Veteran facility and building managers are well-aware of the importance of a regular maintenance schedule: These plans cut costs and enhance safety while optimizing the workflow and productivity. Whether facilities are large enterprises — such as hotels or hospitals — or on the smaller side, there are unique benefits of a regular maintenance schedule if they outsource them to a reliable business partner.
Thanks to outsourcing, smaller companies, that don’t have the resources to hire multiple full-time technicians, do not have to compromise on the expertise that highly-specialized service technicians provide.
Likewise, even if larger enterprises have the capacity to have full-time technicians, there are many aspects of a large and complex business where staff might not be enough. Especially for specialized maintenance operations such as elevators and escalators, HVAC, entrance and access systems, or other housekeeping needs like plumbing and landscaping, outsourcing maximizes business outcomes.
How Does Outsourcing Work for Contracting Maintenance?
Outsourcing is the commercial practice of hiring a third-party for performing tasks and services typically done by the in-house staff. Especially since the 1990s, outsourcing started to emerge as a cost-cutting strategy for organizations of all sizes. Today, outsourcing is a common practice and leaders across various industries are acutely aware of it.
In near and far future, outsourcing maintenance and engineering activities will be considered a more practical option moving forward.
Simon Chapman, DVP Services Global Product Manager at dormakaba
“A contract service provider also can offer specialized services for which managers might not be able to justify adding full-time, in-house staff,” says Simon Chapman, DVP Services Global Product Manager at dormakaba.
While outsourcing has been traditionally associated with IT sector and online work, facility-based businesses can reap its manifold benefits, too. Following are the three benefits outsourcing work for contracting maintenance and engineering brings to organizations of all sizes and needs.
1. Easing the Burden of Admin
Much of the regular maintenance tasks come with administrative duties that eat up a lot of managerial hours. However, with a fixed contract for regular maintenance, a highly specialized technician inspects a premise and performs any necessary fixes in regular intervals.
Thus, outsourcing technical tasks eases the burden of admin for facility managers. It saves them time, and also eliminates the need for renting or buying any special equipment for potential repairs — as the specialist technician would come with all the right tools. Likewise, the access to these tools via the technician means there’s no need to manage an extra budget or a storage space for engineering equipment.
2. Cutting Costs in Lean Times
Especially for facility managers operating on a tight budget, outsourcing technical tasks can be ideal. This way, they can find the elusive balance between cutting costs while keeping their facilities secure and optimized. When facility managers outsource technical tasks, their contracts allow them to only pay for the services they need.
Furthermore, while many of the staff technicians are often generalists, as the technologies evolve, an increasing number of maintenance routine tasks are for specialists. However, if outsourced, facilities can take advantage of technicians with complex skills on a simple plan.
3. Scalability in a Time of Change
In a world characterized by unpredictability, contracting maintenance can help facility managers to keep on top of sudden changes or shifting needs in their businesses. For instance, a dramatic change in the number of visitors to a facility might lead to an increased need for certain tasks. And while onboarding new in-house staff can be a lengthy process, getting support from a third-party is usually quicker and easier.
Thus, contracting maintenance and outsourcing technical tasks is a flexible and scalable solution to staying resilient and responding to the changes as they occur.
Technical Tasks: To Outsource, or To Not Outsource?
All in all, outsourcing technical tasks on a regular contract can be a powerful business decision to empower the facility managers. That being said, every facility has custom maintenance needs, the scope of which can only be determined by the managers who intimately know the complexities of their businesses. By analyzing their resources vs. their needs, they can find the optimal balance between outsourcing the regular maintenance and having in-house help to reap the maximum benefits.
