by Brianna Crandall — June 15, 2015—The U.K. facilities management (FM) sector is increasingly optimistic about prospects for both the U.K. economy and growth in FM over the coming year, according to research conducted by the British Institute of Facilities Management (BIFM) in partnership with i-FM.net and Barclays.
The FM Business Confidence Monitor, a survey of professionals from the facilities management sector in the United Kingdom, found that 70% describe the FM business environment as “positive” or “very positive,” and over half (54%) expect it to improve over the next 12 months, while only 4% believe it will deteriorate.
With the FM sector employing roughly 10% of the U.K. working population and estimated to be worth £111 billion a year to the U.K. economy, it is an important bellwether for business performance as a whole, points out BIFM.
This sector confidence is translating into job creation and headcount, with an overwhelming majority of FM service providers (87%) anticipating increased turnover in their business, and 65% planning to increase their workforce this year.
The findings also point to greater business investment in the sector, with 54% of respondents saying they will increase capital investment, compared to just 3% that expect a decrease. The research also highlighted the sector’s role in promoting social mobility and offering training and routes into employment for young people, with 47% of respondents stating they are currently hiring apprentices.
However, this broadly upbeat assessment is tempered by concerns about skills shortages, with 47% citing this as a worry over the coming year, which is significant given that 62% of service providers cited competition in the marketplace as the biggest barrier to growth in the next 12 months. These concerns are further supported by 43% of respondents, who said challenges in recruiting and retaining staff are obstacles to prosperity.
Gareth Tancred, chief executive of BIFM, commented, “The creation of apprenticeship opportunities is as high on our agenda as it is for the government, and our ambition is for the FM sector to be an exemplar of how business can aid social mobility. It’s therefore promising to see almost half of our respondents already actively hiring apprentices. However, with 70% stating no clear intention to do so in 2015, there is clearly more work to be done.
“In what is set to be a very competitive landscape, points of differentiation among FM services will be crucial if we are to build on this optimism and sustain the clear appetite for business growth among FMs in the coming year.”
David Emanuel, managing director of i-FM, said the results were “hugely encouraging,” adding, “Across industry and the public sector, there are many examples of facilities management delivering genuine strategic value. Facilities management professionals at the top of their profession provide a critical contribution to areas such as organizational efficiency, staff productivity and wellbeing.
“However, it is not necessarily the norm for FM to be regarded in this way, and that is clearly the challenge. Therefore, what this report does is provide the FM industry with a perfect opportunity to promote the discipline to the wider business community, as well as influential groups such as government.”
