Don’t blame me (or As you like it?)
February 27th 2008

Thou cannot say I did it! Do not shake your gory locks at me,” says Macbeth to Banquo’s ghost in Shakespeare’s Macbeth. A similar reply may ring out in modern English by the Facilities Manager to a director of the client company. Lower down the ladder it is “Don’t blame me. I am only doing my job.”

Outsourcing is the flavour of the times but there are dangerous pitfalls waiting for the FM company which flashes its credentials and references of its ability to provide whatever the client.

“Security; cleaning; car parking; recruitment; portering; reception services, accounting; payroll and many more too numerous to mention. ”You name it we can give it to you.” It continues: “We are the extension of your company; our people are your people; our interests are your interests and think of the money you will save.” Ever since the well-to-do discovered wet nursing, outsourcing has become more and more fashionable. There are sound principles behind it since it divests the company of the dreaded word ‘overheads’ and can substantially reduce costs elsewhere.

“Outsourcing allows you to get on with your core business.”So it can but there are simple tasks apparently non profit making which are entirely germane to the health of business. There is an argument for the view that to an extent all your activities are linked to the core business.

Let us look at some of the dangers in the litigious and blame culture in which we now live.We cannot touch on many in this one article but enough to give a general flavour.

Cleaning and Hospital Acquired Infections: Cleaning is not the prime cause of these though it can be a contributory factor especially when performance is weakened by financial pressures. The cleaning industry is well aware of the ‘investigations’ on television or in the press which are often manipulated.

There will be accidents claimed to be as a result of the cleaning process such as trips and falls leading to injury and time off work for the sufferer. From the bushes then emerges the ambulance chaser lawyer. He or she will have questions in court: Who left the floor in a wet condition? Were warning signs posted? Was the correct cleaning procedure followed? Above all was the cleaning operative trained? By whom? When? Is there a record of such training?

The original presentation may have said “We have our own cleaning training academy/school (Academy sounds much better). Our people are all certificated.” Watch for the questions above and the follow up question from Mr. Fox of Sue, Rabbit and Run: “Certificated by whom and are there independent records?”

There are excellent in house training schemes delivered by competent people but without independent verification, they are vulnerable to a smart lawyer and a judge and jury generally totally unaware of cleaning. There are other traps. Some large companies outsource their payroll. All goes well until one day the computer goes down or some one decides to move the operation overseas. The employees don’t get paid on time. Assurances are given by management that this was an unfortunate blip but a little cloud no bigger than a man’s hand is seen.

Employees in these uncertain times, seldom believe their employers. Suppliers get to hear of the non payment of wages. They may become concerned; the share price wavers.

There are unfortunately many more risks from blind outsourcing than we can deal with here but the advice to clients is clear:Make sure you get delivery of what you were promised; twenty four hours a day; seven days a week. To the FM company be certain that clients get what you promised in the same time scale and check your insurance policies.

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