Facilities management can be difficult to put into just one box, one specific area because facilities management covers various areas and a variety of different services.
Ultimately, facilities management is a mix of functions and services that provide support to a business’s core operation.
In essence, what does facilities management mean?
`The safe running and functionality of a business’s environment, by focusing on people, place, processes, and technology.`
Often seen as the core of the business, how facilities management is conducted can often make or break productivity outcomes.
It is an operation that integrates people, place, and process all within the environment it operates, improving the quality of the surroundings for employees, and increasing the overall productivity for the business.
For us, facilities management is about coordinating all the elements of a business’s operation to ensure that everything runs efficiently and effectively. As such, every piece of equipment, furniture, office layout, and people within the building should be well suited to the environment and working together with the facilities manager to achieve the best possible business outcomes.
What is the facility?
When we think about facilities management, typically, facilities include offices and factories.
However, due to the importance of facilities management, the term facility now incorporates:
- All commercial premises
- Schools
- Universities
- Hotels
- Sports centres
- Leisure complexes
- Hospitals
- Care homes
- Supermarkets
- Retail shops
- And more.
Each facility is, of course, uniquely different and, as such, will have different requirements. Facilities management, therefore, must be well-equipped, and your facilities manager must be experienced for all operations that come their way.
The facilities management job
Facilities managers are responsible for ensuring everything within the building; that the facility works together like clockwork. It’s all about the people, processes, and place. Therefore, it is the facilities manager’s responsibility to ensure the effectiveness of the building, all the equipment housed inside, the different rooms and areas within the building, the cleanliness of the business environment, etc.
The focus is on keeping businesses and their personnel safe while also keeping productivity levels high.
The facilities manager ultimately takes care of everything that keeps a business up and running. It’s about ensuring a business has the right services, offering the right level of quality, all at the right cost.
A good facilities manager requires:
- Good communication skills
- Experience in business continuity (developing a robust and continually tested business continuity plan is key)
- Knowledge relating to sustainability
- Finance and business know-how
- Excellent interpersonal skills
- Leadership ability
- Experience in operations and maintenance
- Ability to allocate space and oversee effective layouts of the facility
- A project manager, who is also a little tech-savvy.
Above all else, ensuring full compliance with all industry standards and legal requirements is one reason why facilities management is important.
A safe and pleasant work environment also makes people feel cared for, respected, motivated, and hence, more productive. An environment has been created where people want to come to work and work hard when they are there.
The role of the facilities manager is continuously changing and evolving. Of course, if you’re looking for support with facilities management, call the experts at Clear Choice and let our experienced and professional teams get to work, tailoring our services to your exact needs, we keep business performance high.
Elements included in facilities management
As we’ve mentioned, facilities management covers a broad spectrum of operations and services.
Some of these service elements include:
- Cleaning Services
- Building Maintenance
- Fabric Maintenance
- Lift Maintenance
- Window Cleaning
- Waste Management
- Pest Control
- Landscaping/Grounds Maintenance
- Health and Safety
- Catering
- Security
- Reception Services
- Mailroom
The service categories mentioned above can be split between hard facilities management and soft facilities management.
To keep or to outsource – that is the question
Facilities management can be an in-house role with a dedicated person or team, or you can outsource it to experienced contractors.
The benefits to outsourcing facilities management come in the form of cost control, often higher efficiency, expertise, one contract, meaning one point of contact for all services required, and most importantly it frees up both your and your employee’s time so you can get on with other tasks, the core of your business.
Many of the services that a facilities manager takes responsibility for can be outsourced and delivered by external suppliers, i.e., cleaning is often handled by specialist providers, like Clear Choice, who have the skills and resources to help effectively manage this element and others. In this example, outsourcing your facilities management services to Clear Choice will result in greater efficiencies for the business and reduced management costs for the business.
Service providers can take on various service models, and for businesses, it is about finding the best solution for you. Finding the best way for facilities management services to be supplied and managed is down to individual requirements.
Clear Choice works with all businesses on an individual basis, defining terms and clear expectations on meeting these requirements, providing you with a professional assessment relating to your current and potential future requirements.
To find out more on how you can switch your facilities management function to us, call 01132 711432 today.
Reference video: Windy City Restaurant Equipment Repair
