Facility Managers are always getting things done around their facility, whether its responding to a complaint, dealing with space issue, organizing a move, coordinating maintenance or delivering customer service.
It almost feels like you are on a treadmill, moving ahead but never really getting to the end.
It’s a fact of life in the Facilities Management industry, but these immediate tasks often distracts us from other important longer-term things that they should be doing.
Here are 3 things you should do today that will help you in the future:
- Make a list of things that will make your job easier and improve results. It may include new resources, a new software system, Information and data you need, a QA system, a satisfaction survey, a benchmarking exercise, new tools and equipment, processes, an alternate way to procure services, a strategic plan, etc.
- Review your staff and other resources and decide what you can delegate to them to free up time to do the things in your list. If they need training, get them training.
- Plan time in your calendar to work on long-term initiatives and strategic planning. Schedule it in. Don’t bend when something else comes up. If you have to, find somewhere off-site to work quietly.
Now that you’ve done these things today, tomorrow you start taking the time you scheduled for planning, start delegating to your staff and start working on your list of long term things.
If you do this, you’ll gradually see improvements.
If you don’t, you’ll end up only dealing with things in the immediate future and never getting to the long-term stuff. You’ll be stuck on the treadmill.
