Viewpoint: Facility management as a new strategic initiative

by David A. Henrichon, MS, FMA, CPE, FMP

Having delivered facility management certification training to national and international audiences, I have heard all of the war stories. To no one’s surprise, the situation is the same the world over. Funds are limited.  Projects are due yesterday. Energy expense, indeed all expense line items must be managed down, year after year.  Some of the attendees are looking to gain insight into the world of the facility manager, or to more finely tune their sales pitch when dealing with the FM. 

The buzz words are all the same. Quality has been supplanted by an expectation of zero defects but the world realizes that there is a cost associated with such a lofty goal.  Today, everything is green and sustainable; tomorrow everything will be measured by its GSI index, Global Sensitivity Impact, a kind of numeric equivalent of what every product does to the world as opposed to for the world. 

Experience is the real education

While facility managers return from the training courses with heads full of fresh ideas and new skills, true education takes place in the workplace, on the job, with years of experiences embellishing the academic with the practical. Facility managers, newly graduated and enthusiastic about applying their knowledge and skills quickly discover the realities of the competitive world. Their workspace may be cramped; the boss is in an endless meeting, and the other facility manager is somewhere else. The economy hasn’t been good, so the company is looking for ways to trim the budget. The facility manager feels a little unsure about the decision to accept an offer with this promising company.

Facility managers, no matter where they may live and work, deal with the same issues and they often approach situations in the same manner. How often does the FM evaluate the strategic business plan in order to conjure up strategic building plans to meet the present and anticipated needs of the business? The facility manager learns and knows all too well that market share is all important and cost avoidance is several times more efficient than offsetting expenses with increased sales. The facility manager quickly learns that ideas are wonderful, but most direction comes from the top down.  Even the most prestigious facility management companies complain about the process. Building related decisions are often made by managers who are bottom-line driven and who may not fully understand the long-term implications of their choices. Textbooks tell us to get close to the decision-makers, get involved in corporate activities and become recognized. Getting close to the inner circle may be easy in a small company but not in most companies where specialization and organization separate instead of integrate. One of the most efficient tools that the facility manager wields with great care and pride is summed up in one word: credibility. The reputation for being credible is hard won and easily lost.  It’s the combination of personality, accuracy in forecasting, consistency in approach and outcomes and a proven record of cost management and successes in crisis management. 

Aligning with strategic business plans

Since the facilities group must compete with major departments for limited financial resources, they are uniformly attuned to compete by demonstrating savings through cost avoidance or savvy purchases that squeeze more efficiency out of a process or service.  Alignment with the corporate strategic business plan is a second insight that drives successful facility managers. They know that if they can draw a parallel between corporate business intent and facility infrastructure investments, corporate leaders are more likely to give more attention to facility department requests. The harsh reality is that regardless of academic prowess, a high level of credibility and alignment with corporate strategies, limited financial resources, driven by uncertain economic conditions, often limit the success of facility managers in their efforts to maintain, modernize or replace energy dependent technologies.  Money is the driver and that is the key to the new strategic facility management initiative. 

Achieving maximum support from corporate decision makers for facility-related investments is a critical goal for facility managers, who have worked for decades at developing relationships up and down the corporate ladder with little realizable gain. The question always goes back to drivers, and the prime driver for strategic decisions is money. The question now becomes, who are the decision makers when it comes to revenue generation? Corporate executives make financial decisions; all major capital investments are channeled through them.

Sowing the seeds initiative

The new strategic facility management initiative is based upon the concept of focused and continued education. A preliminary review of major business school programs highlights the fact that recognized business schools produce high-powered business leaders. Not one of the business schools reviewed offers courses that focus on the facility as a corporate asset. 

We know that 25 percent or more of most corporate worth is based on physical assets. If facility management wishes to reach decision makers at the executive level, there must be facilities management education in the business schools. Indeed, business schools offer courses in real estate, but the focus is on investments and returns, not on facilities as investments with operating and maintenance costs. By integrating courses that deal with assets from a facility management perspective, business school programs will produce leaders who will have an appreciation and knowledge of facilities. The result of this facility education process is a greater sensitivity and command of the value and import of facilities in the strategic process of the business. 

What business professional would not pay great attention to a line item that represents 25 percent of a corporation’s worth?

David A Henrichon MS, CPE, FMA, FMP is retired from Verizon Communication, Construction Services, after a career spanning 32 years. He is an educator/consultant delivering certification training for BOMI and IFMA throughout the world. He can be contacted at prof101@verizon.net