Challenges and opportunities for the facilities management sector

Facilities management (FM) is a relatively young industry and one that is constantly evolving in order to meet the demands associated with new developments in the international and UK economies.  In order to understand the principal challenges facing the sector now and in the future, BDO and the British Institute of Facilities Management (BIFM) commissioned Datamonitor to conduct primary research among facilities management professionals.  This was the largest survey of its kind to date, with more than 1,500 people completing a detailed online questionnaire.

The results paint a fascinating portrait of trends in the profession –

Facilities management is a valued part of UK organisations

The survey indicated that facilities managers are perceived as influential within their organisations and their departments are allocated sizeable budgets which are likely to increase in future. However, it is unclear who represents facilities management at board level.

Environmental issues are playing a larger role in facilities management departments

With growing public concerns about global warming, facilities managers are dealing more and more with their organisation’s response to environmental issues, in particular energy consumption and waste management. Lifecycle sustainability is also an important factor in purchasing decisions. But, interestingly, measuring the value of environmental projects was not considered to be a priority by respondents in the survey.

Business continuity is seen as a growing priority

It was unclear among respondents if security and business continuity budgets have increased over the last two years. Many organisations appear not to have full business continuity plans. The survey found that the facilities manager was generally included in any crisis management team.

Facilities management needs to concentrate on skills development

The range of entry level qualifications for new facilities managers is wide with Level 5 (BTEC Higher national Diploma) being the most common. However, many FM departments offer limited career development programmes. Better programmes would reduce attrition, thereby keeping recruitment and training costs down.

Compliance management – a real challenge for facilities management professionals

Respondents reported that complying with regulations was taking up an increasing amount of their working day. The budgets available for this work and the time spent by facilities managers varied across organisations.

Supply chain management is proving complex

Most respondents said they used a growing list of multiple supply chain partners and that their relationship with them was becoming increasingly complex. The bundling of FM services is increasing. The respondents indicated that, as a rule, provisions were in place to determine the overall effectiveness of supply chain partners. However, a strong minority (40 per cent) also indicated that such provisions were not in place. This indicates that perhaps the measurement of supply chain partner effectiveness has yet to be fully accepted.

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