The banking sector in particular covers multifaceted services from bank branches, brokers, stand-alone ATMs, corporate trading and credit unions. Both global and local financial institutions must share the common need to cost-effectively deliver facilities management (FM), in order to drive customer experiences whilst ensuring transactions are conducted in a safe and secure environment.
The demands for the facilities management industry is high, with recognition of its function needed across several industries which enhance the future of the country’s business growth. According to the Global Facility Management Market Analysis (2017-2023) The Global Facility Management Market size is expected to reach $79bn by 2023, rising at a market growth of 15% CAGR during the forecast period.
The International Facility Management Association (IFMA) defines facility management as the practice that coordinates physical workplace with the people and work of the organisation encompassing various forms of activities such as equipment maintenance, space planning, technological implementations and portfolio forecasting. The growth of the facility management market is driven due to rapid growth in the adoption of cloud-based solutions, change in organisation structure and work force management. In the field of banking in particular, these practices are certainly needed in order to undertake financial activities including, management of treasuries, managing vendor documents, goods received and payment related information as well as the management of customer facing transactions.
According to the 2019 Future Branches Consumer Study 80% of the bank customers still prefer visiting banking locations and ATMs, rather than opting for other banking solutions. This indicates that customers are preferring to visit a banking location and their physical locations are a significant strategic asset. Therefore facilities managers must operate effectively and efficiently to support business goals, reduce operational costs and generate good revenue to improve and enhance customer relationships which are imperative in the banking sector.
Dr Jelena Janjusevic, assistant professor in Finance at Edinburgh Business School, Heriot-Watt University, shares how facility managers help meet the requirements of the banking and financial institution industry.
• The importance of the financial institution branch design
Financial services have a degree of importance that far outweighs many other brand relationships within the life of an individual, and the level of intimacy surrounding personal wealth and day-to-day banking approaches. Financial health is a critical factor for all consumers, and it is important to understand how facilities managers play a key part in maintaining the customer experience. According the 2019 Future Branches Consumer Study, 19% of consumers feel that branch design is an important factor in their appreciation of a physical banking experience, banks must prioritise creating a consistent, repeatable, and dependable experience at all their branches.
It is therefore the role of the facilities management team to create effective delivery of support services for the organisation and add brand value to reinforce a promising image. The banking sector plays a crucial role in the development of facilities management. This is particularly seen through strategies to enable customers to make right decisions when banking. This can be achieved through implementing to right tools for customer engagement and maintaining an interactive level of technology.
• How Bank Facility Management technology has evolved
According to IBM, the future of AI and customer service has flourished in recent years, by the year 2020 85% of all customer interactions will be handled without a human agent. Whilst the advancement of technology has enabled an efficient and effective form of customer experiences in the financial sector, the future of bank facility management technology has proven to be beneficial. For example, the future of help desk management software empowers banks and financial organisations to track problems, and service requests by customers.
With automated processes, bank employees and facilities management staff can focus on adding new customers, retaining their accounts, and sell financial products to them by implementing efficient and accurate technologies. Additionally, Bank Facility Management software streamlines various day-to-day business operations, enhancing the overall efficiency and productivity of employees. In Deloitte’s 2019 Banking & Capital Markets Outlook, retail banks will invest over $15.2bn in digital banking in 2022, while only $11.4bn will be spent on developing branches. Whether a bank relies heavily on technology facilities or human interaction, it is imperative for facilities management as a function to assist in the customer experience cycle whether it is completed with digital business processes or the creation of customer experience infrastructure.
• How Facilities Managers maintain banking services?
Credit unions in particular and local banks are often situated in residential communities, and therefore would ensure that their source service providers and facility managers are based locally. This is to ensure that facilities managers in the banking sector take responsibility and obligations for maintenance and repair. Unmanned assets, such as ATMs, would require regular monitoring and management which can prove to be challenging with specific technical work that would be needed. Banking organisations must ensure that facilities managers carry out audits and risk compliance issues across physical footprints.
Despite the positives, the industry is not without its challenges, particularly in view of the evolving needs of customers. One of the most pressing is the lack of a region-wide awareness about the benefits of these services. Therefore, all banking institutions will rely heavily on the latest technologies and platforms. It is the duty of the facilities manager to deliver solutions and bring flexibility, transparency and compliance to automate facilities maintenance across any number of banking and financial organisations. Additionally, The report states, facilities management constitutes for 80% of money spent across a lifetime of a building from conception, further reinforcing the high demand in the maintenance of banking infrastructure.
• Educating current and future generations on the benefits of Facilities Management
The professional field of facilities management is growing rapidly worldwide, establishing itself as the source of strategic management for the coordination of modern business processes and support facilities. It is not only those who are currently within organisations that should gain knowledge in how to drive facilities management in the banking sector. Complex building systems and controls increasingly offer opportunities and challenges for the profession of facilities management. The industry can leverage new technologies to better manage facilities, but it also needs to ensure adequate training is in place to educate practitioners on new systems.
In particular, the education field is moving towards a curriculum that works harmoniously with the needs of modern day organisational structures. According to The Market Intelligence Report 2011, about 50% of FM is in utilities, the rest are mechanical, electrical and plumbing (MEP), cleaning and security. The banking sector in particular requires all of these aspects to be addressed within the business structure. Programmes such as the Facilities Management course offered by Heriot-Watt University in Dubai are taught from the perspective of facilities management in complex businesses and are fully accredited by the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS). The course equips future students with the necessary skills and competencies needed to drive facilities management effectively in a changing business
world.