Running a business in this economic climate is a tough job. With the banking crisis of 2009 still causing problems in markets all over the world, combined with the deepening Eurozone debacle, business is becoming tougher and tougher for the majority of companies. This can be seen with the increasingly empty high streets around the country and record numbers of businesses going into receivership or folding completely.
However, there are some good ways to streamline your business and maximise your profits, without cutting huge numbers of staff.
Facilities management, or FM for short, is the practice of managing all of the assets within a company centrally. This can include (but isn’t limited to) space coordination, staff and infrastructure, and within a business this should cover all aspects of the day to day running. It often includes non-core functions of the company as well such as all the details of personal management and extras that a business invariably needs (cleaning, maintenance, health and safety, fire regs etc).
Specialised facilities management companies can be drafted in to oversee the smooth running of all of these sectors within a business, or to provide specialist help for a certain sector.
For example:
– An FM company could be employed to oversee an entire company, and would first look at and audit current procedures, then suggest and finally implement measures to improve the efficiency. Potentially, this could mean the loss of some staff, but usually lots of small tweaks can be made to increase overall efficiency. Lots of small savings often add up to a huge saving, and much more than most companies expect.
– Alternatively, a specialist FM company could be brought in to completely run one single department within a company. This usually means they effectively take it over, and the company would provide skilled staff in the correct industry, hire, fire and pay them as well as overseeing the day to day running. They would then report back to the client with activities conducted, and the client would have a department that runs itself at no effort to them.
Facilities management is a growing market, and with the economic downturn it has seen a boom from companies looking to save money and become more efficient. While you may think that getting rid of staff is one of the only ways to save money in a business, making lots of little improvements in the efficiency is actually a far more effective way of both saving some cash and having a business that runs more smoothly.
Photo courtesy of USDA.gov
John is a business specialist working for Aktrion Food, the largest UK facilities management company. He firmly believes, especially in an economic climate like this, that facilities management can solve many business problems and really help to increase profits.