Proper facility management is essential for the success of an organization.
In the present day competitive environment, businesses are seeking new ways to optimize all their business resources, including operational assets and facilities. The last ten years has seen dramatic growth in facility management activities worldwide. Nowadays, the role of facilities management in advancing organizational performance, and thereby in providing competitive advantage, is widely acknowledged.
All business organizations require various types of facilities to operate from. Facility management is based on the principle that the efficient operation of business organizations is linked to the physical environment in which they operate. In most cases, the physical environment can be improved in order to increase its efficiency. Facility management provides coordination of all efforts related to planning, designing and managing corporate operational resources, including buildings and their systems equipment, IT infrastructure, furniture, etc. to improve the organization's ability to compete successfully in a rapidly changing world. Facility management covers a large spectrum of perspectives and aspects about people, organizations and change processes which help the management realize the value of the organization.
Typically, facility management activities include the following perspectives: the management of support services; the management of property; the management of information technology resources. In order to respond to the rapidly changing business environment, the range and scope of facility management activities naturally extends beyond providing technical solutions to the existing problems, but to ensuring that facility effectiveness is maximized at the minimum occupancy costs.
Another important aspect of the corporate operational resources is their impact on the financial performance of the organization that owns or uses these resources. Therefore organizational facility assets should be considered an essential part of the overall business strategy. It is crucial for facility management department to have an influence on the organization's strategic decisions. Facility managers should also provide information which shows the contribution of the facilities to the achievement of organizational objectives and business targets.
Today's organizations constantly review and measure the composition of their core business and the way it operates. With the increasing need for facility management to become more professional, strategic and commercially oriented, the issue of performance measurement in this business sector has been a major consideration for many organizations. Therefore, effective measurement should be an integral part of the facility management process. Accurate performance assessment mechanisms provide direct benefits to the organization in terms of a more rigorous, focused approach to the achievement of business goals.
Facility management metrics program should concentrate both on the effective maintenance of support systems and the corporate culture within the organization. Typically, facility management budget of an organization require up to thirty or even forty per cent of the outlay, second only in cost to payroll. Therefore, effective performance in facility management is essential for the overall success of an organization. Good facility management measurement system provides administrative information and can improve communication with the customers and other sources.
Facility management measurement program can be introduced in the form of a balanced scorecard. Balanced scorecard provides organizations with a comprehensive framework that translates the organization's strategic objectives into a coherent set of performance measures. Therefore, facility management balanced scorecard can be the basis for managing the organization's key operational resources.