January 9, 2002—The results of FMLinks outsourcing survey show not only a definite trend toward more outsourcing of facilities management (FM) functions, but also an increase in the number of outsourced functions. There are now eight FM functions that are being outsourced by at least 45% of the FM respondents, and some by as many as 72%.
Two hundred two FMLink subscribers responded to the online survey, which was cosponsored by Encompass Global Technologies. Custodial and housekeeping, design and architecture, and landscape maintenance were named as the top outsourced funtions. Over the next two years, respondents anticipate considerable expansion in outsourcing, with the highest growth in preventative maintenance.
The survey uncovered that in-house facilities managers spend a significant amount of time managing outsourced contracts, ranging from at least 13 hours per month per function, to as many as 44 hours for some functions. Realized cost savings also were shown to vary depending on the outsourced function, with the greatest savings from outsourced custodial and housekeeping services. One quarter of the respondents had brought an outsourced function back in-house; the primary reasons stated were either because of cost or service quality.
The survey also looked at unique aspects of outsourcing functions for mission critical facilities (facilities that must be fully operational at all times). Forty-one percent of the respondents reported no differences when outsourcing such functions. However, mission critical facility functions were outsourced less often, primarily because of inadequate contractor response time and difficulty in training contractors in the clients procedures.
The detailed findings may be seen online at the FMLink Web site by clicking on Surveys from the left menu bar.
