Sam Rodman
Sam is a recruitment consultant on our US team. He has curated a wealth of knowledge of the facility management sector in America, and is determined to bring a better standard of recruitment to them.
The facilities management sector has grown a huge amount over the past 5 years.
The challenges of Covid have thrown the skills and benefits of FM into the spotlight, and now the sector is seeing investment. There is more call for facilities management strategy to lead the way in workplace and building usage.
We’re seeing spend on FM increasing too. Companies with distributed operations like manufacturers, transportation, and logistics, indirect spending on facilities can reach up to 25%.
The estimated total global market for facilities management is around $1.9 trillion by 2024. Outsourced FM accounts for more than half of that number. But the competition is growing too, with new service providers and service offerings springing up all the time.
Layered over this increase in demand are a number of issues. Rising inflation, disruption to supply chains, and a mass labor shortage have all increased pressure. Facilities management strategy now needs to deliver high-quality services, whilst reducing operating costs and headcount.
When faced with these sorts of pressures, it’s not unusual for organizations to look for savings without giving much thought to the long-term repercussions. Facilities budgets are one of the first to be trimmed.
For FMs and building managers needing to reduce costs whilst improving productivity, the long-term strategy is key. And a number of emerging trends across the facilities management sector could hold answers.
Here are 5 trends that we’re noticing are growing across the US after seeing success in other parts of the globe:
1) Outsourcing facilities management
The move to outsourced facility management has been slower in the US than it has across Europe and the Middle East where outsourcing accounts for more than 50% of the FM market.
When setting a facilities management strategy, it’s a good idea to review the mix of insourcing and outsourcing based on capability, cost, and coverage. It could lead to significant savings.
Soft FM services, like cleaning, security and landscaping can be expensive to administer in-house. This is especially true in manufacturing companies with large-scale premises. Hard services like engineering and maintenance are much easier for those companies to provide in-house.
But for many organizations within sectors like retail, healthcare, banking etc, with such a large number of FM providers offering Total or Integrated Facilities Management services, it can be more cost-effective to opt for a fully outsourced facility management.
IFMs are capturing increased market share in outsourcing, particularly in North America, where they are close to 20% of the outsourced category.
2) Integration of facilities management and related services
As FMs are being pushed to provide more for less, rolling workplace and building services together is becoming more popular.
Facilities and energy management are already often categorized together. So, it’s unsurprising that were seeing more energy and sustainability managers brought into FM teams.
We’re also seeing FM strategies become more closely aligned to more general real estate management. In some cases companies are managing and delivering initial transaction through to service.
And linked to this, more and more FM companies are also engaging in employee and wellbeing services too. This includes delivering reception and mailroom services, cafeteria and catering, and even fitness and wellbeing centers.
3) Workplace Strategy
With the evolution of facility management strategy, and FMs being far more involved in business strategy, a newer concept of workplace strategy has begun to spring up.
Workplace strategies balance working space and employee wellbeing. Post Covid, there has been far more focus on wellbeing in the workplace. Many companies have had to work hard to create spaces that entice their employees back to the office after two years of working from home.
This has given rise to lifestyle and wellbeing amenities being incorporated into workspaces. Meditation spaces, daycare, and improved recreational spaces, both indoors and outdoors have all become more common. Many are upgrading their lighting, air filtration and furniture to ensure workspaces are safe, healthy, comfortable places to be.
Projects to redesign and reshape workspaces are more common, and often being handed to FMs to undertake. Creating flexible, collaborative coworking space has been one of the main shifts, as companies move to more hybrid working models.
Modular workspaces have become more popular, as they allow for activity and capacity based changes, while decreasing total square footage.
4) IOT evolution
The constant evolution of the Internet of Things has and will continue to play a major role in the growth of the facilities management industry. As more data is available to FM teams, the bigger the impact they can have, and the more precise they can make their services.
The implementation of IoT devices like motion sensors for lighting and automated temperature controls can give FMs more control over energy usage and management.
It’s not just environmental data. Occupancy levels, building usage, equipment productivity and maintenance can all be monitored to unlock efficiencies and cost savings across the business.
5) Cobotics
Cobotics have become a well-used technology within Soft FM in Europe and Asia. Companies are implementing robots to undertake large scale repetitive tasks such as vacuuming, floor scrubbing, and lawn mowing.
Though it represents a large initial investment, by doing this they can save on headcount in the long term. It also enables operational staff to focus on more detailed hygiene, health and safety tasks.
Facilities management strategy for the future
These trends are all growing in their respective spaces, and we expect to see them play an even larger part in FM strategies through 2023/24.
What’s clear from all of these is that not having a facilities management expert on your team is going to be to the detriment of your operation.
Whether it’s cutting costs, maximising energy efficiency or creating safe and welcoming workspaces, the strength of your facilities management strategy will have a huge impact on your outcomes.
If you think you might need help with this, we have a database full of specialists you can tap into. Drop us a note if you’re looking for support in finding the best facilities managers for your team.
