FMB is implementing a series of changes to its staffing structure.
These changes are the result of several months of work led by the Managing Board and are designed to bring the FMB expenditure in line with our income which has been hit by three very difficult years of trading for many members. Unfortunately this has meant that several posts have been made redundant and that some members of staff have had to leave. The restructuring will provide more streamlined service delivery with more tasks being undertaken by specialist teams.
IMPROVING CONTACT WITH MEMBERS
To improve contact with members the interim arrangements under which several regions currently share directors will be ended as the FMB is now recruiting new Regional Directors for London and for Yorkshire and Trent. To support the team of Regional Directors across the country two new specialist teams will be established. A team based at our recently refurbished office in Birmingham will provide support for the Regional Directors and branches as well as handling the enquiries you currently make of your regional office. This unit will take over responsibility progressively over the next couple of months starting with London, Southern Counties and Yorkshire and Trent from the start of April. To contact this team just dial the number you normally use for your regional office and the call will be answered in Birmingham. This office will also manage sales administration processing enquiries from potential members ensuring that they are handled as quickly as possible.
Regional Directors, and other specialists, will, of course, always be available if any member needs their support or advice.
KEEPING YOU UP TO DATE WITH FMB SERVICES
The second unit will have responsibility for retention. They will be contacting you regularly to make sure that the records we have of your contact details are up to date and you are aware of the services, particularly any new ones, which the FMB offers to help you run your business. The existing National Disputes Office, which hopefully most members will have little or no contact with, will continue to be run from our Leeds office.
The new structure will allow the team of Regional Directors to be out of the office supporting members and building contacts with key partners in all parts of the country.
GIVING YOU BETTER VALUE FOR YOUR SUBSCRIPTION
Changes are also being made at Head Office. Long standing concerns about co-ordination of our marketing and external affairs activities will be addressed by combining those activities in a new Communications Directorate, a new department with focus on the business-critical activities of recruitment and increasing other income streams. We also hope to set up for the first time a dedicated training department.
The changes are designed to improve the service to members and make better use of your subscription. As with any changes there may be a few glitches as they are implemented but I hope it will soon become clear that you are getting better value from FMB.
MAINTAINING STANDARDS
FMB is also taking action to ensure that members maintain the standards expected of them. Since the beginning of February all new applicants for membership have had to undergo an independent inspection of a current, or most recently completed project. Later this year existing members will be able to take up this option. Full details of this service will be given in Master Builder. All members are expected to maintain appropriate public liability insurance for the work they undertake and, if any staff are employed, employee liability insurance. Although details of these insurances are taken on when members first apply to join, sometimes changes are made which are not advised to the FMB. As part of the FMB’s campaign to demonstrate the confidence that clients should have in the professional approach of members, the Managing Board has agreed that the insurance details of all members should be checked on a regular basis. The FMB will be working with its insurance partner, AON, to ensure that we have current insurance details for all members. Over the coming months you may well receive a phone call from AON on behalf of the FMB asking for this information.
