Themes

Clients of FM service providers have indicated how satisfied they are with different aspects (themes) in the collaboration with their service provider as well as how important they consider these topics to be. Clients in the global IFM market are most satisfied with the theme Relationship and collaboration (9.6), which pertains to the manner in which the service provider is able to establish a constructive and mutually beneficial relationship with their client. In comparison with the other themes, clients value the FM service provider’s ability related to Innovation and continuous improvement (7.2) lowest. This may be due to a sense of reactivity (instead of proactivity) that some clients experience in the approach of the service provider.

Operational excellence is seen by the market as the most important element in establishing a successful contract. Logically, the provision of satisfactory operational services and being in control of the service delivery is the foundation upon which successful FM collaborations are built. We expect that different factors play a role in the overall valuation of the importance of Operational Excellence, among which market maturity, the scope of the contract (e.g. type and amount of services) and the duration of the contract.

When we offset satisfaction and importance we see they are aligned: service providers in the global IFM market are generally able to direct their attention to the themes their clients find most important. It shows that their primary focus should remain on Operational Excellence and Relationship and collaboration and that, although not unimportant, initiatives by the FM service provider related to Innovation and continuous improvement will create less value overall in comparison with the other themes in this survey. These findings have been visualized in the priority matrix presented below.