management, onmeasuring performance: a Metropolitan Police case study

Johan Vanlook, Service Delivery Manager at Unilever onworkplace well-being: a Unilever case study.

At the end of the day, there was consensus that the three critical issues – people, service, profit – do not fall neatly into any rank order of importance. They are inextricably interlinked and, though priorities may change from situation to situation, ignoring any one is certain to undermine FM success and, ultimately, broader business success.

Delegates heard a strong call from speakers for more knowledge and better communication: clients need a greater understanding of how service provision works; providers need a thorough understanding of how the client's business works.

Summing up, Lucy Jeynes emphasised the positive outcomes: "Amongst many other things, this day has been a showcase for how FM can add value in a whole variety of different situations."

But she also added a challenge: "Too often, we as an industry are poor at communicating our message. We have the hard evidence: we must do more with it."

The reasons for that poor communication and what can be done to overcome it were suggested as the theme for a follow-on event.

Workplace Futures 2010 was organised by i-FM in conjunction with the FMA. Visit the website to learn more and to download speakers' slides.