The above graphic is how I see FM: it's a balancing act between different areas, all of which feed into each other at various levels. It's just the beginning of the story; our obligations to the environment are coming to the front and centre of the debate on how to provide an efficient cost-effective service in a fast-changing world. Of course, it's not just about the environment. How we treat people day-to-day, procurement from sustainable and ethical sources, and getting it all done within budget is the issue. Let's break it down.
Customer service
In my opinion, the first commitment of any facilities management company should be to excellence in customer service. I've always been very customer focussed, the idea being that if we can't keep our customers, we can't keep our jobs. No amount of smiling down the phone is going to make the slightest bit of difference to Joe Customer if that light he's been complaining about continues to flicker above his head. To my mind, ethics demands we sort out the light as quickly as possible, but that's not where it ends. Is anyone asking the questions about where the new lamps are coming from, what's in them, and how the spent ones are disposed of? Cutting corners in these areas ultimately comes back to bite us; the long term pain ain't worth the short term gain. Doing the right thing costs money but it's one of those things we have to have hard conversations about.
Health & Safety
This isn't just about footing the ladder or safety lines in MEWP buckets. On one occasion I was asking a plumber why he wanted a particular hard-to-get product. It had been determined that this product was bad for the environment. "But it works!" wailed the plumber. Is it bad that I got it for him? While it's important to respect the environment, using products that don't do the job we need them to do ultimately results in people reverting to the good old tried and tested products they know actually work. So, then, which is more ethical? To use the sink unblocker we're told is bad for the environment or to use one that actually works? Bear in mind that a blocked sink is a health hazard. I made the choice to get that particular drain unblocker because, to me, the customer comes first.
M&E
Mechanical and electrical workers are at the heart of any FM operation. Most facilities I've been involved with had at least a handyman on site. Bigger sites had at least one plumber and one electrician. They were able to handle general day-to-day repairs, leaving more complex work to specialist contractors. One of the many corners cut by employers is to reduce the number of maintenance workers. This can lead to a drastic reduction in the quality of service delivery as electricians might know basic plumbing but not enough to replace a sink. I've seen this in action and it only ever looks good on paper. Reducing the number of maintenance workers reduces site knowledge and that individual's expertise. It also leaves less cover if one or more of the remaining workers becomes ill or goes on holiday. These people have to grapple every day with the ethical implications presented by their jobs and I generally defer to their superior knowledge. I trusted Jon about the drain unblocker. He told me the truth about it and I made the call with the knowledge I had.
Compliance
This is a broad area that my awareness courses have been giving me a greater insight into. It's been a feature of my working life since I got into FM. One thing I was told over and over again by my bosses was that a person has the right to return home in the same state in which they arrived at work, i.e. alive and not missing body parts, etc. Compliance ensures this applies to all of us. Ethical management demands that compliance with applicable health and safety laws is front and centre and that all documentation is correct and up to date. Rising costs are forcing businesses to shop around for specialist contractors and some of them are training their own staff to take on many of the duties they used to sub out. A former colleague took on a PAT testing course to make himself more attractive to employers. This means they don't have to pay someone to do this; he can do it himself. Of course, it also means he must ensure his instruments are checked and recalibrated as required. While PAT testing isn't compulsory it is advisable and it's considered to be best practice to do it every year. I'm a big believer that an ounce of prevention is better than a pound of cure and that it's ethical do carry out maintenance checks in line with best practice and not just to satisfy the letter of the law.
Budget
Best intentions are pointless if we haven't got the budget to pay for things with. It's important when selling services to the client to be upfront about what the cost of these is likely to be. I've seen cases where the client was promised the sun, moon, and stars — got a copy of The Sun and was told one out of three ain't bad. The point is, when preparing a budget we need to be upfront with the client about how much things will cost and ensure that the money is there. Otherwise, they get a surprise when we bill them for works and they complain about it. When preparing a quote for annual services I have always been careful to outline what the customer is actually paying for so they can make a decision based on the information provided. This helps build trust so if the cost rises, the customer knows why and what it's for. It's easier to get the customer on board for a rise in costs if we can show them what it's for and why.
Suppliers and vendors
Some of the biggest battles I've ever had were with our Procurement department. We had a set list of preferred suppliers and vendors and not much scope to go outside the list. This often meant that, effectively, some of our suppliers had us over a barrel and would often let us down, a point lost on Procurement, who laid down the law and we couldn't argue. As a result, I often found myself trying to work around Procurement just to get work done. Case in point: one supplier was our preferred company for carrying out the Fixed Wire Testing on our various sites. They kept changing their minds about which date they were going to attend on. It drove me nuts! Finally, I got fed up with them and booked someone else in to do the work. When they called me to advise yet another date I told them I'd replaced them. They went from making excuses to outright grovelling and were most attentive from that day onwards. We need that power in order to get the best service for our clients. The way I see it, if company policy conflicts with good customer service, too bad. The customer comes first and the policy needs refining.
A colleague in one of our London sites allowed a particular contractor on site, and when they got to the roof she saw they had no safety lines, so she sent them away. It is right and proper to enforce best practice in health and safety; if a contractor fails to adhere to such practices they've got to go. We on the front line need that kind of power to control what's happening in front of us and to my mind, to rob us of it by denying us the flexibility required to make the best decisions for our clients is flat out unethical. I see no wrong in shopping around for the best deal for the site, for the customer, and for the company.
And round it goes...
My foray into the ethics of FM service delivery is broadening my mind and forcing me to think beyond mere cost and even just the health and safety implications of who and what we use to get our jobs done and why. It's a complex area that is well worth revisiting again and again in discussion with our clients. The better we keep them informed, the better our relationships with them will be.
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