EXCLUSIVE BT's Martin Steele has advice for FM service providers

01 July 2013

PFM Digital asked Martin Steele, MD of Corporate Services at BT, what he would advise FM service providers to do to hold on to their big clients. This is an excerpt from our exclusive interview with Steele, to be published in the August print edition of PFM. In order to ensure you receive a copy of the August print edition, register here

Last year BT took over ownership of Monteray, a joint venture between three established FM companies, which was at the time its service provider. The new company is called BT Facilities Services (BTFS) operating as a wholly owned subsidiary of BT. While it comes under the umbrella of BT it remains a company in its own right.

What should FM service providers do to retain their clients’ confidence and business?
Everyone wants a strong, trusting and transparent working relationship with their clients and contractors. The client will always aim for maximising the benefits of the contract. To do this they’ll need a level of transparency that not many providers are prepared to give as they also want to maximise their end of the bargain. I even have discussions with my suppliers now – I want to understand the contract in quite some detail. Those are the rules. Then we all know where we stand. I’ll know then there’s no point in me trying to shave a few percentage points off with another player because it can’t be done for less than what I’m paying. That’s important. People talk about open-book policies making it work in reality isn’t always that straightforward. There is often margin hidden in so many different places that when you bring it together it’s a significant number.