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personnel changes, internal change programmes and
lessons learned from any material events.
This is only a short response to a very large topic,
however my final point is that whilst risk management
is there to mimimise loss the same structured approach
should be taken to manage the opposite – gain.
FM CONSULTANT’S VIEW
MARK WHITTAKER,
FM SOLUTIONS CONSULTANT AT THOMSON FM AND
IWFM, REGIONAL CHAIR
From my
experience, two
major failings
in facilities
management
contracting
have been a
clear disconnect
between the
parties involved
and a disjointed
approach to the
procurement
exercise, which
has meant the contract has “got o on the wrong foot”
right from the start and invariably has failed to recover
therea er.
From the contractors side, there may have been a lack
of continuity between those who have ‘sold the dream’
to those who have to deliver it. Business development
professionals sometimes can receive a bit of bad press
for this, but the cause may not be as simple as that.
Indeed, post award, some are actively discouraged
not to be involved in the operational delivery of the
mobilisation and early stages of the contract and to
work on the next possible ‘sale’ project instead.
From a client perspective, have the procurement
team involved the necessary operational people and
consultancy support in preparing the groundwork
prior to coming to market? This is precisely the point I
made in my recent FMJ Magazine article (“Procurement
Passage”, March 2019), where I encouraged
organisations not to rush to market and ensure that
all the necessary information is obtained in advance
of procuring the service contract and to have a clearly
defined destination/objectives in mind throughout the
journey. So how can asking the right questions smooth
the process?
If a public sector organisation is under severe financial
pressures, for example, and cost savings need to be
achieved, there is no harm is stating this clearly within
the tender documentation and setting clear savings
targets, as opposed to simply asking for “more for less.”
It is also important to be consistent in the message;
I recently read a public sector tender document
containing three conflicting targets and timescales,
within the one tender document.
The Reform think tank also specifically looked at the
subject of ‘Social Value’ within public sector service
contracts. The Public Services (Social Value) Act 2012
calls for all public sector commissioning to incorporate
the “economic, social and environmental well-being”
to become part of the service delivery measurables.
An increasing number of public sector organisations
are coming to the realisation that the delivery of social
value is much more than simply a tick box exercise and
needs to play a crucial role in the contract deliverables.
I believe that the ‘social value’ requirements must
be clearly defined within the tender documents and
the organisation needs to obtain firm commitments
from their suppliers on what it will take the form of.
The ‘Social Value Portal’, for example, is an excellent
source of information on helping to define social
value, the type of information/commitments they
should be asking for from the suppliers and provide
recommendations on the weightings the questions
should receive within the tender process.
The final question I think they should be asking is
regarding ‘cultural alignment’. It may not be easy to
define, but must form part of any evaluation and ongoing
successful relationship management. Through
carefully worded written and interview questions, they
should be asking the supplier to demonstrate that they
understand the culture and values of the organisation
and how they can complement it.
DIRECTOR OF PUBLIC SECTOR AFFAIRS’
VIEW
DEBORAH ROWLAND,
DIRECTOR PUBLIC SECTOR AFFAIRS, SODEXO
The outsourcing
industry is
in a time of
unprecedented
challenge.
Everything
that we do and
stand for in
service delivery,
particularly in
public services,
has been over
scrutinised by
the media in
the wake of the Carillion collapse and other potential
failures facing us going forward. We have lost the trust of
the public in delivering services that actually do deliver
value not only in terms of price but the value we bring as
industry experts and the value to the communities that
we serve in the form of our social impact.
Only a few weeks ago we saw political will at play with
the statement from the Justice Minister to bring back in
house the Community Rehabilitation Centres. This has
always been a tricky contract, commissioned poorly with
the wrong model that could not deliver which then had
Mark Whittaker
Deborah Rowland
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