What does company-wide digital transformation look like? And what role will FM play in completing that journey?
Digital transformation has been defined by one group of experts as:
“The application of technology that improves customer experience, reduces friction, increases productivity and elevates profitability across a business”,
Which sounds about right to us.
And it’s true that digital transformation has touched nearly every department in every business in every sector over the last 20 years.
It’s reinvented what entire companies do and how they do it. It’s also defeated companies who were too slow to adapt to its new realities.
Yet, until now, FM has often been untouched by the ‘digital transformation projects’ going on in the wider business. And it’s a fact that the strategic input expected from the ‘boiler room’ by senior management has been minimal.
But all this is changing. In fact, in the last 12 months there’s been a perfect storm of pressures that’s suddenly made many in the C-Suite sit up and take notice of their FM function.
Covid has shown us how central FM is in responding to new business demands:
And the fact is, many businesses have found some of these changes have actually made their people more productive and profitable.
It seems Covid has spurred many in the C-Suite to push on with more ambitious, digital transformation projects:
More hybrid working is expected - with different working patterns for remote teams spread out across the country. McKinsey say 20% of all office workers will become ‘hybrid’ in the next 5 years - working at least 3 days a week from home. Workers will be coming and going at different times/locations for different reasons - and FM will need to prepare for them with:
Our buildings and businesses may not be going back to ‘normal’ but will keep on a path of change and innovation to keep them profitable and relevant.
And FM are definitely going to be a key part of delivering all this, as they:
Facilities Management will need to be there to control the risk of compliance failures and equipment breakdown. They’ll need to ensure that more mobile and dispersed assets are:
At the same time, they’ll need to monitor buildings and respond to keep working environments safe and compliant as they are used by different groups throughout the day. This includes managing spaces to keep control of hygiene, air quality, heating, as well as preparing and reconfiguring spaces before and after use.
FMs are going to need to respond fast to constantly changing business demands. And they’re not going to be able to do this without:
to help them monitor demand and deliver services across different buildings/regions more efficiently.
After the economic shocks of the last 12 months, FMs are inevitably going to need to deliver on these changes with fewer resources. To do this they’re going to need to be able to:
The point of digital transformation has always been to make businesses more frictionless in their operations.
If FMs are going to help businesses serve their customers and support staff more seamlessly at the ‘pace of digital’, we’ll need to:
Have the tools to respond to maintenance needs faster and more accurately:
A lack of the right technology may be stopping businesses upgrading their facilities and asset management to meet these new business needs.
But also many companies have traditionally not got behind their FM teams in the past. Even when new CAFMs have been implemented and digitisation projects have been underway.
This time it needs to be different and businesses will need the right support to:
The technology has to help FM meet objectives fast and without huge amounts of disruption. The digital tools and the software partners they choose have to be flexible and agile enough to help businesses improve in areas of the greatest need and see a quick initial return on investment to keep momentum going.
You’re going to need buy-in from everyone in the business to get the FM digital tools set up and running. Making sure everybody has input in what they need from FM software is critical. Helping the FM teams integrate and introduce the technology across the business will be key to making it a success.
You need to choose a digital partner who can help you prioritise and implement your programme of FM digital transformation. There may be a lot of data and workflow configuration to manage, so you’re going to need support to make the right decisions and launch each phase of transformation on time.
FM are still going to need to explain to the C-Suite exactly what they need, why they need it, as well as set out how much it’s going to cost and detail the benefits it will bring. Even if you theoretically have buy-in from the top of the business, you’ll need to make a compelling case and a strategy in place to keep a transformation programme on track.
The digital transformation of a whole business won’t be complete until Facility Management has transformed, too.
But if FM are going to help businesses
they’ve got to have the right digital tools and software partners to make it happen.