In a recent conversation with a facilities team, one person expressed frustration over feeling as though the team is viewed as always having a hand out to the rest of the organization. The question to me was, how can team members get others to understand that while facilities is a cost center, it also is important?
I know this story so well. I have heard it over and over throughout the industry my entire career. But I want to challenge that perception. So rather than thinking of the facilities function as a cost center, what would happen if instead, we treated it as an investment in organizational success? That shift in perspective can change the way organizations think and act.
Facilities teams must align with whatever the organization is about — its core business. In other words, to support the core business, facilities must align itself with what is important to the organization. This translates into having safe, healthy, efficient facilities and services that are optimized for people and productivity.
Enter performance management. Performance management defines outcomes that are strategically important for the facilities organization to achieve and need to be accomplished, then measuring performance using a continuous improvement plan. It is a critical element of any high-performing facilities organization.
Easy, right? In truth, it’s actually one of the last things managers do, and many struggle with it. By reviewing the performance management cycle, the tools managers can use for measurement and monitoring, and common challenges along the way, managers can gain a clearer picture of the potential benefits of facilities performance management.
The plan-do-check-act model rose in popularity in manufacturing quality management circles, and it has been adapted into many industries, including facilities management. It’s essentially a continuous improvement process. Now let’s apply it at an organization level.
During the plan phase, managers should start with the end in mind: What is the organization trying to achieve? Once all parties agree on the desired outcomes, managers can figure out the objectives and initiatives they need to accomplish to get their teams there. They also need to figure out how they will know if their efforts are on target. They need to establish measurable goals to monitor.
In the do phase, managers can begin working the plan and executing the initiatives to achieve the goals.
In the check phase, managers can measure performance to assess progress. This is where performance measurement comes to the forefront. How is the facilities team progressing against the established goals? Do they need to make adjustments to the approach or the way they measure performance?
In the act phase, managers can identify needed changes to the plan to course-correct so they can achieve the desired outcome. They might end up with changes to processes, to the way they execute work and perhaps to the original plan.
Laurie Gilmer is president and chief operating officer for Facility Engineering Associates. She is a published author and instructor and past chair of IFMA’s global board of directors, and she serves as IFMA's liaison to the Building Industry Decarbonization Collaborative.
Investing in Success: The Rise of Facilities Performance Management
