Get the basics right and value your people

We need to be mindful of the potential restrictions impacting on many of the people currently working in the FM sector following Brexit.

Encouraging a limited pool of available skilled employees into your business will put a huge pressure on the FM industry. To maintain a stable workforce in a business that already has a high turnover – it’s going to be a real challenge.

There are questions around how we’ll continue to get great people to work in the service industries. I think currently that there’s no real answer out there as we remain in this period of uncertainty.

Now more than ever, it’s important to look after your people.

FM companies that are prepared to live their social values, embrace new ways of doing things and provide support for the people they employ, will be the organisations that will succeed over those companies that treat people as a commodity.

We’ll need to be alert to the pressure around recruitment in our industry.

Making the best use of technology to adjust staffing levels, the use of robotics to support a shrinking workforce and investing in technology will be key critical factors moving forward for FM companies to consider and embrace.

The best FM employers, companies that treat their staff well, will be rewarded with their own employees recommending them.

The FM companies that can provide better rates of pay, training, staff wellbeing, care, incentives and motivation along with having a good reputation will make them the employer of choice.

 Q3 values

When we celebrated Q3's 1st birthday earlier this year we knew our colleagues were already on the right track.

We’re not forgetting of course, in the FM industry you can’t always do it alone, it’s a joint effort. Our clients need to be on the same page as us, to be flexible, as we work together to provide support for our people. It’s not about special circumstances – it’s all about continued investment.

In the Channel Islands for example, restrictions on people entering Guernsey and Jersey, affordable housing issues, GBP to EUR exchange rates, restrictions on the length of stay and licensing rules – all have an impact on our FM operations. The Channel Islands FM and hospitality sector workforce currently face many issues that may go on to affect the UK FM and hospitality sector workforce. At Q3 we’re committed to continue to invest in ongoing pay reviews, new equipment and training, in order for us to be the FM employer of choice in the Channel Islands and the UK.

Our aim is to be the best at what we do and it’s all about treating everyone with respect and being reasonable. Q3 employees are very important to us, they are a vital part of our customer services. Our company code of ethics continues to be – quality people delivering quality service leads to quality clients, all equally vital values in delivering sustainable facilities management services.