tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-71766110230032827532024-02-21T03:42:28.789-08:00FMFutureThe Future direction and themes of Facilities Management and public sector procurementAnonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10918994689180496225noreply@blogger.comBlogger15125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7176611023003282753.post-83596769268180588192014-01-18T09:29:00.002-08:002014-01-18T09:31:32.917-08:00HIghstreet 2.0<br />
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Highstreet 2.0<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">It’s been a bad year for high street retail.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Numerous brands have gone in to
administration with some gone forever.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>The question on everyone’s lips isn’t “Do you think anyone else will
go?” but “Who will go next?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Where does this leave our high streets of towns and cities?
Can they thrive on coffee, poundshops, charities and banks? Unlike the shops
that have gone, the high street needs to adapt, innovate and change its
business model in order to stop declining and thrive once again.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">But who needs to do this?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">The people responsible for our high streets are the local
authorities where they reside.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In many
cases this could be two or three different local authorities or in some cases a
single local authority will be responsible for hundreds of high streets.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Under significant financial pressure
themselves, local authorities need thriving high streets, they create tax
revenue and create jobs easing the burden on social care costs<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But what do they change
to and how?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Mary Portas makes some good recommendations in her recent
report to shift the emphasis to the business on the high street.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>How about shifting the emphasis of the high
street to public services – like going to town to pay your council tax, speak
to your councillor or hire a book from the library? Should public authorities move
out of their offices in to the high street and provide more services on a
Saturday afternoon?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>How about a high
street sure start centre in a old Blockbuster? Or the police station where HMV
used to be? Or a doctors surgery, dentist and library in the old Republic
clothing shop?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Hang on! – clogging up the high yield commercial outlets
public services isn’t going to generate more tax or jobs?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>No – it won’t.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>However, it will remove boarded up shop
fronts and add diversity to the high-street pulling in more customers for
commercial shops that in turn will create demand for more shops. Which can only
be a good thing for the high streets?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">So – what do you think? Public service shops mixed in with
Starbucks, Primark and Boots?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10918994689180496225noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7176611023003282753.post-18911511315632019252013-09-04T13:43:00.000-07:002013-09-04T13:43:14.084-07:00Outflanking Nokia
<br />
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Outflanking Nokia <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">This week has seen another pillar of industry bite the
dust.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Along with Kodak, Tower Records and
John Brown and Son.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>All of them reached
the top of their industry and stopped.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>They were outflanked and didn’t react quickly enough to industry
changes. They were complacent.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">I have grown up with Nokia.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>My first mobile was a Nokia in 2001 and for 6 years after that all I had
were Nokia’s – they were the best – other manufacturers tried but couldn’t topple
Nokia. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But then Steve Jobs changed all
that.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">What the iPhone did was make a computer fit in to your
pocket and they included a phone. Internet device first, phone second. They
threw in an iPod, which had already changed the music industry, for good
measure.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“An iPod, an internet
communicator and a phone” Steve Jobs stated.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Nokia were making great phones with add-ons.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They didn’t invest in the software that
powered the internet and more importantly apps.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Apps made the iPhone – it was the killer feature.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>No one cared what the phone looked like
anymore – what they cared about what the software and what you could do with
it.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">That is where Nokia went wrong – but they needn’t of – they had
in in the palm of their hands in 2007/2008. But they continued to invest in
the software that had put them at the top and held them there – Nokia still
shipped more phones in 2007 than any other provider.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The smartphone software they were developing
was seen as niche and specialist.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They didn’t
divert resources to it quickly enough.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Once they realised smartphones was the way to go they backed Windows
instead of Android.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If they had backed
Android – Your Samsung Galaxy could have been a Nokia.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">The messages from history are the same.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>John Brown and Son shipbuilders on the Clyde didn’t
adopt modern manufacturing techniques.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Tower records didn’t move to the digital music revolution <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Kodak continued to produce 35mm film instead
of digital devices and photo software.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">The message is simple.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>The change you created to put you where you now has to change again to
put you on top in the future. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>You can’t
stop.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Because if you do, you will be
outflanked.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10918994689180496225noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7176611023003282753.post-74587696606820919662013-09-04T12:12:00.004-07:002013-09-04T12:17:32.743-07:00Perfect proposals<br />
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">The key to successful proposal writing<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Companies who supply FM services cannot survive without
winning new business through writing proposals and completing tender
exercises.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>So often I see poorly
articulated proposals.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>What’s that you
say? You run out of time? Not enough resources?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Buyers use the proposal to find out who the best is out
there.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Less than ‘first class’ proposals
can mean reputational damage, being taken off vendor lists or poor business
motivation, let alone not winning the work you have spent time, effort and
money trying to win.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Here are my 5 tips for ensuring your proposals leaves the
client asking… when can you start?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoListParagraph" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt 36pt; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -18pt;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">1.</span><span style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 7pt/normal "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Pick the right battles<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Why chase tenders that you are not going to win? Good
qualification is key to ensuring you get off to a good start.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Only chase opportunities that are real, you
can deliver and you want to win.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
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<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">2.</span><span style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 7pt/normal "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Know your customer<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Being prepared for a tender is essential.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The key to this is to establish relationships
with the customer so you can understand what they really really want and they
have a good idea of your capabilities and competitive advantages<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">When buyers receive proposals they don’t like those that
don’t address their specific needs – who wants to read stuff their not
interested in? No one – so write about stuff your customer will be interested
in – how your going to address their needs.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
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<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">3.</span><span style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 7pt/normal "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Build your solution to get to the winning price<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">A lot of people say that it always comes down to price and
the proposal is secondary.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I don’t
believe this is the case.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The key is to
build a solution that drives the right price – for both you and the customer.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoListParagraph" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt 36pt; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -18pt;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">4.</span><span style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 7pt/normal "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-family: Calibri;">ATFQ (Answer The Full Question)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Answers need to answer the full question. It has to be
customised and specific to the needs of the customer. Make sure it is easy to
understand and has a simple clear layout.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Evidence and examples of where you have done it before are a must and
build credibility.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Avoid waffle,
incomplete answers, generic standard offers, and talking about yourself.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If every paragraph/sentence starts with your
company name, we, us or our – you are talking about yourself not the customer.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoListParagraph" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt 36pt; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -18pt;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">5.</span><span style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 7pt/normal "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Present your proposal in a fitting way<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">So you spend hundreds of thousands preparing a tender which
is worth millions to you.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>You have to
win the job.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>So why do you print it on
poor quality paper, bind it in a plastic comb or in an off the shelf lever arch
file? Your printed bid is your shop window, give it justice and dress it the
best it can be. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10918994689180496225noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7176611023003282753.post-40138517847422349022013-08-07T04:25:00.001-07:002013-08-07T04:26:06.928-07:00Zero Hour Contracts in FM.<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">
</span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Zero Hours contracts have risen to public prominence over
the last couple of weeks. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They are
widely used in Facilities Management, especially in the security industry.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I have used Zero Hour contracts and as an
employer. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They are useful, however we
should not loose sight of the employee, their wellbeing and the potential
uncertainty they can create.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Here are 5
top tips on using Zero Hour contracts:</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoListParagraph" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt 36pt; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -18pt;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">1.<span style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 7pt/normal "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span>They should only compliment and support full
time contracts</span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">
</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">You will always need a core compliment of staff to provide a
service.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This core compliment should be
staffed by contracted hours staff.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It
saves on back office administration and provides a stable workforce for your
customers.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>A common use of use zero hour
contracts is for holiday, sick cover and surges in demand.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>You can calculate how many staff you will
need for holiday cover.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Managed well you
can smooth the demand throughout the year. This allows zero hours contract
staff to have a steady stream of work.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I
have worked based on less than 10% of your workforce are on zero hour
contracts.</span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">
</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">2.<span style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 7pt/normal "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span>You need to give ample notice of when staff will
be needed</span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">
</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Giving 1 hours notice does not help you or help the staff. It
puts unnecessary pressure on both parties.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>You should give a forward plan of work to staff so you can plan your
business and the staff can plan their lives.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Zero hours staff providing holiday cover does this, sickness is harder
but it always will be regardless if you have zero hours staff or not.</span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoListParagraph" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt 36pt; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -18pt;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">3.<span style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 7pt/normal "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span>Give staff first refusal on new opportunities
and new vacancies</span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">
</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Zero Hour staff are members of your workforce and they
should be given first refusal on any contracted hours posts in the
workforce.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This incentivises staff to stay in the
organisation and help you because turnover of staff in Facilities Management is
usually quite high and opportunities will naturally arise.</span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoListParagraph" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt 36pt; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -18pt;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">4.<span style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 7pt/normal "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span>Provide employee benefits</span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">A common issue raised with zero hour contracts in that there
is no employee benefits.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>No sick, no
holiday, no pension etc.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Why not?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>You can pay all of these things to staff retrospectively
based on the actual hours worked in the previous month.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This provides some security for the staff
when there may not be guaranteed income and doesn’t cost the business any more
than employing contracted hour staff.</span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoListParagraph" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt 36pt; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -18pt;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">5.<span style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 7pt/normal "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span>Communicate, communicate, communicate</span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Above all it is important to maintain regular communication
with staff.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Be clear on what is
happening and if there is likely to be work in the future or not.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Be clear what flexibility, benefits and
issues there are and be clear that they are every part of the workforce as
staff who have guaranteed contracted hours.</span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">
</span>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10918994689180496225noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7176611023003282753.post-73820266986244014522013-08-02T02:02:00.000-07:002013-08-02T02:02:51.712-07:00What puts the 'total' in Total Facilities Management?<h4>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Until the facilities management industry can agree on a clear definition of TFM, the service model will never truly deliver the value it promises. </span></h4>
<div class="textBlock">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"></span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Ask 10 people what the ‘total’ means in Total Facilities Management and you will get 12 different answers. This creates a problem for TFM – an identity crisis and, more importantly, a value crisis. <br /><br />There have been debates since time began on what this ‘total’ is and the answers, in reality, probably will not deviate from a common theme. I believe most people see TFM as a collection of services, such as cleaning, security and maintenance, managed collectively and supported by a single helpdesk.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"></span></div>
<div class="textBlock">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> <br />
</span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><strong>Having no industry definition inhibits our understanding of TFM value</strong></span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><strong></strong></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><strong></strong>Even this loose belief means different things to different people. For example, if an in-house FM says they operate a TFM service but on further discussion and understanding, different contractors deliver their services - is this still TFM?<br /><br />This brings different opinions and understandings of the value that TFM can achieve. You may have heard some of these different perceptions. Some say ‘TFM didn’t work for us’ or ‘we prefer a single service model’; but without a definition, how do people know if TFM provides the value that they think it might or if TFM provides a better service than any other approach?</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><strong></strong></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><strong>TFM should deliver greater value/cost saving than a single service model</strong></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><strong></strong></span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The consensus is that a TFM solution drives better value and/or lower cost than the comparable single services added together. Driving this are economies of scale and less duplication of management overheads.<br /><br />The converse argument is that ‘specialisms’ are lost. You will naturally need a larger supplier or a more general management team that can manage multiple technical disciplines to deliver the services, as opposed to specialists who will deliver a single technical area alone. You may have seen the role ‘soft FM manager’, which normally bundles cleaning, catering and security – all of which are very different technical disciplines.<br /><br />Large TFM suppliers in the industry will cross-skill staff. This extracts further value because staff up-skill to do jobs that otherwise would have been completed by more qualified engineers, for example, as in the case of fire alarm testing undertaken by security officers.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><strong></strong></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><strong>TFM is about more than just the blue collar services</strong></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The majority of TFM delivery models are focused on blue collar delivery. This leaves a number of missed opportunities. Expanding the ‘total’ FM service into the following areas could yield further value:<br /><br />• Integration with the real estate strategy of the organisation would combine the traditional white collar aspects of the property service with the blue collar FM service delivery<br />• Expanding into other areas of workplace support as opposed to just physical buildings<br />• The re-organisation of staff into a TFM model goes further than the cross-skilling described earlier. It is a re-design of the workforce from, for example, ‘cleaner plus’ to ‘soft FM services operative’.<br />• Ensuring that the service specialisms are not lost so that TFM benefits from best practice and emerging themes in service industries.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"></span></div>
<div class="textBlock">
</div>
<div class="textBlock">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><strong>There is a natural tendency towards TFM in the market over time</strong></span></div>
<div class="textBlock">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The bundling and unbundling of services naturally occurs in a contract cycle, as buyers search for better value by coming to market in a different way to their current provision. There is also a less frequent in-source/outsource cycle. Buyers who believe they do not get the value desired from their outsourcing drive this.<br /><br />Single service providers sell based on their specialism. However, they have a natural tendency to diversify into other services to grow their business as their single service business reaches market saturation. This will naturally move those providers towards being able to provide a TFM model.<br /><br />The UK is currently in a period of unprecedented budget cuts, which is pushing the requirement for higher productivity and cost savings in non-core business areas such as FM. This puts strain on prices and will force suppliers and buyers to innovate in order to maintain margins and save costs. One way to do this is to bundle more services together to create value and protect revenue and profit.<br /><br />In recent FM industry debates, there is evident a desire for FM to be ‘strategic’ within the organisation. To do this, FM will need to have a bigger presence in the organisation, deliver more value and have a larger share of the overall budget. Therefore, FM needs to pool budgets together. This allows the enlarged FM department to have more leverage to prove its worth.</span></div>
<div class="textBlock">
</div>
<div class="textBlock">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><strong>Developing the standard would allow FMs to manage the journey to TFM</strong></span></div>
<div class="textBlock">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">If we look at a similar industry, say ICT, this is predominantly a support service to an organisation. It is multi faceted and it only takes one service failure for the world to fall apart. Sound familiar? The ICT industry has quite a robust set of frameworks and standards for the delivery of services so that customers know what a good service looks like. Supporting this is a ‘maturity model’ that measures and defines where an organisation would like their service to be.<br /><br />If there is a natural trend towards TFM then should we try to figure out what exactly it is so that suppliers and clients have a defined TFM framework or benchmark to evaluate what level of TFM they are delivering or providing? This would ensure that facilities managers extract full value to avoid the ‘it didn’t give us what we thought’ shortfall we commonly see in TFM - because clients would be able to manage their service against a common benchmark and put actions in place to deliver the value.<br /><br /><em>Robert Cunliffe is a Director in </em></span><a href="http://www.capitasymonds.co.uk/"><em><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Capita Symonds</span></em></a><em><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">’ facilities management team. He is currently seeking to develop a maturity framework for TFM to help clients and suppliers define, measure and manage their path to a true TFM solution.</span></em></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10918994689180496225noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7176611023003282753.post-65911080242917903272013-05-10T12:04:00.002-07:002013-07-04T01:08:15.346-07:00What we must fight to protect<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">What we must fight to protect<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Recently I met a Local Authority manager who runs a local
authority children’s centre.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It is a
fantastic facility for young people.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>There is play equipment, BMX track, outdoor cinema, kitchens and sound
recording studio.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>There are 10 of these
in the local authority and in recent years their opening days have been cut bit
by bit.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">The manager told me a story.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>He asked some of the children who visit where chips come from?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The response was “Iceland”.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The manager planted potato seeds with the children
and taught them where chips come from.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>He then went on to challenge the children to see how many people they
could feed with £10.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Most came back with
meals that could feed 3 or so people.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>But after growing vegetables in the centre garden and some basic cookery
lessons the children soon knew how to feed 20 people.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">This is just one example of the fantastic services local authorities
operate.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Some people may read this and say
that this learning should be done in schools. However, these centres are open
after school finishes - If these centres are not open where will they go?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Local Authorities are required to make
savings and it’s tough to decide where the axe falls.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">You may wonder why I, a FM practitioner, have such a
passionate view on this subject. Well I believe that although FM is a non-core,
non-front line service, it deserves strategic input in to the core services of
a Local Authority.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Local Authorities
property and support service portfolio is currently experiencing rapid change
as a result of the decisions being taken to make budget.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It is
up to us FMs to deliver services to local authorities that support their changing
business.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Here are some thoughts on how to do this in Local
Authority FM:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoListParagraph" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt 36pt; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -18pt;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">1. Right size the estate to the projected size of
the organisation <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt 18pt;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Understanding how much space is needed
is obviously key.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Keeping space open plan
and flexible will minimise costs of churn. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Perhaps keeping some “swing” space which can
be used if needed or let to new local businesses – can Local Authority FMs
become a local traded service, generating revenue?<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"></span><br />
<div class="MsoListParagraph" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt 36pt; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -18pt;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">2. Establish facilities to co-locate services
reducing the quantity of smaller properties<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt 18pt;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Can a library be the job centre,
children’s centre and housing offices all in one?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If these can be collocated it would save in
all areas whilst protecting the services.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">3. Centralise all FM budgets across all departments
to maximise synergies<o:p></o:p></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt 18pt;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Point 2 is rarely achieveable if
budgets aren’t centralised.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>There are
also big procurement benefits if only one department is buying all FM goods and
services.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>A single point of decision
making will also help with points 1 and 2 to speed up change and maximise
efficiency.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">My view is that once we deliver at this level waste
will be removed, costs will come down in non-front line areas and the axe may
not need to be as big on the front line – especially on services future
generations rely on.</span>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10918994689180496225noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7176611023003282753.post-91050874099266045852013-02-17T05:28:00.001-08:002013-02-17T05:28:35.950-08:00Proving our worth<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span><br />
<h2 class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">
Proving our worth<o:p></o:p></span></h2>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Following on from the Workplace Futures 2013 debates of the
last week I was thinking about how FM can get its seat on the board – get its
voice heard – and prove its worth - to the organisation.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In times of budget cuts and shrinking margins
FM is seen as an easy target, a non-front line service that won’t matter to the
organisations business goals. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Wrong! – here are 5 steps to making FM strategic:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<strong><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; mso-list: Ignore;">1. Combine the property strategy with the FM
service provision</span></span></strong><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Most organisations (public or private) will grow or shrink
their property portfolios to suit their business.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The FM team need to change their delivery
model to adapt to this change.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Supporting the workforce in the workplace change – be it space planning
or minimising moves disruption will go a long way to maintaining a productive
business. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<strong><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; mso-list: Ignore;">2.Support the workforce and the changing nature of
the workplace</span></span></strong><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Can FM move itself away from the “Facility Manager” to the “Workplace
Manager”?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>One manages buildings, the
other manages workplaces.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The workplace
is changing, there is a higher proportion of home workers, field workers and hot-deskers.
- Is this a reason for needing less office space?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Providing workplace support will move FM in
to areas of ICT, Fleet, and Regus style services – expanding the role of the Facility
Manager.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<strong><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; mso-list: Ignore;">3. Have a demonstrable effect on the businesses goals</span></span></strong><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Whatever the business, there will be primary business
goals.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If the FM service can measure
their impact on those business goals, then they will be directly proving their
worth to the organisation.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>For example,
in Local Authorities this could be local employment, training local people or
supporting local businesses.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>FM can buy
local, employ local people and train those employees.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This contributes to the economic development
of the local area – and Local Authorities will see this as a benefit.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<strong><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; mso-list: Ignore;">4. Provide a highly efficient and modern service</span></span></strong><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">In a constantly changing business environment, any service
can ill afford to stand still.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>There is
no getting away from the need to constantly be providing a cost efficient, lean
and productive service.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Either if FM is
in house or outsourced – innovating through continuous improvement will keep
the service modern and cost efficient and be seen less of an easy target.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<strong><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; mso-list: Ignore;">5. Award Winning</span></span></strong><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">What could be a better endorsement of your FM service than
an industry award.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>There are many
available – Go for it! and don’t just prove your worth to your organisation –
Prove it to the industry.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10918994689180496225noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7176611023003282753.post-19103758672156678942012-10-28T12:59:00.000-07:002013-02-17T05:29:26.394-08:00Cross charging your Facilities Management outsourcing<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><strong><u>Cross charging your Facilities Management outsourcing<o:p></o:p></u></strong></span></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHicA9yeV_Dd9oGVM1Np6_EkA-VToS2av8aw4_4YB07olxqqPz7SuDT-Xyzx7zlJfWmZEkbA1V6Eo_W4KJ7ieyNtao4IXStyj3jZHq0RSk5WsYQrCEw9Mv-T3x8n6ScF687ZTxggB3IiI/s1600/imagesCA5V3D7C.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHicA9yeV_Dd9oGVM1Np6_EkA-VToS2av8aw4_4YB07olxqqPz7SuDT-Xyzx7zlJfWmZEkbA1V6Eo_W4KJ7ieyNtao4IXStyj3jZHq0RSk5WsYQrCEw9Mv-T3x8n6ScF687ZTxggB3IiI/s200/imagesCA5V3D7C.jpg" width="142" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><strong>I</strong></span> know I have banged on before about a simple and clear pricing
pro-forma for tender returns but this blog should also help if you need to
recharge your FM costs to various internal departments.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This can be tricky, if the specification has
changed, some departments may need more 'wooden dollars' that they were not expecting,
or the way in which your pro-forma is designed can allow bidders to profile a
price you were not expecting.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Usually
during a tender re-charging is the last thing on your mind.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Therefore, here are my top tips for a successful
tender and simple recharge afterwards.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><o:p></o:p></span><br />
<br />
<div class="MsoListParagraph" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt 36pt; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -18pt;">
<strong><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">1.</span><span style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 7pt/normal "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><span style="font-family: Calibri;">A clear and visible winner<o:p></o:p></span></strong></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Key is a pricing model that creates a clear winner. You need
to be sure that you know who the winner is.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>This avoids challenges from losing bidders and makes your internal
approval process less stressful.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoListParagraph" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt 36pt; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -18pt;">
<strong><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">2.</span><span style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 7pt/normal "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Tailor your service to meet your budget<o:p></o:p></span></strong></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Sometimes you may not be sure what level of service you can
afford.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Use your tender to ensure you
maximise the quality of service for your budget. There are different options
for input or output specifications so doing this could be the key to fewer disagreements
when recharging departments.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoListParagraph" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt 36pt; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -18pt;">
<strong><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">3.</span><span style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 7pt/normal "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><span style="font-family: Calibri;">A transparent elemental build-up of costs<o:p></o:p></span></strong></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">If you are recharging this is necessary – but it is also necessary
if you have a changing estate or workforce.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Granularity is important to consider, you need enough detail to recharge
and analyse prices but too much can be like trying to see the wood through the
trees.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoListParagraph" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt 36pt; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -18pt;">
<strong><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">4.</span><span style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 7pt/normal "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Consistent parameters for all bidders<o:p></o:p></span></strong></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">It is essential that parameters such as building data and inflation
assumptions are the same for all bidders to allow an ‘apples for apples’
comparison.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>However, things change, so
it is also essential that if the parameter changes you know the impact on your
costs.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCKRt-pa-jeOJYCGG26o2BKbGKKykWVrVnmO5gsIakLmwlFHaFhW7UrwfxtkviODQob-BF5zDGbGtow0S45IyGaBzPVeqYZDalbj_D95jF9OnbYfI9DqjSKre1phIZBszcAd8jXhhfcJk/s1600/imagesCAWJPQKB.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCKRt-pa-jeOJYCGG26o2BKbGKKykWVrVnmO5gsIakLmwlFHaFhW7UrwfxtkviODQob-BF5zDGbGtow0S45IyGaBzPVeqYZDalbj_D95jF9OnbYfI9DqjSKre1phIZBszcAd8jXhhfcJk/s1600/imagesCAWJPQKB.jpg" /></a><br />
<div class="MsoListParagraph" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt 36pt; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -18pt;">
<strong><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">5.</span><span style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 7pt/normal "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Audit, audit, audit<o:p></o:p></span></strong></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Building in some audit tools is good practice so you know
that your pricing model is crunching numbers correctly.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>You do not need a degree in financial
analysis to do this, some basic arithmetic tests and checks are usually sufficient.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10918994689180496225noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7176611023003282753.post-28204646090157539392012-10-03T05:41:00.000-07:002013-02-17T05:30:23.100-08:00Bravo Richard!<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">There is one thing I really admire about Sir Richard Branson
it is his determination.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He was
determined the West Coast Main Line (WCML) bid evaluation was wrong so he
publically pursued it and with it, publically embarrassed the very people who
would be awarding him a £6bn contract.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Madness you may say?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The golden
rule of sales is don’t upset the customer.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>I think it’s brilliant to stand up and say no, this isn’t right.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Where does this leave the DfT?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They will have to re-run the WCML bid and
endure extra scrutiny from bidders, government and the public on future
franchises.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It may change the entire
procurement method for rail operators.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Why has this happened?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Branson said FirstGroup’s “numbers didn’t add up”.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The DfT have said “there are mistakes in the
way the process has been managed”.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This
can mean two things – the financial evaluation was very complicated and it
could lead to judgements being made about a price that affect the financial
scoring but are not based on the price.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">I too have been involved in complex tenders where you look
at the evaluation model and think it could be read in different ways or you
find formulae errors.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Did I or the other
bidders challenge? No.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It rarely
happens. Why?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The golden rule – don’t upset
the customer.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>You just dust yourself off
and go on to the next one.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Bravo Richard.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But
has he won a battle only to lose a war?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Only time will tell if Branson’s decision will help or
hinder Virgin/Stagecoach in future franchises.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Stagecoach has more to lose in this market – they have 2 existing
franchises and are actively pursuing others – Virgin don’t and aren’t.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">My advice to organisations running tender processes is to
keep the financial evaluation simple, clear and concise.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Don’t over complicate it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This will help your bidders know where they
stand and leave you and them in no doubt who the winner is.</span></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10918994689180496225noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7176611023003282753.post-39943311928963959512012-08-20T13:54:00.000-07:002013-02-17T05:31:09.106-08:00Put it in Context
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Bring me a dead cat and all I can tell you is that it was a cat and it is now dead.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Bring me a dead cat and tell me you found it in the middle of the road, what killed it? A car? heat exhaustion?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">What are we talking about? </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Context! <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>-<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The difference between road kill and a meal.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Context is critical for people to make up their minds and make decisions. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Recently I did some work with a public sector organisation who wanted to outsource their FM services.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Together we did some work to quantify the savings and the service improvements that would be guaranteed by a service provider.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The client needed to get the project approved by their board made up of people who didn’t know much about FM and elected members who represent the public.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“We will save £500,000 by doing this outsourcing”.</i><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Is that good or bad? We don’t know until we attach some context to it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>A £ number is just that – a number – it has no meaning without putting it in context.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">“We will save 0.5% of the organisations budget”.</i><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>That doesn’t sound very good.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">“We will save 15% of our current expenditure”.</i><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>That sounds good!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">This means something internally but for a public sector organisation who is accountable to the public it may mean little.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">“We will be able to employ an additional 20 front line jobs to support the community”.</i><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>That sounds great!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Jobs put the sheer quantity of iphones<br />
sold in to context for the audience</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">The presentation we put together had 3 numbers on it…</span></div>
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<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">“By outsourcing, we will save £500,000 (15% of our budget) which is the same as employing an additional 20 people in front line jobs in the community”<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">The board now understood the importance of doing the outsourcing both for the organisation and the people they provide services to.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Needless to say the questions were not <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">“Why should we do this?”</i> but <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">“How soon can it be done?”</i></span><br />
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><o:p></o:p></i><br /></div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10918994689180496225noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7176611023003282753.post-91766485879620605012012-07-23T11:30:00.002-07:002013-02-17T05:32:54.606-08:00How to win Competitive Dialogue bids – Inspired by Team Sky Pro Cycling and British Cycling<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
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<span style="font-family: "Arial", "sans-serif";">The Competitive Dialogue bidding process can take a long time – it is a multi stage, high cost procurement method.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>However it is popular in the public sector as it clarifies the requirements and solutions between buyers and bidders and helps ensure bids are compliant.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>There is a lot of contact with the customer and therefore a lot of opportunity to influence the direction of the bid.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But how do you do that amongst other bidders trying to do the same thing?</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial", "sans-serif";">The head of Team Sky and British Cycling, Dave Brailsford, knows what it takes to win.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He has transformed British Cycling in to world beaters.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Over the past 2 years I have applied Dave Brailsford’s philosophy to my own bidding activities at the company I work for.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial", "sans-serif";">Dave Brailsford talks about a strategy called ‘Controlling Variables’.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This means that you take into account conditions which may vary during <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">the bid</i> (and possibly change the results) and control them to remove or minimise their affect on the result of <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">the bid</i> in your favour.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial", "sans-serif";">I see each bid requirement as a variable that needs to be controlled and managed so that the proposal is perceived as the best.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I can then start to see the variables I will be best at amongst the competition and the ones I need to improve.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial", "sans-serif";">The Competitive Dialogue bid process is essentially a great big arms race. There are a lot of requirements to get right in terms of commercial proposals, service delivery methods, proposed operational people, the price and the quality of the written submission.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial", "sans-serif";">There is no doubt you need to compete with the other bidders on all these variables.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Controlling the direction of discussion in customer meetings is important to ensure that the bid is perceived as the best, most innovative and compelling. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial", "sans-serif";">The way to do this is to make sure nothing is left to chance In terms of knowledge, preparation, other work pressures on the team, support, stakeholder knowledge, research, analysis of dialogue meetings and so on.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Work everything through in detail. It is all about finding the incremental advantage – the nugget of information or idea that the other bidder hasn’t thought about that improves your bid.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial", "sans-serif";">Dave Brailsford calls this – “performance by the aggregation of marginal gains.” He says, “It means taking the 1% from everything you do; finding a 1% margin for improvement in everything you do. That's what Team Sky and British Cycling try to do from the mechanics upwards.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>For example, If a mechanic sticks a tyre on, and someone comes along and says it could be done better, it's not an insult - it's because they are always striving for improvement, for those 1% gains, in absolutely every single thing they do." </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial", "sans-serif";">Naturally, all these tiny gains can add up to large gain – and that’s the approach that has underpinned Britain's phenomenal success in cycling. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial", "sans-serif";">So if a bid can be the best and the bid team performs to the absolute highest level, this is success from a process point of view. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If you start looking at the outcome in terms of just the result it is impacted on by so many other variables that you are putting yourself and your team under an massive amount of unnecessary pressure. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial", "sans-serif";">The one thing you are in charge of is being your best. It’s therefore critical to have the right people with knowledge and motivation.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial", "sans-serif";">This is the most important variable. It is one you are totally in control of and can not be influenced by other companies.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The behaviour, attitude and motivation of your dialogue team is as important, if not more, than the actual nuts and bolts of the bid.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial", "sans-serif";">There is always room for improvement here because to keep going for (in some cases) up to a year in Competitive Dialogue is such a monumental effort.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>To carry on making the investment must largely be in the mind. That is where there is an opportunity. Psychology is everything.</span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">After a long process, put yourself in the best place to win</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial", "sans-serif";">In a Competitive Dialogue situation, part of the psychological armoury is that rivals simply look at the investment being made and think: well, there's no point competing. That is a clear advantage that didn’t need any innovation.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial", "sans-serif";">This is one variable that each bidder cannot control, that is the rate of progression of the other bidders. So, if you perform better than other bidders and progress faster, you will cover more ground, leave less to chance or luck and be in the best position to win.</span></div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10918994689180496225noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7176611023003282753.post-83168214149472647952011-07-04T12:20:00.001-07:002013-02-17T05:33:40.354-08:00<span xmlns=""></span><h1>
<span xmlns="">The power of social media in highways services</span></h1>
<span xmlns="">Here he goes again, another wacky idea. Can we not we just stick to Ceefax I hear you say?</span><br />
<span xmlns="">Well no.</span><br />
<span xmlns="">Social media is going to be vital to our market place in the years to come. Why?</span><br />
<span xmlns="">Because we are going to have no money to do, the things we have done before and we need people to do it for us.</span><br />
<span xmlns="">That's Localism I hear you say!</span><br />
<span xmlns="">Correct – localism is about letting people do stuff and the power of social media is letting the public do stuff for you too. Let me give you an example…</span><br />
<span xmlns="">What's the fastest way to get news these days? BBC? No. SKY? No. MSN? No. </span><br />
<span xmlns="">Twitter</span><br />
<span xmlns="">Seriously, if you want to know what the latest things going on around the world are – look at twitter.</span><br />
<span xmlns="">Why is this?</span><br />
<span xmlns="">There are 6 million members of twitter. That means there are 6 million news reporters working free for it. The result (as long as you can see the wood through the trees) is instant news.</span><br />
<span xmlns="">Now how is that relevant to us?</span><br />
<span xmlns="">Well… Our business is generally about keeping the public satisfied with public services. So what's the best way of figuring that out? Interact with them - ask, understand, listen then act.</span><br />
<span xmlns="">If the public are happy with public services, councillors are happy which means officers are happy which means we get praised for doing a good job.</span><br />
<span xmlns="">So what can we do?</span><br />
<span xmlns=""><strong>Listen</strong> – use tools like twitter, Facebook to interact with people and find out what they want and what their problems are.</span><br />
<span xmlns=""><strong>Tell</strong> – use tools like twitter, Facebook, YouTube, blogger to tell the public what we are doing and why. It is psychologically proven people won't complain if they are told what will happen – even if it's bad!</span><br />
<span xmlns=""><strong>Assist</strong> – use Yahoo Answers, wiki's, to help people find out about what they want to know- then they won't come and ask.</span><br />
<span xmlns="">A number of opportunities we are working on have an increasing role for us in customer services, if you want help or advice please get in touch. I'd be happy to help you trial these tools.</span><br />
<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10918994689180496225noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7176611023003282753.post-34292379077264470032011-01-07T08:06:00.000-08:002011-01-07T08:06:18.624-08:00Changing times. Opportunities for FM.<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none;"><span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 10pt;">Tony Baldry MP has set up a <span style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">New All-Party Parliamentary Group for Excellence in the Built Environment </span>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.<sdt citation="t" id="287024485"><span style="mso-no-proof: yes;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>(1)</span></sdt> </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none;"><span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 10pt;">Does this mean FM will get a bigger voice at the top of government?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Probably in some capacity, I hope BIFM takes up the baton, it’s a golden opportunity to shout about the importance of FM.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none;"><span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 10pt;">The government needs to reduce costs of its own estate and provide better value for money from projects that are fit for the 21<sup>st</sup> century i.e more sustainable<sdt citation="t" id="287024486"><span style="mso-no-proof: yes;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>(2)</span></sdt></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none;"><span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 10pt;">Does this mean there is opportunity for FM companies? Definitely! But…</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none;"><span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 10pt;">The emergency budget gave little indication for when and how big.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We expect more outsourcing, but IT outsourcing companies are bracing for large cuts.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>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.<sdt citation="t" id="287024487"><span style="mso-no-proof: yes;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>(3)</span></sdt></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none;"><span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 10pt;">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.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It will come through providing them differently, but how?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>FM can help the public sector change the way it provides services, and we must grab these opportunities.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none;"><span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 10pt;">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.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Some clients want “more for the same” or “the same for less”.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Perhaps now clients will want “less for even less”!</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none;"><span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 10pt;">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!</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">(1)</span><a href="http://www.biid.org.uk/news/New%20All-Party%20Parliamentary%20Group%20for%20Excellence%20in%20the%20Built%20Environment"><span style="color: purple; font-family: Calibri;">http://www.biid.org.uk/news/New%20All-Party%20Parliamentary%20Group%20for%20Excellence%20in%20the%20Built%20Environment</span></a></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">(2)</span><a href="http://www.ogc.gov.uk/About_OGC_news_10072.asp"><span style="color: purple; font-family: Calibri;">http://www.ogc.gov.uk/About_OGC_news_10072.asp</span></a></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">(3) </span><a href="http://www.fm-world.co.uk/news/fm-industry-news/tories-axe-shameful-school-rebuilding-programme/"><span style="color: purple; font-family: Calibri;">http://www.fm-world.co.uk/news/fm-industry-news/tories-axe-shameful-school-rebuilding-programme/</span></a></span></div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10918994689180496225noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7176611023003282753.post-62067292748468550222010-11-23T02:38:00.001-08:002010-11-23T02:38:33.623-08:00Compelling Value Propositions<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">Creating a Compelling Value Proposition (CVP)</span></b></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">When selling most people describe the nuts and bolts of what they are selling:</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">“Our new car has a turbo charged high bypass engine with lightweight fly wheel and new polywhatsitmebob covered chairs”</span></i></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">How you should sell is:</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">You will benefit from unrivalled acceleration and fuel consumption lowering your running cost whilst being sat in a new chair clinically proven to reduce back pain in our new car”</span></i></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">Which one would you buy?</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">Whether you are trying to secure that bit of variable works or wining a new bid, expressing your value proposition is one of the most important activities you should engage in. Your value proposition is your promise of performance and value. It is expressed in a short statement that is aimed at creating and occupying a space in your prospects’ mind called “best buy for this type of problem.”</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">Here is a link to a guide on creating a value proposition for what you are selling.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It is very useful and I would recommend you read it and test it when getting approval for variable works or trying to summarise your bid to a new customer.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><a href="http://www.auxiliumtraining.com/ValueProposition2.htm"><span style="font-family: Arial;">http://www.auxiliumtraining.com/ValueProposition2.htm</span></a></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">In summary when you write your CVP follow this structure:</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><br />
</div><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">As a result of our (<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">offerings</b> – outcomes and benefits),</span></div><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">customers (<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">profile</b> – your target audience)</span></div><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">who are facing (<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">compelling reason to act</b> – state the problem)</span></div><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">will (<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">do, experience</b> – what is the primary result/benefit?)</span></div><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">for (<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">investment cost</b> – what will it cost?)</span></div><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">and enjoy (<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">benefits, return</b>) within or by (<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">time</b>)</span></div><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">compared to (<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">alternatives</b>) the advantages of using our offerings are (<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">advantages</b>)</span></div><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">To improve the experience for all users, customers will (<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">engagement</b> – any consequential benefits?).</span></div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10918994689180496225noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7176611023003282753.post-23111642649777004932010-09-26T02:17:00.000-07:002010-09-26T02:17:02.526-07:00Where is the workplace of the future?<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><b><span style="font-family: Arial;">Where is the workplace of the future?</span></b></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">The Total Facilities Management (TFM) market has grown rapidly as the integration of people, process, space and technology improves the effectiveness of client’s primary activities.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>However, FM has largely been about the buildings people work in. <span style="font-size: 8pt;">(<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Facilities_management">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Facilities_management</a>) <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span>FM providers position their offering as a workplace integrators, providing environments for customers to excel and positively effect the wellbeing of their staff. <span style="font-size: 8pt;"><a href="http://www.bbworkplace.com/">http://www.bbworkplace.com/</a></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">Imagine this for a minute…. What will my office look like in 2020? Will I even have an office!?</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><b><span style="font-family: Arial;">There are numerous forces driving a workplace change</span></b></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="Bulletlist" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt 17pt;"><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7pt 'Times New Roman';"> </span></span></span><span style="font-family: Arial;">Government is turning to the sale of property to generate efficiency savings</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 8pt;"><a href="http://www.propertyweek.com/story.asp?storycode=3138900"><span style="font-family: Arial;">http://www.propertyweek.com/story.asp?storycode=3138900</span></a></span></div><div class="Bulletlist" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt 17pt;"><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7pt 'Times New Roman';"> </span></span></span><span style="font-family: Arial;">Government sees property as the key to a low carbon future</span></div><div class="Bulletlist" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; mso-list: none; tab-stops: 36.0pt; text-indent: 0cm;"><span style="font-size: 8pt;"><a href="http://www.fm-world.co.uk/news/fm-industry-news/minister-cites-fm-as-key-to-cutting-carbon/"><span style="font-family: Arial;">http://www.fm-world.co.uk/news/fm-industry-news/minister-cites-fm-as-key-to-cutting-carbon/</span></a></span></div><div class="Bulletlist" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt 17pt;"><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7pt 'Times New Roman';"> </span></span></span><span style="font-family: Arial;">Technology will drive the new workplace resulting in ‘anywhere’ desks and the virtual office</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 8pt;"><a href="http://crave.cnet.co.uk/software/0,39029471,49301286,00.htm"><span style="font-family: Arial;">http://crave.cnet.co.uk/software/0,39029471,49301286,00.htm</span></a><span style="font-family: Arial;"> </span><a href="http://www.wharf.co.uk/2009/04/virtual-office-is-workplace-of.html"><span style="font-family: Arial;">http://www.wharf.co.uk/2009/04/virtual-office-is-workplace-of.html</span></a></span></div><div class="Bulletlist" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt 17pt;"><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7pt 'Times New Roman';"> </span></span></span><span style="font-family: Arial;">Social-economic factors are driving a change in the working population</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 8pt;"><a href="http://www.flexibility.co.uk/flexwork/general/future-workforce.htm"><span style="font-family: Arial;">http://www.flexibility.co.uk/flexwork/general/future-workforce.htm</span></a></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">Flexibility is not new; organisations have been delivering solutions to allow organisations to take advantage such as enabling a wider recruitment pool, lowering recruitment costs, enabling ICT to become more efficient, more agile, and more productive.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 8pt;"><a href="http://globalservices.bt.com/LeafAction.do?Record=Flexible_Working_Services_solutions_all_en-gb"><span style="font-family: Arial;">http://globalservices.bt.com/LeafAction.do?Record=Flexible_Working_Services_solutions_all_en-gb</span></a></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><b><span style="font-family: Arial;">What next for FM?</span></b></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">What do FM providers need do to take advantage of the change?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Offer more services or continue to look to the physical environment for its bread and butter?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">There will be many changes over the coming years, and if one things for sure, there is a big prize for those who innovate and continue to support clients and customers.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></span></div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10918994689180496225noreply@blogger.com0