by Shane Henson — October 22, 2012—A cost-conscious, service-led approach to outsourcing facilities management is delivering value but may be failing to achieve the levels of innovation required, according to research published in Facilities management: an industry wide perspective, a report commissioned by Interserve, a U.K.-based international support services and construction company.
For the report, 585 service buyers and providers were surveyed from across the United Kingdom. Questioned concerning their reasons for outsourcing, respondents indicated that financial savings (70 percent), service-level improvements (61 percent), access to better technical expertise (60 percent) and risk sharing (57 percent) all take precedence when choosing a supplier. The study has revealed that more than 70 percent of organizations believe they have achieved these objectives in each case.
Innovation, in contrast, is falling short at 56 percent, with organizations citing internal pressures such as financial barriers, resistance to change, and a lack of board-level support, alongside issues such as a lack of supplier investment as the main barriers to delivering innovation.
The survey also revealed that:
- Performance pressure is here to stay: When asked to rank objectives in order of likely importance in five years’ time, respondents listed the top five as: value for money, reducing costs, service quality, flexibility of service delivery, and added value/innovation.
- Clients and providers need to develop better partnerships: The top three success factors in these relationships are: trust, communication and service quality. Value for money is rated fourth, according to the survey’s respondents.
Asked about the current balance of responsibilities in their jobs, well over half of respondents said they spend less than 30 percent of their time on future strategy, with most of their time and effort being devoted to day-to-day and reactive needs. Asked how they would like to spend their time, most are looking for a better balance—with 50:50 being the optimum ratio for the largest proportion, according to the report.
