There are a number of myths about a facility manager. Modern office environment has evolved dramatically over the past few decades, roles and responsibilities are drastically changing, but unfortunately our concept of a facility manager has not changed. We still consider these professionals as someone who flies under the radar, who is unseen and less sociable as compared to the other roles in the real estate services sector.

But in today’s fast office space, the facility manager plays a much larger and much more diverse role. Facility manager is a great ally to have in a company, as working with them, you can ensure that your workplace is running as efficiently and effectively as possible. To understand their critical role, duties and responsibilities in the company, here are the top four common myths about a facility manager that need to be busted.

 

ALL THEY DO IS BUILDING MAINTENANCE:

Many people mistaken their definition of a Facility Manager, and associate with a maintenance professional. There is a drastic difference between both of them – a Facility Manager is responsible for the management of services and processes that support the core business of the organization. Where as a Maintenance professional is the one who takes care of building maintenance.

A Facility Manager only ensures that the property is handled and maintained effectively, as it is only a part of fraction of their core responsibilities. Their profile is highly dependent on the growth and size of the organization, and involved in both strategic planning and day-to-day operations of the property.

They ensure that the space is ergonomic, responsible for procurement and contract management, security, space management, utilities and communications infrastructure.

 

THEY HAVE THEIR OWN SET OF RULES:

During your interaction with them, you may assume that they have and follow their own set of rules, probably because they want to. It can be either turning down a request made by you, or refusing some offer related to the workplace. You may even start assuming that they won’t just listen.

But you are highly misunderstood.

The Facility Manager is the highly efficient and one of the greatest gatekeepers to your property and organization’s budget. Generally, their focus is to improve efficiency by reducing operating costs while increasing property productivity. Their role is to keep the costs down, while ensuring that the workspace offers employees a healthy and a productive environment.

 

THEY ARE LONERS OF THE ORGANIZATION:

Long ago, the level of communication of a Facility Manager was restricted only between the four walls – either in the building’s basements and backyards, monitoring systems and operations remotely, and doing repairs when needed.

But those are long gone.

In the current scenario, a Facility Manager is responsible to communicate with nearly every member of the organization. To ensure that the organization has the most suitable working environment for its employees and activities, they ought to maintain a strong communication channel with every member associated with the place, right from the CEO to the most junior entry-level employee. In addition to that, the FM also needs to on-board and regularly communicate with a variety of vendors.

 

IT IS A MALE-DOMINATED ROLE:

The moment you hear about a Facility Manager role, you visualize it to be a male. Historically, this position has been pre dominantly held by men more than women. But the times have changed drastically.

FM’s positions are still disproportionately held by men in the organizations, but it’s no more just a man’s club. Women are also equally applying for this role, and it’s on the rise. This gender imbalance is long gone. When it comes to facilities management decisions, for decades, the FM has been left out of leadership discussions, or with the minimum input on their behalf. But even those days are gone now.

In SILA, being a real estate services and property consulting sector, the number of women and men are almost equal, and women especially taking up major responsibility in the business is what the current scenario is. Their role is into one of the most important positions in the organization.

The days are long gone, and it’s the time to not believe in all these misconceptions. Educate yourself on the role of FM, and work to support them in their mission to create the best workplace possible.

 

 

SILA is leading Facility management company that looks after all real estate services along with project management and Turnkey Interior Contracting.