Lots of people still phone in to report a defective lamp, for example, even though it’s much quicker to use the Facilitor app
‘So, I checked it this morning; in March, we had 1,400 meetings here in the provincial government building. 1,400! And every single one was requested via Facilitor, including extras such as catering,’ he continues with a beam. Together with his team of twenty people, Ermers main task is to shoulder the burden for the end customer. ‘We’re the first point of contact for employees when it comes to facility services, ICT, repro, and DTP layout. Our helpdesk resolves just over 75 percent of requests immediately.’
For all other matters, the Dienstenplein calls in the help of back offices. More than a hundred employees (including external personnel) work in this area providing very specific services. ‘For example, we have agreements with regular gas, water and electricity installers, as well as the florist and a baker,’ explains Ermers. The latter seems a bit irrelevant, but nothing could be further from the truth. ‘People love birthdays and treats here. Fortunately, it’s all in good hands for the employees, and arranged in no time thanks to Facilitor. Everyone can order pastries via the CAFM app. The next day, they’re ready to be collected and paid for at our counter. That saves employees time, as a trip to the local bakery easily takes 15 minutes, and requires little effort on our part.’ That’s typical of Ermers and his team, providing the very best service for the end customer. ‘Everyone can come to us for everything, except work-related matters. Our goal is to provide employees with maximum support, so that they can do their work for the province of North Brabant as well as possible.’
René Ermers, North Brabant Provincial Government Building
Faulty bulb
The provincial government has been using Facilitor’s CAFM for some time. ‘After starting on a small scale, it’s now become quite broad,’ says Ermers. He still notices some considerable differences. ‘Lots of people still phone in to report a defective lamp, for example, even though it’s much quicker to use the Facilitor app. We have to educate our employees a bit better in this respect. We now enter these reports into the system ourselves, and the workflow is monitored from there. Reports of ICT problems or requests about DTP layout are mainly submitted digitally. 90 percent of matters specifically related to graphics are outsourced. The Dienstenplein examines the requests received via Facilitor, and the employee assesses which external partner is assigned the work. ‘Efficiency, quality and costs are important factors in this aspect; we look at who we can quickly place the work with, and subject to the best conditions.’The Dienstenplein receives numerous reports each day. ‘On really busy days, when there around 1,000 people here, the average is about 500. Everyone who works for us has access to Facilitor,’ Ermers explains. He talks about the law of large numbers. ‘I’m talking about things, not just the number of meetings in a day. The list of what employees have or should have is endless; beamers, laptops, phones, NS Business Cards, etc. All of this has to be properly administered. We need to know who has exactly what.’ Facilitor also provides assistance here. ‘HR registers a new employee in Facilitor. Then we’re asked to arrange a mobile phone and a laptop or tablet for them. We take care of this. The big advantage of this workflow is that everything is registered immediately; we know what has been loaned to the employee. If they leave the organisation, we can ask for it back immediately.’ Ermers says this saves time and money. ‘Imagine you lose 10 phones with an average value of 300 euros. That’s a considerable expense.’
Single point of administration
Ermers is in favour of a single point of administration, so he’d like more links with the Provincial Government Building’s SAP business software. This is where Facilitor could bring everything together in his opinion, and be the starting point for workflows. ‘Look at finances, for example. At the moment, employees have to make order requests in SAP. If you’re not used to doing that, it might take you half a day. The same request can also be made in Facilitor and forwarded to the finance department. They assess the application, approve it, and enter it in SAP, and probably only need 30 minutes.’ Ermers acknowledges that the big advantage of this solution, in addition to speed, is accessibility: ‘Employees are used to working with Facilitor, so it’s easy for them. Moreover, expenditure is accounted for at the appropriate place the finance department.
Facilitor is already linked to the Provincial Government Building’s Microsoft Azure Platform. This is a cloud platform from Microsoft, used to provide various internet services in the Provincial Government Building area. ‘One advantage, for example, is that employees don’t have to log in every time, as it’s automatic,’ says Ermers. He’s also really pleased with Facilitor because the CAFM software is so open. ‘The support is also fantastic. Our functional managers have a direct line with Facilitor for any specific questions or wishes. I mentioned he example of the bakery and the flower service, which they set up especially for us. The request is made, and it’s forwarded directly to the florist. They submit the invoice in Facilitor. Easy and simple, for us, for external partners, and for employees. We sometimes say jokingly, ‘Not one of them walks in here pampered, but they all leave pampered.’
By Martijn Louws, editor FACTO Magazine, publication Facto Magazine May 2018
Photo’s: (c) Melchert Meijer, Olaf Smit, Wim Hollemans
