Working with specialist service providers can not only help you to drive down the cost of delivering key services, but can also enable you and your clients to take advantage of the expert knowledge specialists can offer.

In order to really reap the benefits of working with co-sourcing specialists, there are 7 principles that every facilities contract manager should stick to:

Traditional methods of outsourcing specialist services, where contractors were left to their own devices, are gradually becoming outdated, as client expectations increase.

Innovation and a better use of new technology, within service delivery, is now essential. This means that facilities managers and their specialist Air Conditioning contractors, need to collaborate more effectively, to ensure that they meet client requirements.

Selecting the right partner is essential. A good service partner should be able to complement your internal resources and support, or even manage them, if necessary.

Managed in the right way, you could save money, increase your flexibility and improve your response times.

Today, more and more of a facilities manager’s role involves generating reports, submitting documents and proving compliance.

If more time was invested explaining the exact reporting requirements to specialist providers, systems could be tweaked and tailored, so that the data could be better integrated into your/your client’s reporting structure. A good service provider should be able to help you with this.

In addition to clear reporting standards, why not ask for more transparency with regards to the way services are being delivered? Don’t be afraid to request evidence to back it up.

This is especially important in these ‘co-sourced’ arrangements, where an outsourced specialist works in partnership with an in-house team, in order to ensure a consistent approach and to protect your brand.

Many facilities managers work with approved or preferred suppliers.

Whilst this is an efficient way to manage supply chains, it can sometimes lead to a handful of suppliers in each category competing for the same business. Often, these suppliers are all too similar in what they can offer.

Many other companies are currently trying to ‘break in’ to these service categories, bringing with them services delivered through the new and innovative technologies that facilities managers are demanding.

Attempt to challenge your procurement team to allow other companies into the approved supply chain, in order to increase innovation, reduce complacency and ensure that suppliers constantly strive to be the best in their category.

The ones that don’t invest could find themselves replaced by other new and upcoming businesses.

Communication can often be seen as one of the most frustrating parts of the relationship between a facilities manager and their supply chain.

Many facilities managers complain of receiving a lack of information on outstanding jobs and find themselves having to chase for answers on a regular basis.

Once you have set levels of response times (KPIs/SLAs), instruct your outsourced partners to send reports on their performance against these, on a monthly basis.

Technology enables data to be captured on a scale never before possible. By publishing and reviewing this data, there is a much higher chance that your providers will work to meet these set levels.

Getting specialist providers to send regular updates on how they are performing could not only save you time, but can often lead to a provider’s own performance improvements in areas that they are falling short.

The engineers who carry out the servicing are often the unsung heroes of specialist Air Conditioning providers.

More emphasis should be put on these engineers and aiming to achieve consistent service delivery across all sites or contracts. All too often, multiple engineers get deployed to the same site within a year, which can lead to inconsistencies.

A larger amount of time should be taken to evaluate the engineers available on a contract, so that the expertise can match the criticality of the equipment being serviced.

Additionally, this should complement and aid in the development of in-house teams, so that senior specialists from subcontractors can help support and regularly train your engineers, who are looking to further their knowledge.

Facilities managers are constantly being asked to deliver more innovative and sustainable solutions to their clients.

This makes it essential that specialist providers innovate and develop in the areas which are applicable to them.

It’s vital to work with providers to do this, so that project pipelines can be generated and clear energy saving initiatives planned, over the length of a contract.

A constant ‘feed through’ from specialist partners, could help to release some of the pressure on facilities managers to always deliver innovation.

It has become too easy to simply send a list of plant and equipment, then ask for suppliers to quote a maintenance price based on a certain number of visits per year. The contract terms agreed with clients vary so much, yet often, these terms are not passed down the supply chain, creating elements of risk.

Why not start to explore your options with supply partners who are willing to adapt to the contracts that you need to deliver? Co-sourced arrangements, by their very nature, offer facilities managers the opportunity to work together with specialists through open collaborative discussions, to help minimise exposure and share risks across larger portfolios of buildings.

Challenge traditional pricing methods. You might be pleasantly surprised by what you can achieve when working with the right partners.

By moving away from the constraints of more traditional outsourcing methods and collaborating with specialist service providers, you could improve your competitive advantage and, in turn, increase profit and client satisfaction.

Want to know more about how to get the most out of working with outsourced specialists? CoSourced, an Air Conditioning, Chillers and Ventilation Services provider, specialises in supporting FM Service companies to deliver specialist services across their contracts. Get in touch today to find out more. Paul.blackford@CoSourced.co.uk

Here are just some of the problems I see every day:

We believe that the only way forward is to help FMs stay at the top of their game by efficiently combining services from within their business with external partners who believe in adding real value, enhancing services and working in true collaboration, in every sense of the word.

We believe that FMs need supply partners that will provide an integrated service, tailored around the specific needs of every single contract, to help them meet all of their objectives. Specialist partners who bring innovation and fresh ideas to the table and who can help with everything from engineer training and developing in-house teams to energy savings and sustainable solutions.

This is not outsourcing. This is co-sourcing.

And this is not a pipe dream. Co-sourcing is what we already do.

Every single one of our contracts is bespoke, with our client’s and their client’s objectives at the core of everything we do. We pride ourselves on the peace of mind that our clients get, knowing that we are on hand to help them provide a service they can be proud of.

And with a background in design and innovation, we are passionate about constantly looking at ways to utilise the latest technology to work efficiently, save time, save energy, be completely transparent and come up with solutions that are right for our client – every single time.

Our motto is ‘All Around You’.

Interested to find out more? I would love to have a chat. Just drop me a line at paul.blackford@cosourced.co.uk

My time with my current employer was coming to an end and I was telling myself that this was my opportunity to do something I had only dreamt of until now – start my own business. Only problem was, I had never run a business and I wasn’t entirely sure what it would look like.

Then, one night, having not a read a book for nearly 5 years (since my little boy Ruairi was born) I picked up a copy of ‘Entrepreneur Revolution’ by Daniel Priestley. I actually started reading it around midnight (couldn’t sleep) and Wow! The first 22 pages literally gave me goosebumps as I had a powerful Eureka moment.

I was so excited I woke my wife to tell her that I knew exactly what my new business was going to look like and stand for. She said she was very happy for me. Or words to that effect!

The reason for my excitement was that those first 22 pages described so brilliantly exactly what I could see unfolding before my eyes in the world of Building Maintenance. And more importantly – why.

Basically, we are in the middle of what Daniel calls an ‘Entrepreneur Revolution’. He describes how we are moving out of the Industrial Revolution because technology has made it possible for any small business to find a global market, build a brand, innovate and to be open for business 24/7.

Technology has allowed small businesses and individuals to take on larger organizations in every market. The rise of the ‘Gig Economy’, for example, has seen companies like Uber, Deliveroo, Upwork and other freelance communities challenge the traditional business models and the way business is done.

And I see this trend coming to the buildings maintenance industry.

Many traditional companies are still operating in the way they have for the past 40 years. But things are different. The industry is changing. And quickly.

Engineers are smart. They see the shortage of highly-skilled labour and how those at the top of their game are in demand. They know their value and they want the flexibility and prestige that comes with sub-contracting and working for themselves.

And that’s where my Eureka moment comes in.

I knew exactly what I was going to do. I was going to build a platform for these highly-skilled engineers to showcase their talents and be seen as the specialists and experts they are, at the same time addressing the lack of new talent coming through in the industry, by mentoring and training the engineers of the future.

And that’s what I did.

My company has used our own bespoke technology to develop the platform that allows these specialists to serve the Buildings Maintenance industry direct. And the benefits for all involved are HUGE.

Because this new, innovative way of working, that we are pioneering, is all about collaboration – something we call Co-Sourcing, instead of outsourcing.

Interested to find out more? You can wait until my next blog or you can contact me for more information at paul.blackford@coSourced.co.uk

Paul Blackford has always thrived on solving problems. Problems that make a difference.

Ever since he was a little boy, happily tinkering away and ‘inventing’ things in his Grandad’s workshop, he has been driven to seek out new ways, think differently, challenge the norm and explore better solutions.

This led to a love of technology and innovation that saw him complete a 4-year degree in Product Design at Bournemouth University.

So when, in his role as a senior manager of an Air Conditioning company, he saw the problems Building Services Managers were dealing with on a daily basis, his strong desire to make a difference kicked in. He started to get a feel for what needed to change in the industry and became fully committed to bringing a new approach and a better way of working to the world of Facilities Management.

As with everything he’d done in his life, he wasn’t interested in how things had been done before, only what could be done with the technology and resources available now and in the future to get a great result.

His commitment to bringing a fresh, more integrated approach to the industry led to him launching CoSourced and ensuring that his own strong values underpinned everything it stands for. Paul values building relationships, listening to his clients and gaining their trust. He values bringing fresh ideas to the table, with innovative, forward thinking.

He also has an unshakeable ‘can-do’ approach and believes that there is always a way. Probably down to his love of sport as a child – he was never a good loser!

His mission to make a difference ensures he never stops looking for and designing the best possible solutions for his clients.

It’s what gets him out of bed every morning.