FACILITIES MANAGEMENT
Debunking Outsourcing
Before you take the plunge, find out exactly what it means
BY ANN BAKER-KEULEMANS
Outsourcing is not a term that should make any business feel uncomfortable, or unsure. A common practice globally, it can be an effective cost-saving tool and can even ensure best practice for certain functions, such as soft Facilities Management( FM) services.
Before you can decide whether you are going to outsource your FM, you need to understand what outsourcing is ‒ and if it could be of benefit to your business. Recently, the practice of outsourcing has come under fire in South Africa. While there are several reasons for this, the finer details of outsourcing is of less importance here. Rather, we want to focus on what exactly outsourcing is.
Outsourcing – a definition James Bucki writes on the business website The Balance, that outsourcing“ is a business practice used by companies to reduce costs or improve efficiency by shifting tasks, operations, jobs or processes to an external contracted third party for a significant period of time. The functions that are contracted out can be performed by the third party either onsite or offsite of the business.”
In the case of FM, a company may decide to contract some or all of their soft, hard and technical FM services out to companies that specialise in these fields. This can be done so that the company doing the outsourcing doesn’ t have to find, train and employ their own in-house FM providers, allowing them to focus on their core business. It can also be because there is a skills shortage in South Africa, making skilled professionals hard to find and sometimes expensive to employ. A specialist FM company understands the needs of the industry, often provides their own training, and should provide skilled and knowledgeable managers to oversee the services they provide, ensuring quality of work and best practice.
FM ‒ outsourcing ranges from cleaning and canteen services, maintenance, IT functions, and more. You coud choose to outsource individual services, or bundle them together. There are several large FM service providers in South Africa you can approach for tender, but it is also possible to engage the services of an FM advisory service, in order to determine what
it is your business really needs. Is it really the cheaper option? The recent South African Facilities Management Market Quantification and Analysis Study undertaken by SAFMA and African Response showed that, at an overall level and pertaining to industry users only, preference is more of a driver for outsourcing than any real cost-saving. It also showed that smaller or growing businesses often cannot justify the cost of outsourcing their FM services at such a small level, and is something to take into consideration.
The key to success Whilst a company that offers a holistic FM solution might not have intimate knowledge of the dayto-day happenings and challenges of your specific industry, an in-depth knowledge and comprehensive understanding of the FM industry and what is required, paired with trained staff and managers, means your business won’ t suffer from any change management hiccups and your FM needs will be met as discussed and as expected.
SOURCES
www. safma. co. za www. thebalance. com
36 AUGUST 2017 SA Real Estate Investor www. reimag. co. za