Property & Development Magazine - BIFM article

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EXCITING

TIMES Building Design and Construction Magazine speaks to Gareth Tancred the new CEO of BIFM t is an exciting time for the British Institute of Facilities Management (BIFM) as it looks forward to celebrating its twenty-year anniversary with one of its most successful twelve months to date. Established in 1993, the professional body for facilities management was set up to represent and promote the interests of its members within the wider community. In the early 1990s, FM was still in its infancy but BIFM, committed to its goal of nurturing and developing the profession, has grown substantially just as facilities management has matured in stature. The institute delivers industry-leading services and benefits for its 12,000-plus individual and corporate members including providing information and support, qualifications, professional development, training and networking.

Now, as the institute nears twenty years in existence, it has appointed the expertise of Gareth Tancred as its CEO. Gareth’s vast experience and knowledge of BIFM and FM will be, as the board sees it, the driving force behind BIFM’s next phase of growth.

“Naturally, I was delighted to receive the appointment,” Gareth tells Building Design and Construction magazine. “I have been with BIFM for almost three years and have worked closely with the board throughout that time. Having an acting role as CEO previously I was overjoyed to receive the news that I had the permanent appointment. The backing from

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the board has given me the encouragement and the remit to carry on delivering the strategy.”

Chairman Ian Broadbent spoke of how Gareth has already made positive steps to improving the service BIFM provides. He said, “Gareth has proved to be a very competent interim appointment providing stability whilst at the same time introducing new ways of working and setting a foundation for future growth. I look forward to supporting Gareth during my remaining time as chair as we work together to advance our profession.”

Gareth believes implementing the board’s strategy in a more efficient and practical way is key to BIFM’s own progression. “I look forward to keeping up the great work and momentum of the institute’s development to ensure we deliver what the sector needs.

Driving forward the strategy set out by the board is integral to the success of the institute and to the support and advancement of this fast paced profession.”

One of the essential goals in the short term is increasing the pace in which BIFM operates internally; an area Gareth was quick to seize upon during his time as acting CEO. He said, “I’m very keen on making positive changes to the way we work internally so that we can deliver on our commitments and promises. So one of the first things I did here internally was to reinforce some of those changes such as we shouldn’t be as risk averse as we have been in the past, that we have to be more effective in the way we do things internally, we need to be more agile, more

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“WE SEE 2012 AS A GOOD YEAR FOR MEMBERSHIP GROWTH” fleet of foot. We need to make our decisions faster and be able to deliver our commitment to our members faster.”

But like all organisations, the recession has posed the most significant of challenges. Gareth admits that few envisaged the recession would last as long as this but believes facilities management is in a unique position. “One of the good things for FM’s is their ability to influence the companies that they work for. Whether they are FM providers or organisations where the member is the FM on site, they can help enormously with alleviating the pressures an organisation is posed with during times of global economic uncertainty.

Our biggest challenge from BIFM’s perspective is helping our members to appreciate we are here to help and how to deliver better value within their organisation.”

MORE CRUCIAL Effectively, BIFM’s role has become even more crucial during this time of economic downturn.

And, while its membership remained fairly static during 2010, gains were made in 2011 while the outlook for the current year suggests growth will greatly surpass the previous twelve months.

“We see 2012 as a good year for membership growth,” acknowledges, Gareth. “Some of the other things we have been doing more recently involves focusing more on the tools members

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might need, for example, we have just launched an information portal and we are continuing to market online courses which have become very useful for people and organisations where expensive and time-consuming training courses are simply not practical or affordable.

“Certainly, over the last six months, we are ensuring we have the relevant services in place; that the right information is available for members in order to help them with the tools and the knowledge they need to help their respective companies.”

RIGHT MAN Clearly, Gareth is the right man to bring board strategy to fruition. His experience with BIFM is one thing – before acting CEO he was COO for two years, deputising for the CEO and overseeing the running of the institute as well as changes to the constitution to professionalise the organisation. Previously, he has over twelve years’ experience at board level, ranging from SMEs to large UK, European and international organisations, along with an extensive portfolio as an executive director. He has witnessed the growth of FM firsthand, and while it is still a relatively young profession, his passion to see it flourish and belief in its potential will stand FM and BIFM in good stead.

“My key focus is to help FM’s develop their service and the individuals develop their roles as professionals. FM as a profession is still quite

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young so it is about helping FM professionals further their careers through development and encouragement, as well as give them the recognition for their work,” explains Gareth.

COMPARISONS He likens FM’s burgeoning industry to that of the IT sector twenty years ago. “You can draw comparisons with the IT industry in that a few years ago IT was very new in organisations. Now we see IT as an integral part of any organisation these days to the point where it is becoming common to see an IT director or a CIO on the board. FM is heading in the same direction.

“FM is crucial to the day to day running of an organisation to the point where it is now not unusual to have an FM director in many organisations. We feel we have developed over the last few years the ability to provide the support and services that FM’s need to be able to provide the services they do to the organisation’s they work for.

“It is about giving them the information, the knowledge, the resources, as well as qualifications, quality standards, training, and the networking opportunities with other professionals so that they can share challenges and solutions to problems for the ultimate benefit of the industry as a whole.” www.bifm.org.uk

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