Facility Stewardship Center on Management and Leadership
Today I want to address facility stewardship and the two key elements associated with a good facility management operation. I will first address management and then in a future entry I will focus on Leadership.
Management role is centered on four key principles: Resources, assets, expectations and space. These four are critical to the Management of facilities. Let me go into a little detail around each of the items.
First, Resources. There will always be limited resources related to a facilities operation. This is largely due to the competing interests of the organization and how they are addressing the needs of the organization to deliver on the mission and vision of the purpose of the organization. The resources to draw from are simply placed in three categories. These categories are Operating Budgets, Capital Budgets and Special projects. Your organization may call these different things and they may also break them down further into smaller buckets, but essentially they are the same. The facility manager’s role is to optimize each of these budgets and provide the necessary services to the organization.
Second, Assets. The Assets of the organization in a facility management perspective are the property, infrastructure, structures and equipment. These assets each have a unique purpose to the organization and they all need to be identified and addressed to keep the standard of the facilities at an operating level. Effective management of each of these types of assets can extend their useful life and provide a solid return for the organization.
Third, Expectations. Each facility manager knows that there is a constant stream of expectations bearing down on the organization. These expectations come from internal forces such as the president and employees of the organization. The expectations also come from outside of the organization and become a part of the brand of the organization. The outside perception of the business can be linked to the facility and how well the facility is run can often reflect on a customer’s decision to purchase a product or attend a university etc. The main expectations on an organization are cleanliness, functionality, reliability, performance, value, timeliness and quality. As a facility manager, if you can recognize the expectations placed on you and perform at your best to meet those expectations you will provide a positive atmosphere for your organization.
Fourth, Space. The space of an organization can be very efficient an meet the goals of the organization or it can be a detriment to success. Space needs to meet the needs of the organization by being functional and provide the correct environment for the desired purpose. Take some time to survey your organizations use of space and work with the people occupying the space to determine if it is meeting their needs. Often some very minor tweaks in space utilization can greatly improve the productivity of various departments and also improve the overall experience of customers.
In closing as you utilize the resources at your disposal to meet the mission of your organization think about each of your asset types and how they interrelate and the unique needs associated with each one. Facility management has a large number of expectations placed on them and there is a lot riding on the performance of the facility staff to meet those expectations that can have an impact within an organization and on the outside of an organization.
In my next blog entry I will address the leadership role of a facility manager and how it interrelates to the management role.
