Due to its cost-cutting and efficiency-enhancing nature, outsourcing technical services recently emerged as a crucial business strategy. The sphere of facility and building management, which has diverse needs from plumbing to security, is no exception.

Even if the managers had the technical skills to attend to all the needs of their facilities, outsourcing saves time, money, and hassle. However, the decision process can be overwhelming with the proliferation of managed services providers (MSP).

When choosing the right service providers can be so vital to a facility’s success, sustainability, and security, hereafter are the top five things to consider when choosing one.

1. Reputation

18th century US visionary Benjamin Franklin famously said, “It takes many good deeds to build a good reputation, and only one bad one to lose it.”

When narrowing down the options for outsourcing some tasks of your business to a service provider, going by reputation is one of the easiest ways to achieve this.

A reputable business partner’s track record gives you confidence. It’s possible to verify this by not only online reviews but also by talking to the company’s associates and any current or former customers.

2. Technical Expertise and Capacity

Any outsourced technical services should add value to your business, which means they should have the profound and specialized skill sets and technical capabilities that you don’t have in-house.

Thus, while choosing a service provider, facility managers must get a satisfactory answer to questions including: What is the size of the technical fleet? What’s the company’s bandwidth and capacity for support — both with routine jobs and emergencies? Do they carry van stock?

3. Account Management

A reliable and transparent set of transactions between you and your service provider is crucial for fruitful business collaboration. An account manager in your partner company is the gateway to safeguard a smooth experience and make the most out of the services provided.

An ideal MSP must be competent in the account management department. The right partner as an account manager is an invaluable business ally: They can provide industry updates, act as an escalator for emergencies, and keep making meaningful recommendations about the industry or the products.

4. Training, Safety, Equipment

Thanks to the rapid digitization process in the arena of facility and building management, most digital tools benefit from innovations, improvements, and updates. This means the skill sets and equipment of those responsible for them must also keep continuously upgraded to ensure the best service and safety.

Thus, when looking for an MSP, facility managers must get satisfactory answers to questions including: Is the service provider invested in up-to-date training of their staff? Are they proactive about safety, and providing any necessary updates, and performing checks? Are the technical products or equipment they’re using cutting-edge and well-maintained?

5. Cost

Cost is one of the single most important considerations of any commercial activity. Like many other effective business strategies, outsourcing technical services to a business partner has the positive outcome of reducing costs.

However, for optimal results and the best commercial outcomes, cheap doesn’t always bring cheerful results. If a service or a product sounds too good to be true, it probably is: Using them might result in interrupted services and unhappy customers, causing the business to lose money in the long run.

Hence, facility managers looking for service providers are recommended to inquire about what costs will entail, what will be included in services, and any potential perks. For instance, many MSPs will offer a more favorable rate for long-term collaborations.

The Right Partners to Champion Your Needs

Choosing the right service provider is a complex decision that requires various considerations about your business, customers, unique needs, and budget.

However, it’s also a decision that might have a deep impact on your business’s core aspects, such as safety and security, and customer satisfaction — so, make it count.