Everything You Ever Needed to Know About Office Facilities Management

Did you know that there are 5.6 million commercial buildings found in the United States? Millions of employees use these buildings every day to contribute to their business’s productivity. But, exactly who’s responsible for looking after the buildings themselves?

This role falls to office facilities management positions. If you’re curious about the role of an office facilities manager, then you’re in the right place.

In this article, we’ll go over some basic information, as well as breakthroughs for streamlining this form of management. That way, you’ll know everything about the position. Let’s get started!

What Is Office Facilities Management?

In essence, an office facilities manager is responsible for making sure that workplaces run as smoothly as possible. This is important because a workplace that’s in disarray for one reason or another ultimately harms the productivity of the people working in it.

Office facilities management is a position that can be broken down into three main responsibilities. The first is to maintain and improve the commercial property that offices are found in.

The second is making sure that the commercial space meets the need of the occupants who are using it. The third responsibility is the integration of new technology into the office facilities. All of these responsibilities overlap in certain ways.

And, as you can guess, they play an important role in the productivity of a company. You might also be wondering how standards are set for individuals in these positions.

After all, without standardization, it’s easy for the quality of these facilities to quickly drop. The answer is that a variety of organizations assist in the standardization of these office facilities management positions, particularly the International Standards Organization (ISO).

If you want to learn more about this type of standardization, then make sure to check out the ISO 41011:2017.

What Does an Office Facility Manager Do?

Now we know what an office facility manager does in broad strokes. However, what is the more specific tasks that they need to accomplish, both in the long term and during the day-to-day? As we mentioned, first and foremost is the maintenance of office spaces. A lot of areas fall under the real estate inventory umbrella that requires maintenance. They include:

The land itself, as well as anything affixed to it
The physical buildings
Installed systems within the physical buildings
Equipment that’s in the buildings
Roads on the property
Parking spots on the property
Fences
Utility systems

When something goes wrong with these real estate inventories, then the manager is responsible for reaching out to vendors and contractors to fix the problem. Another responsibility of office facilities managers is to keep analytics of things occurring in the facilities.

This is done to make certain aspects of the facility more efficient. For example, many managers will keep analytics of energy use, occupancy levels, and cost per repair.

That way, if they notice a sudden increase in costs, then they can quickly identify the source of the problem. Finally, there are the big picture considerations for office facilities management. This can include things like space utilization.

After all, it’s not about how many occupants you can cram into a space. It’s about using that space as efficiently as possible for the people working in it.

One thing that can help with this is the implementation of smart technology.

Smart technology is all about automation, analysis and reporting. This makes data management a crucial component for management of any modern company and its workplace. This is where the occupancy sensors for offices can make the difference between a productive working environment and wasted space. With discrete, on-point space utilization metrics, businesses have an opportunity to create effective office management solutions that can satisfy all stakeholders.

While this is just one example, facility managers should constantly be on the lookout for ways that they can improve their properties for both themselves and the occupants inside.

What Are the Traits Associated With an Office Facility Manager?

As you can see, office facility managers are tasked with a lot of responsibilities. As such, certain traits are required for anyone who takes on this role. The first trait is organization.

There is a lot of real estate inventory to keep up within this position. And, if you forget about something, then things can quickly pile up. Leadership skills are also important. The facility manager will need teams of workers that they’re in constant communication.

The facility manager should be a natural problem solver. When an issue arises they should be able to use both creativity and practicality to solve it. Finally, these individuals need to have natural risk identification.

If a manager can identify a problem before it becomes serious, then they can both save money and occupancy hassle.

Tips to Streamline Office Facilities Management

Now that we know more about what office facilities management entails we can take a look at some of the ways to optimize this important process. By implementing these tips you not only make your job easier but the occupants’ jobs as well.

Make a Facility Action Plan

It’s not enough for an office facility manager to simply provide a workspace for its occupants. They must set up a list of rules and processes for how things are done and what happens when a problem arises. This is where facility action plans come into play.

These are plans that dictate how the workplace ultimately gets used and what happens if a problem gets resolved. For example, if someone has a broken computer, then the action plan will tell them how they can submit a maintenance request.

It also deals with more drastic, life-and-death measures. For example, if there’s a storm or attack, then an action plan can include an emergency evacuation strategy.

These plans and rules are important because it clears up what the occupants and the manager should do in the event of the unseen. On top of that, it also streamlines the process so that the issue, whether it’s routine or otherwise, gets cleared up as soon as possible.

Invest in Smart Technology and Upgrades

It behooves an office facilities manager to keep up-to-date on the latest technology trends being introduced into the workplace. This is important both for their bottom line, as well as the happiness of the occupants.

For example, smart technology can be introduced that automatically turns off the lights when no ones is around. This same technology can also be used to save money on heating and cooling.

While these types of smart technologies might be a bit of an investment, they ultimately save money in the long run. The same goes for tech that can benefit your occupants.

For example, if the people in the office space do a lot of powerpoints in the conference room, then it might be worth it to install an interactive touchscreen. This will go a long way toward improving the efficiency of your occupants.

And, it will make them more loyal to you in the future. But how do you prioritize which improvements to make over others? Simple: by tracking analytics using management systems. Let’s explore how this can help.

Use Management Systems For Day-to-Day Operations

If you’re feeling overwhelmed by the number of things that you need to keep up with as an office facilities manager, then you’re not alone. The reality is that there’s often an endless list of requests and urgent things to take care of on the job.

That’s why the position requires such organization. However, just because there’s a lot of things to keep track of doesn’t mean it needs to be hard or stressful. The truth is that there are great management software programs that can make day-to-day operations much easier on you.

For one thing, these types of software can help you track analytics throughout your office space. And, as we mentioned before, this is the key to identifying potential problems in your facilitation.

For example, let’s say your management system says that you’re spending a lot of money on monthly heating and cooling costs. From this data, you can prioritize smart technology that regulates your heating and cooling costs more closely. Or, let’s say you notice frequent repairs in certain bathrooms within your building.

You can save money by renovating this bathroom, instead of throwing away money on repairs. Sadly, finding the right types of facility management software isn’t always easy.

So, what’s the solution? Look no further than Office Control. Their team uses real data to make your day-to-day operations run as smoothly as possible. With simple support features for both, you and you’re employees our software is sure to make everyone happy.

Want More Content? Keep Exploring

We hope this article helped you learn more about what you need to run effective office facilities management. As you can see, the secret lies in taking advantage of the new advances in smart technology and software.

That way, both you and your building occupants are happy at the end of the day. Did you enjoy this article? If the answer is yes, then you’re in the right place. Keep reading to find more content that you’re sure to love.