Chris Thorogood is the new Estates manager for Abbey Business Centres. He says his role is to continuously support centre customers, not just let the space and walk away. And he gives his new role nine out of 10 despite the 90 emails a day.
What does your job involve?
I've been in my post since May. I am in charge of the fit-out of any new centre we decide to go for and I look after the facilities of the 15 centres we have.

How does this vary from your previous role with John Mowlem?
Going to Abbey and working on fit-outs and managing the new facilities, brings all my knowledge together. I spent 15 years with John Mowlem. I spent 10 years in construction before moving to facilities where I worked for five years. I mainly focused on the Ministry of Defence contracts we had.

How big is your team?
I tend to use consultants, normally about half a dozen.

What are Abbey Business Centre customers demanding?
I am there to provide a service to (Abbey) staff and centres but also to customers who may require help with space planning or health and safety to give them an edge.

We can also style office space to fit their requirements. We put forward a number of proposals bearing in mind their needs. I travel throughout Europe to see customers and I also do work in Scotland.

PricewaterhouseCoopers at the Heathrow site wanted to rearrange the whole floor plan and I managed that — we only had four weeks to do it.

What are the challenges of the job?
Personally, I have a heavy workload, but I enjoy the pressure and thrive on the pace. I think that there is a need to keep ahead of the game in the services we provide.

What's the most enjoyable part?
I enjoy seeing the end result. Revisiting the customer and getting the good feedback is very satisfying.

What are your typical day-to-day responsibilities?
Well, I have received 180 emails in the last 48 hours and am ploughing through them. There are all sorts of requests — such as asking if they can have a satellite dish on the wall. I also do a wide range of other things such as ordering furniture.

You have to advise on statutory law — what are the biggest issues facing the industry?
Health and safety I think. Offices need to have a health and safety policy if they have more than five people. We are here to help people. We don't just let the space and shut the door.

How would you rate your job out of ten?
A nine. It's a heavy workload but I am very happy.

Source

The Facilities Business