TEAM Building: a Growing Role for Software Solutions in FM

This article appeared on i-FM.net on March 16,2023.

More than ever, FM companies are looking for ways to differentiate themselves in a competitive landscape, especially as economic pressures drive profit margins even thinner.

Many are turning to technology to make their operations faster, better and more reliable; but, much like FM companies themselves, the way software can support FM work is evolving, too.

No one knows this better than Christian Berenger (right), director of growth at TEAM Software by WorkWave. With over 20 years of workforce management sector and FM market experience, Berenger is able to offer insights into the rapidly growing role of software in supporting FM and the potential challenges – and opportunities – in the market.

Consolidation in the industry
Just as we’ve seen acquisitions play a key role in the changing landscape of FM, software providers are using acquisitions to evolve product offerings and add more value to their customers.

TEAM Software is no exception. In 2020, the provider of market-leading financial, operations and workforce management solutions made specific to the FM industry acquired Innovise, a well-known technology innovator based in the UK. Similarly, the company acquired TemplaCMS, which offered fully integrated financial contract management software. In 2021, TEAM Software itself was acquired by WorkWave, a provider of SaaS solutions which support every stage of a service business’s lifecycle.

This growth means one thing for clients in the FM industry: opportunity.

“Consolidation is all about bringing together best-of-breed products and ensuring they are backed with the right resources at the right time to ensure the most value is being delivered to the end user,” said Berenger. “In our core FM sector, we’ve brought together the best of the best to really establish our solutions as necessary tools for the aims of our customers.”

Consolidation doesn’t only happen on a corporate level. In software, that also means taking the best parts of different solutions to meet a new or different need in the market, or ensure the long-term lifespan of a product’s value to its users.

Target markets
Some might ask, if a software provider – or a FM company, for that matter – already has best-in-breed solutions or services, what room is left for growth?

The answer lies in target markets.

TEAM Software by WorkWave, for example, has made a name for the industry-specific nature of its software. The company was initially created by a commercial cleaning and security company, who were themselves in need of an integrated solution to handle all aspects of their business, from operational to financial. As there wasn’t a solution on the market with that capability, they created their own, and the company evolved.

Leveraging that industry knowledge, TEAM Software by WorkWave is now using the advantages of their company growth to explore nuanced target markets within their industries of expertise. For example, the company recently launched a bundled version of the well-known Timegate product, which offers a stripped back version of the full solution. This type of approach – known as the Timegate Standard bundle – is tailored towards the SME market, which stands to benefit from the core offerings of Timegate but doesn’t necessarily need the more nuanced feature sets of the product available in full. This type of approach also leaves the FM company using it with a massive potential to scale the solution as their company grows and their needs evolve, without needing to start from scratch with a new product. Future iterations may grow to include business and enterprise options, tailored to meet the specific needs depending on client population.

“It boils down to making continual investments in our market,” Berenger said. “With more resources at our backs by recent acquisitions, we can continue to ensure our products are reaching our customers based on what they need to use it for most, based on whatever stage of growth their company is in at present. Over the course of the next year, we’ve made plans to address the needs of our customers. There are launches aimed at helping combat labour shortages by improving recruitment and hiring. We have new integration partners with OrkaWorks and continual relationships with earned wage access partners like WageStream. It really demonstrates our commitment to the EMEA market and delivering quality to our customers here.”

What’s next in evolution
There’s a lot of talk recently about advancements in technology. AI, IoT and tracking software are making waves in the tech industry. But sometimes, the next evolution of software simply means providing similar tools in newer, more accessible ways.

“We’re seeing it ourselves in-house,” Berenger said. “The benefits of Timegate are what our customers need. The next evolution of that product won’t necessarily be building something from the ground up – it will be offering the same functionality in a more accessible, easy to use format.”

The transition process to a new platform sounds straightforward, but in actuality it is very nuanced. Migrations are often mistaken as quick processes, but in reality can take years to complete. The key to success, according to Berenger, is keeping customers first.

“As a tech provider, customer retention is incredibly important to us,” he argues. “Therefore, the process of moving an existing customer to a new platform – even one that exists to better help them in the future – is complex. We don’t want to lose anyone along the way, and the first step is conversation. Explaining the why, the how, the when on a very one-to-one, human level. “Once you’ve defined the value, there’s a lot of work that goes into ensuring a new solution meets the customers’ needs comparatively in terms of functionality and price. It’s not a process we do in a vacuum behind the scenes. Our customers are alongside it every step of the way.”

Watch for TEAM Software by WorkWave EMEA product launches coming this year.

Remembering the value proposition
As the sector evolves, both in nature and supportive technology, it’s important to remember the value proposition at its heart. The reason for the evolution. In the FM industry, this means giving companies a way to manage their people – and their contracts – better.

“When we approach a prospective customer, we’re really digging into the opportunity there, not just for us as their software provider, but for them as a leading FM company,” Berenger explained. “Not only does that mean cost savings, but also ‘hidden’ benefits, such as back-office efficiencies, access to real-time information, accuracy of data and more. We want to provide an alternative to paper timesheets, to spreadsheets, to those more basic ways of doing accounting so that they, in turn, can redirect their resources to what really matters – their customers.”

He continued: “We know software implementation can be a big undertaking for our clients. But it’s the long-term payoff that matters. Communicating how our software ensures the right people are in the right location at the right time performing the right job, alongside the financial efficiencies that come when choosing a scalable, all-in-one software provider. That’s our job to explain, just as it’s our clients’ jobs to explain why their contract is the most competitive when tendering bids.”

Berenger is comfortable with the challenge of explaining and exploring all this with customers and potential customers. “We are confident that what we offer is best-of-breed, and that brings some obligations,” he said. “Continuous investment in the solution, more functionality, a real focus on the user experience and a need to actively engage with customers. And if that engagement means support, guidance and education, we are ready for that, too.”

About TEAM Software by WorkWave
TEAM Software by WorkWave develops market-leading financial, operations and workforce management solutions for contractors with distributed workforces, with a focus on the cleaning, facilities management and security industries in the UK and Ireland and broader EMEA region, as well as the North America and Asia-Pacific regions. TEAM’s powerful global workforce management solutions provide business-critical information to reduce risk and costs and drive efficiency, profitability and growth. Founded in 1989, TEAM is headquartered in Omaha, Nebraska, USA, with a regional office in Brierley Hill, UK. TEAM was acquired by WorkWave in September 2021. For more information, visit teamsoftware.com.