Can public estates really do more with less?
£6.2 billion of savings must be made from government spending in 2010-11. The costs associated with maintaining estates can represent one of the largest overheads for an organisation. From space reconfiguration to estate rationalisation/transformation, the opportunities for cutting costs are considerable, but is there a single solution?
At the 2010 Reorganising Government conference Mace’s Phil Worley explained how his experience working with both public and private sector clients has shown immense opportunities to improve space efficiency through the implementation of shared working principles and “new ways of working.”
1. Workplace studies: A vision for the future
Many organisations are responding to current challenges by reviewing their estate strategies and evaluating associated operating infrastructures such as property, ICT and facilities management. Those organisations with a vision as to how their organisation could operate are the ones that realise that there is much more to these programmes than simply finding and preparing accommodation but that the hearts and minds of those involved in these changes is of paramount importance.
A utilisation study is a key way for an organisation to truly recognise its vision, Mace has carried out these studies for all its clients, analysing their business against our extensive database on workplace usage. Typically the study corroborates projected opportunities on space saving and confirms that the majority of organisations under-utilise their properties by 50%. These workplace studies confirm the business case for change and can typically help an organisation reduce their office portfolio by 30-50%.
Case study: Hertfordshire County Council
Hertfordshire County Council undertook one of the first transformation programmes in the public sector and recognised early in the process that transforming working environments and practices was more than just a property solution and could deliver measurable benefits and improved productivity.
2. Redefining facilities management
We know there is no “magic bullet” to our customers’ facilities management issues and finding one often requires a sustained programme of activity. Successful programmes are derived from a number of factors such as effective sourcing and procurement; creativity in operations; listening to the market; utilising experience and knowledge from other businesses, sectors and disciplines; the appropriate use of technology; and embedding best practice whilst maximising quality and cost efficiency.
Case study: Veolia Three Valleys Water
Veolia Water Three Valleys commissioned a major office rationalisation and transformation programme, headed by Mace Group, that included the closure of three existing office sites and the relocation of over 600 staff to a new purpose built sustainable headquarters in Hatfield.
3. Cultural change: from “my space” to “our space”
Creating new ways of working is not just about reconfiguring and building offices; it is about understanding organisational fit through the way people work. Moving to shared working principles can lead to more efficient and effective working as it allocates facilities, work places and equipment according to function or need, not on hierarchy, status or habit.
Case study: Hampshire County Council
At Hampshire County Council we more than proved this theory, turning a much-despised 1960s office block into the UK’s most efficient and sustainable working environment.
4. Key lessons in meeting the challenges of new efficiency targets
At Mace, we have managed more than 2,000 public sector projects ranging in value from £150,000 to £7bn. From this experience, we have drawn four key measures for success:
- Start with a clear and realistic strategy
Dare to be bold: we successfully advised one local authority to consolidate a network of 51 separate substandard offices into just 3 campus-based facilities.
- Winning hearts and minds
Effective staff engagement programmes have the power to win support for change, especially when they take the ideas and concerns of staff seriously.
- Joining up
Good neighbours make more savings. In forming strategies, departments must look to make common cause with other public sector bodies.
- Delivery partnerships
The government wants to see growing relationships between the public and private sectors. From our experience as a delivery partner at the Olympic Park, with the FCO around the world and numerous local authorities, we know delivery partnerships work.
The rationalisation of public estates has just changed from an option to an imperative. At Mace we know what can be achieved and how to achieve it.
Find out more
For more information please contact Philip Worley at philip.worley@macegroup.com
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