Budget is the main challenge facing today’s FM

Propertyserve survey highlights the key issues keeping facilities managers awake at night

According to a group of facilities managers, 40 per cent believe that budget is the main challenge facing them. This was the key finding from a survey[1] conducted by Propertyserve UK, which provides fully-managed helpdesk and procurement solutions exclusively to the property and asset management sector.

In terms of the other challenges – more than one third (35 per cent) stated procurement, and – unsurprisingly – 26 per cent advised that it was time.

Commenting on the findings, Chris MacDonald, managing director at Propertyserve, said: “The fact that the three leading concerns stated by FM’s make no reference to property owners or tenants is a real sign of the times. Procurement, time and budgets are mainly internal procedures and activities – two of which relate directly to administration.

“Once upon a time, we would have had answers along the lines of: ‘troublesome tenants’, ‘over- demanding clients’ or ‘time spent on the road’ as some of the typical responses.

“Today, the FM’s role has been extended so that the control measures and level of administration involved carry equal, if not more, weight than the traditional and practical role of a facilities manager.

“Procurement is an area of property management which has come under the spotlight in recent years. More than ever, it has become important for organisations to achieve savings through economies of scale, and improved control over their contractor base.”

Ricky Nelson, senior facilities manager at Jones Lang LaSalle, added: “The role of the FM has changed significantly over the past 10 years. The administrative responsibilities have grown due to the drive from managing agents to provide their clients with real time budget reporting as well as providing audit trails for each FM process facilitating a transparent service.

“This has been coupled with a heightened appreciation for the importance of health and safety and the need to thoroughly vet and validate risk assessments and method statements, whilst ensuring contractors have the necessary qualifications, certifications and insurances in place to work safely on the managed portfolio.”

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Notes to editors

About Propertyserve UK:

Propertyserve UK (propertyserve.co.uk) is a facilities management helpdesk provider and managed procurement service for commercial buildings.

Propertyserve UK supports commercial landlords and managing agents that own or manage properties throughout the UK. The company helps to remove the logistical issues and risks associated with maintaining the fabric of the building, using sustainable procurement methods. It also focuses on making costs transparent, whilst reducing the risks associated with CIS, health & safety and debt liability to the landlord.

Handling all liaison between contractors, facilities managers and tenants for maintenance issues, Propertyserve UK aims to offer a cost and time effective service for all parties. The company provides ongoing supplier management – greatly reducing the risk to the property owner.

For further information, please contact:

Katrina Suppiah/Lisa Lewis – Publicité

Tel: 020 8543 6582

Email: k.suppiah@publicite.co.uk; l.lewis@publicite.co.uk