Outsourcing facilities management services

Resourcing options

There are several distinct options to consider when deciding how to structure the management of a facility:

• In-house, resourcing from within the agency.
• Outsourcing, hiring an external organisation or contractor.
• Cross-agency sourcing, using resources from another government agency.
• Hybrid model, services delivered between in-house and outsourced capabilities. 

Choosing the right option for your agency

To decide whether to outsource facilities management services or have in-house staff, consider:

• what services are required
• whether there are any specialist requirements
• the cost and any potential efficiencies for each option
• resources and relevant experience within your property team, and
• the importance of transferring risk from the agency.

Contracting providers

If you decide to outsource, procure service providers through a Common Capability contract where possible.

Common Capability contracts – New Zealand Government Procurement

Initial contract periods are usually 3 to 5 years. If the contract period is longer than this, you should still review the contract within this timeframe.

Monitoring performance

Agree to key performance indicators during contract negotiations, and review the provider's performance against them regularly – particularly quality control, methods of working and standards of supervision.

To begin with, some of these measures should be reported on monthly. You can amend the review cycle as performance and confidence builds.

Track responsibilities and requirements in the facilities management obligations template.

Facilities management planning

Meeting health and safety requirements

Facilities managers must ensure health and safety requirements are met.

You need to know the health and safety, employment and training standards of all contractors, and ensure they pass on responsibilities so that subcontractors are also compliant.

Do not take on a contractor who has a poor health and safety record. If you do, record the decision on a risk register, with mitigations outlined to reduce the risk. If there is a serious issue on site, the agency may be held responsible for the poor performance of the contractor.

Where required, facilities staff must ensure criminal checks or security clearances have been completed before contractors and sub-contractors can begin work.

Contractor obligations

In addition to statutory obligations, all contractors working on an agency occupied site should take reasonable care to ensure that both their own employees and anyone affected by their actions at work are safe and not exposed to health and safety risks.

Make sure that:

• all contractors identify possible risks before beginning work and identify and implement measures that will mitigate the identified risks
• contractors are adequately insured to the level of indemnity required by the contract. This will cover liability arising from injury and third party liability.

When accidents occur

Any accidents need to be recorded in a register. The register should document:

• details of the accident
• how the accident was dealt with
• the steps taken to prevent such accidents from occurring in the future.

Make sure contractors understand that they need to report any accident or dangerous incident.

Agencies should investigate all accidents that occur on their premises, and expect full cooperation from contractors and their employees to establish the cause and identify steps to reduce the risk of it happening again.