Flexible friends

2 July, 2010

Miles apart but working together is how you could label Her Majesty’s new coalition government. Until recently, the word coalition was not one any of us would use regularly. Today we see it in the written press and hear it on news bulletins every other minute. So, what can we learn in facilities management from the concept?

How often do you find yourself working with several service providers or business partners but can’t seem to get along? I’m sure most of us have been there. From my own experience, the reason is usually that we never agreed clear parameters at the outset, nor identified the fundamental differences in how each of the companies wants to achieve certain goals.

When I refer to goals here, I don’t mean the goal of the project or contract you have just entered into, but the wider goals of each of the participating organisations. Without this understanding, we don’t really comprehend how the individuals are driven in their jobs or rewarded for achieving their goals.

So, back to the political coalition and the fundamental differences between the two parties that form the partnership for today’s government. Both want to govern the country to the best of their ability, reduce debt levels, steer us away from falling back into recession and return the country to prosperity. This is the project both parties are working on. But what seems to be making this work so far is the intensive set of negotiations that preceded the coalition’s formation. These weren’t aimed at agreeing to the letter how they would carry out their project. The purpose was to reach an understanding of what fundamental principles each of the parties would compromise on in order to achieve the wider goals of the project.

In FM we deal with service contracts, change projects, construction work and so on, usually led at the start by procurement teams trying to achieve their particular goal. Too often this is price based, combined with generic tick-box questions relating to health and safety and other compliance matters.

Next time you start working with a new service provider, client or business partner, follow the example of the coalition. Find out a bit more about your prospective partners first. What are they trying to achieve for their organisation? What fundamental principles drive them? If you find significant differences that may clash with the objectives of your joint project, iron these out before signing the deal.

With this approach I’m convinced a lot of contracts and projects could be delivered more quickly and efficiently, with a better experience for those working on them.