‘You need a strong dose of optimism to be a successful facilities manager’

Though the facilities management (FM) industry in Nigeria is still at infancy in terms of growth and development, it is making quite significant impact. In this interview, WALE ODUFALU, Chairman, British Institute of Facilities Management (BIFM) Nigeria, speaks on efforts at both individual and institutional levels to grow the industry. She also reveals the milestones achieved so far by her institute whose mission to Nigeria is to promote excellence in FM for the benefit of practitioners and the economy. She speaks with CHUKA UROKO, Property Editor. Excerpts

British Institute of Facilities Management (BIFM) is a new entrant into the Nigerian Real Estate market and the ‘crowded’ facilities management industry. What exactly is the mission of the institute in Nigeria?

Our mission in BIFM is to be the professional body responsible for promoting excellence in facilities management (FM) for the benefit of practitioners, the economy and society. The Nigerian FM space does have its peculiarities and as such there are region-specific challenges to delivering service excellence and implementing best practice FM. This is why BIFM has taken the strategic decision to establish the BIFM Nigeria region to bring support to the Nigerian FM professional closer home. We want to be the first choice for professionals and organisations when it comes to increasing productivity, advancing careers and enhancing their professional capabilities.

2016 was not good for most sectors of the economy; what was the story for the FM industry?

The Nigerian economy went through notable changes in 2016, the most prominent being the official declaration that the economy was in recession. The attendant economic slowdown was described as the biggest challenge to the FM sector in the year by respondents of the Business Confidence Monitor (BCM) recently conducted by BIFM.

Feedback from many FMs in the service sector is that clients are keen on cost reduction measures. We are also seeing clients foot-dragging when it comes to meeting their financial obligations or, in some extreme cases, out-rightly seeking to renegotiate contract terms. Other key challenges highlighted by the BCM include: government policy which has affected exchange rate, inflation, access to capital, high lending rates, and poor infrastructure, especially electricity. This challenge with electricity supply has led to high cost of power generation and, if you consider the fact that power costs form a significant part of any FM budget, then you would appreciate the implications this has for profitability and cost of doing business.

So, in all, the FM industry faced similar challenges as other sectors in 2016. What I think is different is the industry’s response to the events that affected the sector.

Your institute provides support for its over 17,000 members around the world through qualifications and training. In what form does this support come to the members?

BIFM has a wide range of support services which empower members to interact, develop, and work together, and through the BIFM Nigeria region, these opportunities are now even more accessible to FMs in the country. Our Good Practice Guides provide information that help FMs deliver their work, using global best practices and standards. Several of these guides and other resourceful materials are available on our website, covering topics such as energy audits, space management, FM procurement, managing cleaning contracts, etc.

We also provide networking and knowledge-sharing opportunities to members through our meetings and collaborative platforms. Besides their general membership, members can also belong to Special Interest Groups which focus on their specific area of interest. For instance, we have a Women in FM Special Interest Group which enables women in FM across the world to share their knowledge and experiences and advise one another in a bid to enhance their skills and distinguish themselves in their various roles as FMs. We have BIFM meetings and events both in Nigeria and in the UK which members can attend for networking and knowledge sharing opportunities. Members can also earn credits toward their Continual Professional Development at some of these meetings.

We also support our members in the area of training. We have a very robust qualifications framework designed for professional development at various levels from new entrants into the FM industry to seasoned professionals who want to keep abreast of trends and enhance their relevance in the industry.

As in other sectors, lack of credible data is a major challenge in the FM industry. Is the latest Business Confidence Monitor (BCM) conducted by BIFM Nigeria designed to address this challenge?

First, let me say we are indeed very proud of this accomplishment and, we appreciate our partner, BusinessDay and our sponsors – Alpha Mead Facilities, Great Height Facilities Management and Filmo Facilities Management whose strong support made this happen.  It is important to note that though the survey is published by BIFM, it does not necessarily reflect the views of the institute; rather it captures the opinion of facility managers at different levels in some of the major cities in Nigeria and we are glad to have given the industry a platform of expression, which did not exist before now.

So, back to your question, generally, respondents feel that the FM industry, although not yet at its peak, is gaining ground in terms of recognition and impact. The BCM also revealed varied expectations regarding the growth of the industry. Up to 80 percent of the respondents believe that the industry has what it takes to grow this year in spite of the recession.

In addition, the survey shows evident enthusiasm about adopting technology as a business enabler and this is a good indicator for FM Technology service providers.  There is also a strong drive for professional training and development as a lot of FMs say they will invest in this area in 2017.

Despite the current economic downturn, a good number of FM operators who responded to the BCM seem to be having good outing and also very hopeful the business environment will improve this year. What could be responsible for this optimism?

You need a strong dose of optimism to be a successful facilities manager. If you allow yourself to be swamped by the challenges of the economy, the pressure of increasing demands from clients and the seemingly thankless nature of the job, you may find it difficult operating in our market.

A famous speaker once said it is neither the strongest, nor most intelligent of the species that survives; it is the one most adaptable to change. Change is an integral part of the FM profession. So, to be a successful facility manager, you must stay abreast of possible changes, have a positive mindset to focus on possibilities rather than problems and, above all, demonstrate value by proposing strategic solutions that will positively impact the various stakeholders in the industry.

The BCM report shows a clear commitment by FM companies to leveraging technology to grow their business and scale up service delivery. Do you think the Nigerian market is ripe for such move?

There are many innovations coming up in the FM industry on the global front such as Building Information Modelling (BIM), Mobile Technology, Smart Buildings, etc. We are still quite far from the rest of the world in this regard but, at least, we are seeing more FM practitioners in Nigeria using technology such as Computerised Maintenance Management Systems (CMMS) or Computer Aided Facilities Management (CAFM) Systems than we used to have before now.

Any forward-looking organization cannot overlook the benefits that technology brings to process improvement and efficiency. So, while we may not be able to embrace the full bouquet of available services in FM Technology, this is certainly a good time to invest in technology.

The BIFM has a Good Practice Guide on Selecting FM Software which FM practitioners in Nigeria can take advantage of in making their FM Technology decisions. Most importantly, the guide prescribes that FM software should be seen as a tool to aid operational efficiency, generate quality improvement and assist in compliance rather than a quick fix to a poorly-managed system. Therefore, organizations must ensure they have well documented processes to avoid ambiguity in the requirements to be considered for choosing specific types of technology or software.

We noticed that as much as 55 percent of respondents in the BCM survey are confident of increasing their turnover this year, while others are looking to increasing their budget and investments. What could be driving this confidence?

One of the natural responses for any company which wants to work leaner and smarter, particularly in challenging economic times, is to outsource areas that are non-core to them and facilities management is one of such non-core business areas for most organisations.

If this is anything to go by, it means that FM practitioners who position themselves and have the right capacity to take up these new opportunities can actually flourish, in spite of the economic situation.  In the last two years, we have seen an increasing trend in FM outsourcing in the country, particularly integrated FM. We believe these trends could have informed the optimism expressed by the respondents.

By the way, we have instances in history of companies thriving in times of recession in other climes. But it is important to note that a critical success factor for growth in difficult times is clear value addition. Nobody wants to dole out free money, as it is for many organizations. The money is not even there to dole out in the first place. FMs need to realize that customers are seeking more value for money, every Naira spent must count and it takes good practice FM both at strategic and operational levels to be able to achieve this.