How do I find the ideal facilities partner? How do I choose the right facilities partner for cleaning, technical maintenance, pest control, green space maintenance and so on? It is important that you do not go about this choice lightly. Effectively outsourcing your facilities services is a strategic move and helps you to better focus on the core activities of your business, cut costs and increase operational efficiency. To help you make an informed choice, we put together a handy step-by-step plan.
Step 1: Make a thorough evaluation and a thoughtful planning
Before you take the step to engage a facilities partner and outsource your facilities tasks, it is important to take a helicopter view. What is your current situation and where do you want to go?
- Formulate your goals: start by clearly defining your goals when outsourcing your facilities services. Do you want to cut costs, increase operational efficiency, bring in more expertise, …?
- Define the services to be outsourced: make a detailed list of the facility services to be outsourced. For example, cleaning, green maintenance, pest control, security, technical maintenance, …
- Make a budget plan: draw up a realistic budget for the services to be outsourced. Consider both initial costs and long-term savings.
Step 2: Identify the appropriate partner(s)
There are several players in the facilities market, but not all of them fit what you really need. Therefore, it is important to carefully consider who has what to offer and carefully weigh the pros and cons.
- Conduct a comprehensive market research: compare different facilities service providers and weigh the pros and cons with each other. Which partner best fits your stated goals? Which partner fits within your budget? But certainly, also important: with which partner do you feel a spontaneous click?
- Check references: which partners do your competitors work with and how does that work? Sometimes a simple question can answer many questions. Be sure to look online for reviews of the partners you are considering.
- Check the expertise offered: do the partners you are looking for have the expertise and experience you are looking for? Be sure not to forget about expansion opportunities. Are you currently only looking for a cleaning partner, but still in doubt about green maintenance? Then you better play safe and choose a company that offers both services (or even more).
- Do not forget the long term: are you planning to expand your business over time? And do you need multiple locations to do so? Then a facilities partner with expandability and national coverage is the ideal choice.
Step 3: Get to know your partner well
Have you weighed all the pros and cons? Are you close to making your final decision? Then the partnership can almost get started. In doing so, a few things are important to remember:
- Schedule an on-site visit: before making your final choice, it is best to invite your potential partners to your premises. That way they can provide you with a customized offer. But it can certainly also be interesting to visit your new partner’s facilities. It gives you the chance to get to know your partner better and to assess its operational standards.
- Ensure clear terms and conditions: if the facilities partner makes a proposal, be sure to check that everything is clearly drafted. So be sure to check that all terms and conditions are clear, including service level arrangements, pricing setting and the partner’s flexibility.
Step 4: Make an informed decision
Based on all the information, make the final decision. Then the partnership can begin. In a subsequent article, we will explain how you can make cooperation with your ideal facilities partner a success.
