Why Your Facility Manager is a CEO’s Most Powerful Ally

by Elizabeth Dukes on May 2, 2016
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Facility managers don’t normally spend much time in the boardroom with their organization’s executive leaders. But given how drastically the facility management role has changed over the past several years, it may be time to extend an invite.

An organization’s greatest assets are its workforce and its facility. The way a facility looks, feels and functions has a heavy hand in how well your workforce performs, and that makes your facility manager an important link between the two assets. It takes a unique skill set to effectively balance these resources while simultaneously keeping costs down and bottom lines healthy – experience your executive team would be wise to utilize.

Here are six reasons why C-suite executives like you should buddy up with your facility manager. When it comes to boardroom decisions, they may just be your most powerful ally.

1. Facility Managers are Cost-Conscious Why_Your_FM_Is_Your_Biggest_Ally.jpg

Facility managers are trained in the fine art of maximizing value while minimizing spend. It’s how they can run a highly efficient facility under tight margins. In many ways, your facility is a tangible example of the value, cost and effectiveness of your organization. With the globalization of business, competition is wildly fierce and expansive. And this type of mastery is exactly what leaders need in their decision-making corner if they want to contend with industry front-runners.

2. Facility Managers Set the Foundation for Productivity

How well a facility supports employees has everything to do with productivity levels. Your facility manager has a unique vantage over this relationship because they are business-minded, but they also understand what employees need out of their workspace to effectively and efficiently do their jobs. When decisions need to be made that will impact the entire workforce, leaders can benefit from including this perspective in their discussions to ensure conclusions support the balance between a facility’s cost to function and performance requirements.

3. Facility Managers Know Your Real Estate

Requirements If the topic of discussion is about development, leasing or other real estate issues, there’s no one better educated on the needs of the organization than the person who manages and oversees it all. The facility manager regularly measures space utilization, and will provide your boardroom with cold, hard facts on exactly how much space is used, wasted or needed.

4. Facility Managers Are Excellent Forecasters

Because your facility manager is the only one who regularly analyzes the entirety of how your facility operates every day, they are most familiar with the ebbs and flows; the trends and standards. And this makes them excellent at forecasting organizational needs or potential issues. Whether the E-Team is discussing future investments, budget cuts or restructuring, your facility manager may have some interesting data to back up why you should or shouldn’t fund certain projects.

5. Facility Managers Are the Ultimate Liaison

It takes a lot of people to make a facility run smoothly and support business objectives in the 21st century. We’re talking in-house specialists, third-party experts, office technology vendors, utility providers, consultants … the list goes on. Your facility manager is the orchestrator who directs all these moving parts and people to ensure they all work together and support performance and productivity goals. This insight will come in handy when organizational leaders gather to deliberate on company-wide issues.

Why_Your_FM_Is_Your_Biggest.jpg6. Facility Managers Know How to Measure Risk

As an organizational leader, you understand that risk goes hand in hand with opportunity, and fielding this delicate balance requires input from individuals who are able to effectively measure the benefits versus the drawbacks of any given decision. Your facility manager does this on a daily basis, and has the data to prove it. They also understand the environmental and legislative requirements, as well as any compliance issues that impact your industry, and how your decisions may influence adherence to these requirements.

Business decisions depend on big data, and nobody has more information about the operational needs of your organization than your facility manager. Armed with the right management software, this individual brings valuable intelligence to the boardroom table to help guide decisions based on fact.

Interested in learning more about how you can stay ahead in space management, space utilization and security by working arm in arm with your FM? Check out our free new guide, 4 Ways Innovative Leaders Stay Ahead of the Technology Curve!

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Elizabeth Dukes

Elizabeth Dukes' pieces highlight the valuable role of the real estate and facility managers play in their organizations. Prior to iOFFICE, Elizabeth was in sales for large facility and office service outsourcing firm.

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