Ruby McGregor-Smith highlights benefits of sector at Think FM conference
Ruby McGregor-Smith CBE, CEO of FTSE 250 outsourcer and energy services company Mitie last night delivered the guest speech at this year’s Think FM Conference, held in central London.
Mrs. McGregor-Smith stressed the significance of the FM industry to the UK economy and also highlighted the importance of people, entrepreneurialism, innovation and sustainability to Mitie.
Her speech follows the recent release of Mitie’s annual results which showed strong revenue and earnings growth, with revenues up 5.9% to £2,002.5m and operating profit before other items increasing by 7.2% to £111.7m.
Key quotes:
Support services and the UK economy
“The support services industry is still a relatively new industry in the UK – yet is now almost as big as the financial services sector, generating around eight per cent of the UK’s total economic output and employing roughly 10 per cent of the British workforce. All of us have a job in communicating the importance of this sector to the wider public and showing how it plays a positive role in the UK economy.
“I think that outsourcing has a huge role to play in the on-going recovery of the UK economy – providing better quality, more innovative services, in a more efficient way, is what outsourcing does – or at least, should always try to do.”
People
“Outsourcing is a people business and with 63,000 employees, Mitie is passionate about providing every individual with the opportunity to grow and succeed in their careers. We operate a number of schemes, including Mitie Stars and Mitie Awards, to encourage people to fulfill their potential – whether they are a maintenance engineer or a graduate on a management scheme.”
Entrepreneurialism & innovation
“Entrepreneurialism and equity incentivisation is at the heart of what Mitie is and how it grew into a £2 billion company. Our start-up model, which involves investing in budding entrepreneurs with an idea keeps us young, fresh, non-corporate and is a central tenet of our growth strategy.
“Businesses must be willing to take risks – on ideas, people and time – in order to realize the potential benefits. Encouraging an entrepreneurial culture where everyone’s ideas for growth are considered and given the opportunity to be explored is very important at Mitie.
“For example, we recently hosted an event called ‘Mitie Millions’ in which we invited all 63,000 of our staff to put forward their ideas for growth and pitch for millions of pounds worth of startup capital.
“Facilities Management may be a new industry, but it is highly competitive, and we must constantly innovate in new areas such as energy services in order to stay ahead. This goes beyond service delivery for our clients. Something as simple as social media is already playing an important role in how Mitie’s staff communicate with one another.”
Sustainability
“We’ve always thought doing the right thing provides tangible value to our clients, and also wider society. Our energy services are not only saving our clients millions of pounds – they are also preventing hundreds of tonnes of carbon filling the atmosphere.
“But it’s not just about the environment. New technology in areas such as de-centralized energy is allowing us to save our clients’ money and contribute to the well-being of wider society through district housing energy schemes that provide cheaper fuel to those in energy poverty.”
Mitie’s vision
“Mitie’s vision is to be a company of world class people delivering world class services. We want to be the best outsourcer in the UK, saving our clients energy and money whilst also contributing to a more sustainable environment, making a contribution to wider society and developing our employees as individuals.
“To achieve this we need to stay ahead of the game, and as we look forward we will continue to innovate and come up with better solutions for our clients.”
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For further information, contact:
Bell Pottinger
Rebecca Lloyd-Wright
D: 020 7861 2499
E: rlloydwright@bell-pottinger.co.uk
