Achieving High Performance in Facilities Management

In our facilities practice, Markon employees strive to help our clients achieve high performance. We do this by applying expertise that spans the full facilities life cycle, but the path to operating at such a high level is unique for each organization that we work with.

This is the first in a series of six posts that describe a series of diagnostic exercises that any facility organization can use to develop a program of improvements.

Why should a facility management organization even aspire for this level of operations?

Simply because it’s key for the facilities leader to be plugged in to their challenging environment that includes constantly changing mission and business priorities, shrinking budgets, increasing operations and maintenance costs, workforce succession, and sustainability initiatives.

While it is certainly true that strategy and decision-making is a role usually reserved for senior leadership, facilities executives have the opportunity to contribute in many key ways.

For example, knowing where under-utilized assets are, allows a facility executive to respond to emerging initiatives such as providing space for a new operation or reduce costs by ending a lease or selling off a building.

In light of these challenges, positioning the facilities organization for high performance is a journey that can take a few years to fully realize. Even though the facilities budget is typically among the top three line items in any enterprise, time and resources for initiatives like these are scarce. Establishing a sound start is the key to success.

Outlining a Facilities Maturity Model

The series of monthly posts that follow outline a maturity model concept that facilities leaders can use to identify and prioritize areas for improvement.

It is based on a straightforward, five-step assessment:

Step 1: What facilities am I responsible for managing?

Step 2: How can I access the management information I need to make decisions?

Step 3: What improvements should I be focused on now?

Step 4: What is the best way for me to allocate my facilities resources?

Step 5: How can I justify a request for additional facilities resources?

Our next post will take a look at step one–reviewing organizational structures, facility management policies, and the all-important step of maintaining a complete and accurate inventory of buildings (and their inherent systems and assemblies).

We hope you’ll follow along in the quest for high performance!