Is Cutting Facilities Management Service Contracts the Right Decision During a Recession?

As the UK faces a recession and escalating cost of living crisis, facilities managers may feel pressure to reduce budgets by cutting services.

However, such short-term measures can backfire, undermining employee wellbeing, productivity, and sustainability initiatives. In these challenging times, organisations need reliable partners providing holistic solutions that uplift people by enhancing workspaces.

Workplace, founded in 1999, has navigated multiple recessions while helping clients prioritise their most valuable asset — their people. During the late 2000s financial crisis, which lasted for five quarters and was the deepest UK recession since the Second World War, Workplace adapted its services to support clients through the credit crunch and rising unemployment. In the brief but severe COVID-19 recession of 2020, Workplace swiftly adjusted its offerings to address the pandemic's challenges, ensuring the health and safety of client workspaces.

Now, as the UK experiences another recession in 2023-2024, with falling GDP per capita and a decline in school attendance, Workplace continues to combine essential services like commercial cleaning with specialised offerings spanning mechanical, electrical, and technical maintenance. This creates safer, healthier, and more efficient facilities tailored to each client's unique needs.

During difficult periods, assess current spaces and contracts to identify gaps in service that hinder goals around employee experience, inclusion, sustainability, and more. Workplace offers customisable facility solutions to help organisations fortify their foundations and adapt to evolving needs through options like:

Advanced Cleaning & Hygiene

Electrostatic disinfecting, antimicrobial surface treatments, and touchpoint sanitation cost-effectively reinforce occupant safety and public health, potentially reducing absenteeism and healthcare costs.

Consumables Optimisation

By switching to our core range of high-quality, eco-friendly cleaning products, clients can streamline supply chain costs without compromising effectiveness or sustainability, leading to long-term savings.

Waste Reduction & Diversion

Strategic waste audits and ethical disposal partnerships help clients minimise environmental impact, boost landfill diversion rates, and reduce waste management costs.

Green Cleaning Protocols

Adopting chemical-free, non-toxic cleaning products and practices not only reduces environmental impact but also minimises exposure to harsh chemicals that may irritate occupants with sensitivities, potentially reducing absenteeism and healthcare costs. Transitioning to eco-friendly products can lead to long-term savings through bulk purchasing and reduced packaging waste.

Beyond these specialised offerings, Workplace encourages proactive collaboration to re-evaluate core services and budgets if your organisation faces recession-related constraints. We pledge flexibility in adapting solutions to your present financial situation while upholding health, safety, and sustainability standards.

Embrace Proactive Partnership

• Schedule quarterly reviews to align service levels with evolving building usage and occupant priorities, optimising cost-efficiency.

• Conduct regular quality assurance walkthroughs to rapidly remedy issues, preventing costlier problems down the line.

• Seek occupant input via surveys and focus groups to guide continuous improvement plans that maximise return on investment.

• Establish mutual performance benchmarks and share data to track progress and identify cost-saving opportunities.

• Host strategy sessions to forecast upcoming needs and co-develop solutions that balance effectiveness and affordability.

As economic challenges persist, secure your footing through strategic facilities management — not indiscriminate service cuts. Seize this opportunity to fortify workspaces that support your people and principles. Partner with Workplace, a company with a proven track record of helping clients weather economic storms since 1999, to create customised, sustainable facility service plans that enable your organisation to withstand turbulence and position for future success.

Contact us today to explore flexible facilities solutions that optimise costs without compromising quality. Invest in strategies to uplift your properties and people as economic tides turn. Together, we'll weather this storm and build resilience for brighter days ahead.