How to Choose the Best Facility Management Company
The rising demand for facility management worldwide is a testimony of the importance and value that it holds within any organization. Facility management solutions have come a long way from just ensuring clean floors and pristine windows within the office spaces. Modern facility management is built around the safety, security and well being of employees who interact and engage with the workplace. It has now emerged as an independent service area that manages the A-Zs of facilities and utilities, something that drives and influences the efficiency of an organisation. But before jumping into the details of how to choose the best facility management company in town, let’s establish what facility management means.
What is Facility Management
Maintaining a facility is not just about keeping it clean and pristine but a lot more than that. In the current scenario when businesses are going above and beyond to keep their workplace safe and secure for employees, facility management has upgraded like never before. So next time when you type in a search query like ” Best Facility Management Company “, make sure you know what to look for.
If we come to define it simply, Facility management is the maintenance and upkeep of buildings, machinery, utilities (mechanical and electrical) and all that comes under operational equipment. This maintenance includes but is not limited to operation management, inventory evaluation and maintenance, space/office planning and all the government guidelines related to the equipment and other elements being used within.
This sector is growing at a fast pace because of the benefits that organisations procure while outsourcing this crucial task to a data-centric facility management company. Facility management comprises, real estate management, lease maintenance, energy and space management, capital planning and all the factors in between that surround a facility. It even prepares the companies by introducing emergency management measures and risk management procedures to save organisations from mishaps long before they occur.
An ideal reference would be how businesses are using smart technologies like Touchless Facial Recognition for Contact Free Employee Check-In and One-touch Desk Reservation System to embrace safe hybrid workforce culture.
How to Pick the Best Facility Management Company
The process of choosing a facility management company varies for different industries and organisations, yet some factors are common when making the right choice. With the market boasting of hundreds of service companies, it can be a difficult task to zero in on one company. So here are some factors that organisations and companies need to observe for making the process of choosing the right facility management company easier and faster.
Facility Audit
Companies need to properly evaluate the current state of their facility before they go out looking for a solution. This is the first and most crucial step of the process because, once companies assess the current performance of their facility, machinery, equipment and spaces, it becomes easier to select the right facility management company (based on the services they provide). This involves identifying the strong areas and also the ones that require renovations and refurbishments. Right from reviewing the performance of equipment (keeping track of asset depreciation) to keeping a track of logistics and identifying room for facility optimization.
The process of outsourcing becomes much easier if organisations approach the facility management firms with a clear and calculated review of their facility. It gets easier to pick the best firms providing varied services if the expectations and business goals are laid across the table, right from the start.
Cost Analysis
For any organisation, outsourcing services is only a means to increase ROI and enhance productivity.
Stumbling upon hundreds of companies ready to take on your utility management by storm?
Cost analysis can be a major driver in deciding which one is best for your facility needs. The cost analysis should consist of the services provided and the presence of technicians and experts on-site whenever required (make sure you get continuous support from the vendor). The cost needs to be calculated by looking at the bigger picture because sometimes, the firms may be offering too many services at a cost that your utilities don’t even require.
Having an in-depth understanding of what you intend to achieve by onboarding a facility management partner can help you identify and align with the best service providers in town.
Core Service Expertise
It is not an unknown fact that companies with experience are far more reliable than the newbies. This doesn’t exclude the fact that the recent ones don’t stand anywhere in work and performance but it is always better to go with an experienced hand. Higher the number of businesses managed and maintained by a facility management service provider is a clear indication of the customer-centric culture and gives an upper hand to innovate and upgrade existing techniques in the long run. Researching about the industries that the firm has dealt with over the past years speaks volumes of their work culture and performance. To choose from a lot, testimonials of the company’s previous associations can be of great help.
Experienced companies are not just better in management and providing a new perspective to even day-to-day operation but are also pro’s in analytical decisions and planning. This opens doors for continual reviewal of existing procedures and streamlined activities across the whole facility.
Market Analysis
While looking at the services offered by the facility management company, organisations should keep a close eye on the basic services provided by it. Because of the competitive market, the companies have an array of services listed as basic facility management including lease and compliance management, space planning and occupancy management and other services related to business operation management.
Careful analysis of the market can help organisations find a great company that does it all and takes care of it all centrally at a good price.
Tech Evaluation
One thing that facilities management requires at any point in time is the use of evolved technologies. Top features of facility management include offering digitalised services and opening your space to smart technology solutions. The use of barcodes, scanners, digital badges, digital schedulers and AI-powered devices in facilities is the trend of the hour because it takes facility management to a whole new level. Going for companies that offer quick integrations, work through IoT technology and bring in automation to the space are worth investing in.
Good facility management providers can evaluate your current processes and initiate the digitalisation in facilities operations without much hassle.
Proactive Maintenance
Management is not just about maintaining the present state of machinery but also involves taking measures to ensure that the facilities have a long and stable life. Presently, technologies being used by facility management firms allow them to give organisations a competitive edge and help them cut down costs to a large extent by bringing in proactive maintenance. This kind of problem-solving approach ensures that the risks related to the facilities, equipment and machinery are carefully eradicated even before they occur, rather than planning for post-mishap solutions.
For instance, your facility management company should proactively schedule all the maintenance and performance upkeep of electrical as well as mechanical utilities. This regular servicing and maintained service prevent any failures or technical fault issues beforehand, helping in preventive maintenance. This step will not make the machinery risk-proof or failure-proof but certainly makes such incidents rare to provide uninterrupted productivity at all times.
Top facilities management companies focus on predictive and preventive measures to curb risks and faults are ideal for any organisation because a single glitch in machinery or facility utilities even for an hour can cost them thousands of bucks in no time.
End Thoughts:
The road to choosing the right facility management is a swarm of options. However, a step-by-step approach to the expected results and goals can prove to be of immense help and making the right decision.
After all, the hustle to choose the best facility management company not only make your facilities better but also enhance the very culture at workplace. This is a good enough reason to invest time and effort in onboarding the right facility management solution for your organisation.