Facilities management (FM) is a critical part of any company. But why is facility management important? Every industry sector relies on a range of hard and soft FM services to keep premises secure, safe and conducive to a productive work environment. However, many businesses struggle to deliver a full suite of services when relying on in-house teams. For every business, there comes a time when the question of in-housing vs outsourcing must be asked.
While some facility managers attempt to control costs by handling all services internally, it’s rarely the most efficient and cost-effective way of doing things. Even for modest-sized operations, outsourcing these essential tasks is often the better choice. In Ireland, the FM market is worth an estimated €2.68 billion. By 2028, the market value is expected to soar beyond €2.97 billion.
At Brosnan Property Solutions, we’ve been helping companies rise to the challenge of facility management services for many years. Unsure whether now’s the time to embrace FM outsourcing? Read on for everything you need to know before making the jump from in-house teams to an external service provider.
Factors To Consider When Thinking In-House Or Outsourcing
The Cost of Facility Management
For many businesses, overall costs play a big role in deciding between in-house and outsourced facility management services. To get a clear oversight of costs, you’ll need to undertake an in-depth evaluation of your property maintenance requirements. Even if you have a sufficient headcount to tackle facility management in-house, you’ll still need to invest in training to plug any knowledge gaps. More budget will need to be allocated for equipment and materials purchases.
However, these only represent your outlying costs. Unexpected downtime can prove incredibly expensive if your in-house teams aren’t able to respond to problems quickly and effectively. What’s more, having to reinvest in do-overs of essential services can put added strain on an already tight budget. Once you’ve fully evaluated your FM requirements, outsourcing facility management usually proves to be the most cost-effective option.
Mitigating Risk
Even if you’re taking charge of some FM services in-house, there will be times when you’ll need to deal with high-risk or complex situations. In these scenarios, it makes sense for a facility manager to outsource certain tasks. This can be as simple as using a qualified electrician to perform rewiring works or hiring contractors to undertake roof repairs. As well as mitigating risk to in-house teams, working with licensed and insured contractors brings peace of mind.
Tapping into the Best Expertise
You should already have a clear idea of the kind of FM services your business requires. When evaluating costs, you should have also identified what skills you have available internally. Even if you’re confident that in-house teams can rise to most challenges, you need to think carefully about the expertise level of any internal team.
If certain tasks need to be completed regularly, investing in training, certification and resources can make sense. However, even then, outsourcing can yield better results in the long run. Jobs that need to be undertaken less frequently are often a better fit with outsourcing.
Hard FM services that deal with complex physical assets require constant investment to ensure you’re using the best tools and adhering to the latest facility management best practices. A competitive FM service provider will be able to bring the latest insights and expertise to the table. Even soft FM service roles like a landscape gardener, pest control expert and waste management team tend to be more cost-efficient when outsourced.
What Services Are Relevant to Your Sector?
In many cases, businesses choose a balance between in-housing and outsourcing. As well as being cost-effective, it can generally deliver better results. Before deciding which services you’re ready to outsource, consider which tasks are most relevant to your operation.
Are certain tasks essential to the day-to-day running of your business premises? Provided these services don’t require high levels of expertise, they’re a suitable match for in-housing. However, your industry sector also plays a role. In the healthcare and hospitality sectors, many facility managers prefer to handle more tasks internally. That being said, even in these instances, certain hard FM services will need to be outsourced.
How Much Control Do You Want?
Once again, your industry sector plays a major role here. Even if you’re relying heavily on external FM service providers, you may need to maintain a high degree of control. While this can complicate matters for a facility manager, it doesn’t mean that outsourcing is incompatible. In sectors like the hospitality industry, hammering out a tailored service-level agreement will set out stands clearly and ensure you maintain as much control as possible.
How Quickly Can You Respond to Emergencies?
Being agile enough to deal with emergencies and unplanned downtime is crucial. In 2022, downtime cost the industrial and manufacturing industries more than €1.5 trillion. In theory, an in-house team should be able to rapidly respond to downtime scenarios. However, there’s no guarantee they’ll have sufficient expertise and resources to resolve the issue. Outsourcing is almost always the better option, delivering faster response times and protecting your bottom line.
Many minor tasks fall under the remit of a handyman. However, emergency callout costs for plumbers and boiler service specialists can prove expensive on an ad hoc basis. To take control of your FM budget, outsourcing to a complete service provider makes sense.
Statutory Compliance Considerations
While the number of workplace fatalities in Ireland has fallen in recent years, many businesses are still neglecting basic health and safety requirements. Outsourcing FM services ensures your company remains compliant with the latest regulatory guidance.
Why Outsourcing FM Services Makes Sense
If you’re looking to control costs and access the latest insights and resources, outsourcing FM services is preferable to undertaking them in-house. An experienced FM provider provides you with specialised expertise that would be impossible to replace internally. What’s more, you don’t have to worry about availability, with rapid response times to unexpected emergencies as standard.
Looking for an experienced FM provider? Brosnan Property Solutions have been serving clients across Ireland for more than 20 years, offering a full range of hard and soft FM services. Call us today on 021 4193056 or drop us a message via the online contact form.
