Recognising FM as strategic fit with core business
As an industry, I’ve always wondered whether we ever considered why Facilities Management (FM) is not deemed strategic to the core business it serves, despite its cost and benefits.
Many a representation has been made to suggest that to have a healthy FM delivery, an interface with the core business is essential.
In a recent report published in the UK by a leading and independent facilities consultancy and based on research and development, concluded that for an FM company to be considered by any business as strategic, it needs to act strategically, communicate in a language that the business sees as strategic and needs to display levels of maturity that encourages strategic respect from those it serves.
This means that from the perspective of both the client and supplier, gauging the level of maturity of FM delivery as a whole in the core business will be the vehicle best suited for creating a visible change in FM focus and how it is perceived by the core business.
The over-riding idea is to identify, administer and manage a journey of change that improves the FM delivery maturity in a demonstrable manner, releasing tangible value into the core business and articulating these benefits in the right language to create a platform for innovation.
The majority of the comments we hear or read focus on the contracts and the relationship between the contractor and the FM client. That a contract is not successful is usually a result of buying the wrong thing, not delivering what has been promised, a failed relationship between the FM client and the contracts, or a combination of these factors.
There is a need to develop a framework that will change the way that FM views and measures itself. This will involve changing the perception of FM held by the businesses and organisations it serves, and lifting the thinking of those that work within the industry be they on the client or supplier side.
Perhaps, our focus on contracts is the reason why FM is not considered strategic by the core business and this may require a paradigm shift in the thinking of service providers to position FM as a strategic element of the core business of an organisations.
For instance, the IT industry uses models such as IT infrastructure library (ITIL) to define their best practice and model operating system, while the Capability Maturity Modelling Integration (CMMI) is globally established as the proven approach to assessing maturity.
Today, such processes and toolkits are an entrenched part of many industries’ qualitative and innovative measurement approach and are regarded as best practice.
In the UK, the Facilities Maturity and Assessment Programme (F-MAP) is a framework applied specifically to the FM industry. The application of this approach has been used to produce significant gains with some organisations reporting gains of 15-35 percent as the maturity of the FM delivery improved.
The maturity of the delivery is determined by evaluating its impact on the key elements of the core business of an organisation. This lifts the focus and appreciation of FM to a much higher level within any business or organisation and enables FM to articulate its worth strategically.
This is clearly required for FM to continue its journey to being recognised as an established industry in Nigeria.
Obileye is a UK-trained lawyer and CEO, Great Heights Property and Facilities Management Limited
Email: Tundeobileye@greatheightslimited.com