FM is a vast sector, what skills are required to manage clients' complex needs?

At Vertas, we manage everything from landscaping to sorting post. With so many services to juggle and so many different requirements from our clients, we need to be agile and fluid to ensure we give the best service possible.

These are just some of the ways we work with clients to ensure we cover every strand of facilities management; with the expertise and precision our clients have come to expect from us.

Read more from our Associate Director - Operations, Liam Swift , in our latest article.

The phrase ‘no two clients are the same’ is incredibly apt when it comes to facilities management and Vertas.?It is a vast sector, with many different services coming under the one umbrella - and Vertas epitomises this.?

In order to be successful in winning and delivering business, we take a unique approach. We are agile and fluid. We take the time to understand the challenges facing our clients and build a bespoke solution for whatever these challenges may be. At the end of the day, a tender may provide the basic outline of an issue, however once you get under the skin of an organisation more complex needs may be at play. The only way you’re going to deliver a truly bespoke solution is to build trusted relationships with clients and have a comprehensive knowledge of their organisation, how they operate and, perhaps most importantly, the people within it.

For instance, I have seen competitor tenders and pitches for building site catering management with a menu focusing on greens and with salads etc. While we always try to keep our options healthy, if employees are doing hard labour all day, they are likely to want warm, filling food – an edamame bean salad simply isn’t going to cut it! Having said this, you may have a department in the same building where a salad bar may be more appealing. So in this case, it’s a matter of striking the balance between the two and catering for both – it’s not a one size fits all approach.

One of the things that makes us industry leaders is the shared knowledge we have of each of our different services, whether it is catering, gardening, cleaning etc.?Although we have dedicated experts in each area, we are all able to give our clients one point of contact for everything that we provide for them.?Yet, it’s also being able to reach out and collaborate with other trusted FM suppliers when required to provide a full service, rounded approach, particularly with elements such as M&E services.

?We allow customers to focus on their core business activity and take care of all the other services and activity around this, i.e. schools are great at teaching, we can deliver all the other services required to operate a school, or a football club may be great at performing on the pitch, we can deliver all the other soft and hard FM services to support the success of the team. It’s because of our experience and expertise that clients come to us, as well.?

It’s about how we can provide a solution for what everyone wants - from Directors in companies or Boards of Governors at schools down to the employees and the school pupils, and the key to that is listening and communication.?

You have to have a rounded approach and show an understanding of what the customer wants, while also trying to influence them in a way, because at the end of the day we are the experts in this. It’s having that full circle approach.?

In my experience, and from working with other Facilities Management companies, the thing that makes Vertas so successful and run smoothly is how adaptable and agile we are, and that definitely goes a long way in Facilities Management.