Hall of Fame – Partners in print

31 August 2012

In the penultimate part of our review of PFM Award winners from 2011, we take a look at the project between Incentive FM and Emap that won the Partners in FM – SME Organisations category

In March 2009 Emap, the British media company that specialises in the production of business-to-business magazines and the organisation of business events and conferences, awarded Incentive FM a long-term facilities management contract, worth in excess of £11 million.

Under the terms of the contract, Incentive FM became the sole provider of a full range of facilities management services at all Emap locations in London, Bournemouth, Brighton and Leeds. This includes areas such as post, reception, help desk, visitor management, maintenance, M&E, cleaning and catering. As part of the deal 16 members of staff transferred to Incentive FM under TUPE regulations.

Emap had previously entered into several large scale non-FM outsourcing projects including both its finance and HR functions. FM was a logical progression within this business strategy which is designed to allow the business to focus on its core media activities. Incentive FM's remit is to inject some cutting edge facilities management procedures into Emap's operations and drive out costs and inefficiency where practical.

Partnership agreement

Working closely together the partners, Incentive FM and Emap, have developed an annual joint business plan with deliverable objectives. These reflect Emap's clear core tactical goals and are continually reviewed throughout the contract and awarded a RAG (red, amber or green) status. As objectives are attained, analysis of the benefits are captured to demonstrate continuous improvement and the value of the partnership. This healthy approach to contract management ensures not just delivery against the pre-determined service level agreement, but also the evolving strategic requirements of the partnership.

This is supported by a comprehensive reporting platform including:
+Service achievement & improvement
+Budgetary performance
+Energy usage
+Recycling performance
+Helpdesk performance

All of this information is reported via a high-level monthly dashboard style report. The business plan is reviewed in partnership with Emap and updated on a monthly basis. As part of the commitment to continuous improvement, Incentive FM and Emap are working through a process of KPI revision aiming to re-base service levels and promote further improvements to the operation.

Innovation

The dashboard reporting is also formally reviewed on a monthly basis and has proven to be a hugely beneficial and efficient method of reporting areas of performance that were not previously captured. This assists Emap in making business decisions to provide a safe and modern place of work.

Incentive FM has taken a holistic approach to the management of Emap's flagship UK sites and analysed both internal and external processes to identify opportunities to both improve service and drive down cost.

Upon taking over the contract in March 2009, Incentive FM implemented a number of reforming measures such as rationalising night-time guarding and implementing a new visitor management, asset management and help desk system. The existing maintenance contract was substantially reduced and re-let and an in-house maintenance operative employed on the company's payroll – the combination of factors here reduced maintenance spend alone by around 40%.

Incentive FM brought in its own cleaning team from Incentive QAS and flow cleaning was introduced to increase both productivity and energy efficiency.

All office based facilities management administrative systems were updated and a new CAFM system was implemented to improve control and accessibility. This substantially updated and improved Invoice Checking, Purchasing Orders and Visitor Management. For the Helpdesk, new procedures included logging of reactive tasks in addition to PPM scheduling and asset management.

Incentive FM's PDA solution has also been implemented to enhance the impact of service as well as to provide a more efficient approach to task management. Quality based monitoring is also being introduced to assist with consistent analysis of standards across the service range. This links into the CAFM and provides a completely transparent audit trail of service performance as well as increasing the efficiency and therefore the impact of the on-site team.

The management of low-level building maintenance was also substantially restructured to focus more effectively on the continual upkeeping of general site appearance. Contract management was reinforced throughout to improve service levels within the company's structures as well as to support and develop the largely unchanged enthusiastic and experienced on-site team.

Incentive FM introduced monthly KPI reporting to improve clarity within in-house processes, which has led to consistently improved results across all areas. A repository for client information and monthly reports is also made instantly accessible to Emap on the secure client area of Incentive’s website to ensure transparency.

The original contract catering operation was vigorously assessed and substantial costs were driven out here in phase one of the operation and more significant savings were latterly achieved through the in-sourcing of catering at the “Black Cat Café” in the London offices, with the assistance of Incentive Catering and their sector experts.

The benefits have been significant with a 45% reduction in the client subsidy for the service. Following consultation with Emap staff the approach to food preparation and the available range has been redesigned, so fresh products are now prepared on site which were previously bought in. This fresh approach has lead to a significant increase in sales whilst also reducing operating costs and therefore subsidy.

Following the success of the catering operation in year 2, Incentive FM and Emap have reinvested a proportion of the savings from the catering into improved facilities including the refurbishment of the catering facilities and the introduction of a deli style “sandwich to order ” bar. This has significantly improved the overall customer experience as well as increasing sales.

PROGRAMME ACHIEVMENTS

Service Delivery
Through continuous focus and challenging of services, performance has consistently increased from an overall score of 80% at original contract take to 96% where it is currently.

Financial
+Incentive FM has significantly reduced spend from original take on budget through:
+Providing integrated services which were previously contracted out (Catering, cleaning and handyman activities)
+Reviewing and consolidating suppliers
+Controlling spend
+Energy buying (working with Emap procurement)
+’Right Sizing' staffing levels

The original take on budget was in excess of £2m pa. After savings (inclusive of all IFM fees) Incentive FM has generated £380k of savings in year 1 (2009). The budget for 2010 as a consequence of these improvements was set and achieved at almost 20% lower than the original budget inclusive of management fees.

Incentive FM has implemented its unique Risk & Reward scheme that provides a performance bonus for over achievement. The performance bonus achieved is shared equally between Incentive FM and the site-based staff.

Sustainability
Incentive FM and Emap work together to achieve sustainability objectives within the business, property and FM strategy to benefit the environment, the workforce and the wider community. Incentive FM supports Emap's environmental initiatives “the power of 10”.

Activities to date:
+Review and refresh of waste/recycling signage
+Review of recycling companies
+Implementation of a can recycling scheme
+Ongoing review of the feasibility of PIR activated lights throughout the building to cut down wasted energy
+Recommendation regarding the use of compostable paper cups which will be disposed of via food waste
+Recommendation regarding the use of a PC Power Down system, to switch off all PCs when not in use, out of hours

Benefits to both parties

Delivered savings are considered for reinvestment within Emap to improve the working environment and standards within the business such as fabric improvements and the Black Cat Project. Incentive FM has already removed over £100k pa (45%) of subsidy from the catering operation and is striving towards a zero subsidy model.

Incentive FM has been involved in a recent project with a specialist workspace design partner who has been conducting a survey to assess the workspace usage and allocation to support Emap's business needs.

Incentive FM has already been involved working with Corporate Property Advisors (Emap's external property advisor) in redistributing one of Emap's departments and freeing up valuable office space within the building. This has reduced overall lease costs and has delivered a further annual saving of another £160,000 per annum outside Incentive FM's direct control.

As well as being a high-quality reciprocated commercial deal, this partnership has enabled Incentive FM to build upon its experience in providing the full range of facilities management services to a vibrant and dynamic commercial business. Working with Emap on contemporary projects such as the sustainability “the Power of 10” has given the company an increased depth of understanding on how changes in legislation and climate focused commitments really impact on corporate organisations.

"The basis of this success lies in the true openness between Incentive FM and Emap. This has resulted in a significant improvement in the look and feel of our facilities. This openness allows us to add value and bring innovation to the service delivery and the level of reporting and management information ensures demonstrable improvements in service.”
Jason Stead – Emap's Director of Procurement

Key highlights

+Service performance up from 80% to 96%
+Maintenance spend down by 40%
+First year savings of £380K
+20% reduction on budget in subsequent year
+Savings reinvested to improve standards
+Self funded management and performance fees
+Staff motivation and development

“The judges said this partnership is an example of an effective and efficient relationship that drives down costs and increases value to both parties.”