Background

In recent years, Phoenix Group have acquired the businesses of Standard Life, Sunlife and ReAssure. Each organisation had procured Facilities Management (FM) services in a silo approach – essentially procuring services through local procurement at each of the brand’s headquarters.

The Head of Estates for Standard Life was tasked with a remit to create a rationalisation of the service suppliers and standardise the service offers across the group. There was an immediate need to review the current models at each site and create a facilities management solution that met the needs of the Group.

Brief

Our brief was to provide Phoenix Group with a road map of recommendations to meet the group’s objectives for a more sustainable, cost-effective, standardised approach to FM service delivery across the group by site and service.

Our brief was to:

•  Produce a comprehensive benchmarking report relating to all associated costs

•  Undertake an operational review of the service specifications

•  Produce an options appraisal, demonstrating “Target Operating Models”(TOMs), whilst considering the capability of the market

•  Undertake an analysis of the findings in the form of a full report to be presented to the Phoenix Group Board

•  On approval and sign-off by the Phoenix Group Board of our recommendations, to create a full suite of tender documents to enable a procurement exercise

•  To lead and assist the Group to tender the services and award the new solution

•  To assist the Group with mobilisation and to deploy the new solution

Approach

Our initial approach was to review the current solution and capture, then evaluate, users’ and stakeholders’ opinions of the current services. We did this through a number of workshops, interviews, and questionnaires with the existing facilities managers and key stakeholders. This was an

important part of the project, it was essential we received ‘buy-in’ from the FM managers and key stakeholders at each site. This valuable information was key to ensuring our recommendations reflected the needs of these individuals.

Our financial analysts gathered all the relevant financial information from every site and prepared a detailed benchmark comparison against each service at each site. We then used this data to benchmark the current service solutions against the market, using key industry metrics and our Litmus suite of benchmark information.

We then reviewed the site’s operations to understand the current service standards and variations across the group’s portfolio. This provided us with key information in the production of the new proposed ‘TOM’. We also engaged with the current market FM suppliers to fully understand their capabilities and to assess the current models available that would be able to deliver the Phoenix Group’s requirements going forward. We then formulated a full report for the board which detailed operational and financial analysis and our key recommendations, demonstrating value for money, innovation, effective and efficient service, compliance, and alignment to industry and sector best practices of the recommended TOM.

Outcomes

Following acceptance of our recommendations The Phoenix Group Board authorised us to proceed with a full outsourcing exercise. We prepared the tender documentation, including a Request for Information, an evaluation process, a full suite of Service-Level Agreements and Key Performance Indicators and the Invitation to Tender.

The market response was excellent and three organisations were shortlisted to presentations. Ultimately, the winning organisation, a UK major supplier was awarded the TFM contract which promised to bring with it, a solution driven by technology and innovation, offering consistency across the portfolio putting the Phoenix culture at the centre of the operation.