Business Insights

Articles, news and upcoming events

The Worlds of Facility Management and Workplace are, by definition, highly mobile and evolutive.

On these pages, you will find technical articles, news, reports on congresses and conferences in which Spaceonmove took part as well as positions or “mood tickets” which should give you a particular insight into these two fields. Nice readings.

Outsourcing Facility Management: Why and how to ensure a win-win partnership?

Posted on by Christian Hadorn

Faced with the growing challenges of infrastructure management, more and more companies are opting to outsource their Facility Management (FM) services.

This approach enables companies to refocus on their core business, while entrusting experts with the management of technical, maintenance, cleaning and security services.

However, to maximize the benefits of outsourcing and avoid medium-term setbacks, it’s crucial to approach this choice methodically.

Good reasons to outsource facility management

• Access to specialized expertise FM service providers are experienced professionals in their field. By outsourcing, you benefit from their skills, their knowledge of standards and technologies, and their ability to deliver tailored solutions.

• Cost reduction and budget optimization Outsourcing enables you to transform fixed costs into variable costs. Service providers can pool resources and offer economies of scale, reducing costs for the company.

• Flexibility and adaptability FM providers can adjust their services to your company’s changing needs (growth, downsizing, digital transformation, etc.). This agility is difficult to achieve with rigid in-house teams.

• Focus on core business By delegating non-strategic tasks, companies can allocate more time and resources to their core activities, boosting overall performance.

• Improved quality and compliance Specialized service providers often commit to performance indicators (KPIs) and ensure that services are delivered to high standards and in compliance with regulations.

Key points to avoid disappointment in the medium term

• Define clear, measurable needs Before signing a contract, identify your specific needs and translate them into measurable objectives (KPIs). Well-drafted specifications are the basis of a successful collaboration.

• Choosing the right service provider

  • Evaluate the reputation and references of potential service providers.
  • Make sure they have the necessary certifications and share your values (sustainability, innovation, customer service).

• Draw up a solid, transparent contract Include detailed clauses on:

  • Service Level Agreements (SLAs).
  • Service and price revision mechanisms.
  • Dispute and termination management processes.

• Implement rigorous monitoring

  • Implement a regular reporting system to assess quality and compliance with commitments.
  • Hold regular meetings to adjust services as needed.

• Avoid total dependence Maintain a degree of internal autonomy by appointing an internal FM manager to coordinate and supervise the service provider. This limits the risks associated with any breach of contract.

• Anticipate future developments. Make sure that the service provider can support your company in its future projects (digitization, expansion, new regulations).

Conclusion

Outsourcing facility management services is a strategic lever for improving operational efficiency and optimizing costs. However, it requires a well-thought-out approach, with rigorous planning and ongoing monitoring.

By choosing the right partner and establishing a relationship of trust, your company will benefit from a winning collaboration over the long term.

Happy reading and see you soon!

Recent posts

  • The Workspaces of Generations Y and Z: Management Aspiration and Resistance

    Generations Y (born between 1980 and 1995) and Z (born after 1995) are redefining expectations of workspaces. Having grown up in a connected world, these cohorts aspire to environments that reflect their values and lifestyles. However, these aspirations are often met with reluctance on the part of managers, anchored in traditional models. This tension reveals the profound challenges of organizational transformation. These generations prefer spaces that promote a balance between work and well-being. For them, an ideal work environment combines flexibility, collaboration and comfort. Four focus points: Flexibility, Collaborative Spaces, Well-being, Meaning & Ethics. Faced with these expectations, traditional management can show resistance, often linked to fears or lack of knowledge: Loss of control, financial costs, Attachment to tradition, Lack of Data of benefits. To overcome this resistance, a constructive dialogue between generations and managers is needed. There are several ways in which this convergence can be fostered.

  • Ethical or social management?

    Management is a key lever for guiding behaviour, structuring relationships within organizations and guaranteeing performance. In this context, the concepts of ethical management and social management occupy a central place. Although they share the same idea of humanist and responsible management, they have different objectives and principles. Ethical management is based on the integration of moral values and ethical principles into decision-making and business conduct. It is not simply a matter of complying with the law, but of promoting practices aligned with principles such as fairness, transparency, responsibility and respect for stakeholders. Ethical management requires constant reflection on the impact of decisions, not only on economic results, but also on employees, customers, suppliers and society at large

  • Large companies: identifying with a project…

    Large companies are often faced with a major challenge when it comes to projects: how to ensure that members identify with them, personify them, live them and carry them emotionally. The most direct answer would be to say that the project must be sufficiently interesting and self-sufficient for the people involved to support it. Naturally, this is a bit short-sighted and, above all, inaccurate. To put it simply, first, a member of the company’s senior management must be the real ambassador for the project, talking about it enthusiastically, encouraging the teams and the beneficiaries of the project and acting as an advocate for the cause with the board of directors, even when clouds gather, or challenges arise. In many cases, projects go well, even very well, thanks to the technical skills and the various internal and external networks, but they often lack the real ‘soul’ to make them unique, unforgettable and convey a message. How many projects have I seen or taken part in that were successful, but left me with no real satisfaction or sense of belonging? Without getting into a philosophical debate: do company managers really want this ‘attachment’ to a project? Having observed some of the reactions and heard some of the comments made by senior managers, my answer is clearly ‘no’, even if it is distressing.

  • Empathy, resilience and the festive season

    Geopolitical, economic and societal challenges and disasters of all kinds once again punctuated 2024, transforming what should be a harmonious and happy life desired by and for most people into difficult, demanding and even terrible moments. Certain despots and dictators have once again darkened the skies in many countries when their populations most certainly did not want them to. This lack of empathy on the part of some of the world’s top leaders, who are condemning the vast majority of the world’s people to survival or to wandering in nauseating and terrible unknowns, is not acceptable, even if we haven’t moved a single step forward when we said that, unfortunately… The major aid bodies and organisations are being flouted, and the minimum of respect for others no longer seems to exist, as the life of a human being no longer seems to count for anything. Added to this are the natural disasters that are indicative of the climate disruption we have caused. Is it still reasonable to hope for a little empathy and resilience, at least during the festive season? To give up these festive moments, which are certainly sometimes commercial, would be to capitulate to the barbarism of a minority of dangerous egomaniacs.

  • Antinomy between workplace flexibility and resource management

    Workspace management, particularly in the service sector, seems increasingly marked by a form of collective frenzy. A new divide is emerging between senior executives who are demanding a return to the office after the pandemic to better control their teams, and those who are adopting a tolerant approach.

    Each has its own line of argument, citing statistics from the media and polling institutes to denounce the flaws in the opposing “system”, while neglecting the middle way of “at the same time”, which seems to work well in many cases. Why have we reached this point? It would be difficult to give a definitive answer to this question, but we can safely draw a parallel with the evolution of the geopolitical world, which is becoming increasingly rigid and divisive.:

  • Conceptually right, operationally wrong

    The somewhat barbaric title of this column in fact conceals a reality that concerns a certain proportion, not to say a certain number, of companies: the concept is correct, but its implementation or marketing is “off the ground”. Let’s look at concepts that have reached a certain intellectual maturity but are not “taking off” in operational or commercial terms. (…)

    Certain “problems” of this type can also be found in the service sector, where processes and flows are correct but totally prohibitive.

  • Does true quality still exist?

    To imply that true quality no longer exists has an element of provocation about it. However, this is not an insignificant statement, because in many areas, quality of service in the emotional sense of the term has been transformed into ‘pseudo-quality’, which seems - and this is a pity - to suit a large proportion of the population who are ultimately undemanding.

    On closer examination, quality levels have risen sharply thanks solely to technologies and certain perfectly oiled and standardised processes. This improvement has made it possible, whether voluntarily or not, to reduce the quality of services delivered by employees. (…) Today, outside a closed circle of ‘top-of-the-range’ companies or businesses, service has often lost its credentials. For some managers, once the service has been delivered in accordance with the ‘contract’, the job is done, full stop. This is to forget that form is just as important as content, which no longer requires any effort thanks to technology, equipment and infrastructure, and above all no longer differentiates the product.

Archives

Contact us

Contact from
☛ Don't forget to include an email address or a phone number if you wish to be contacted.