Hi,
We’ve been covering a lot of Health and Safety material over the last few weeks and it’s time to move on to something different. This week, we’re going to return to the topic of Stakeholders – more specifically, the key stakeholder groups of Clients, Customers and Users and what the difference is between them.
But before we get started, some breaking news – our XenZone online learning platform is now live!
I won’t go into too much detail – you’ve heard plenty from me about this over the past few months – but suffice to say you can get more information and sign up for a free trial by clicking the big red button below.
It’s a brand new system and so we’re very keen to get feedback, so if you do register for your free trial, please have a look around and then let us know what you think.
OK, time to move on to today’s topic.
Clients, Customers and Users – what’s the difference?
One of the core functions of Facilities Management is to meet the requirements of the end users of FM Services. But who exactly are the end-users?
Generally speaking, the people who use FM Services can be divided into three categories:
- Clients
- Customers
- Users
The three terms are often used interchangeably, but this is actually incorrect – there are distinct differences between the three which a good Facilities Manager should be aware of.
Clients
Clients are the people who authorise the service levels and approve the invoices for external providers or are the line managers in the case of internal provision.
Customers
Whilst the client may take note of what the customer requires in general terms, the customers (as opposed to paying shop customers) are authorised users of the service and funded by the client accordingly. Customers are generally employees of the business supported by internal or external service provision which is approved and funded by the client.
Users
The last category is ad-hoc users of the service without being aware that they are using an FM service. An example being occasional visitors to the business via Reception/Security notwithstanding that they are utilising services provided by the client for the customers.
Why does it matter?
A major part of the facilities management role is to ensure that the services you are providing are meeting the needs of end users. By understanding the differences between the three types of end-users, you can start to appreciate the different (and sometimes conflicting) requirements of each group and look for ways to deliver a service that satisfies all parties.
Of course, sometimes it is difficult or even impossible to completely satisfy all of the different groups. This is where your communication and negotiation skills will become crucial. This can be one of the most challenging, frustrating but rewarding parts of the job!
That’s all for this week. We’ve kept it fairly short this week as some of the recent Health and Safety focused topics were quite detail-heavy!
Don’t forget to get your free trial on XenZone and give us your feedback.
Have a great week!
Chris and the Xenon Team
P.S. If you havenât already studied or started studying for an IWFM qualification, which will cover topics like this in depth and fully assess your understanding, you may want to have a look at our guide to the IWFM Qualifications which will give you a full breakdown of how they work and whatâs involved in the different levels. You can download it here.
P.P.S. If youâre already considering taking a qualification but donât know which level to go for, a good starting point is our One-Minute-Leveller tool, which will ask you a few questions and give you a recommendation based on the result. You can access it here.
P.P.P.S. Don’t forget you can read all of the previous issues on our website. If you’re new to the mailing list or you want to revisit an earlier issue without digging through your inbox, you can find all of our past issues in the Vault.