Grounds Maintenance and the Education Sector. Defining Value.
How to get the most from your grounds maintenance contractor within the education sector.
Right across the educational sector, the outdoor spaces that these institutions have available, can be some of the best classrooms for both the staff and the pupils. Whilst we can’t guarantee sunshine 365 days a year here in the UK, we strongly believe being able to get the most out of your outdoor estate is a key consideration when choosing a grounds maintenance provider.
It's no secret that the grounds maintenance sector has become very competitive in recent years, with a myriad of providers now available, ranging from local ‘one man bands’ to national operations employing thousands of people. In line with procurement policy, it's right that educational establishments should obtain multiple quotations to ensure they’re getting the best value for money, but how this value is obtained is critical in understanding who might be the best partner.
Understanding value
Here at WeedWise, we have based our business on building partnerships with our clients for over 20 years. We understand when working with natural environments, change doesn't happen overnight. Understanding what value our clients want to achieve from these spaces is crucial in making sure we’re aligned with their strategies and ambitions, and therefore has an impact on how we present the commercials.
It’s evident from the Covid pandemic that people's perception of outdoor spaces has changed. Whilst schools and playgrounds were closed during some of the lockdowns, the number of visits and time spent in parks increased dramatically during 2020 when compared to any previous years, according to Google mobility data for the UK.
School grounds are complex facilities
The outdoor areas of schools, colleges and universities are sometimes some of the best in a local area. Seeing students having unrivalled access to these areas is one of the main reasons why we’re so passionate about what we do. Understanding the site and its landscape make-up, orientation, ground conditions and general use patterns, is a crucial part to our approach when quoting for a new grounds maintenance contract. Sometimes these logical factors, such as sports usage and key fixture dates, can be overlooked and if so, can have a dramatic impact on the quality of the service received by the teams and their staff.
Communication, communication, communication
We strive to put such an emphasis on communication. Having a clear specification or outline of services required to be delivered by your supplier is obviously a good starting point when selecting your new grounds maintenance provider, but unfortunately we see far too often that schools and colleges are being neglected due to poor contract management and working practices. We believe a transparent approach from day one is a must when delivering grounds maintenance services, and taking time to understand who the main stakeholders are is paramount, to ensure clear communication is achieved throughout the contract term.
Proactiveness shouldn’t cost a fortune
Clearly, budgets have to be understood and service levels aligned to ensure value for money is achieved. Whilst specifications are brilliant to set a framework for what should be delivered and how the supplier is to be held accountable for their service, we are more often than not blessed with unpredictable weather and seasonality changes here in the UK. These events therefore have an impact on growing seasons and the work required, to ensure the condition of the estate is maintained to its highest possible standard all year round.
Finding The Right Commercial Grounds Maintenance Contractor
With a myriad of operators now available right across the UK, understanding what value your contractor can bring to your business is clearly a key consideration. Achieving great results all year round comes with an ability to deliver care and passion constantly.
Here at WeedWise, we operate a team of long standing operatives and managers to ensure we all have the same ethos to our work. Operating from Northamptonshire, we cover neighbouring counties such as Bedfordshire, Milton Keynes, Warwickshire, Hertfordshire and Greater London to name a few.
For more information on how WeedWise can help you achieve the very best from your outdoor environment, please get in touch via the information below:
0800 074 0931