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It is hard to argue that Khidmah has had anything but success since its launch in 2009. 2015 in particular has been a year of major achievements and milestones for the company. This can be clearly seen in the growth of the company’s team. When it first started, Khidmah employed 15 members. In 2015, the company had 2,500 employees and this year, it has even grown bigger to house 4,000 talented, skilled individuals, who are the key players behind the company’s operations.
Khidmah’s focus on delivery and outstanding offerings have led it to become the “go to” brand for comprehensive, fully integrated property service solutions. Backed by its impressive portfolio, the company has been hand-picked amongst its competitors for key developments in the UAE and the GCC.
Big wins
Khidmah is one of the largest fully-integrated, property service solutions providers in the UAE. It delivers comprehensive services to some of the finest properties in the Middle East by specializing in asset management and in providing best-in-class properties and facilities management provisions. Khidmah’s portfolio includes some of the most successful residential and commercial development properties and towers in Abu Dhabi, Dubai and throughout the UAE. It currently managing 25,000 mixed-use units across a diverse portfolio of communities.
In 2016, Khidmah was awarded by Musanada to provide facility management services for most of the mosques in Abu Dhabi’s Western Region. It was also awarded a three years contract to provide Total Facilities Management (TFM) services to many additional sites including heritage sites in Al Ain. These include the Al Ain National Museum, Jahili Fort, Qattara Art Community Center, Qasr Al Muwaiji and Al Ain Palace Museum.
As an Emirati-owned and operated company, every member of the Khidmah team understands the fluctuating needs across markets and asset categories not only in UAE but in the GCC, and throughout the entire region as well. The company commenced its operations in KSA in 2015. Currently, the Saudi office has 400 employees, and is expected to grow to 5,000 in two years’ time.
A look at the industry now
In the current scenario of the UAE property management and real estate, if there has been a big change, then it is the fact that there has been more awareness and understanding about the facilities management industry and how it can enhance the Return of Investment (ROI) for the developers. Apart from an increase in awareness, a lot of developers fully understand the importance of facility management to the business and why it is critical in the long run. As a result, Khidmah has been seeing a lot of projects come their way due to the numerous developments coming up in the UAE. While there have been suggestions of a slowdown,
facility management revenues have gone up by 20 percent and the industry is opening up new opportunities for FM companies. Governments are also looking to optimize costs and, therefore, looking at providers who can provide comprehensive solutions. Khidmah delivers services with the flexibility that incorporates a traditional hospitality approach while accommodating ever changing and evolving lifestyles. When it comes to best practices, Khidmah’s adheres to them for fundamental reasons of reducing costs, maintaining high quality, and keeping customers happy and satisfied. Its longstanding history of fair pricing and focus on high-quality delivery have provided it with an edge over its competitors, and consequently, it has led to the high level of trust it enjoys the market. Khidmah also adheres to the popular approach in the sector, where clients now prefer signing TFM providers under an integrated single contract, rather than signing with individual service providers for shorter periods. Clients have come to understand that this trend ensures a better quality of services.
Optimism for 2016
There are many factors that are taking place that bode well for 2016. The UAE has been making real strides in ensuring that its real estate sector employs best practices used globally. Significant changes are being made in the industry, particularly with the introduction of the new property law in Abu Dhabi. We are witnessing major adjustments to the pricing of real estate with the saturation of the market. There is more need for regulating markets i.e. serving the interests of the end-users and investors (long term), and this will be the case with the introduction of those new laws, which touch upon many aspects related to property financiers, mortgagees, developers, and purchasers.
In Dubai, the Real Estate Regulatory Agency (RERA) regulates and authorizes the real estate sector, and has been doing so since its establishment in 2007. The same can be said for all the other emirates. For instance, Sharjah’s government recently introduced a new online payments service for contractors, which will cut the time that companies wait for payment by half. As a leading service provider, Khidmah supports the implementation
of regulation that is in line with regional and international standards.
Khidmah’s FM expertise
Khidmah’s name has become synonymous with outstanding service. This has been recognized by industry peers and leaders, where the company repeatedly receives accolades and honors, highlighting the solid place it has set for itself amongst its competitors. As part of Khidmah’s ongoing dedication to service and excellence, the company launched ‘Khadamati’
(my services), which are premium maintenance services for homeowners, business owners, and residents. Khadamati services offer a comprehensive preventative and general maintenance service bundle intended to preserve, add value and beautify homes and property. Some of the services mainly include: planned preventative maintenance, landscaping maintenance and design, housekeeping, duct cleaning, handyman services and even car cleaning. Khidmah has also proved itself time and time again during times of crisis. In the midst of recent, unexpected storms that hit the UAE, Khidmah staff were readily available and effective in responding to their communities’ needs. The team was checking power outages, clearing streets, unplugging storm drains and making sure that tenants were safe.
Khidmah’s properties management and facilities management teams were efficient and swift in responding to the situation, and supported by removing safety hazards, minimizing on-site damages, and directing people to safety. Khidmah’s 24/7 call center received over 2,400 phone calls and additional staff were brought in to handle inbound calls. The company also dispatched technicians to affected sites that had no contract for Facilities Management to support the owners.
Giving back to the community
Another side of facilities management that is usually overlooked is social impact, and that is an area that Khidmah has excelled in. In February, Khidmah partnered with Masdar and Tadweer, to launch the ongoing project for the conversion of used cooking oil to biodiesel. The pilot phase was launched in the Al Raha community, whose tenants are known to be environment enthusiasts. The project is the first of its kind in the city and is part of a wider effort to convey the messages of conservation to individual homes. Khidmah also sponsored the first ever Race style charity challenge for corporate teams held in the UAE. The Great Green Race was held by The Emirates Wildlife Society in association with the Worldwide Fund for Nature (EWS-WWF) to highlight the need to protect UAE’s marine ecology.
Community initiatives are not a new thing for Khidmah. In celebration of the 30th annual anniversary of Ocean Conservancy’s International Coastal Clean-up in 2015, Khidmah was involved in an initiative to clean up the Jebel Ali Sanctuary natural reserve and submarine ecosystem in partnership with Dubai Municipality. Furthermore, more than 20 Khidmah sites and properties participated in Earth Hour and were able to save up to 4,696.088 KWH of energy. Khidmah also partnered with Abu Dhabi Police Traffic Department and Municipality to remove vehicles abandoned by their owners in car parks of residential communities managed by the company in the capital. The campaign covered numerous residential projects, including the Gate Towers, the Arc Tower, Sun and Sky Towers on Al Reem Island, Golf Gardens villas community, Al Raha Gardens residential complex, Al Raha Beach development comprising of Al Bandar, Al Muneera and Al Zeina, and Al Ghadeer development. It resulted in the towing of 120 vehicles abandoned or parked illegally by their owners and which have exhausted the grace period offered in accordance with the applicable rules.
Future of FM
The Facilities Management industry in the Middle East has a bright future ahead. Talking about the market at large, bigger companies will take up projects of a large scale while there will be acquisitions and mergers in the current economic situation. For Khidmah specifically, 2016 will be a year of reflection and growth. We will work on enhancing our systems, IT platforms, internal and external communications, system optimization and general improvement of work processes. Self-improvement is a big part of Khidmah’s culture, which has allowed it to grow and adapt over the years.
