4 Common FM Mistakes and How to Avoid Them
We've seen a number of departments that could be better working in the facilities management sector for a long time. This is unfortunate, but understandable; FM is a quickly moving sector, making it tough for enterprises to keep up.
Furthermore, it is clear that some organizations are unaware of the substantial impact that facilities management may have, and as a result, they do not hire a specialized team or devote the necessary funding or attention.
Businesses make a variety of critical facility management mistakes as a result of these and other large-scale challenges. We've compiled a list of the four most common ones we've noticed, along with specific steps that organizations may take to avoid them:
Mistake number 1 : Manually gathering and evaluating FM data.
Many facilities departments attempt to collect, organize, and analyze all data on their own using tools such as Excel spreadsheets. While this technique may be effective in the short term, managers frequently discover that the amount of data they have is too enormous or that their firm is developing too quickly for manual data processing to be a viable option.There are three key issues with spreadsheet-based FM analytics:
- Data entry and organizing require a significant amount of time and money, and it is prone to errors.
- Scalability is a rather limited capability.
- Advanced analytical skills are necessary to derive insights from FM data, which are above the capabilities of most FMs.
Because a wide range of stakeholders – from store managers to operations, loss prevention, and asset management teams to corporate executives – require regular access to accurate facility data, FMs must have a simpler method of communication, which manual data processing cannot provide.
Staying Away from It:
Facility managers should prioritize integrating a sophisticated software platform with comprehensive analytics capabilities into existing procedures. This software collects, integrates, organizes, and analyzes facility data from many sources automatically and precisely, providing data transparency for all stakeholders and producing clear reports.
FMs can customize data dashboards to meet their unique requirements, such as asset performance, contractor compliance, or spending over time. They can also identify crucial data trends, patterns, and outliers and use these insights to create confident data-driven decisions.
Mistake Number 2 : Not allocating sufficient resources to facilities management.
Organizations do not always commit sufficient resources to facility management, whether in terms of finance, personnel, or technology. Even with large corporations with multiple locations, it is not uncommon for a single person to oversee all facilities operations. This lack of resources and focus can strain operations, causing proactively to stall and efficiency to fall while spending rises.
Staying Away from It:
First and foremost, firms must acknowledge the significance of facilities management in ensuring smooth operations and excellent customer service. Allocate ample resources, particularly focused team members, and prioritize openness with all stakeholders. While using a software platform can help you devote fewer resources to facilities management, you will still need to allocate team members and arrange time to construct and run the program.
Use service automation to free FMs from time-consuming work order tasks like scheduling work orders and monitoring contractor compliance. Service automation can automate these activities across all corporate locations from a single dashboard, increasing productivity, lowering expenses, and creating a centralized database for all FM data across the organization.
Mistake Number 3 : Behaving Reactively Rather Than Proactively
Some reactivity is unavoidable in facilities management; equipment can fail unexpectedly, or inclement weather can need a speedy response. The more proactive a facilities department is, the fewer emergencies it will have to deal with and the more money it will save.
Staying Away from It:
To encourage proactivity, FMs might prioritize preventative maintenance. Preventive maintenance, also known as routine maintenance, ensures that equipment is always in good working order, saves money by avoiding expensive comprehensive repairs, and increases brand uptime. An FM software platform may assist make preventive maintenance a priority by automating the scheduling of repetitive work orders, documenting asset warranties, and alerting when service is necessary.
Mistake Number 4 : Failing to prioritize contractor management
Organizations generally lack well-defined processes for locating, engaging, managing, and compensating contractors. This can result in a number of issues, including:
- It is challenging to find skilled, compliant contractors at reasonable prices.
- There is a mismatch between what FMs expect from service work and how contractors perform it.
- Key performance metrics for contractors, such as on-time check-ins, are poorly understood.
- The processing of invoices takes a lengthy time.
These challenges can have a negative influence on your FM operations; for example, if you hire contractors that do not satisfy compliance standards, your department may face legal consequences. If you do not have explicit Service Level Agreements (SLAs) in place with your contractors, you will most likely experience delays in response and completion dates, as well as delays in invoicing. If SLAs are not enforced at all stages of the life cycle, you may face a number of difficulties in the ‘store-FM-contractor' interaction. If you do not pay contractors and complete invoices on time, your professional relationship may suffer.
Staying Away from It:
Most importantly, prioritize proper contractor management; ignoring service providers can have major consequences. Treat critical contractors as partners in your FM department, and strive to establish long-term relationships with them. Processing invoices on time, communicating clearly, agreeing on comprehensive SLAs, and offering both good and negative feedback can all assist to enhance your contractor relationships.
Create a contractor management software platform to automate some aspects of contractor relationships, as well as a database of important service data. Contractor management software can give both parties with easy access to SLAs, automatically authorize invoices up to a defined do-not-exceed limit, and track and report contractor performance using customized KPIs. Some platforms also offer searchable contractor directories where you may find the service providers you require, review their compliance information, and read reviews from other companies.
