Thinking of outsourcing your building management services? 

Once your business premises reaches a certain size and capacity, outsourcing your cleaning and maintenance tasks becomes essential to the smooth-running of your company. It allows you and your colleagues to focus on delivering your own tasks to the highest standards while reaping the benefits of a well-maintained, efficient working environment.

But the question many companies ask is: Should I choose single service providers or a full facilities management service?

Both options have their benefits, and the choice you make will ultimately come down to the individual needs of your business. To help you figure out which is best for you, here is our guide to the pros and cons of each option:

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Single Service

As the name suggests, single service cleaning and maintenance involves taking on contractors for individual specialised services such as office cleaning, pest control, washroom services, hygiene and waste disposal. This is a tried and tested, highly effective strategy for many businesses looking to pick and choose the most useful services for their needs. Here’s what you need to know about the single service approach:

The Pros:

• More Control - Through using individual service providers you will find it easier to maintain control over contracts, as each provider is responsible for just one service. This means you can easily mix and match your services and control which tasks are carried out, how often they are completed and how much they cost. Plus, you can easily make adjustments to each service to cater for the evolving needs of your company.
• Honed Expertise - Contractors that provide a single service are, by definition, specialists in that one particular field. This means that a single service provider will often be able to deliver a much higher level of expertise, dedication and attention to detail than providers who offer full facilities management services, which may somewhat dilute the level of experience.
• Up to Date - Following on from the last point, single service providers with high levels of expertise in one field will make it their business to remain up to date with all of the latest trends and developments within their own industries. This means that you will receive a service that evolves with the industry, so you never miss out on any key advances and the benefits they can bring to your business.

The Cons

• The one clear pitfall with using single service providers is the fact that you have multiple contractors to manage. Using several different service providers can become complex as you will need to handle multiple contracts, points of contact and invoices at the same time, which may diminish the cost effectiveness of this approach in the long term. This leads us nicely on to the use of full facilities management services.
• Having multiple contractors will also mean that you will have had to have run multiple tender processes before appointing single service contractors. This can be a lengthy & costly process to get it right. The point that is always up for discussion is whether you get the benefit of expertise from each of the individual service lines at the end of it…?

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Total Facilities Management

Unlike the single service approach, which involves procuring each service individually, facilities management companies bundle all key services into one single offering. This means that companies can receive everything from office cleaning and window cleaning to waste disposal, washroom services and supplies under one single contract. Here’s what you need to know about facilities management services:

The Pros

• Reduction in administrative burden - As facilities management companies provide you with all of your key services under a single contract, you will only have to liaise with one representative at any one time. This will simplify your day to day management tasks as well as invoice and contract handling.
• Higher savings potential - In some circumstances, the everything-under-one-roof approach can prove slightly more cost-effective in the long term than setting up multiple contracts with several different suppliers, as it requires fewer management hours and invoices. However, this always depends upon the individual company and its needs.

The Cons

The risk of a diluted service - As facilities management providers deliver multiple services at once, it follows that the contractors are often less experienced in each field than a single service specialist would be. This is not always true for all facilities management providers, of course, however the risk of receiving a less thorough service remains.  

Less Control - As all of your services will be grouped into one offering, it is much more difficult to maintain full control over what is provided with each service and how often, which can create issues as your business grows and develops. 

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Which approach is right for my business?

There is no one-size-fits-all approach when it comes to selecting cleaning and maintenance services for businesses. What works for one business may be counter-productive for another, so you need to assess the individual needs of your company at the present time, while bearing in mind the potential future needs of your business as it grows.

The following factors are useful to consider when choosing your approach:

• The size and type of your building: If your business occupies a small building or a single office suite then single service options will most likely suit your needs best, as you won’t need such a large array of services. Larger buildings and business estates may, on the other hand, require a broader facilities management approach.
• Available management hours:If you have the time and resources available for contract management, then the single service approach is well suited to your needs and will allow you to procure the full scope of services while maintaining full control.
• Business expansion plans: If you plan to move locations or expand into larger premises in the near future you will need to take this into account when selecting your service providers. Before considering switching to full facilities management options, it is worth discussing your future needs with your single service providers as loyalty and long-term contract benefits may be available to you.

For more information about single service business cleaning packages and whether they are suitable for your business, simply give us a call on 01707 322 228 or email us at info@birkingroup.co.uk and we’ll be happy to answer any questions you might have.