The Importance of Facility Management in the C-Suite

How can you show the importance of facility management to the C-suite at your organization? Read this blog for tips on proving your value.

Whether you’re a facility, plant, grounds, building or maintenance manager, you play a very important role in your building's operation. But despite what some tenants and even administrators may think, facility management doesn't exist in a vacuum. Increasingly complex buildings and ever-changing industry regulations mean that it's more important than ever to make maintenance, inventory and energy management an organization-wide concern.

 The trick to improving the operational efficiency of a building and its maintenance processes is to bring the same sense of significance that facility managers recognize to the C-suite. 

Administrators and executives who may have previously viewed facility management as a separate and distinct department must come to view the job of the FM as being an integral part of the facility’s operation. Here are some things to keep in mind, whether you're an administrator or maintenance staff member, to help raise awareness of the importance of operations management and maintenance key performance indicators (KPIs) at the C-level.

Getting noticed with data

Building administrators are understandably busy. As overseers of all things maintenance and operations management, they need to be aware of everything, from managing workflow and maintenance issues to personnel concerns and business needs. With this in mind, if facility managers want to bring maintenance and inventory issues to the attention of the C-level, they'll need to figure out a way to get noticed. Especially in a business setting, the most effective way to demonstrate value is, of course, through producing measurable results such as with KPIs.

When it comes to facility management, this means that tracking, recording and presenting workflow management information on how the building is operating is essential. Many aspects of daily operations, such as planned building maintenance and energy efficiency aren't just repair concerns — they have a direct impact on the bottom line of the organization as a whole. Defining energy efficiency and other operational goals in terms of how they affect the overall revenue can be a great way to bring attention to the necessity of facility management company-wide.

Demonstrate results with technology

A simple way to overcome this is to present your accomplishments in terms that executives understand — namely, cost savings. If you can provide concrete information on how much money a proposed retrofit would save, or demonstrate how deferring a necessary equipment upgrade could end up costing in the long run, you're much more likely to get the attention of the people at the top.

Fortunately, many technology-centric facility maintenance software and management tools, like a computerized maintenance management system (CMMS), are perfect for not just collecting data, but presenting it in a way that is easy to understand, even for those who don't have a background in facility management.

Deliver insight to your C-suite

For some tenants, employees and executives, the world of facility management can feel foreign and complicated. If administrators can't easily access or make sense of the information that's essential to maintaining operational efficiency, the chances that they'll make getting involved in these aspects of running the building a priority are much slimmer than if they feel like they can access everything they need to know. There are many paths to this goal, from implementing basic facility management training to integrating CMMS and other user-friendly work request tracking tools. This means that the C-suite will both understand the importance of paying attention to how a facility operates, as well as have a system to monitor it for themselves.

Do you know what is important to look for when selecting a Computerized Maintenance Management System? Download our Selecting a CMMS guide for a few important tips.