In theory, outsourcing facility maintenance is a great way to save costs and increase efficiency. All too often, facility managers have found to their frustration that outsourcing only created more problems for them, and in the end was more expensive. To minimize the potential downsides, it helps to evaluate the potential for gain before making the decision to outsource.

Specialized Knowledge at Your Service

Generally, one advantage which facility maintenance firms have is that they are focused solely on facility maintenance which means they have optimized maintenance processes, structure, staff training, and are highly specialized. This is an area where in-house maintenance employees are usually disadvantaged, because most often funds are not available to ensure that they stay up to date with their systems or training. Since a good maintenance firm has a singular focus, they often ensure that all of their staff is up to speed in the latest maintenance techniques and tools.

What to evaluate: Will you be gaining expertise and greater service when you outsource, or will you merely shift control to an outside facility management team?

Concentration on Core Business

Many companies only want to focus on their core business to prevent facility management distractions from draining resources. Although this is a top reason for the decision to outsource, the driver for the conversion is usually tied to less direct overhead and benefits. If a top maintenance service provider is chosen, the potential for this benefit to become a reality is high. Your re-aligned time, money, and resources can help you focus on growing the business and leave facility maintenance in qualified hands.

What to evaluate: Is the reason for outsourcing a mask for lowering "overhead" to boost perceived performance, or is there a true drain on corporate resources that can be eliminated by outsourcing?

Perfect for Small Facilities

For small facilities, building a strong in-house facility maintenance department is not cost effective. Usually, a single worker or a small crew is supplemented by third party contractors who provide specialized services. There is a strong case for putting those resources towards growing the business. While a large facility might decide to take the time to build up a competent maintenance department, a smaller facility might find that the investments necessary in training, tools and other requirements may be too heavy.

What to evaluate: Do you spend as much time lining up contractors as managing in house staff?

Cost Effectiveness

This is one aspect that does not immediately show up on the bottom line. At first, outsourcing facility maintenance might seem more expensive than maintaining an in-house department. However, over time the cost effectiveness begins to show up in terms of the cost of response to facility service needs, employee management, employee training, repairs on facility components, and distractions due to the emergency of the day. Also, where there are any glitches in the system, a facility maintenance vendor might resolve them quicker and more efficiently, minimizing any loss that would have accrued as a result.

In order to get the most out of outsourcing facility maintenance, a thorough value analysis would have to be carried out by the facility manager. If your facility is growing, or you are managing facilities over a geographic location, you may gain benefit by evaluating outsourced facility services.