FM Companies: Stop Selling Resource Solutions, Knowledge-Driven Solutions and Users Generate More Sales

Credit: Google Trends, Infoprations Analysis 2018

With the emergence of sophisticated technologies for the management of critical and soft facilities, players and practitioners in the facility management industry should desist from seeing the industry as resource-based often linked with the industries such as manufacturing. In the resource-based industry, deployment of more workers for execution of certain tasks is stressed more than having fewer personnel to carry out the tasks. 

Instead, knowledge of everything (KoE) should be pursued energetically by players in the Nigerian Facility Management industry.  KoE will ensure configuration or customization of workers and process towards sustainable values co-creation and sharing.  With KoE, employees of FM companies must know everything about the facilities assigned to them.

This is imperative because in the last 5 years people and businesses have understood the industry within knowledge frame, signifying quest for companies that can offer knowledge-based solutions driven by knowledge process and workers.  

Clients’ Changing Demographics and Psychographics

Companies must acquire, use, share and integrate knowledge from facilities to achieve operational and economic performance. Attaining the expected economic success will depend on the extent to which Chief Executive Officers and marketing employees adjust to changing circumstances, especially the demographics and psychographics of clients. For instance, facility managers and users choose facility management providers based on trust and professionalism, competence and employees’ attitude. 

Businesses are now moving to shared and serviced offices. The move has necessitated the need to understand specific facilities and usage patterns in such offices. Providers cannot have these indicators without investing in knowledge acquisition and usage. FM solutions should serve users seamlessly and helping them act in real time.

Knowledge-Workers for Knowledge-Process and Solutions

Knowledge workers drive knowledge process and solutions. When workers acquired the needed knowledge on the emerging facilities, appropriate models or elements will be developed for process that will lead to delivery of promised and capturing the desired values. 

Creating knowledge employees is a matter of deploying adequate resources towards data, information and knowledge process formation. Engaging clients should be seen as educational process where FM companies’ workers are educators while clients are learners. For example, workers of a knowledge-based FM company are expected to engage client on the features and benefits of having preventive maintenance instead of reactive maintenance.

Beyond this, a knowledge-based system that monitors clients’ preferences and needs should be developed. The system should automatically transfer data from the managed facility to the provider for further processing and tailored solutions provision.

Apart from benefiting from small, medium and large businesses, and individuals, by 2020, knowledge-based FM companies will profit from Lagos Smart City Project. In the areas earmarked for the project, facilities will be operated and maintained using Internet of Things, which require knowledge workers, process and solutions.