10 QUESTIONS WITH... 10 QUESTIONS WITH…
In each issue we ask an FM professional the Tomorrow’s FM 10 Questions. This month we spoke to Iain Shorthose, Customer Experience Director at Interserve.
Q1
WHAT WAS YOUR FIRST JOB?
My first job was as an apprentice service engineer with British Gas. A three-year apprenticeship before qualifying in 1993 and then first starting to work with customers in Norwich.
Q2
HOW DID YOU GET INTO THE FACILITIES
MANAGEMENT INDUSTRY?
I joined Interserve in 2015 as Customer Experience Director after doing similar roles in different sectors; both public and privately invested organisations. The opportunity to work in FM for an organisation committed to putting the customer at the heart of what they do and experience a wider variety of customer organisations was too good to pass up.
Q3
HOW DO YOU CHALLENGE THE
STATUS QUO?
For many FM providers, delivering a compliant and commercially viable contract is enough. For me, this is just the start. Customer experience or even service, can be deemed to be a ‘nice to have’, but this can be the difference between retention or loss of a valuable contract. Recognising that FM tends to deliver relatively low margins, being able to link the investment in customer experience with financial performance and customer retention is key. Over the last four years we have focused on developing our capabilities and changing the mind-set of our teams to focus on service and delivering value first, and when supported by a compliant contract, we will retain and grow that customer account.
Q4
SINCE YOU STARTED IN FM WHAT HAS
BEEN THE BIGGEST CHANGE 58 | TOMORROW’S FM THE INDUSTRY HAS SEEN/
YOU HAVE OBSERVED? I would say the rise in focus of the workplace and supporting the knowledge worker. This a natural extension to customer experience – by focusing on the end user, and designing the experience they have to meet their needs and wants, we are able to drive value for both the employer and employee. The increased awareness today around employee retention, wellbeing and productivity means for FM providers delivering service lines and solutions in isolation of understanding the organisational ecosystem and culture can only end in disappointment.
Q5
WHO, IN ANY OTHER INDUSTRY,
DO YOU MOST ADMIRE?
For me it’s organisations that are able to be agile and adapt not only what they do, but how they do it. Remaining focused on their customers and how their needs change and are informed by things not necessarily related to the service the organisation provides.
Q6 Q7
Q8
WHAT IS YOUR FAVOURITE FILM?
It would have to be Star Wars: A New Hope.
IF YOU COULD HOST A DINNER PARTY
WITH THREE GUESTS, DEAD OR ALIVE, WHO WOULD
THEY BE AND WHY? Winston Churchill, Prince and Peter Kay.
ANY ADVICE TO SOMEONE JUST
STARTING OUT IN
THE INDUSTRY? The industry challenges and rewards
– but, maybe not in equal amounts. Personal resilience is important. It is entirely possible to make a difference in which ever field you choose and for your customers, but you can’t be everything to everyone so focus on what you do best and do it consistently well.
Q9
WHAT DO YOU THINK IS THE FUTURE
OF THE FM INDUSTRY?
FM is a customer service industry – we just happen to maintain and fix things as well. As much as there is a role for technology in reducing costs, driving standards and increasing productivity, it will only ever augment our people. The battleground of the future will be for those who find the right balance between the two and are able to align to their customers.
Q10
NICK TANTI, MANAGING
DIRECTOR, ABM TECHNICAL SOLUTIONS, ASKS: HOW CAN SERVICE DELIVERY IMPROVE, WHILST THERE IS A REDUCED TECHNICAL RESOURCE POOL TO CHOOSE FROM, INCREASING COSTS WITH HIGHER WAGES AND TIGHTER MARGINS IN A VERY
COMPETITIVE MARKET? Investing in the capabilities of your people is far from a new concept, but one that is as relevant as ever. Too often, organisations invest capital in technology, but reduce the investment in learning and development. Creating and retaining an engaged workforce by investing in and developing them, will continue to be key in our industry and provide the ROI we all look for.
www.interserve.com/
twitter.com/TomorrowsFM
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68
