How a client-centric approach led to winning 3 successive bids

Client Centric – The Grosvenor Difference

Although the key difference with this project was the extent to which Grosvenor tailored the service they provided, it was also an example of the Grosvenor team taking the initiative to see how they could add value, Gene says.

“Rather than just refreshing the contract and rolling out the same project three times, we engaged broadly and deeply, quickly and efficiently, to see how it could be refined to produce additional benefits to DELWP…an easier approach might have been to conclude that material changes to the scope of sites, scope of works and performance model weren’t necessary in the first place…”

The Project

At Grosvenor, we work hard to build and maintain good working relationships with our clients.

An example of this is our near 15-year relationship with the Department of Environment, Land, Water and Planning (DELWP).

Together, DELWP and Grosvenor have established the Department’s Statewide Facilities Management Contract – three consecutive times in 2008, 2013 and 2021. But this didn’t happen by sitting on our laurels. It came about because we care about the successes of DELWP which drives us to do the hard yards for our valued client.

The Department’s Statewide Facilities Management Contract is a major outsourcing contract that supports DELWP’s operational effectiveness by ensuring the assets that are used to accommodate staff and deliver services remain safe, compliant and fit for purpose.

Through each contract iteration, Grosvenor supported DELWP across the entire procurement lifecycle, from strategy and documentation development to evaluation, negotiation and transition.

 

Leading into the most recent project, the Grosvenor team was determined not to take their ongoing relationship with DELWP for granted, says Gene van den Broek, a Manager at Grosvenor who worked closely with Kent Stuart, the Director of Property on the Project.

“Although we were familiar with the contract, we put a lot of work in upfront to make sure we fully understood how DELWP’s success criteria for the contract (financial, operational, service levels etc.) had changed since the last Contract…we made sure we tailored our approach to DELWP’s current requirements, concentrating on what would add value for them, not what would save time for us…”

This client-centric approach enabled Grosvenor to identify several opportunities for improvement, that were incorporated into the new Contract:

1.     Increasing the number of sites managed under the Contract.

The project management team structure/communication management approach established by Grosvenor engaged stakeholders across several areas of interest (e.g. user, supplier, corporate) and multiple DELWP Business Groups.

It became clear early on that (a) the benefits of the Statewide FM Contract could be enjoyed more fully by DELWP if additional properties (currently managed internally) could be brought into the scope of the agreement, (b) there was an appetite among stakeholders to take advantage of these opportunities.

This resulted in additional properties, many of which are held by the Minister for Planning (including historically significant properties like Ned Kelly’s former residence) being included in the scope of the Contract, ensuring benefits (such as freeing up internal capacity to focus on core business functions and improved oversight of compliance-related facilities management activities) could be realised more broadly across the Department in the third-generation of the contract.

2.     Including new Services within the scope of works.

Ensuring the contract’s scope of works and DELWP’s requirements were kept in precise alignment under the new contract was key.

Rigorous testing and iteration with key stakeholders at the front-end of the project was critical to ensure we got the scope of works right.

In this process, several new services were identified and included in the scope of works, including:

·       Local Vendor Nomination and Endorsement program. Formalised processes enabling DELWP to nominate and endorse local contractors managed by the service provider to boost local engagement and content in Regional Victoria.

·       Site operations manuals. Site-specific manuals and quick reference guides detailing scope of services under the contract and clarifying the allocation of responsibilities between the service provider, its subcontractors, and DELWP staff.

3.     Introducing a new performance management model, aligned to DELWP’s strategic and corporate objectives.

Ensuring the performance model of the Contract was refreshed to ensure it reflected DELWP’s current strategic and corporate objectives was a key focus of Grosvenor’s work.

A robust performance model was developed using a series of collaborative workshops with DELWP stakeholders.

Each model component was then further refined during the Transition Period to ensure they were operationalised effectively and working as intended.

RESULT

Although Grosvenor being re-engaged on three successive occasions speaks for itself, the DELWP team have also been vocal about how pleased they are with the service form Grosvenor.

 

At Grosvenor, we pride ourselves on offering clients tailored services to address your specific requirements, rather than taking a ‘one size fits all’. We don’t use a ‘cookie cutter’ approach for our work.

This means that you, our clients, can expect us to:

> Continually refine objectives

> Seek clarity and consensus

> Avoid shortcuts and templates

> Adapt, be responsive and flexible

> Apply intellectual rigour at all levels

>Devise effective, practical and practicable measures to achieve outcomes.

Call the Grosvenor team today to discuss your current and future projects.