Way too many entrepreneurs, real estate agents, and business owners consider facility management to be fairly simple, but they obviously don’t understand the impact it makes on the everyday functioning of entire organizations.
A report reveals that the global facility management market is worth more than $1,150 billion, but the industry still keeps growing steadily. In such circumstances, the only logical question is: What seems to be the critical role of facilities management in a modern facility?
It’s a difficult question and it demands a comprehensive explanation, so keep reading to learn the core duties and responsibilities of a facility manager. Let’s take a look!
8 Responsibilities of Facility Managers
Although it consists of a broad scope of tasks, there are some features that are particularly important for facility managers. Without further ado, let’s see the eight critical responsibilities here.
- Understand tenants’ expectations
The first – and often the most important – role of facility managers is to understand the needs and expectations of tenants. Generally speaking, the task is easy as tenants probably expect the entire property to function flawlessly.
Jake Gardner, a business analyst and the paper writer at the dissertation writing service and the top essay writing service, explains that the whole system is much more complex: “For instance, some tenants prefer stronger lighting solutions, while others want their premises to be a bit darker. Some employees may work on weekends, while most of the other tenants will be home.”
Facility managers must keep in mind all those requirements to ensure maximum comfort while minimizing operating costs.
- Practice detail-oriented behavior
The second role goes hand in hand with the first one. Namely, a good facility manager has to be detail-oriented because it’s the only way to get the job done successfully.
The weather is too warm? Turn down the air conditioning. Parking lots are too tight? Rearrange them to prevent vehicle damages. These are only small examples of detail-oriented behavior, but it’s more than enough to help you understand the significance of this concept.
- Taking care of maintenance
Of course, one of the fundamental roles of facilities management is to keep things under control and make sure that everything is working as expected. Tools, devices, and equipment get broken every day, thus forcing facility managers to stay alert around the clock.
They are not only supposed to acknowledge malfunctioning items. On the contrary, their job is to call the right technicians to repair damage and monitor the entire process just to make sure that the problem is resolved properly.
- Identifying cost-reduction opportunities
Facilities management is not only about making things work flawlessly but also about finding ways to reduce operating costs along the way. A diligent facility manager will keep an eye on the state of the art technologies to identify cost-reduction opportunities in a timely manner.
For instance, studies show that using sensor technology to monitor energy usage in office buildings can reduce energy costs by as much as 20%. This is the kind of information agile facility managers should be looking for all the time.
- Meeting compliance standards
Administrative work is often boring and repetitive, but that’s what separates top-performing facility managers from their less agile colleagues. Facilities management also needs to pay attention to compliance standards and local regulations in order to avoid possible lawsuits and prevent incidents on-premises.
- Follow fire safety procedures
Ideally, it would be great to have a separate security team for each property, but that’s rarely ever the case in real life. This is exactly why facility managers must learn and follow fire safety procedures to guarantee security 24/7.
According to the report, companies can save between 12% and 18% by using preventive maintenance over reactive, but such a role demands a wide range of skills and insights.
Facility managers need to get acquainted with the basics of the sprinkler system, emergency exit routes, storage practices, fire drills, and many other features. Without it, facility managers would not be able to react promptly and protect tenants.
- Staff supervision
Another very important role of facility managers is to supervise their staff and make sure that each unit is working as expected. This is almost never an easy job, particularly in large properties with dozens of departments operating daily. In such circumstances, it’s not surprising to learn that the best facility managers are usually the masters of interpersonal communication and people skills.
- Conduct regular tests and inspections
The last role on our list comes in the form of tests and inspections. A facility manager needs to behave proactively and organize regular inspections to check whether everything is functioning perfectly.
With so many systems involved, it can turn out to be a challenging and time-consuming practice, but it is necessary to do it on a regular basis. The easiest way is to make a long-term schedule and set reminders for each test in particular.
Skills That Suit the Roles of Facility Management
Now that you understand the critical role of facilities management, the only thing left is to briefly discuss the skills of an ideal facility manager. These features obviously correspond to the professional tasks of facility managers, but let’s check them out one by one here:
- Communication skills: The first set of skills is quintessential. We already mentioned that facility managers need to deal with dozens or even hundreds of employees, so it’s absolutely fundamental to communicate clearly and concisely.
- Prioritization skills: With so many duties and responsibilities at stake, sometimes it’s hard to keep track of all tasks. This is why prioritization and multitasking skills play such a major role in the career of a facility manager.
- Time-management skills: Similar to prioritization skills, time management is also important for professionals who want to get things done quickly and successfully.
- Negotiation skills: It is up to facility managers to negotiate prices and handle procurements, which is exactly why they need a strong set of negotiation skills.
- Leadership skills: Finally, a good facility manager must know how to encourage teamwork and how to make everyone eager to do their jobs with pleasure.
The Bottom Line
Facility management covers everything from simple building repairs to the deployment of complex new technologies. It can make you and your team feel comfortable in a commercial real estate, but it can also make you angry and willing to travel from one property to another.
This is why it’s so important to learn the critical role of facilities management and figure out how to make it work to your advantage. A responsible facility manager will take care of everything with ease and it’s up to you to demand the highest level of facility management services.
