Why SMEs Matter Including Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) in your supply chain can deliver significant advantages: diversity, innovation, alignment with CSR / ESG goals, and potentially better value through lower operational overheads. Social enterprises within the SME sector can also strengthen your ESG credentials However, successful SME integration requires careful consideration based on your organisation's specific needs and the services being sourced Core Evaluation Criteria Whether dealing with SMEs or large suppliers, buyers should always assess four core capabilities: Value - Pricing that reflects true cost-effectiveness Quality - Consistent delivery standards that meet your requirements Assurance - The ability to operate safely, legally, and compliantly Reliability - Service delivery when and where needed The key is supplier confidence: can the supplier consistently deliver the right service at the right price? What SMEs Want Remember that successful partnerships are recip

As a consultant, there are many tasks that come with the role but updating my CV ranks among my least favourite. Yet it's such an important sales document it simply has to be done. And here's the thing: it's never just one CV. You need multiple versions, each serving a different purpose. The Long CV showcases all my key experience and successes, demonstrating both what I've accomplished and what I'm capable of. The constant worry? Have I included so much detail that readers lose interest halfway through and forget how brilliant I am? The Summary CV distils everything into a single, powerful page. But I'm always second-guessing myself: have I omitted that crucial piece of experience that would land me that fascinating role I'm eyeing? (For me, interesting work trumps day rates every time.) Or worse, have I left out something that could help win a project that benefits not just me, but an entire team? The Pen Portrait condenses my entire professional identity into just a paragraph or two

Alongside my consulting expertise, I'm also a qualified executive coach—but perhaps not for the reasons you might expect. While I do offer coaching services when I believe I'm the right fit for the role, my primary motivation for obtaining this qualification was to enhance the complementary skills it brings to my consulting practice, allowing me to deliver even greater value to my clients. The synergy between these disciplines runs deeper than many realise. Both coaching and consulting share fundamental requirements that are critical to achieving successful outcomes: 1. Building Strong Relationships Whether working with key stakeholders in consulting or establishing rapport with a coaching client, the foundation remains the same: trust, clear boundaries, and open, honest communication must be established from the outset. These elements are essential for success in either field 2. Uncovering the True Objectives Both areas require cutting through initial assumptions to identify what clie

In procurement, few elements are as critical—or as frequently mishandled—as the specification. Despite its pivotal role in determining contract success, specification development often falls victim to shortcuts and assumptions that undermine the entire process. Common Specification Pitfalls 1. A copy and paste mentality Existing specifications are recycled with only superficial changes—names and locations updated while fundamental requirements remain misaligned with actual needs. 2. Inexperienced developers Junior or inexperienced staff are tasked with specification writing without adequate support. While involving them in the process has huge developmental value, expecting them to capture complex organisational needs and nuances sets both them and the client up for failure. Also, don’t think that AI can write the spec for you – it can’t grasp the subtleties and details that make the difference in a people focused service (yet!) 3. ‘One-size-fits-all’ thinking Success stories from othe

I've been diving deep into developing a training course on the future of facilities management and how professionals should navigate what's coming next. It's quite an undertaking, considering the rapid pace of change we're witnessing. My research has taken me through evolving workplace dynamics, sustainability imperatives, mounting cost pressures, artificial intelligence, and countless other transformative forces reshaping our industry. Yet through all this complexity, one fundamental truth emerges: EVERYTHING COMES BACK TO PEOPLE. No matter what technological advances we implement or infrastructure changes we make, success hinges on understanding and serving the people connected to our buildings: The occupants who work within these spaces daily The visitors and customers who experience our facilities The stakeholders who fund and invest in these assets The technicians and service providers who keep everything running The managers and leaders who make strategic decisions And crucially

My main job is as a management consultant specialising in property, facilities, procurement and change but I do other things as well including coaching, training and assessment even though I often spend more time on it than I should. However, there is a really good reason for this, I love it! I get a real buzz out of helping people progress in their careers whether marking an assessment or giving the benefits of my knowledge at a training course. It is especially good when someone makes me think and expands my own knowledge as the more you learn, the more you realise you still have to learn! One of the big challenges of training is to make the courses interesting and fun, which can be a stretch in some of my topics such as risk management, but by using innovative techniques and pushing interactivity, you can get people interested in the driest of topics. I mean, how many trainers actually ask you to get your phones out in a training course! If you want to discuss training or coaching w