Seoul is globally metropolitan among the world cities since global companies reside in the huge buildings. Korea IT Times conducted an interview with Park Dong-ju, Country Manager, Johnson Controls Global WorkPlace Solutions Korea.
Q1: Would you please explain about Johnson Controls GWS Korea
A1: Johnson Controls Global WorkPlace Solutions Korea is an enterprise facilities management company. In the Korean market, you can think of it as a real estate and asset management company.
We offer facility and asset management, purchase and energy saving services to our customers. Johnson Controls GWS Korea was founded in 1997, and today we serve FM services to fifteen global companies in the banking and technology sectors.
Q2: What does facility management mean
A2: Facility management (FM) is a profession that ensures the built environment is fully functional through effective integration of people, place, process and technology. While this sector is relatively new and unknown in Korea, FM is a major subject in foreign universities.
A customer may run facilities such as a hospital, manufacturing plant or school. To ensure there is no interruption to their core business, FM professionals manage the facilities on their behalf, with services ranging from front-desk reception to janitorial to lease administration, among others.
Many companies in the West outsource their facility management to a professional FM company like Global WorkPlace Solutions. The enterprise facilities management services provided by GWS include corporate real estate services, facilities management, workplace consulting, project management and energy management.
Q3: Please expand on what Facility Management services GWS provides.
A3: I can explain facility management services with an example: a bank teller’s expertise lies in banking transactions for the customer. He or she wouldn’t know about managing the bank’s entire real estate portfolio, energy management, managing the workplace or how to fix technical or electrical faults.
But with the help of GWS, all of these services will be attended to so the teller can go on focusing on his or her task. This is what most multinational companies do; they outsource the operational aspects of their business to GWS to ensure their building and environments run safely and smoothly leaving them to focus on their day jobs.
Johnson Controls Global WorkPlace Solutions offers the whole spectrum of facilities services from technical equipment maintenance to support services like cleaning, catering and security. We keep our client’s facilities up and running so their people can perform and their business can thrive. We believe that people and businesses achieve more when buildings and environments work better.
Currently, for companies who manage FM in-house, they have to recruit more workers to manage a variety of information systems and understand the general affairs of the building. This is not cost-effective and efficient as it only increases the company’s headcount and costs, whilst adding competency requirements that are outside of their core business. If companies start outsourcing, then they don’t have to hire additional workforce to deal with managing their facility.
Q4: Please, explain the outlook of this business in relation to global trend.
A4: Actually, multinationals dominate the global FM market. If Korea wants to compete globally and respond to various changes, it is important to take advantage of the FM service. Recently, the corruption scandals in the government have highlighted the need for proper governance. Given that their operations are tax-funded, it is an issue that requires immediate attention.
How I see FM companies helping these government agencies is to manage their facilities to ensure they are well-maintained, introduce preventive maintenance and ensure their facilities meet with regulatory compliance. This will allow the government agencies to focus on their core while GWS manages the back-end operations.
Recently, an FM society has been established in Korea and will be led and joined by the industry professionals. A lot needs to be done to advance the facility management field in Korea. While facility management helps companies become more competitive and productive, the FM market in Korea lags far behind other countries. It is certain that a growing number of companies have interest in FM services, but convincing companies to outsource in Korea, has not been easy.
Q5: What is your business goal for this year
A5: Even if our business grows, the awareness of FM service has not. In light of this, I hope the awareness of FM services will be enhanced. If it is well-known in the market, demand for FM services will increase. GWS Korea aims to consistently deliver a positive experience for our customers by meeting their needs in a timely manner which will eventually help to increase our market share and brand.
Q6: What is Johnson Controls GWS Korea’s plan
A6: We are in a growth mode, and we will continue to grow further over the years. Our employee numbers are steadily rising to meet the increasing demands of the business. Long-term outlook remains for us to build a good corporate culture that attracts and retains our employees. Some of the plans are to introduce free-work hour and sabbaticals as well as supporting employee self-development and wellness.
◆ Who is Park Dong-ju, Country Manager, Johnson Controls GWS Korea
Park Dong-ju majored in mathematics in 1994 and is an MBA graduate from University of Liverpool, U.K. He was a marketing manager at BNP Paribas and served as an executive director at INGLIFE. After working as a director of sales and marketing at Standard Chartered Bank, Korea and executive director at CF&I division of FN Stars, Dong-ju joined the GWS business in 2012 and has steadily risen through the ranks to lead the Korean business today.
by Lee Jae-seung
