Stephen Bott, HR & Facilities Manager at Charterhouse Holdings believes every facilities management initiative counts no matter the size and scale of the organisation
My background includes both HR and FM administration, but when I moved into my current role at Charterhouse by dint of HR experience, I also inherited responsibility for the facilities department. The fact that my current role combines responsibility for two separate departments is symbolic that FM at Charterhouse is much smaller in nature than larger companies – indeed, the number of staff working at the company is less than 100.
At Charterhouse, there are 2.5 facilities staff, comprising myself, a full-time maintenance operative and a receptionist who dedicates half of their time to facilities administration. Alongside this, I am a Non-Executive Director of a compressed air services company, REP Air Services, which has 12 employees and no dedicated FM resource. Micro companies will generally not have a dedicated FM resource, instead the load is spread out amongst staff.
FM STILL COUNTS
Yet dig deeper and FM resources in smaller companies echoes that of larger organisations. Like Charterhouse some companies may have a dedicated in-house resource to carry out basic aspects of FM. For example, our maintenance operative’s duties include weekly alarm testing, monthly emergency lighting testing, replacing suspended ceiling tiles, painting walls or carrying out basic repairs.
For those companies falling under the ‘Small’ side of SME, however, specialised aspects of hard FM will invariably be outsourced as it is not viable financially nor practicable to employ an in-house alarm engineer, electrician or plumber. For that reason, basic FM activity may be dealt with in-house and more specialised FM activity outsourced. A key aspect of FM which is typically outsourced is cleaning. Charterhouse has appointed an agency to provide 60 hours of cleaning per week with both cleaners permanently based on site. And even REP, a much smaller company than Charterhouse, has taken on services from a cleaning agency for several hours of cleaning per week.
LARGE VERUS SMALL
We read many stories in FM media about large companies signing multi-million-pound contracts with FM services providers or for office refurbishments across multiple sites. With references to FM means that for smaller companies, FM can seem rather daunting. I have attended seminars covering FM and some of the terminology and concepts discussed can make you feel like FM is not of any relevance to you but only the preserve of larger companies.
I believe this cannot be further from the truth. FM is relevant to every single company, regardless of whether they have two employees or 2,000 employees. Even at a micro business with a small unit consisting of just a small office and storeroom FM is a crucial aspect of its operations. There is electrical infrastructure, plumbing and heating, the premises is invariably alarmed, the floors need vacuuming, and rooms need to be kept tidy. But it is not just the maintenance aspects of FM which smaller companies can embrace.
FM ON A BUDGET
When it comes to workplace refurbishments, upgrading facilities is just as relevant to smaller businesses and is something that should be proactively embraced. Upgrades need not cost the earth. For a canteen area, you can upgrade on a budget by installing basic chairs, flat pack furniture and equipment such as a microwave or a kettle. At REP, we upgraded the engineers’ room very simply and at minimal cost, yet it has made a huge difference – engineers have a comfortable place to spend their breaks when they’re not out on jobs.
Efficiency is another key area of FM where companies need not part with lots of money. It can even be done for little or no cost: a simple tidy up or organising items in a methodical way can be considered upgrades – so you are not having to fight your way through a mess if you have to carry out checks or repairs. It can also mean that any maintenance checks are easier and quicker.
Sustainability is another, broad area where smaller companies can focus – and is becoming more and more popular in supplier assessments. Simple examples of making workplaces more sustainable include replacing conventional tube lighting or bulbs for LED equivalents (Charterhouse’s exercise to swap over to LED lighting has reduced electricity usage by around eight per cent); putting any air conditioning units on timers; putting in place recycling bins; or really go for it by achieving an industry-relevant recognition. The latter is particularly pertinent to REP which holds ISO and Safe Contractor accreditations, all despite having only a dozen staff.
SMALLER SCALE SUCCESS
Considering all the above, no matter how small a company is, it can always dream big. Continuous improvement applies to all organisations and FM is at the centre of this. Workplace upgrades can be easy and straightforward; putting in place simple maintenance regimes can be huge wins; and, very importantly, any initiative or upgrade can be used as excellent PR to customers or job applicants. The importance of facilities management within smaller companies should not be underestimated and the FM sector needs to strive to promote it to all organisations and make it more accessible.
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