Security & Access Control Rise against the “one-stop shop”
Total facilities management has been lauded as the epitome of integrated service provision – but is it all it’s cracked up to be? Margaret Wilson, Managing Director of TrustOn Security thinks not.
s managing director of a security firm, who are very much at the coal-face of client account management Wilson is all too familiar with the dilemma faced by organisations, whether to opt for a one-stop-shop solution or whether to manage a number of specialist firms to achieve an integrated facilities management programme. “It’s a choice many businesses face,” says Wilson who has held a number of senior management posts within some of the world’s most successful financial organisations, including Chase Manhattan Bank, “the dilemma itself isn’t a new one, it’s been much debated. What is new however, is the current TFM landscape. With organisations like G4S, Mitie or Sodexo taking big facilities management contracts and, I’m sad to say, in some cases delivering them incredibly poorly, the reputation of the industry as a whole is affected, making the decision even harder.” Wilson puts bespoke client solutions at the heart of the TrustOn Security ethos; recognising that every business is unique, every client an individual, meaning that in some cases a total facilities management provider may well be able to deliver on the objectives. But here Wilson outlines how by working directly with specialist providers you can be sure of a dedicated and high quality service.
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Subsequently churn rate increases. Any replacement staff need closely managing by an expert in the specialist field. It will typically take at least 6 months to know and become proficient on site. Loss of relationship and increased
risk – Whilst sold by the TFM industry as a benefit of one less risky provider, there is actually the potential of greater risk. The client has truly put “all its eggs in one basket”, there is a high likelihood of immediate lost control.
Against the One-Stop Shop Increase in churn rate – If TUPE applies in your business, the same numbers of employees/sub-contractors need to be used. However, these staff tend to suffer during TUPE transfer when managed by a generalist. They get badly treated and misdirected, ending up generally feeling unloved as management contact becomes more remote and infrequent. Most people in these positions deal badly with change in turn affecting productivity.
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The TFM account managers’ lack of specialist knowledge also results in issues or problems taking significantly longer to resolve either due to a lack of understanding of the issue or difficulty tracking down a member of service team with specialist know-how. Locked In Contracts – A TrustOn investigation into contract terms showed more stringent contract terms apply with TFM firms. Often, in order to provide the appearance of discounted pricing, contracts tend to lock the client in for 3 years with 90 day termination clauses. Understandably, many Procurement Managers are influenced strongly by price. Business managers typically have little opportunity to review and question the offered solutions in any degree of detail. Consequently, exact needs frequently go undefined because the ‘definers’ either did not understand the details of the business and ethos or did not understand the management of a particular service. Cost savings either non-existent or at an unacceptable reduction in quality of service – TrustOn interviewed a number of organisations who had tried a TFM service, in each case respondents
had thought head count could be reduced by going for a multiservice TFM solution. However, without exception, each found the need to maintain their own full time facility manager to monitor the delivery from the TFM. This task became more and more onerous as the quality of service deteriorated. After experiencing more than one change in their TFM account manager within just four months, one company even discovered that many FM’s appointed by their TFM provider had never actually had any FM experience or training. Health and Safety – Investigation showed that a lot of the TFM players submit generic RAMs. Actual task to be performed by each of the disciplines were rarely looked at in detail. This either led to further cost along the line when the need for specialised risk assessments were identified or placed burden on the client to conduct their own specialist assessments.
So, in summary…
“I firmly believe in forming a true partnership with a client, being an extension of their team, delivering the KPIs, absolutely – but also, going the extra mile, doing that little bit more, because we care just as much about the clients’ business as they do. I think this is extremely hard to achieve with a total facilities management firm and clients who have been tempted have reverted back to more tailored solutions at the earliest opportunity.”
Get in touch or let us know your experiences:
www.truston.co.uk @trustonsecurity
Building & Facilities Management – June 2014
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