At the FM Giants Roundtable hosted on Ain Dubai, Mohammed Alsharaf, Divisional CEO, iFM Holdings joined an exclusive roundtable discussion to discuss various topics and issues affecting the industry, such as contractual gaps, worker wellbeing, working closely with real estate developers, breaking into the hospitality industry, and so much more.
Mohammed Alsharaf is the Divisional CEO of iFM Holdings, the Facilities Management entity of the Group. He is a highly accomplished executive with over 20 years hands-on experience in asset and facilities management. Before joining Eltizam Group, Mr. Alsharaf was managing mega projects in Dubai and Abu Dhabi. Upon joining in 2017, he led major expansions in the FM services for the Group and focused on operational service delivery while bringing outsourced functions in-house with the goal of maximising profitability. As part of his remit, Mohammed managed the technological transformation for paperless FM operations as he solidified Eltizam Group’s promise of delivering high customer satisfaction and increased employee happiness. With his leadership, the FM activities of the Group yielded 400% growth in annualized revenue from 2017 to 2021. He is also leading the Group’s exemplary FM services internationally.
Managing Large Task-Force: The value of employee well-being by the FM Companies and Clients contracting manpower services.
Our corporate culture is one that believes our people are our biggest asset.
We invest in people development through a training centre benchmarked against international standards such as BICS, we share our experiences among our team members and make paths for our staff’s careers through the new projects we win. Our blue-collar staff are placed in 5-star accommodation that are in close proximity to the projects, transported in air-conditioned vehicles and strictly adhere to all Covid-19 protocols. All our staff, on and off site receive PCR tests on a regular basis.
Employee wellbeing is vital for our organisation across all roles and we believe it is essential for a company’s overall health, that the employees are in the best shape, be it mental or physical.
The fundamental platform of a robust business is its employees’ engagement and productivity, thus building a stronger organisation across the board. It is all interrelated in my opinion – an organisation that emphasizes the importance of its employee’s wellbeing and increases recognition, will in turn boost morale, enable workforce optimisation, yield more value in less time and lastly, increase the company’s reputation, therefore attracting better talent.
It’s all a chain of circumstances that signifies the value of employee wellbeing, therefore, the organisation’s wellbeing.
After all, we are our people.
Balancing Soft and Hard Services: Improving the integrations of the FM sector
It is imperative to know your customers’ process in order to excel in the industry. We believe in preventative maintenance to streamline our work processes, planning ahead can reduce the requirement for reactive maintenance for the future, therefore decreasing the risk of unplanned employee schedules and maintaining the ultimate experience for our customers.
The best way forward is to target sectors that need FM services, such as untapped markets or niche businesses.
It is essential to a built environment business to balance hard and soft FM services and a major factor to make this possible is the investment in software and tools that enables an organisation to have efficient practices in place.
Expanding into the Hospitality sector: How can the FM Industry break into the hospitality sector?
In reality, the hospitality and FM sectors go hand-in-hand; it is critical for the life cycle of a hotel or any other hospitality property to invest in FM services from its foundation. A cost-effective measure, FM is paramount in transforming asset management strategies successfully.
First things first, we need to understand the client’s critical requirements to create an immaculate end-user experience; this goes back to the preventative measures rather than reactive measures. Planning ahead for seasonal requirements is another key element to successfully working with the hospitality sector; the extreme weather conditions here require a systematic approach and professional capability and a company that can meet such demands are ready to put themselves on the spectrum. Lastly, we need to understand that the hospitality industry has been impacted by the global pandemic and demands looking into ways to control costs. We need to understand their structure, requirements and put forward costs that are essential for the longevity of the property’s life cycle therefore, gaining their trust and showing your loyalty towards their business as opposed to just aiming for financial gains.
Establishing a relationship with developers on projects: How can the FM Industry establish an open line of communication with developers at the beginning of new construction projects?
Every step of the way, it is crucial to know your customer – know who you are talking to so you can provide a targeted approach or solution to each one. We believe it would be most beneficial for all the stakeholders to have FM providers involved in the early development stages for a variety of reasons, such as inhibiting any major repairs that may be required in the future, recommending configurations that can prove beneficial for the developer at a future stage, save costs during the developmental stage as opposed to the increasing expense during the repair stages.
We can open a line of communication with the developers by showing them the added value of including FM in the early stages of the project and regarding us as advisors rather than just service providers.
Integrating Technology: Creating a one-stop integrated software solution. How can Proptech firms guarantee a smooth transition of software services to FM Companies?
Change is daunting, for any organisation in any industry, however it is essential to keep up with technology in order to avoid falling behind. Prop-tech firms can guarantee a smooth transition if they have a process in place that considers all the challenges that may be presented during the implementation process. A variety of key points should be considered such as the availability of time, a comprehensive training schedule, a dedicated team with a key manager who are well-versed with the technology and lastly, but most importantly, effective migration of data.
It’s all about the process and acceptance of change on the FM side of things, we at iFM understand that technology is an enabler and key driver in our industry. Investing in technology will encourage transparency with our clients along the supply chain and will enable us to monitor KPIs and measure competences.
Contractual Gaps: What are some of the gaps seen by the FM Industry when it comes to contracts and tendering processes?
The FM contract must be as precise as possible when it comes to the scope of services to be performed along with the KPIs that need to be achieved. I have seen a variety of gaps in the process during the RFP process such as, the requirement of services is not always outlined clearly, incomplete asset register and information gathering, communication difficulties and short timelines.
It is central to a successful relationship for an FM contract to be as extensive as possible with the information included. As the range of services increase, the contracts need to highlight every element methodically to avoid any issues after the contracts and tendering process.
Enhancing User Tech Experience: Adapting to new technologies can be demanding but how can proptech vendors better position themselves to explain the intricacies of their product without time being wasted?
It is an endless loop, FM needs technology to provide seamless services and tech companies need us to utilise their solutions, when in fact we both need each other to sustain our businesses.
If prop-tech companies put forward their solutions to us with the support of a visual aid of ‘how it works’, I believe they will have our attention. The key elements iFM Holdings would look for are meticulous dashboards that include a one-stop solution for our needs, the provider should understand what we need as a client and their technology solutions should help us overcome our issues. We, at iFM Holdings, would look for a flawless solution that includes mobility solution, ease of communication and payment for the end users.