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FM self-assessment checklist

(Extracted from HEFCE 00/14 'Facilities management: improving the management of support services in higher education')

As part of the study, the following self-assessment checklist was developed with the help of higher education institutions. Institutions may find this checklist helpful to review their present support services arrangements and to prioritise the actions identified, as part of a management action plan.

Defining facilities management

  • The institution has a rationale both for defining a core activity and a key support service, and for any changes in classifying such activities and services.
  • The institution has identified the key support services that form part of its FM arrangements.
  • The strategic, tactical and operational requirements have been identified for all support services.

Identifying initial objectives

  • The institution has a clear set of objectives for all business support services.
  • The institution has arrangements for identifying stakeholders and determining their service needs.
  • The institution has arrangements for defining and adopting both institutional and departmental service level standards, as part of its FM arrangements.
  • The institution has established service standards for all internal and external service providers.
  • The institution ensures that the arrangements for all support services are subject to:
    • service level agreements or statements
    • service plans that indicate the required strategic, tactical and operational objectives to be achieved.
  • The institution consults all stakeholders formally on their current and future support services needs.
  • The institution has up-to-date specifications for all support services, whether provided internally or externally.

Developing the management approach

  • The institution has developed long-term financial models and forecasts for its support services.
  • The institution identifies both direct and indirect costs of providing support services to faculties, departments and so on.
  • The institution identifies the cost of managing internal support services.
  • The institution keeps under review charges to faculties, departments and so on, for their allocation of support services costs.
  • The institution determines its support service budgets:
    • from first principles by adopting zero-based budgeting
    • by means of a prioritisation of relevant stakeholders’ needs.
  • The institution’s information systems provide for all relevant stakeholders an up-to-date picture of committed and likely future support service costs.
  • The institution has an appropriate procurement strategy for its support services.
  • The institution has considered whether the management structure of its support services enables the delivery of the institution’s corporate strategic business plan.
  • The institution has arrangements to fulfil the ‘informed client function’.
  • The institution considers the following issues for all service provision (both individually and on a group basis):
    • provision/availability of closely-related services
    • existing/potential areas of overlap in service provision
    • integration/co-ordination between existing services
    • evaluation and measurement of stakeholders’ perceptions of value for money regarding FM services.
  • The institution has service level agreements/statements and service specifications/contracts that are subject to annual and other periodic service reviews.
  • The institution has performance indicators to help demonstrate the value for money of all its FM services.
  • The institution has arrangements to undertake staff and management skills audits, to determine its management needs with regard to key support services.
  • The institution enables all support services staff to undertake appropriate qualifications in facilities management.
  • The institution enables all support services staff to undertake continuing professional development and develop their experience.

Focusing on service delivery

  • The institution has arrangements to determine how its FM services - both internal and external - are to be provided.
  • The institution has appropriate planning and review arrangements for the service delivery of all key support services.
  • The institution undertakes periodic reviews of all its FM service arrangements, both internal and external, involving one or more of the following processes:
    • market testing (formal and soft)
    • departmental (faculty/school) reviews
    • stakeholder service reviews
    • contract reviews with service providers.
  • The institution has explicit procurement procedures for all FM services and supplies, whether provided internally or externally.
  • The institution has tendering arrangements for all externally provided FM services and supplies, above specified contract values.
  • The institution has formed partnership and co-operative relationships with all its support service providers.
  • The institution reviews all service level agreements with its FM service providers and representative stakeholders.
  • The institution uses service level agreements to assist in measuring the performance of all FM services.
  • The institution has arrangements to investigate complaints by stakeholders with regard to FM service delivery.
  • The institution has arrangements to report on the contribution made by all business support services to the institution’s corporate business plan.
  • The institution has performance measures for all key support services, as part of demonstrating value for money by the institution.
  • The institution measures the performance of all FM service providers, both in-house and contracted out.
  • The institution monitors and reports FM service performance to senior management and all stakeholders regularly.
  • The institution benchmarks the costs of its FM services with other institutions/organisations within and outside the HE sector.
  • The institution participates in FM forums, benchmarking clubs and so on, to identify more effective ways of managing and providing facilities and services for its stakeholders.
  • The institution measures improvement by:
    • achieving lower costs than in previous years
    • considering value for money, rather than cost or quality alone.
  • The institution conducts support service ‘open days’, forums and other meetings to help stakeholders think about (and to discuss) their future FM service needs.
  • The institution undertakes FM-related research to identify more effective ways of providing and managing facilities and services to its stakeholders.
  • The institution demonstrates to other HEIs its approach to managing FM, and shares on a reciprocal basis its FM experience with them, to develop FM arrangements for mutual advantage.

Copies of the full document, 'Facilities management: improving the management of support services in higher education', published by the UK funding bodies Value for Money Steering Group, are available from the HEFCE, price £15, reference HEFCE 00/14.

For details contact HEFCE publications, tel 0117 931 7035, e-mail publications@hefce.ac.uk