10 November 2016 | Jane Sansome
The key truth about FM revealed to me through this year's process surrounds the role that people development experts can play in bringing two organisations together to create and develop a collaborative working partnership.
It takes courage and commitment, but the Kentish & Co entry clearly demonstrated how it can lead to transformational change and the basis for a new era of collaborative working in which the FM provider and FM client representative don't spend their working days arguing over the rights and wrongs of the contract because they are jointly focused on achieving results for the overall business that they are both there to serve.
The way in which this programme was developed and delivered would hugely benefit other organisations, particularly where there is a complex contract structure that absorbs much nugatory management effort in trying to ascertain the contract intent! So well done to Kentish & Co for their Highly Commended award, along with their partners Johnson & Johnson and Sodexo.
The Organisational Performance category is not about FM performance, it's about how FM can have an impact on the performance of the overall business that the FM team is supporting.
The winners, National Grid Smart Workspace, working with 14forty, clearly evidenced that their collaborative working had delivered an inspirational working environment that, in turn, led to an 8 per cent improvement in employee performance, a 5 per cent increase in productive time and a 5 per cent increase in collaborative activity. The critical success factor was clear metrics against which the impact could be assessed. This was incredibly powerful.
People development and collaborative working: it's all about the FM provider and the client FM representative coming together to create an insightful, coordinated, committed and enthusiastic team that continues to deliver a long-lasting impact on organisational performance.
Jane Sansome was Lead Judge for the Impact on Organisational Performance category