The leading facility management service providers maintain and upkeep an organization’s buildings, while ensuring that they meet legal requirements and health and safety standards. They establish processes for order and organization. These service providers focus on upkeeping and improving their client’s facilities.
One such prominent facility management service provider is none other than EFS Facilities Services Group. For more than 20 years, it is well-acknowledged by all for providing quality services to some of the biggest regional names including leading multinationals in the region.
In an interview with Insights Success, the company shares about its inception and journey, its various services, the different challenges it has overcome, and its future. Please read the below excerpts to know more about the company.
1. What are the dynamics of EFS Facilities Services Group?
EFS Facilities Services Group is a regional leader in delivering integrated facilities management services across the Middle East, Africa, South Asia and Turkey. For over two decades, EFS is well-acknowledged for providing quality FM services to some of the biggest regional names including leading multinationals in the region. Since 2009, we have expanded our diversified clientele through our comprehensive services offering across the region.
We have crossed USD1.2 billion in contracts backlog and manage an approximate total area of over 45 million sq. m. across the Middle East, Africa, South Asia, and Turkey. From the beginning, EFS has set new benchmarks in facilities management through quality service delivery and innovation. The sustained track record of near 100% client retention and accolades for high customer satisfaction have been the cornerstones of EFS’ legacy.
Our FM portfolio comprises prominent and prestigious clients ranging from large government entities to many Fortune 500 companies. We offer total facilities management solutions consisting of over 75 Services through dedicated business verticals such as Oil & Gas, Banking, Industrial, Public Sector, Integrated Workplaces, Education, Retail and Mixed-Use Developments.
Our facilities management strategy is focused on Operational Excellence, Commercial Prudence and Sustainability whilst adhering to fundamental principles of discipline, attitude, and commitment. We establish and nurture relationships with our clients based on Transparency, Trust and Mutual Respect that are integral to our core value system.
EFS’ motto of People, Structure and Systems has been the key driving force of its organizational strength and management focus. This has helped us to put People First whilst building lean structures and continuously investing in state-of-the-art systems.
Led by a competent, experienced management with several decades of combined core industry expertise and past track record, complemented by ISO accreditations, we have built and earned our reputation and gained the trust of top companies in the region.
EFS is driven by a powerful workforce of more than 18,000 outstanding professionals operating in 21 countries with 26 operating companies, hailing from over 35 nationalities achieving the highest diversity ratio by assuring an equal opportunity to all professionals with no barriers.
In India alone, EFS prides itself with a workforce of over 5000 staff hailing from 200 cities.
2. What are the distinguished services offered by your company? Please elaborate on how it has helped in staying ahead of your competition.
EFS Facilities Services India delivers the benefits of efficiency and cost optimization through improved asset utilization, pre-empting asset failure and predictive maintenance, as well as ad-hoc projects services. We ensure the highest levels of service performance while scaling our services to projected workload and resource requirements to ensure mission critical support service, rapid turnaround times and streamlined operations.
Our fast-track mobilization capabilities enable us to accelerate the commencement of services for new contractors with enhanced integration of operations into existing assets. We address the needs of a wide variety of segment verticals for critical business sectors which include:
A) Integrated Facilities Management
• Technical Services,
• Soft Services,
• Support Services,
• Performance Management,
• HSEQ Compliance Management,
• Technology based CAFM System and Helpdesk Services.
B) Specialized Engineering Services
• MEP Installation and Commissioning Consultancy
• Mechanical Engineering Services
• Fire Detection and Fire Fighting
• Electrical Services
• Automation
• HVAC Services
• Technical Audits
C) Industrial Services
• Technical skills in Erection, Commissioning, Maintenance and Operations
• Shutdown Support Services
• Planned and proactive maintenance services
EFS India acts as a single point service provider for a complete array of Technical & Non-Technical Facilities Management Services. As a long-standing global pioneer in the field of facilities management and infrastructure solutions, we at EFS have made it our mission to ensure superior service delivery by engaging stakeholders to take ownership to collaborate in building a sustainable enterprise. We pride ourselves on our excellence in integrated facilities management solutions, real estate and infrastructure management, and security services across a plethora of industries including banking, oil and gas, education, retail, hospitality, and transportation.
Instead of worrying about our competition, our focus has been to constantly enhance the customer experience and find new ways to innovate and adapt to ever-changing market conditions. From offering cutting edge technologies that utilize the Internet of Things, automation, and artificial intelligence, to adapting to the COVID-19 pandemic and offering services including state-of-the-art sanitation services, latest air filtration technologies, self-cleaning antimicrobial surface installations, touch-free access enablement, we at EFS have placed a strong emphasis on superior customer satisfaction to help our clients boost service capabilities, employee productivity, and bolster their brand representation.
3. How was your journey in the facility management space?
Aval is a Senior Management professional with rich experience in multi-disciplinary areas of Facilities Management, Process Improvement, Technology intervention & new-age innovation, Supply Chain and Procurement Transformation, Strategy formulation and execution and Operations management. He started his career in the Indian Army in 1993 and moved to the corporate world in 2005 working in different industries and organisations like iEnergizer, Bechtel, JLL, Protaiga and Embassy Services in senior leadership roles.
Aval has numerous accomplishments and awards to his credit both while in Military service as well as in the corporate world. He was named among the Top 50 Global Thought Leaders & Influencers on Procurement, awarded as the Most Talented Procurement Leader in India in Facilities Management industry, and awarded as a Champion of Facility Management. Aval looks to inspire people to learn, develop and grow, unlocking human potential to contribute and achieve greatness.
4. What were the challenges when EFS started venturing into the facility management services sector?
In 2009, Tariq Chauhan, the newly appointed CEO of EFS Facilities Services Group (EFS) at the time, was thinking big and EFS was well-positioned in the integrated facilities management services sector, but Chauhan was about to unleash a series of shrewd moves. “I felt that to have the critical mass and to be large was no more an option, but a necessity,” he says.
“There was no room for me to remain in the small to medium space -to be a US$100 million company- we had to have the critical mass, because of the challenges that the business was facing.” At the time (2010), EFS had 2,000 people on the books, enjoyed 76% of contract retention, and 21% revenue growth. However, Chauhan’s vision was only beginning to take shape and was driven by difficult market conditions, economic slowdown, and emerging competition.
Today, EFS is a regional leader in delivering integrated facilities management services with its network of 26 operating companies in 21 countries across the Middle East, Africa, South Asia, and Turkey.
5. How the adaptation of new technology in the facility management services space has helped to transform your company’s operations and what more could be expected in the future?
The technology adoption has increased by 50%-60% with it being a tool for not just cost saving, but it is now seen as the basic tool for delivering efficiency, increasing productivity and business continuity.
Contract Cost savings need to increase to over 30% to compensate for the increase in the cost of implementation of technology.
6. How has the ongoing pandemic affected the operations of your company? How are you driving your firm to sustain its operations and ensuring the safety of your employees at the same time?
At the start of this pandemic, workplaces had to be shut down; employees had to work remotely wherever possible. Lockdown was imposed at most places across the world, including India. Apart from fear and anxiety, retention of staff, safety and hygiene, transportation, food and accommodation were the real challenges on the ground. The client along with us could envisage its impact on business and engaged EFS in all their emergency planning stages.
EFS India realised early on that there would be an increased focus on new services and activities as mentioned, to facilitate employee’s return to their workplaces and so driven by an increased focus on the user experience and business outcome, EFS Facilities Services came up with a wide range of Covid related services to support organisations and their employees be safe. Safe, sustainable, and healthy work environment solutions are offered to all areas of facilities and business including air and surfaces, using the most advanced eco-friendly technologies. The array of initiatives ranges from Sanitization & Deep Cleaning, Concierge, Employee Health & Safety Assurance, Disinfection of HVAC System, Reconfiguration of lighting System, Technology Suite, Hazardous garbage segregation & safe disposal, Transport and Security.
Whilst ensuring business continuity EFS was ensuring:
1. Continuous motivation and counselling of team in reinforcing their confidence and morale
2. Keeping two teams on rotation and thereby reducing the risk of continuity
3. Created accommodation at the site and provided food with all safety measures
4. Cost benefit analysis of in-house vs outsourcing of selected maintenance of utilities
5. Renegotiated with existing vendor partners and reduced the cost
6. Applying predictive maintenance techniques in fine tuning the frequencies of AMC
7. Rewarding and recognizing the front-line staff
8. Extending financial support to the affected employees beyond statutory norms
As a result, after many sessions of brain storming, we could come up with some interesting solutions in a phased manner, without compromising on any service deliveries and compliances as well. We could run our operations successfully with the help of minimal employees against full authorized strength, without any disruptions. Since the entire scenario is very dynamic in nature, it has been only possible due to effective communication, refining our strategy as per government norms, understanding market scenario and employee sentiments.
We are a company that has always put its people first, and we have used this pandemic as an opportunity to once again display that commitment to our employees. Apart from the obvious decision to switch to a remote work model for our employees, we provided employees at our offices and in the field with sanitation and self-hygiene products, created safety contingencies, provided up-to-date health information, and even procured lifesaving medical resources and provisions to offset medical costs for our employees. We strongly believe that happy and healthy employees create a prosperous and successful company.
When it comes to our clients, we took it upon ourselves to ease their burden in whatever capacity we would. We had 1:1 meeting with our clients to collaboratively find the best approaches to enhancing their experience during the pandemic by offering the latest technologies and services that the world of facilities management had to offer and have successfully enabled an efficient and safe hybrid of in-person and remote work model for several of our clients.
In the current crisis, the FM industry is facing various client expectations, resulting in changing work and public place habits and expectations of employers, employees, and consumers. This has an impact on how the company trains and manages its workforce, operations and supply chains, ensure governance, and interaction with customers. One trend coming up is the increased demand for FM services to facilitate all the employees while ensuring high standards of sanitation and cleanliness.
On the side of operations, the costs have slightly increased due to maintenance of proper sanitation measures, personal protective equipment (PPE), as well as the overall adoption of the latest technologies and scanners to ensure cleanliness and a safe, covid-free environment. Most clients have issued guidelines to emphasise protocols to be followed when workers enter a factory or office premises, such as quick body temperature checks, app-based tracking of moving workforces in logistics or those travelling. This necessitates more innovative methods of scheduling and managing facility workforce and tasks.
The staff is expected to work harder and collaborate more on crisis management. Having found more effective ways to work together, managers and leaders in EFS built on the momentum by continuing to engage with staff pro-actively, hold some meetings remotely, engaging in more formal and informal contact, and focusing on corporate resilience. We established a strong communication platform and connected each staff member on WhatsApp groups which were used to send information and various other EFS communication. We communicated actions related to Covid protocols, Do’s and Don’ts, best practices, etc.
We knew that workplaces will never be the same, and our client organizations that want to lure workers back in will have to ensure their safety, health, and wellness. We have supported our clients in taking the lead and offering them customized solutions to support their critical business operations, redesigning layouts to accommodate hybrid work, and supplying a “wow factor.”
We have extended many benefits to our staff to address the requirements and exigencies during the pandemic. We committed to providing all staff access to oxygen cylinders, oxygen concentrators, free online doctor consultations, counselling, temporary loans, salary advances, leave encashments, and ad-hoc financial aid. We set up Covid hotlines with our own staff from HR in multiple cities. We have organized and facilitated for the staff to take their vaccination and provided Paid time off to get vaccinated. All covid positive employees have been paid a full salary during their hospitalization or quarantine or recovery period.
We have observed that the COVID-19 pandemic has changed customer behaviour, their attitudes toward work, and even some views about the society and environment itself. To really flourish during and after the pandemic, we realized that we would need a new set of skills, including social, emotional, advanced cognitive, and higher levels of digital capabilities. Cost reduction, risk management, and ensuring that operations and maintenance are run efficiently will remain at the heart of facilities management for now, but the changing importance of facilities management means FM managers need to embrace their new strategic function and also build their team’s skillsets to prevent being left behind.
7. Where does EFS envision to be in the long run and what are the future goals?
Integrating global knowledge, regional presence, and local experience will eventually be a successful model. By bringing professionals from around the world with relevant knowledge and experience, to be incorporated into our regional presence, because we have moved the concept of fixed-cost to variable.
We offer a lot more horizontal services than just vertical services alone. So, this combination of vertical-horizontal, through a regional model, can help clients. One is to accomplish consolidation. The second is also to reduce operating costs. Thirdly, better contract management.
Tariq has now set his goals in making EFS a public listed entity on the London Stock Exchange and aims to make it the greatest home-grown multinational enterprise. Alongside this, Tariq also strives in creating an exclusive rehabilitation and entrepreneurship initiative for migrant blue-collar workers returning to their homes in India. He also aims to complete a book based on his insights and experience on Common Good.
8. What is the current industrial scenario of the Indian facility management services space?
The Indian facility management services space is one that is ripe for disruption. While a lot of companies across the country have settled for traditional facilities management processes, at EFS we will not be satisfied until we have brought the innovations, technologies, services, and processes that the western world has greatly benefitted from to the Indian market.
While we understand the natural inertia of adoption that many of our clients face when looking to the future, our job as a leader in this space has been to provide knowledge, share resources, and show the effectiveness of employing these new practices and the positive impact it has on productivity and the bottom line.
While on the face of it, automation, AI, IoT may just seem like trending terms that are often thrown around, we have gone a step beyond to procure implementable digitization solutions that utilize these technologies and have showcased first-hand how enabling them into the business can provide our clients with an edge in their business practices. We hope that together with our ever-expanding list of clients, we can pave the way for a digitized revolution in the Indian facilities management landscape.
In light of the recent pandemic, while many industries have seen a decline in demand, a few others such as the Indian facilities management services have shown areas for added potential and transformation. With a projected increase in the overall size of the FM market, the Indian market presents a similar story and positive outlook.
As there is now a higher need for a clean, hygienic, and germ-free environment, FM has become the fulcrum of health, and safety measures in work and public spaces as well as in planning for a post covid 19 workplaces. As organisations are looking to hire skilled, and highly trained professionals, IFM firms can effectively capitalise on this opportunity through their innovative technology and ideas.
Furthermore, as companies are now actively investing more to ensure the health and safety of their employees there is also an unanticipated shift in the focus of FM from security and maintenance to hygiene and sanitisation to create a safe, germ-free working environment.
The current pandemic has also played a significant role in automating FM processes such as maintenance and service requests. This provides an opportunity for the Indian facilities management to work more effectively and logically while planning for the facility activities.
