While the tasks of other positions are restricted to a single department, facility managers have to be aware of every aspect of their business. They have to manage technical parts of the space like IT security and workplace safety while also handling multiple stakeholder and human interactions like customer service.
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It can be easy to overlook many of the smaller responsibilities of facility managers, but the finer details often mean the difference between a frustrating work environment or a productive, well-managed one.
Tracking how you spend your time with an app like Toggl lets you collect information that can help you prioritize tasks and make better decisions in the future. This can include things like bringing on new personnel, delegating tasks, charging clients higher rates or upgrading certain systems.
Handling the customer service experience for clients and visitors is an important task for facility managers. Whether you’re concerned about clients’ first impressions when they enter the lobby or the layout of your reception area, get feedback from visitors on how you can improve the experience.
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Making life easier for your walk-in guests can create a more relaxed environment for your team to conduct meetings in. It can also lead to stronger relationships between employees and clients, and create an atmosphere that can be productive and creative in a flexible workplace.
Retaining employees and encouraging talent (especially with millennials) is vital to any growing business. Be sure to seek out opportunities for your team to develop their skills, whether it’s in the form of workshops, shadowing, a change in responsibilities or even simple discussions on work and performance.
A well-developed team will eventually take over those tasks in your day that may get overlooked, enabling better communication across your organization.
Grants and bursaries will vary depending on your industry and location, but they can provide you with much-needed resources or support for important office upgrades. Grants can be tedious and hard to find, but successfully landing one can have a major impact on what you can do with your facility.
Automations are a useful way to handle important tasks like temperature control, space management and data backups without requiring a lot of labor in the long term. But it can be easy to forget to check in on your automated processes until something goes wrong.
To avoid sudden issues, check your systems periodically to ensure that they’re working as planned and make sure you have a backup plan in place for those instances that your systems fail. Of course, working with IT on these initiatives are extremely beneficial.
We often forget in business to love thy neighbors. Speaking with groups in neighboring buildings or offices can help you identify larger infrastructure issues you may have missed.
Networking with people in a similar role could also earn you advice for handling your own facility. At the very least, you’ll create a relationship with the community that works around your company and aligns with your company values.
Depending on your role as a facility manager, planning for natural disasters may or may not be on your radar, but all offices benefit from having clear evacuation plans for worst-case scenarios like fires and earthquakes. The building you occupy may have its own evacuation protocol, so plan accordingly and educate your staff on what to do in emergency situations.
It can be difficult to keep track of everything that goes on in the day of a facility manager, but having the right tools, team and processes can help you keep on top of all the work that needs to be done.
Photos: jannoon028 / Shutterstock.com, TBIT, Helloquence, Craig Dennis, Steven Tucci