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When it comes to your facilities team, are you getting the results you want?

Your facilities team should provide your business with the appropriate mix and level of support to maintain your facilities to your standard of care. Of all the models, methods, and tools out there, there is no “right” way. Your facilities are unique, and therefore your facility TEAM should be unique.

Every business’s needs are different, but anyone can use these 4 steps as they evaluate and build an exceptional facilities team.

1. Lay out your “existing conditions.” You can’t draw a map without knowing your current position.
   • Who do you have to support facility needs? Write down your in-house staff and outsourced providers and service contracts in place.
   • Lay out your current organizational chart and existing job descriptions.
   • Evaluate your employee’s performance and understand their skill set.
   • What’s not getting done and who is responsible?
   • What tools are you using to manage work orders and facility systems?
2. Write a Facility To-Do List. What tasks are being deferred and why?  
   • Understand your limitations in order to develop goals. Tasks can be deferred because of budgetary restrictions, limited staff resources, lack of organization, or a multitude of other reasons. Understand where you fall short so you can build in house skill or outsourced resources in those areas.
   • Address the core functions that your facility team is responsible for and be sure that all tasks and objectives contribute to those functions. Read our post on the 5 Core Functions of a Facilities Team.
   • Create key objectives for your team members that contribute to the core facility functions. Everyone wants to understand their role and how they can contribute and be successful.
   • Rank the objectives in order of priority and required response time.
3. Understand the Building Culture. Not only does each business have its own culture, but each building and often each department has its own way of going about their workday.
   • Be conscious of the existing culture before making any operational changes and consider the impact at every level.
   • Develop a plan to implement any new facility operations and maintenance process, policy, and procedures.
4. Outsource Functions of your Facility Department. This can be economical and efficient, and maybe a little bit disruptive, but will provide your business with expertise in all aspects of your building
   • Do you outsource non-core business functions like payroll, IT, or marketing already? If so, your team should be well-versed in working with a fully or partially outsourced model.
   • Save on administrative and payroll costs by hiring a facility management company to process work orders, dispatch contractors, and manage preventative maintenance contracts.
   • Focus on your core business while working with a strategic partner to build a strategic facility management solution. 

Bonus: Continuously Evaluate and Adjust. Do your facility goals line up with the overall business goals? If your business is expanding and evolving, make sure your team is dynamic and can handle the change in volume and responsibility. ONE SOURCE is a leader in outsourced facility management services. We provide the support, back office operations, and expertise to seamlessly manage your owned and leased locations so you can focus on growing your core business.