Friday 7 January 2011

Changing times. Opportunities for FM.

Tony Baldry MP has set up a New All-Party Parliamentary Group for Excellence in the Built Environment its remit will be to present an holistic, cohesive, overarching view from all sectors of demand, planning, designing, constructing, managing and maintaining the built environment and its external landscape. (1)

Does this mean FM will get a bigger voice at the top of government?  Probably in some capacity, I hope BIFM takes up the baton, it’s a golden opportunity to shout about the importance of FM.

The government needs to reduce costs of its own estate and provide better value for money from projects that are fit for the 21st century i.e more sustainable (2)

Does this mean there is opportunity for FM companies? Definitely! But…

The emergency budget gave little indication for when and how big.  We expect more outsourcing, but IT outsourcing companies are bracing for large cuts.  The government lied about schools capital expenditure – saying it would stay in place and then Michael Gove MP stops all BSF projects that have not signed a contract. (3)

Local Govt budget cuts – 25% (back to 1996 levels) are not going to come through doing services, faster, cheaper, leaner or even, dare I say it, greener.  It will come through providing them differently, but how?  FM can help the public sector change the way it provides services, and we must grab these opportunities.

Contracts are going to be won by organisations that challenge the norm, aren’t afraid to test wacky ideas with clients and innovate so much that its not the goal posts that change it’s the whole game.  Some clients want “more for the same” or “the same for less”.  Perhaps now clients will want “less for even less”!

FM needs to be ready, ready with the ideas, ready with the right people on board, ready to change so that we can help transformation of the public sector and really move FM up the organisational importance ladder!