The global economy is shaky and the outlook is not good. So how does this affect support functions in a business operation? Should you work differently with services in good times compared to hard times? Bearing in mind the prevailing uncertainty, we have made the economic outlook a theme in Nova for 2008. First of all Jan Mohlin, Director of Facility Management at Ericsson, talks about what it’s like to deal with FM during a recession.

My top tip – whatever the economic outlook – is to make sure your service delivery is flexible and can be easily scaled up or down. You can then develop and modify the content and scope of your service support based on the changing needs of your company or organisation. To ensure flexibility in an outsourced service delivery, one of the most important factors is to have functional, well-considered agreements in place. I know from experience that it takes time to draw up an excellent agreement, but that it pays for itself because it lays the foundation for a service delivery that will develop continuously and support the operation in good times and bad.

Wishing you a pleasant spring season!

Mats Jönsson, CEO of Coor Service Management

It will soon be 10 years since we saw a recession. However, after several very strong years there is no getting away from the fact that the economic outlook is weakening. But how is the FM department affected by falling demand in the core business? Is it business as usual, or does service change? According to Jan Mohlin, Director of Facility Management at Ericsson, a recession often reveals just how good the working relationship between client and supplier really is.

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A good agreement is the foundation of a good delivery. When Volvo Powertrain in Göteborg asked Coor to review the agreements between the companies, a hidden savings potential came to light. Today 17 agreements have now become one and benefits include lower service costs, better control, less administration and above all more efficient service.

Only rarely are the necessary services and the needs of the service users who will be working in a new office property considered when the building is constructed.
“Generally speaking, the offices have been designed and built – and staff may even have moved in – before a company starts thinking about the services that should be available,” says Katja Käyhty, service developer at Coor. But as Skanska builds new offices in Helsinki, services are included in the planning from the start.