How to Choose the Right Facilities Management Partner for Your Business

Here is our 5-step guide on choosing the perfect Facilities Management company for you. 

Step 1: Assess Your Business Needs

It helps to have a clear understanding of your business’ needs; do you require Soft FM, Hard FM, or a mixture of both? Do you require basic maintenance services, or are you looking for a more comprehensive solution? A good facilities manager should be able to walk you through these options, and help you arrive at the best result for your business.   

Click here to learn more about Soft FM and Hard FM, and here to learn more about FM services! 

Key Point: a good Facilities Manager will help you create a detailed scope of the services your facility requires. 

Step 2: Identify Specialised Requirements 

Different facilities will cater to different industries of business; a facility in the healthcare industry may prioritise a strict adherence to hygiene standards and a requirement for additional precautions (e.g. on-site generators to ensure there is always power), whereas a corporate office may instead focus on energy saving and sustainability. When choosing a Facilites Manager, it's important to make sure that they will be able to meet your specific requirements; for example, a Facilities Management company which specialises in small shops may not be suitable to manage health facilities. 

Key Point: make sure that your Facilites Manager is comfortable with your industry. 

Step 3: Consider The Cost and Quality 

Cost is an important factor, however, it should not be the main drive in your decision; the most expensive option is not always the best, and the cheapest option is not always the worst! A good Facilities Managment company should provide clear costing with no hidden fees; you should be able to understand exactly what you're paying for. 

Key Point: you should be able to understand exactly what you're paying for. 

Step 4: Ensure Strong Communication and Trust 

When handing over the responsibility of your facility, it is important that you completely trust your Facilities Manager; communication is the key to developing this strong partnership that allows you to maintain complete faith. You need to make sure that your Facilities Manager isn't afraid to tell you hard truths, but also that they're not manipulating the truth and ripping you off. Your Facilities Manager should be happy to give you the time and effort to kindle this relationship, and should be happy to answer any questions you have, never making you feel like a burden. 

Key Point: your Facilities Manager should be honest, communicative, and you should feel comfortable and happy when talking to them, even regarding tricky situations. 

Step 5: Evaluate long-term partnership potential 

A Facilities Management company isn't a standard service provider, they're a partner in the success of your business, oftentimes taking care of your entire workspace in the background of your daily activities. You should pick a facilities manager who, when looking at all of the above steps, you feel exceeds expectations. You should feel comfortable with any questions or requests, and should feel that they truly want what is best for you and your facility. As your business grows, so will your needs, and your FM provider should help scale your facility to match. 

Key Point: you should choose a Facilities Management company that you will enjoy working with, and one that you can envision helping you grow. 

SEFM are proud to offer facilities management services across the UK; if you need any help with your facility, fill out our form by clicking here and a member of our team will be happy to assist you!