Facilities management is the day-to-day maintenance of company offices, including office furniture, workstations and equipment.
Especially in larger companies and corporations, facilities management can be a time and labour-intensive process. Staff come and go and must be properly accommodated. Office spaces are reconfigured to support new teams or new needs, and furniture must be reconfigured to support meetings and other events.
So why should companies consider outsourcing this function?
A strategic business decision
Outsourcing non-essential management systems, including facilities management, is a strategic business decision.
As a rule, successful corporations are those that focus on their core business activities. There are agile, flexible and adequately resourced, and this is what equips them to outperform their competitors.
Facilities management is a standalone process
Especially in larger companies, it’s useful to view facilities management as a standalone process.
Too often, it’s overlooked or falls to someone – like a manager – whose attention would be better spent on critical business operations (and who, in truth, is ill-equipped to manage office furniture and other facilities).
Companies, their employees and company visitors may all benefit if facilities management is left to suitably trained and experienced personnel. Setting up workstations to maximise productivity, managing the supply and condition of office furniture and designed office spaces are specialised skills.
Taking care of the little things prevents disrupted operations
The best facilities management services don’t handle only the “big” things, like full office relocations or the reconfiguration of office layouts.
They also take care of all the minor issues that can affect operations, along with the comfort and aesthetic appeal of office spaces.
At K-Mark, our teams handle office moves, office design and setup, and the supply of corporate office furniture. But they also handle tasks like:
- workstation realignment, as and when new needs arise
- office chair re-upholstery and repairs
- key cutting and lock replacement
- minor repairs and “handyman” jobs, as and when required.
Security
Terminating staff contracts can compromise business security. A third-party facilities management company, such as K-Mark, can improve security by:
- collecting all office keys or access cards
- deleting or changing compromised alarm codes
- demanding the return of business-allocated credit cards
- erasing or changing business network passwords
- confiscating company smartphones, tablets or laptops
- moving personal belongings
- changing locks.
Business continuity
A good facilities management service is one that has a negligible impact on normal day-to-day business activities.
Outsourcing office repositioning, workstation relocation and office seating, storage and bulk filing moves to a professional facilities management company ensure business disruption is minimal. Teams typically carry tasks out of office hours.
Reduced operating costs
By outsourcing non-essential management services, organisations can reduce costs by redirecting resources to core business activities. This in turn enhances service delivery, and provides companies with a competitive edge in an increasingly cluttered marketplace.
Improved housekeeping
By outsourcing all elements of office space management to a single provider, businesses automatically benefit from improved housekeeping. Furniture is consistently maintained and office chairs are repaired, replaced or re-upholstered to reflect corporate branding.
The entire work space is structured and finished in a coordinated and organised way to promote workflow and increase profits.
Why use K-Mark’s facilities management services?
At K-Mark, our teams have many years of experience in corporate facilities management. Some of the many blue chip South African companies that use our facilities management services are Old Mutual, Discovery Health, Metropolitan Health, Liberty Life and Amazon ZA.
K-Mark offers one-off and full service office facilities management at competitive rates. Contact us online or call us on 021 555 2039 for more information or to discuss your needs.
