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FACILITIES MANAGEMENT: BRITISH INSTITUTE OF FACILITIES MANAGEMENT
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FACILITIES MANAGEMENT: BRITISH INSTITUTE OF FACILITIES MANAGEMENT
EXCITING
TIMES Building Design and Construction Magazine speaks to Gareth Tancred the new CEO of BIFM t is an exciting time for the British Institute of Facilities Management (BIFM) as it looks forward to celebrating its twenty-year anniversary with one of its most successful twelve months to date. Established in 1993, the professional body for facilities management was set up to represent and promote the interests of its members within the wider community. In the early 1990s, FM was still in its infancy but BIFM, committed to its goal of nurturing and developing the profession, has grown substantially just as facilities management has matured in stature. The institute delivers industry-leading services and benefits for its 12,000-plus individual and corporate members including providing information and support, qualifications, professional development, training and networking. Now, as the institute nears twenty years in existence, it has appointed the expertise of Gareth Tancred as its CEO. Gareth’s vast experience and knowledge of BIFM and FM will be, as the board sees it, the driving force behind BIFM’s next phase of growth. “Naturally, I was delighted to receive the appointment,” Gareth tells Building Design and Construction magazine. “I have been with BIFM for almost three years and have worked closely with the board throughout that time. Having an acting role as CEO previously I was overjoyed to receive the news that I had the permanent appointment. The backing from
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the board has given me the encouragement and the remit to carry on delivering the strategy.” Chairman Ian Broadbent spoke of how Gareth has already made positive steps to improving the service BIFM provides. He said, “Gareth has proved to be a very competent interim appointment providing stability whilst at the same time introducing new ways of working and setting a foundation for future growth. I look forward to supporting Gareth during my remaining time as chair as we work together to advance our profession.” Gareth believes implementing the board’s strategy in a more efficient and practical way is key to BIFM’s own progression. “I look forward to keeping up the great work and momentum of the institute’s development to ensure we deliver what the sector needs. Driving forward the strategy set out by the board is integral to the success of the institute and to the support and advancement of this fast paced profession.” One of the essential goals in the short term is increasing the pace in which BIFM operates internally; an area Gareth was quick to seize upon during his time as acting CEO. He said, “I’m very keen on making positive changes to the way we work internally so that we can deliver on our commitments and promises. So one of the first things I did here internally was to reinforce some of those changes such as we shouldn’t be as risk averse as we have been in the past, that we have to be more effective in the way we do things internally, we need to be more agile, more
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FACILITIES MANAGEMENT: BRITISH INSTITUTE OF FACILITIES MANAGEMENT
“WE SEE 2012 AS A GOOD YEAR FOR MEMBERSHIP GROWTH” fleet of foot. We need to make our decisions faster and be able to deliver our commitment to our members faster.” But like all organisations, the recession has posed the most significant of challenges. Gareth admits that few envisaged the recession would last as long as this but believes facilities management is in a unique position. “One of the good things for FM’s is their ability to influence the companies that they work for. Whether they are FM providers or organisations where the member is the FM on site, they can help enormously with alleviating the pressures an organisation is posed with during times of global economic uncertainty. Our biggest challenge from BIFM’s perspective is helping our members to appreciate we are here to help and how to deliver better value within their organisation.” MORE CRUCIAL Effectively, BIFM’s role has become even more crucial during this time of economic downturn. And, while its membership remained fairly static during 2010, gains were made in 2011 while the outlook for the current year suggests growth will greatly surpass the previous twelve months. “We see 2012 as a good year for membership growth,” acknowledges, Gareth. “Some of the other things we have been doing more recently involves focusing more on the tools members
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might need, for example, we have just launched an information portal and we are continuing to market online courses which have become very useful for people and organisations where expensive and time-consuming training courses are simply not practical or affordable. “Certainly, over the last six months, we are ensuring we have the relevant services in place; that the right information is available for members in order to help them with the tools and the knowledge they need to help their respective companies.” RIGHT MAN Clearly, Gareth is the right man to bring board strategy to fruition. His experience with BIFM is one thing – before acting CEO he was COO for two years, deputising for the CEO and overseeing the running of the institute as well as changes to the constitution to professionalise the organisation. Previously, he has over twelve years’ experience at board level, ranging from SMEs to large UK, European and international organisations, along with an extensive portfolio as an executive director. He has witnessed the growth of FM firsthand, and while it is still a relatively young profession, his passion to see it flourish and belief in its potential will stand FM and BIFM in good stead. “My key focus is to help FM’s develop their service and the individuals develop their roles as professionals. FM as a profession is still quite
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young so it is about helping FM professionals further their careers through development and encouragement, as well as give them the recognition for their work,” explains Gareth. COMPARISONS He likens FM’s burgeoning industry to that of the IT sector twenty years ago. “You can draw comparisons with the IT industry in that a few years ago IT was very new in organisations. Now we see IT as an integral part of any organisation these days to the point where it is becoming common to see an IT director or a CIO on the board. FM is heading in the same direction. “FM is crucial to the day to day running of an organisation to the point where it is now not unusual to have an FM director in many organisations. We feel we have developed over the last few years the ability to provide the support and services that FM’s need to be able to provide the services they do to the organisation’s they work for. “It is about giving them the information, the knowledge, the resources, as well as qualifications, quality standards, training, and the networking opportunities with other professionals so that they can share challenges and solutions to problems for the ultimate benefit of the industry as a whole.” www.bifm.org.uk
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BPA:feature 2 23/07/2012 11:16 Page 10
PROPERTY MANAGEMENT: BRITISH PROPERTY FEDERATION
UNDERSTANDING MEMBERS’ NEEDS We talk to Liz Peace, Chief Executive of the British Property Federation about the challenges of representing property investors
ooking after your members can be challenging but made more difficult if the membership profile is constantly changing. “We represent primarily people involved in the commercial property industry and who invest in buildings,” says British Property Federation Chief Executive Liz Peace. “We’re not on the whole an owner-occupier organisation. Effectively, our members are people who make a return from renting out commercial space in the broadest sense of the word and it’s been getting broader. Once it was retail, offices or industrial. Now, industrial can span a business park, a group of industrial sheds or a big storage and distribution centre. “Retail has expanded into leisure and the leisure industry provides or requires a lot of commercial property space. Office has lots of different forms but we’ve also extended into things like student accommodation. We do have an element of residential but mainly those are assets where the income comes from letting rather than sale. People have spread the envelope so it covers a whole lot more.”
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MEMBERS’ INTERESTS Looking ahead, she can envisage property investment broadening further into infrastructure projects and the like. Irrespective of their type, the BPF exists to protect and enhance the interest of its members, which generally means making sure the government doesn’t introduce legislation that has unforeseen consequences for the industry. Doing that, of course, means having an understanding of what members’ needs are. Consequently, the BPF spends a lot of time talking to government, watching what it’s doing and anticipating members’ reactions and the impact on them. Liz says:
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“Government will consult us on something and we’ll write a paper explaining what it wants to do, what the impact on the industry is likely to be and what changes we ought to lobby for. We run our ideas through a series of committees and ask if members are happy. We have to know what the industry thinks before asking them and occasionally they say we’ve got it wrong but normally we’re right. We understand the membership and what they’re concerned about.” The BPF is only one of many organisations lobbying the government, which often has to make difficult decisions that benefit some groups and disadvantage others. So although the BPF would like always to get the best regulatory, fiscal and statutory settlement for the industry, it has to accept that sometimes the Government chooses a less helpful course of action. The important thing though, is that the government understands the consequences of its actions. GOVERNMENT ENGAGEMENT The bulk of the BPF’s activity is policy work that involves ongoing engagement with government departments that relate to the industry. Recent projects in this respect have included a focus on the budget measure to introduce 15% stamp duty on residential properties over £2 million bought through corporate structures, which will affect pension fund investments. There’s also a campaign to make Real Estate Investment Trusts more suitable for residential investment and follow-up work to the Portas review of the high street. Allied to the latter is a move to increase flexibility generally, such as allowing change of use for unlettable retail properties and improving the planning system to remove barriers to development. The BPF sometimes decides to run its campaigns through the press, usually when more subtle forms of lobbying have not been effective or simply to obtain a
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BPA:feature 2 23/07/2012 11:16 Page 11
PROPERTY MANAGEMENT: BRITISH PROPERTY FEDERATION
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higher profile for an issue. A recent example is its ‘Taking the Profit’ campaign that highlighted the problems landlords face when tenants go into administration. “It raises awareness that insolvency and administration involves two parties,” explains Liz. “The press tend to write about the poor retailer but every time a retailer does a pre-pack administration, there are probably half the landlords that were leasing to it losing out. “Those landlords are businesses as well and the fact is the retailer is allowed through this prepack administration to break a contract. The government wants to encourage a rescue culture but this also has its victims. What we’ve been pressing very hard for is that landlords should have a greater say. There should be redress against insolvency practitioners who don’t follow the rules.”
One of the overriding aims of the BPF is to persuade Ministers to put themselves in the position of a development company Chief Executive when making decisions. This is especially true when the government is trying to restart growth and the development industry has a crucial role to play. Liz says: “Constructors and contractors can’t do anything unless there are customers prepared to get things going. My members are the customers who commission constructors and contractors to build something. We’ve been having a long dialogue with government about how you make it easier for the developers, which includes empty property rates relief. You’re not going to do a speculative development if you think it’s going to sit empty for 6-12 months because the empty rates bill will be huge.”
BEST PRACTICE Encouraging best practice among members is always a dilemma for trade associations because they have to be careful not to lecture their members about how to run their businesses. Nevertheless, when arguing with government for legislative changes, success is more likely if the industry is conducting itself properly. Indeed, the government dropped plans for legislation to enforce flexibility in leasing and ban upward-only rent reviews when the BPF persuaded its members to agree to accept sub-letting at below passing rent. Sustainability is a big issue and the danger is that some of the demands will make buildings too expensive. There have been issues to deal with in the Carbon Reduction Commitment and the problems of introducing a commercial version of the Green Deal into properties where there’s an owner and multiple tenants.
ACCEPTABLE PARTNER Liz’s work for the BPF and the industry generally led to the award of a CBE after being put forward by members. She attributes this partly to having spent time making the property industry a more acceptable partner of government. “Getting through to government what my industry contributes to their agenda is very important and means we are listened to far more than we were ten years ago,” she says. “We’re now regarded as a suitable and responsible partner in policy development. The key to successful lobbying is to make yourself indispensable and helpful to the government. Then they will come to you and you can influence them.”
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www.bpf.org.uk Tel: 020 78280111
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BIFM:feature 2 10/12/2012 12:33 Page 8
FACILITIES MANAGEMENT: BIFM AWARDS 2012
BIFM AWARDS WINNERS
SHOWCASE EXCELLENCE IN FM L ast night over 1,270 guests attended the premier awards evening in the UK facilities management calendar to see the winners crowned for the BIFM Awards in FM excellence for 2012, with headline sponsor Mace. Now in their 11th year, the evening was a great celebration of excellence in FM. Clive Anderson was an outstanding host and raconteur as he oversaw proceedings, and BIFM Chairman Ismena Clout was alongside Clive on stage to announce the winners across 13 categories. Speaking of the evening, Ismena said “Since becoming Chairman in April 2012 this has been the one event I have been most excited about being a part of. It was an absolute delight to be on stage presenting the Awards to our very worthy winners who have displayed some excellent, innovative and inspiring facilities management. The class of 2012 certainly set the standard incredibly
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high and I am so proud to be Chairman of BIFM and be involved in the UK facilities management profession. I would like to thank everyone involved in the Awards – from our entrants, to our judges, to our sponsors, to the BIFM team for helping to make the 2012 Awards one of the best ever.” Oliver Jones, Chairman of the Judges added, “This year the standard of entries was phenomenally high and it was a pleasure to once again lead our many judges throughout the robust judging process. The judges give so much time and dedication assessing entries as they seek out the very best projects which the profession have presented. Year on year we have seen the standard raised – which has further been demonstrated by the BIFM success in the Global FM Awards over the past few years, showing that the UK offers some of the best examples of FM in the world. I now not only look forward to forward to the announcement of the 2012 Global FM Awards at the end of
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the month, in which BIFM have two finalists – KPMG and Serco – and also to the opening of entries to the 2013 BIFM Awards in January 2013.” Entries for the 2013 awards are set to open in January, with the winners to be announced at the glittering ceremony on 14 October. Full details will be available on the BIFM website shortly: www.bifm.org.uk/awards. Full details of all the winners are available at www.bifm.org.uk/winners2012.Details of the all the worthy finalists are available at www.bifm.org.uk/finalists2012.
Entries for the 2013 BIFM Awards will open on 14 January 2013. Full details can be found at www.bifm.org.uk/awards2013
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FACILITIES MANAGEMENT: BIFM AWARDS 2012 Plantronics collecting award: George Coffin (2nd from left) and Hazel Reason (1st from right)
BIFM Chair Ismena Clout welcomes guests
THIS YEARS WINNERS: INNOVATION IN CUSTOMER SERVICE Amey; Pro-active Catering at Braidburn Schools INNOVATION IN PRODUCTS Managed Technology Services Ltd in partnership with the Chelsea and Westminster Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust and Freeway Medical; Paediatric Mobile Workstation INNOVATION IN TECHNOLOGY AND SYSTEMS Birmingham Children’s Hospital, Ambinet, Sodexo; MAPLE IMPACT ON ORGANISATION AND WORKPLACE Plantronics: Plantronics Simply Smarter Working
Wales Millenium Centre: Back row from left to right: David Bonney; Tony Jay; Bob Smith; Dean Gorman; Front row from left to right: Liz Thomas; Charlotte Lythgoe; Serena Grainger Charity Casino, raising money for Breast Cancer Care and The Royal Marsden
EXCELLENCE IN A MAJOR PROJECT PwC with MITIE, Honeywell and ARAMARK; “7 More London” with PwC and their Service Partners IN-HOUSE CLIENT TEAM OF THE YEAR BAE Systems Real Estate Solutions; Delivering Our Customers Perfect Day CONSULTANT OF THE YEAR Davis Langdon, an AECOM Company: FM Support to Marks & Spencer, Merseyside Police and Ministry of Justice SERVICE PROVIDER OF THE YEAR MITIE Client Services
Chairman of the BIFM Awards Judges, Oliver Jones
LEARNING AND CAREER DEVELOPMENT Interserve; Skills Development at Interserve SUSTAINABILITY AND ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT Wales Millennium Centre; Sustainability Exemplar Project JUDGES SPECIAL AWARD G3 Systems Ltd; NATO Medical Treatment Facilities, Afghanistan The London Organising Committee of the Olympic Games and Paralympic Games; LOCOG FM FACILITIES MANAGER OF THE YEAR Wendy Cuthbert, Barclays OVERALL INDUSTRY IMPACT Professor Keith Alexander
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FMTODAY: BRITISH COUNCIL FOR OFFICES
DEFINING
EXCELLENCE I IN OFFICE SPACE The British Council for Offices’ (BCO) mission is to research, develop and communicate best practice in all aspects of the office sector. It delivers this by providing a forum for the discussion and debate of relevant issues. XL
t’s a challenging time to be taking over as President of the BCO but James Wates, a member since 1993, isn’t concerned. “I think whenever somebody takes on something like this, it’s going to be a challenging time,” he insists. “One has to welcome the challenge, see it as an opportunity to respond and try to position the BCO as an organisation that is thinking about the issues and working on them with the membership.” He is, as Deputy Chairman of Wates Group, the first contractor to take on the role and believes he'll bring a different slant from his working experience. However, he doesn’t envisage any change of emphasis given it’s an organisation that’s driven by the wishes of its members and is unique in its aims. James says: “The BCO is about delivering excellence in commercial office space in terms of design,
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FMTODAY: BRITISH COUNCIL FOR OFFICES
“THE BCO IS ABOUT DELIVERING EXCELLENCE IN COMMERCIAL OFFICE SPACE IN TERMS OF DESIGN, USABILITY AND BUILDING” JAMES WATES PRESIDENT Environmental issues are increasingly high on the agenda and new regulations and legislation shape the way the industry operates. Although the BCO isn’t a lobbying organisation, its inclusive membership means it can offer a very broad opinion and inform the debate. MEMBERS’ NEEDS The role of the BCO is as a forum on issues affecting the office sector and it undertakes research to achieve this, producing its flagship fit-out guide and BCO office specification plus other documents. It also stages various events, such as technical tours and its annual conference and awards ceremony. However, James realises, the members sustain the organisation through their time, commitment and subscriptions, meaning their wishes always come
first. “We’re in touch with the membership to make sure we are constantly attuned to what they want,” he remarks. “We have a pretty good communications and engagement structure.” Looking forward, James has high hopes for his year of office: “I’d like to be able to look back on a fine year where we’ve achieved things, had interesting speakers at events and stimulated the debate. Any organisation that resists change or doesn’t have aspiration to growth will inevitably wither and die, so we always have to be looking forward. We are committed to developing the membership and, as an organisation, are continuing to evolve and change in response to the circumstances we face.” www.bco.org.uk Tel: 020 72830125
usability and building. The great thing about the BCO is no one part of the process dominates; we have members who are occupiers, developers, architects, contractors and furniture suppliers. Everyone has a role to play and that’s why it is so different to other organisations in the building environment. They’re very much about their professional side whereas the BCO is about the product; it’s about defining excellence in office space.” James acknowledges the economy remains very difficult, with the government striving for a growth agenda, and believes the BCO and the construction industry generally can make significant contributions. One of the best ways of achieving growth is through construction activity, which requires finance to be available and customers to take the buildings. Consequently, the whole economy needs to be moving forward so businesses are growing and taking new space.
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