Managing Change in Facility management Introduction 1. Facilities Management (FM) as a professional discipline is a relatively recent concept.

Historically, buildings were maintained, serviced and cleaned, but this was very much undertaken on an individual basis, with very little in the way of a common industry approach. Over the years, there has been a development in the understanding of the value of effective FM in the support of an organisations core business, and it is now recognised as a service sector in its own right. As such, it is continually developing and evolving to reflect changing business demands and to deliver an increasingly efficient and cost effective service. FM is a function that has seen considerable change in the past, and will continue to do so in the future. It is also a function that impacts on the whole business and everyone within it, and as such any change must be effectively managed if it is to achieve the desired outcomes. As FM supports the delivery of the core business, it will be called upon to deliver change as a direct result of changes to the core business (such as a move to different accommodation), and again this needs to be managed to minimise disruption to the business and the staff working within it. All in all, change is a way of life in the context of Facilities Management. Hence change in the FM arena can occur in various ways and at various levels through changes in the way FM services are delivered, or through organisational changes that are supported by FM functions. Whether it is driven by organisational change or through a change in practices that may be driven by, or will require changes in behaviours, it is this human dimension that provides the Facilities Manager with the challenge in delivering change effectively. Change management for a Facilities Manager is essentially being clear about where the organisation wants to be in the future, how it will get there and most importantly how it will involve and impact on people. It must also be remembered that change management cannot compensate for a poor business case or project implementation plan. All the elements need to work in tandem if change is to deliver the added value to the business and at the same time bring the stakeholders involved on board. In the current economic climate, with the focus very much on delivering savings in the pubic sector, public bodies are facing considerable change with a degree of urgency in its delivery.

From downsizing the workforce, to reducing the number of services offered to looking at ways to reduce costs in property occupation all will impact on the work of the Facilities Manager. The difficulty is probably more in predicting how and in what way things will be different. Changes in Facilities Management service delivery 2. The various functions making up the FM service may be collectively subject to change,

or there may be changes in the way individual functions are to be delivered. The change will involve a move from the existing arrangement to a new delivery arrangement. This will be variable in each organisation, but may typically involve a move from an in-house delivery structure to an environment involving an external partner or specialist provider. As part of such change, there will be a move to a more client (retained) side and a delivery (contractor) side. Whilst the aim will be to deliver value improvements through improved service delivery and reduced costs, it will have major implications for the way change is managed. There will be significant cultural shift, and effective communication and team building will be critical to success. In transferring FM functions to a new specialist provider, new systems and processes will be introduced involving a new service management culture, along with charging mechanisms. This is likely to involve staff in undertaking new roles and duties and adjusting their ways of working both existing FM staff as well as staff in service departments i.e. users of the FM service. Within the retained client side, there will be a revised focus on contract performance management, financial analysis and interfacing with the new provider. Staff in service departments may need to have a different interface with the FM functions, which could be through more self-service arrangements, through new contacts or a dedicated help desk. All staff will need support and training to develop an understanding of the new working arrangements and to put them into practice. As with all change, it will take time to embed, and there will always be staff who resist the change and attempt to continue with previous practices. This requires firm and consistent handling to break previous habits, and to encourage staff to move forward with the new arrangements.

The process of change 3. Change management is a process, and as such it needs to be carefully planned,

controlled and managed from start to finish. Change is necessary when an organisation recognises it needs to do things differently in order to achieve different goals. The process of change is a highly emotive subject and is likely to make groups of staff dysfunctional more so than any other subject. People are different and many different things make them tick. Some people actively embrace change and thrive in changing environments and it is these people that are likely to be the 'change agents'. There will be others who feel so uncomfortable with change that they could become destructive, and managers of any change process therefore need to recognise the different reactions and implement the process with sensitivity, empathy and understanding at times. The process itself may be represented as a logical sequence, but change management is rarely a linear process. In reality it is likely to involve some degree of iteration or reworking to reflect unforeseen issues or changing needs arising during the course of the process. Time and resources must be invested in planning so that the operational transformations that will help deliver the strategic business objectives are identified and delivered effectively. Situational nature of change 4. Alongside the process of change, it has to be recognised that the circumstances surrounding a change programme will be unique to each organisation, and any change is consequentially situational. There are many situational variables that impact on change, and there are certain factors that impact on the scope of any change programme, such as: Organisational lifecycle - organisations at different stages of their lifecycle history (growth, maturity) require different change strategies. b. Number of people affected - as the number of employees affected increases, so does the scope and structure of the change programme. For example, the scope of
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the change effort which affects an entire organisation will be larger and require more planning than a change effort which affects only a small part of an organisation, or a limited number of staff. c. Degree of required behavioural changes - as the degree of required behavioural changes increases, so does the scope and structure of the change programme. For example, if employees are required to develop a number of additional skills to those

they currently have, then the scope of the change program may potentially be much larger and more intricate than if they merely redirected existing skills. d. History of change - past success with change can be a substantial change enabler; likewise, past failures can be a critical barrier. For example, a past organisational change that resulted in the loss of staff may lead to resistance to future change efforts. e. Resources for implementing the change - the commitment of the organisation and the involvement of senior staff in the change process play a vital role in defining the overall change strategy. Questions at an organisational level 5. Bringing about change in a controlled way will draw on many skills, and the potential for

failure, or a less than satisfactory outcome is very real. The need for the early involvement of all stakeholders cannot be over emphasised, along with time spent planning any change management project. Both will be critical to the successful outcome. The establishment of a multi-discipline change team can recognise the different skill sets required, and bring them together as part of a cohesive team to deliver the composite project. Even with an effective change team, a change project will struggle without the clear drive and support from the higher levels in the organisation as a whole. It is worth asking the following questions the answers to which may indicate potential concerns that may need addressing before trying to deliver a change management project: Has the senior management team committed adequate resources to the change project? b. Does the senior management team have a clear and realistic sense of the investment required for successful implementation of changes? What should be the realistic estimate of investment required for change?
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Does this organisation have an adequate organisational infrastructure to support the transition from the current to the future state? d. Has the organisation already identified change agents for the implementation of changes? Do these change agents possess the right skills, influence and credibility? e. Does the organisation have a transition team to manage the change process? f. Does the organisation have a process in place to address both the organisational and personal side of change?
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g.

Are organisational performance measures in place that can be used to frequently measure change results and provide feedback throughout the change process?

Recognised change management practices 6. Change takes many forms, and no two projects will be the same. There are however

common factors in most projects, and some of the recognised practices that support the implementation of successful change projects are outlined below: a. Organisational readiness and case for change: The current state of the organisation, change readiness and purpose for change are all fundamental to the success of a change project and should be clearly understood by all stakeholders. b. Vision for change: The vision for the project should be consistently interpreted and shared by all. c. Visible sponsorship from the top: Commitment to change needs to be evident from the top of the organisation, both from the elected member and officer side. This needs to continue throughout the initiative, until such time as the new means of FM service delivery is seen as business as usual. d. Securing ownership and buy-in from staff: However good the new technologies and management systems are, unless staff feel part of the process of change, and accept the vision and rationales behind it, success will be put in jeopardy. Attention to these softer aspects needs to be prioritised throughout the project lifecycle and should receive the resources and management time they deserve. e. Designing change around customer needs: The success of any change will ultimately be judged by those who are using the new service, be they internal or external customers. Understanding customer needs in the round will be critical as processes and job roles are redesigned and supporting systems and technologies are put in place. f. Measuring performance baselines and ongoing progress: Before change commences (indeed, as part of the initial investment analysis) it is essential to gain a clear understanding of baseline service levels and costs. These will give an indication of the benefits that changes in the FM service can bring, but also provide a mark against which targets can be set and improvement measured. g. Having the right people involved: Change needs to be something that engages with people, rather than something that happens to them. Staff and managers that are involved with the as is services and processes will need to contribute to

the process mapping and redesign exercise. Stakeholders and receivers of the FM service may also take a leadership role as part of the project, perhaps as part of the governance of it. Change leaders values and behaviours should be aligned with the business vision. Leaders should possess the skills to drive the change process to completion, and accept the responsibility for doing so. There should also be adequate stakeholder commitment and involvement in place. h. Individual and team capacity: Actions should have been taken to increase individuals and the teams ability to enact the business vision and operate effectively in the new environment. i. Creating a sense of urgency: If change is going to deliver benefits, and instil confidence in stakeholders, progress needs to be seen to be made. A level of urgency therefore needs to be created that allows for momentum to be built up and energy put behind the initiative. Momentum needs to be maintained and change plans should be regularly monitored and updated. Managing the people issues: Reluctance of staff to engage in change processes, together with the loss of key people, can be major threats to any initiative. Early engagement with staff, supported by an effective communications plan, is therefore critical. As well as support from the top, this should also include the early involvement of HR professionals. Key issues to address here will be how staff

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transfer issues will be handled, and how any redundancies will be managed. To avoid the loss of key staff too early in the transition process, enhanced redundancy terms may need to be agreed. k. Ensuring skills for the new and changed jobs: Staff on both the retained and the delivery sides are likely to require new technical and behavioural skills as part of the new service delivery environment. This will need to be based on an audit of existing skills, an assessment of the skills and resource levels needed in the new environment and a training plan to ensure the people appointed are of the right calibre and skill levels once the new delivery model goes live. l. Communicating with all relevant stakeholders: A wide range of stakeholders will be affected by plans to change the means of delivering an FM service - from elected members and union officials to customers and existing suppliers. Because of the protracted nature of change (two to three years may not be unreasonable in some cases), uncertainty may exist for some time. During this period it will be important to keep key stakeholder groups involved, setting out the vision and rationale for change and the progress being made to realise it. An infrastructure and plan should be in place to build awareness of change goals, communicate progress toward

attainment of these goals, and encourage collective ownership of the change process and outcomes. m. Identifying and managing risks and barriers: As discussed in other sections, there is a range of risks that must be anticipated and mitigated as part of any change to service delivery. A thorough risk analysis exercise should be undertaken at the start of any change project and repeated throughout. This will also involve attention to the early warnings, so that potential problems can be spotted and dealt with before they become major obstacles to progress. n. Minimising the impact on the service departments: Although major change may be going on in the organisation, services will still need to be delivered and service staff need to get on with their own jobs. Enabling continuity of service will therefore be critical. Changes to FM services could potentially have a significant impact on the day to day work of other service staff, and plans will need to be put in place to ensure service levels are maintained and disruption is minimised. o. Embedding cultural change and new ways of working: Changes in the way FM services are delivered is likely to involve a move to a more customer-focused and cost conscious environment. This, of course, will have technical elements, such as collecting and dealing with customer feedback. But it will also require new ways of thinking about services (such as end-to-end process ownership) and new attitudes and behaviours towards customers (anticipating and meeting their needs). For many people, this will be a new way of working, involving a shift in values, behaviours and the way workplace relationships are managed. The organisation should assess the alignment of the current culture with the change process and build new cultural values and behaviours as appropriate to support the business. Achieving the transformational change that leads to excellence demands a relentless focus on a small number of key priorities, as well as commitment by public service bodies to maintain this focus through the inevitable highs and lows of the change process. Leaders of local public services play a crucial role in maintaining a commitment to major change initiatives, by mobilising and sustaining support for change among staff and local stakeholders. By setting out a clear vision, and investing in effective ways to communicate this to staff, leaders can keep their organisations on track through the change journey.