Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Facilities Management
Business Confidence
Monitor 2017
UK
FM Business Confidence Monitor 2017 Page 1
Contents
Foreword........................................................................ 3
Introduction.................................................................... 4
Profile of respondents................................................... 5
FM environment............................................................ 6
Business growth............................................................ 7
Careers, apprenticeships and legislation.................. 10
Conclusion................................................................... 11
Welcome to the FM Business Confidence Monitor (BCM) 2017, We are delighted to work with BIFM and i-FM once again
brought to you by the British Institute of Facilities Management to measure the confidence, concerns and ambitions
(BIFM) in collaboration with Barclays and i-FM. The aim of of organisations operating within the sector. Facilities
this report is to provide an authentic forecast of the facilities management (FM) makes up a substantial part of the
management (FM) sector in the UK over the coming 12 months. wider economy and employs a significant proportion of the
workforce in the UK. Therefore, the health of the sector is
By leading on work such as the BCM, and through a core of crucial to understand, not only by those within it but by the
tracker questions, BIFM is able to monitor changes and trends in wider business community as a bellwether of UK economic
confidence and behaviours over time. This couples together the health.
views of FM teams on the ground along with commentary from the
sector’s senior decision makers to offer a comprehensive insight This is the third year of our involvement in the FM Business
into the market. Confidence Monitor and it is interesting to compare results
based on the historical data. Competition in the market
Since the last report, there of course have been substantial was cited as the biggest barrier or obstacle to business
political and external challenges within the UK market, which the success in 2015 but this was – perhaps unsurprisingly
FM sector and wider business world must now embrace. However, – overtaken by the economy in 2016 and 2017. Further
despite this uncertainty the outlook for 2017 remains cautiously clarity as to the terms of the UK’s exit from the European
optimistic with some indicative trends which show a lowering of Union in the coming months should help to alleviate some
expectations. of this concern and put businesses in a better position to
formulate their investment plans and strategies for growth.
What remains encouraging is the increase in respondents,
perhaps demonstrating the value of this BCM by the wider This year’s survey also provides an up-to-date view on the
industry. Because of its success within the UK the Business outlook for 2017, enabling us to better understand what the
Confidence Monitor has now been replicated by BIFM in both the next 12 months have in store for this vital sector and the
Middle East and last year for the first time in Nigeria. people that work within it. It is pleasing to see that more
than half of survey respondents think the Apprenticeship
Levy will have a very positive or positive impact on bringing
new talent into the FM sector. With the skills shortage a
Simon Iatrou key topic of conversation, apprenticeship schemes offer a
Editor, i-FM lifeline to businesses looking to train and develop new staff
from the ground up. We will continue to share best practice
with businesses and offer guidance to ensure effective
i-FM is delighted to be partnering with BIFM and Barclays on implementation of the relevant schemes.
this crucial piece of research once again. The FM Business
Confidence Monitor is a mechanism for capturing the FM The information contained within the FM Business
market’s general outlook and can also serve as an effective Confidence Monitor helps us to stay current and relevant
barometer of confidence in the wider business world. in our approach to the facilities management sector where
our commitment is to support our clients in the valuable
How facilities businesses plan to invest in technology over work that they do for the UK economy – providing jobs and
the next 12 months stands out in this year’s survey. Through helping businesses prosper and grow and public services
the adoption of new technologies, the FM sector is making operate efficiently and cost effectively. We hope you find this
giant leaps forward and is having a tremendous impact edition insightful and informative.
on important areas such as workplace wellbeing and
organisational performance.
In recent years, the FM Business Confidence Monitor (BCM) has revealed a sense of
cautious optimism within the facilities management sector. While survey respondents
have been generally positive about the business environment and the potential for growth,
a range of external factors have tempered expectations. This year has begun with a sense
of political, social and economic uncertainty.
Anomalous events could send the UK, US and Europe down a new path and industry –
which relies upon consistency – is unclear about where this will lead.
It is impossible to ignore the results of last year’s Referendum on the UK’s Membership
of the European Union (EU). Despite much debate and the Government’s move to publish
the Brexit plan, the consequences of exiting the EU currently remain ambiguous. Many
argue that there is a lack of clarity over important issues such as the status of the UK’s
free trade agreements, tariffs and the fate of EU citizens in the UK. Each of these issues
will have some effect on businesses in the facilities management sector, which is why the
authors of the report have included a specific question on Brexit in the 2017 survey.
Of the 450 respondents who revealed their job rank, 184 (41%) More than a quarter of respondents (29%) work for organisations
identify as Senior Management and 133 (30%) as Middle that employ 5,000+ people, while slightly fewer (20%) belong
Management. Fifteen per cent ticked the box Managing Director/ to organisations with 1,000-4,999 employees. Interestingly, the
CEO, with Non-management and First Line Manager categories number of respondents that represent organisations with 10-49
making up the other 14%. employees has grown by 2% compared to the 2016 survey results.
The largest sectors that respondents worked within were In terms of geographic split, a quarter of respondents operate
Education (31%), followed closely by Real Estate (27%). Other UK-wide, marking a 5% increase on last year, while the number
groups include Mechanical & Engineering (23%), Central of London-based participants has fallen by 7%. The next most
Government (22%) and Construction (20%), though many popular answer is the South East with 12%.
participants marked multiple boxes.
This year, women make up 19% of the sample size (a 4%
decrease compared to last year’s survey) and the respondents
PLEASE DESCRIBE YOUR ORGANISATION were from the 45-54 age group (39%).
2016
2017
WHAT LEVEL ARE YOU WITHIN YOUR ORGANISATION? HOW MANY PEOPLE IN TOTAL ARE EMPLOYED
BY YOUR ORGANISATION?
2015
30
2016
1-9
29%
2017 25
10-49
Managing director/CEO
10%
4% 15% 20
Senior management 50-99
20%
5
7%
7%
7%
1,000-4,999
2015
2016
2017
2015
2016
2017
2015
2016
2017
2015
2016
2017
2015
2016
2017
2015
2016
2017
2015
2016
2017
2015
2016
2017
0 5,000+
2015
“I believe the trend from many
2016
customers will be to continue to
2017
appoint best-in-class services
7% 12%
Very positive providers and bundle services with
1%
Positive
one partner where appropriate.
Satisfactory
30%
Poor
Customers are steering away from
50%
Very poor homogenised ‘one size fits all’
solutions.”
Mauro Ortelli, Managing Director,
14forty
2015
2016
2017
11%
However, when looking at Service Providers there has been a
significant decrease since 2015 in indicating their turnover will
increase (87% compared to 64% in 2017).
2015
2016
HOW CONFIDENT ARE YOU IN ECONOMIC GROWTH AND THE
2017
PERFORMANCE OF YOUR BUSINESS OVER THE NEXT 12 Increase
MONTHS COMPARED WITH THE LAST 12 MONTHS? 29%
Decrease
Remain the same
The survey then asked participants to state how confident they are
7% 64% Service Providers only
in the economic growth and the performance of their business
over the next 12 months, compared to 2016. In response, only 8%
said they are much more confident, while 19% are slightly more
confident. Conversely, a combined 37% of respondents report
that they are slightly less confident or much less confident.
37%
Service Providers only
60
Grow revenue moderately
50
55%
(up to 20% per annum)
40 Maintain current business p
45%
Grow rapidly in terms of tur
30 (more than 20% per annum
20 Acquisition of another busin
9%
International trade
10
19%
2017 13%
6%
2017 13%
Sell/down size/consolidate/
20174%
2016
2017
2016
2017
2016
2017
2016
2016
2016
2017
2016
0 Hand on the business/succ
60
Grow revenue moderately
50
55%
“Currency risk
30 will feature highly Grow rapidly in terms of turnover in sales
(more than 20% per annum)
for companies
20 that make numerous Acquisition of another business
9%
6%
2017 13%
Sell/down size/consolidate/close
multiple foreign currency accounts.
20174%
2016
2017
2016
2017
2016
2017
2016
2016
2016
2017
2016
60
50
57%
22%
22%
10
to prove that FM creates value for
0
our clients, especially with the
uncertainty caused by Brexit.”
Sean Haley, Regional Chairman,
Sodexo UK & Ireland
2017
8% 4% Very positive
WHAT INVESTMENT IN TECHNOLOGY WILL YOU BE
Positive MAKING IN 2017?
23%
No impact
Negative Although a multi-response question, according to the data
44% Very negative 19% of respondents have no plans to invest in technology
21% throughout 2017. Of those businesses that do plan to make
this investment, 54% will focus on measuring and reporting
tools, 52% will target service delivery software and 35% will
look at CRM and communications.
54%
40
30
35%
19%
20
10
2016
2017
2016
2017
2016
2017
2016
2017
A number of prominent FM service providers have welcomed the In April 2017, the National Living Wage is set to increase from
greater focus on apprenticeships, with some even going as far £7.20 per hour to £7.50 per hour. Respondents appear to be
as to pledge an increase in the number of apprentices that join optimistic about this change, with 87% confident that they will be
their business. Although well over half of the survey respondents able to maintain the number of employees in their business. Only
(57%) do not currently hire apprentices and only 37% plan to hire 5% worry that they will have to decrease numbers.
apprentices in 2017.
2016 2016
2
2001
2017 17
7
5% 8% Yes – increase
5%
No – maintain
Do not currently hire apprentices Yes – decrease
38% Do currently hire apprentices
57%
Not sure
87%