Creative FM launched

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If Karen Ford of the recently formed Creative FM is to be believed, most companies do not realise the intimacy of the relationship between the quality of the office environment and the quality and volume of work produced within it. In truth, this is an old argument frequently rehearsed, but the fact that it is so routinely recycled suggests that it contains a kernel of truth. An FM service supplier promoting the idea to their clients ought to consider talking to their employees once in a while about the environment they'd like to work in? It shouldn't come across as such an off-the-wall suggestion but, well, here we are again. Why? In part, I'd suggest, because there is a growing number of inspired and innovative individuals who, for the first time in the history of FM have spent their entire working life in the sector and are in the position to strike out on their own. You've only to look at the success of the FMA's Young Managers' Forum to realise just how much quality is stored up in the coming generation of FM business leaders.

In the short term, the oft-reported fixation by so many clients on FM provision as, in Ford's words, "cost rather that opportunity", will stymie the potential for creative service provision. But it's likely that the story behind Creative FM's gestation - one of frustrated FM professionals striking out on their own to change the way contracts are won and managed - is already a familiar one. These companies recognise just how much of an uphill battle it will be to convince clients to look beyond the spreadsheet and get employee buy-in, but they see this level of vision in a handful of their existing clients and are happy to keep pushing to open more doors. Indeed, those clients enlightened enough to let their FM service providers liaise with employees and provide new forms of building environment solutions might just be realising that their business can benefit from being a "shop window" for these new best practices - and are thus happy to go with the flow.

Finding such clients might continue to be a frustrating task, but the mood music eminating from the industry's innovators in encouraging. Here's Simon Lampkin, who's joined Karen Ford at Creative FM in the capacity of managing director: "There is a fantastic opportunity for a forward thinking company to explain, demonstrate and deliver to businesses in the South exactly how to maximise their office space while creating a brilliant environment for staff and that is exactly what Creative Facilities Management is going to do! Our aim is to be a beacon within FM for creativity and excellence." Heady words indeed. I wish Simon well and admire his optimism, but there's more to this challenge than can be met purely by the enthusiasm of a handful of evangelists.

The real battle continues to be in getting the wider message of the underlying value of facilities management to UK plc's bottom line through to a broader cross-section of the country's business media. It's a well worn theme, but one we make no apologies for returning to.