Mobilisation is one of the most critical moments in any facilities management partnership. It shapes how people feel, how services begin and how confident customers can be in the transition ahead. The aim is simple but significant: a smooth landing for colleagues and customers as services move from one provider to another.
Andrew Sellars leads the OCS Project Management Office (PMO) for the UK and Ireland. His work touches the earliest stages of a bid through to the first 100 days of delivery. Across that journey, his focus remains constant: clarity, consistency and care. He brings structure and empathy together so colleagues start with confidence and customers feel supported from the outset.
In this conversation, Andrew reflects on the value of listening, the importance of planning and the role that colleagues across OCS play in creating the conditions for the best outcomes.
What does the PMO do, and how do you describe its purpose?
For me, the PMO stands first and foremost for quality. It gives colleagues and customers a clear framework that increases the likelihood of success. A good framework ensures nothing essential is missed. Without it, it is like trying to complete a jigsaw puzzle with pieces removed. You lose sight of the whole picture.
Our involvement begins far earlier than most people realise. During the bid stage, we help capture requirements, shape the solution with the sales and operational teams and identify the promises and benefits we expect to deliver. This early involvement means that what we commit to in the bid is realistic, costed and planned from day one. It also allows us to carry those commitments through mobilisation and transition.
The structure matters, but so does careful listening. Mobilisation requires you to hear concerns, understand expectations and respond to what people need. When teams follow a consistent, informed process, they are far more likely to achieve a smooth, confident start. That balance of clarity and listening is what the PMO provides.
You often talk about mobilisation as more than a set of tasks. What does success look like to you?
Success stretches far beyond day one. It is about how people feel throughout the transition and in the weeks that follow. A mobilisation can be technically correct, but if colleagues do not feel supported or customers do not feel heard, then something important is missing.
For me, success is shown in the confidence people have at the end of the process. Do colleagues feel settled? Do customers see that we delivered what we promised? Would they choose to work with us again? Those questions matter because they reflect real experience rather than assumptions.
A key part of this is our Benefits and Promises plan. Before a contract begins, our sales teams, operational leads and the PMO bring together every benefit we commit to and every promise we make. We track each one throughout mobilisation and transition to ensure it is delivered. At the 100-day review, we sit down with the customer and co-sign the Benefits and Promises plan so we all have a clear, shared view of achievements.
Alongside this, we use a structured feedback process similar in spirit to a Net Promoter Score but explicitly designed for mobilisation performance. It invites customers to tell us how we delivered, how responsive we were and where they saw the most significant value. It gives us insight rather than a number.
Finally, we complete project-level lessons learned sessions and keep a log of improvements. Together, these three elements, Benefits and Promises, customer feedback and lessons learned, form our triple lock approach to quality.
Do you apply this across all types of contracts?
Absolutely. Whether it is a single service, a bundled contract or total facilities management, every mobilisation receives the same structured approach.
At the end of each mobilisation, we invite customers to share their experience through a short performance survey. Some can complete it; others prefer a conversation instead. We shape the approach around what works best for them. For those who do share feedback, we meet to discuss their responses. This includes recognising what worked well and where we can strengthen our approach. Both matter, and both help improve outcomes.
OCS Flex, our adaptable mobilisation resource, supports this approach. Flex gives us the ability to scale support at critical touch points, bringing in colleagues with specific expertise and experience. It means we can respond quickly, reinforce teams and ensure consistency where it matters most.
“The mobilisation experience was extremely positive, with strong support from the team at all levels. The project manager was amazing, the processes were clear, methodical and logical, and the reporting and transparency were excellent. It was completely different to previous mobilisation experiences. I never felt worried, and I felt safe and secure throughout. I would be happy to recommend OCS to others.”
Battersea Power Station
You mentioned how important your team is. What role do they play in mobilisation?
The team is everything. The PMO is not a single person; it is a group of people who care deeply about getting things right for colleagues and customers. Mobilisation succeeds when every member of the team listens closely, supports one another and brings their expertise to the table.
There are moments when the impact of their work becomes clear. I have seen the commitment they show and the lengths they go to help both OCS colleagues and transferring teams feel reassured. It is moving at times, because you know the difference they make for real people going through change.
I also need to recognise Shannon Holmes, Head of Mobilisation for the UK and Ireland, whose leadership and standards have shaped our approach. Shannon joined OCS three years ago as a Project Manager for Hard Services and has since helped us raise the bar on quality, consistency and care. Much of what we deliver today reflects her drive and her approach to supporting people through change.
Their commitment, empathy and discipline are the reasons we can give customers a smooth landing.
How does the PMO support OCS’s Best Service Excellence framework?
Our job is to set colleagues up for the best possible start, and the Best Service Excellence framework provides a straightforward way to do so. Mobilisation connects to each part of the framework.
Best Resilience comes from our tried-and-tested playbook and our triple-lock approach to quality: Benefits and Promises tracking, mobilisation performance feedback, and lessons learned. These tools help us evolve and stay accountable.
Best Practice is reinforced through qualification and adherence. Our PMO practitioners follow industry-recognised frameworks, including APM and PRINCE2, which guide our planning, risk management and delivery approach.
Best Outcomes are reflected in measurable results. Recent NPS-style mobilisation scores of 10, 10.5, 11, and 11 out of 12 indicate intense customer satisfaction, driven by attention to detail and delivery on our promises.
Best Productivity is strengthened by experience. Across the PMO and Mobilisation functions, we have more than 100 years of combined experience in complex delivery. This depth helps us identify efficient solutions, anticipate challenges and guide mobilisation with confidence.
The Best Experience is about how people feel. Customer feedback at go-live, the emotions shared by transferring teams and the insight gathered through NPS-style feedback and Benefits and Promises reviews give us a rounded view of their experience. It helps us understand the practical and human impact of mobilisation.
For Andrew, Best Service Excellence is delivered when structure and care work together: transparent processes that support people, and people who bring those processes to life.
“It was the most professional mobilisation I have experienced in my career. Shannon and the PMO were exceptional, and the team made me feel the whole process was managed effectively throughout. The reporting and transparency were the best I have seen.”
Southbank Centre
You’ve led many mobilisations. What does a successful one mean to you?
Success is about confidence, for customers and for colleagues. People need to feel they are joining or working with a business that knows what it is doing, uses the right tools and applies transparent processes.
The other part is unity. The PMO cannot deliver a successful mobilisation on its own. Mobilisation only works when the whole business comes together. Operations, sales, HR, IT, procurement, finance, OCS Flex and the PMO all play their part. When everyone contributes, the transition becomes smoother for the customer and for colleagues moving across under TUPE.
A customer once told me that significant mobilisation sets operations up for success. That is precisely how I see it. If we do our job well, operations can deliver their best from day one.
Closing Reflection
Mobilisation builds trust. It shapes the first impression colleagues have of OCS and shows customers the care, clarity and professionalism they can expect throughout the partnership.
Andrew’s perspective makes one point clear: strong project management depends on people. It depends on thoughtful preparation, clear communication and the willingness to listen and respond. When teams come together with this focus, they create the conditions for a smooth landing and a confident start.
By approaching mobilisation in this way, we support people through change, strengthen partnerships (with purpose) and help make people and places the best they can be.
