Though many facility managers may think marketing doesn't fall within FM's core competencies, the

facility management team must consider how it markets facility services in its contact and conduct
with customers. In this respect, customer service is vital. The terms marketing and customer service
are not synonymous, however. While customer service provides opportunities to reinforce positive
images of a facility management department, marketing involves first researching who the customers
are and then selling and promoting facility services to them. The main responsibility falls on the
shoulders of the facility management department leader.
All facility managers should understand the following basic concepts of marketing:
• Know the market. Each type of customer, what their needs are, and how they perceive facility
management. Know and anticipate their needs.
• Know the facility management department’s strengths and weaknesses. What is done well, and
where does it fall short? To do this, facility managers should identify what skills are involved
in marketing, which of these skills are performed, and how well they’re performed.
• Develop a marketing plan that serves as a road map.
• Recognize the importance of quality customer service. Every facility staff member must realize
how every interaction with a customer can serve marketing objectives and foster a positive
image of the facility management department.

Know the market

If a facility management department is one of the administrative services supporting the core business
departments, it is unlikely that much thought has been given to marketing the facility management
department. Instead, the market was guaranteed: Corporate customers had to get facility services
through the department. Today, many facility management customers are given the option to
outsource facility management. Facility managers now compete with contracting firms that have
developed considerable marketing skills.
As the struggles for market share intensify, workers in all companies have been besieged with
entreaties from their leaders to be sensitive to their customers. This issue has particular urgency for
facility managers, whose customers have become increasingly aware that they have choices of where
and how to obtain facility services. In many companies, executives openly permit departments to shop
for facility services, putting corporate facility management departments in direct competition with
outsourced providers.
In recent years, facility management customers have become quite sophisticated. They are smarter,
better informed, and far more cost conscious. Many have substantial experience in marketing their
own products and services and expect others to market their goods and services similarly. They may
know as much as the facility management team does about topics such as indoor air quality or
accessibility for the disabled.
Facility managers must also understand that their customers are not people whose needs, motivations,
and objectives are identical. Most companies have several different types of customers. From the
facility manager’s perspective, each one constitutes a niche market — a particular population with
certain characteristics and needs that are distinct. For example, top management has needs unlike
those of administrative support units or core business units.

Facility managers should also know the skills of their staff. Every staff member makes an impression
on a customer in every transaction, whether it is by email, telephone, in person, or in a report. For
marketing purposes, every worker should understand the customer. Mechanics, custodians, and
housekeepers who make contact with customers may exert more influence on them than higher-
ranking facility management employees who are seldom seen.

Develop a Marketing Plan

To develop a marketing plan, it is important to identify the marketing elements already in place. The
greatest asset is the range and magnitude of customer contact. There is a fundamental maxim of
customer service that applies particularly well to facility management marketing: “If you’re not
serving the customer, you’d better be serving someone who is.” A marketing plan can be organized
around the following basic steps.
• Conduct market research — Know the characteristics and needs of your customers; know about
the service of your competitors.
• Promote services — Devise a marketing plan that matches services with the right customers. A
marketing brochure explaining facility services can be customized for different customers.
• Keep customers informed — Talking to customers directly provides an opportunity to inform
them of upcoming developments that may affect them, such as new regulations. This enables
you to apply another basic marketing maxim: “Prepare the market for change.” Eliminating
surprises, helps facility managers and their customers become allies.
• Evaluate service delivery — Ask customers for feedback on service delivery. In doing so,
potentially damaging misunderstandings about facility services are diffused. That’s especially
regarding sensitive issues such as indoor air quality.
• Create a website — A website can allow users to download standards, post construction schedules,
obtain standards forms, and post surveys or questionnaires for research or benchmarking
purposes.

To implement the steps mentioned above, an overall marketing strategy is needed. This strategy
incorporates several key elements that form the backbone of an effective marketing plan.

Facility Department Marketing Ideas

Here are some of the things I’ve done or seen over the years to promote
the Facilities Management department and services.
They won’t all be appropriate for every environment or organization, but
you should implement some of them to raise your profile and influence in
the organization.
• Newsletters (via email or paper) (I have a 2 pager on developing them in
my Linkedin profile for download, or email me and I can send it to
you)
• Semi-regular One on One meetings/coffee with the decision makers in
each department – to understand their issues and see how you can
help, show understanding and yet get your own messages across.
Build an ally.
• Decision maker summit where you invite the senior members of all the
departments to a ½ day session where you update them on
activities and invite group discussion/input from them on specific
issues. Feed them and give them info of value and you are more
likely to get them to come.
• Posters / brochures with info on how to reach you, services, etc.
• Stickers with your help desk number.
• Develop your own logo to brand all your communications so it’s clear
that it’s from you and is easily recognized.
• Move your department to a more visible location – in the lobby or off a
main corridor for instance with your logo on the door / entrance and
easily accessed services. If you are in the basement, it’s time to
move!
• Meet & Greet for building occupants – usually for coffee in the lobby
during the first few hours of the day when most staff come to work.
Have coffee & donuts for them if possible, we also got free papers
from the newspaper to distribute and have handed out enviro
products such as mugs to kick off a campaign. Have some displays
on energy, projects, furniture, etc. and your staff/suppliers there to
talk (have your talking points)
• Building Tour for occupants – set a day each year to give occupants a
tour of the mechanical systems of the building. Have your
staff/tech’s talk about how it works – use it as an opportunity to
discuss system limitations and issues so they understand more and
may complain less.
The key thing is to always know your purpose, establish your message and
talking points and make sure it gets across. And most of all, have fun!
If you have other ideas and examples, please be sure to leave a reply.

Marketing Facility Services

All facility management employees are in a position to market facility services in their
contact and conduct with customers. In this respect, customer service is vital. The terms
“marketing” and “customer service” are not synonymous, however. While customer service
provides opportunities to reinforce positive images of a facility management department,
marketing involves first researching who your customers are and then selling and promoting
facility services to them. The main responsibility falls on the shoulders of the facility
management department leader.
All facility managers should understand the following basic concepts of marketing:
• Know the marketKnow each customer type, what its needs are, and how it perceives
facility management. Know and anticipate its needs.
• Know the facility management department’s strengths and weaknessesUnderstand where
you do well, and where you fall short. To do this, we should identify what skills are
involved in marketing, whether we perform any or all of them, and how well we
perform them.
• Develop a marketing plan that serves as a road map.
• Recognize the importance of quality customer serviceEvery facility staff member must
realize how every interaction with a customer can serve marketing objectives and
foster a positive image of the facility management department.
Know the Market
If a facility management department is one of the administrative services supporting the core
business departments, it is unlikely that much thought has been given to marketing the
facility management department. Instead, your market was guaranteed: corporate customers
had to get facility services through the department. Today, many facility management
customers are given the option to go elsewhere for facility services. Facility managers now
compete with contracting firms that have developed considerable marketing skills.
In recent years, facility management customers have become quite sophisticated. They are
smarter, better informed, and far more cost conscious. Many have substantial experience in
marketing their own products and services and expect others to similarly market their goods
and services. They may know as much as we do about some topics (indoor air quality,
accessibility for the disabled, or CAD systems, for example).
We must also understand that our customers are not people whose needs, motivations, and
objectives are identical. Most companies have several different types of customers. From the
facility manager’s perspective, each one constitutes a niche marketa particular population
with certain characteristics and needs that are distinct. For example, top management has
needs unlike those of administrative support units or core business units. The needs of
corporate income-generating groups will be different from those that support them.
Corporate marketing groups and legal staffs perform different functions than the
manufacturing units, and the facility services meet the needs and expectations of each group.
Know the Facility Management Department’s Strengths and Weaknesses
To develop a marketing plan, it is important to identify the marketing elements you already
have in place. Your greatest asset is the range and magnitude of customer contact. There is a
fundamental maxim of customer service that applies particularly well to facilities marketing:
“If you’re not serving the customer, you’d better be serving someone who is.” (This quote
comes from Tim Springer’s report “Improving Productivity in the Workplace: Reports from
the Field,” published by Springer Associates.)
Staff Skills
Facility managers should know the skills of their staff. Every staff member makes an
impression on a customer in every transaction, whether it is by telephone, in person, or in a
report. For marketing purposes, every worker should understand the customer. Mechanics,
custodians, and housekeepers who make contact with customers may exert more influence
on them than higher-ranking facility management employees who are seldom seen.
Facility staff who feel connected to the department’s mission will see value in their
contribution. American Airlines found that by communicating to their cargo handlers that
profits would increase by $100 million if they could put one more piece of cargo on every
flight, the employees understood that they were carrying their customers’ business.
Develop a Marketing Plan
First and foremost, there must be a marketing plan, and that plan can be organized around
the following basic steps.
Conduct market researchKnow the characteristics and needs of your customers; know about
the service of your competitors.
Promote servicesDevise a marketing plan that matches services with the right customers. A
marketing brochure explaining facility services is a widely used tool that can be customized
for different customers.
Keep customers informedTalking to customers directly provides an opportunity to inform
them of upcoming developments that may affect them, such as new regulations. This enables
you to apply another basic marketing maxim: Prepare the market for change. By eliminating
surprises, you help your customer and become an ally.
Evaluate service deliveryAsk customers for feedback on service delivery. In doing so, you can
diffuse potentially damaging misunderstandings about facility services, especially on
sensitive issues such as indoor air quality.
Create a websiteA website can be designed to allow users to download standards,
construction schedules, standard forms such as the PRP, and to respond to
surveys/questionnaires for research/ benchmarking purposes.
(These strategies are based on suggestions from Stormy Friday and David G. Cotts, two
BOMI International contributors, in the book Quality Facility Management: A Marketing
and Customer Service Approach, published by John Wiley & Sons.)
To implement the steps mentioned above, an overall marketing strategy is needed. This
strategy incorporates several key elements that form the backbone of an effective marketing
plan.
Recognize the Importance of Quality Customer Service
As the struggles for market share intensify, workers in all companies have been besieged
with entreaties from their leaders to be sensitive to their customers. This issue has particular
urgency for facility managers, whose customers have become increasingly aware that they
have choices of where and how to obtain facility services. In many companies, executives
openly permit departments to shop for facility services, putting corporate facility
management departments in direct competition with outsourced providers.
Excellent customer service is essential to maintaining a strong, ongoing relationship between
a facility management department and its customers. If the bond is strong, the customers are
more likely to feel that the facility management department knows them and their needs so
well that they don’t want to change relationships. Following are some strategies that will help
keep the relationship between the customer and your facility management department
strong.
Staff as a Selling Tool
One strategy is to see your staff as a selling tool. The Walt Disney Company refers to all their
employees from the head of the company to the person sweeping the sidewalk-as cast
members. Disney believes that cast members should treat each other as guests and insists
that everyone behave accordingly. The magic at Disney flows throughout the organization
directly to its paying guests. Disney calls their approach “spreading pixie dust.'” The formula
is simple:
Training + Communication + Caring = Pride
The pride comes not just from being part of the organization, but from respectfully treating,
and being treated like, the primary customer.
While the idea of treating everyone as a customer may seem simple, it can have an impact on
profits. This approach gets everyone involved in improving the organization, and it allows
people to see the real impact of what they and others do. Bottom-line impact allows facility
managers to market to their customers in terms that make business sense: cost avoidance,
cost savings, financial benefits, and improved performance.
Service as a Fundamental Value
Service must be the prime directive of a facility management department. A mission
statement can be expressed as goals: “We must at all times provide the highest quality, value-
added service to our customers to ensure their satisfaction.” It can also be stated more
simply: “We all succeed or fail together.”
Training
Although few people know intuitively how to provide the best service possible, rarely do
companies invest in training their employees in customer service. An exception is the
Marriott hotel chain, which has trained 70,000 employees to better serve the needs of their
customers. Proper training in how to serve fosters creative and imaginative solutions.
Employees begin to see how the customer views them, the service they provide, and the unit
they represent. Spending time in the customer’s shoes is one of the best ways to understand
how to serve the customer best.
Tracking Performance
Two maxims readily apply to the area of tracking, or monitoring: “Manage what you
measure” and “Don’t expect what you don’t inspect.” Rewarding good performance
reinforces appropriate behavior and communicates to the organization that customer service
is important. This may sound simple, but it is surprising how many organizations do not
have a method of assessing the impact of what they do. Measures of success should be
expressed in monetary value to the company. When corporate management wants to know
how the facility management department contributes to the corporate bottom line, provide
data that document successful project completions and customer satisfaction.
It is also important to recognize exemplary staff performance, which in turn raises awareness
of the contributions of the facility management department.
Marketing a Facilities Management Business
The key to success in marketing a facilities management business is to
combine time-tested marketing techniques with the most cutting edge
strategies in today's marketplace.
The promotional strategy for a facilities management business is a case
study in business evolution, with innovative tactics and techniques being
rolled out on a continuous basis.
Get a few contracts with local office buildings and your facilities
management startup will be off and running.

The marketplace is constantly shifting to accommodate consumer

demand and that means businesses need to adapt their marketing
requirements accordingly. More than ever before, foundational marketing
concepts have become the bedrock upon which successful marketing
strategies are constructed.
Newsletters
Despite the unrelenting demands of generating content on a monthly or
quarterly basis, a company newsletter has promising potential as a
marketing device. We've seen a lot of company newsletters over the years,
and the best ones use a thought leadership strategy to advance key value
propositions and raise the company's profile as a dominant presence in
the industry. These days, facilities management businesses to distribute
newsletters through online channels (e.g. in email campaigns and as PDFs
on the company website).
ROI
Good marketing is expensive. Like any other business, ROI is a primary
marketing concern in your facilities management business.
Professional mailing lists improve ROI even further. Vendors can filter your
lists to likely buyers, reducing mailing costs and increasing the impact of
your direct mail campaigns.
Generating Buzz
All business owners want to generate buzz about their products, services,
and brand. You've heard it said before: Word of mouth is the best form of
promotion for products and brands. For a facilities management business,
meaningful brand conversations have the ability to transform the impact of
your marketing efforts. The process begins with developing
communication vehicles and mechanisms that invite discussion. With
minimal effort, you can instigate conversations through social media and
other communication vehicles favored by today's consumers.
Facilities management strategy is a tool for facility management that
focuses on improving the workplace to boost productivity, performance
and well being of workers in a company. For efficient and effective
services, facilities management strategy allows the deeper understanding
of the needs of an organisation or business and places procedures and
processes to meet these needs.
The right strategy goes beyond providing day to day support and service
and starts creating long term initiatives that can sustain the life of assets
and improve productivity. The driving force behind a facilities management
strategy is the safety and happiness of the people in the facility.
What is Facility Management?
Facility management refers to how facilities at an organization are
managed and maintained. These facilities are not limited to offices but
can also include mechanical and electrical utilities or the company's
physical resources with the potential to cause the employees a safety or
health hazard. Facility management is affected by technology changes and
advancements imploring facility managers to identify technology
investments that can positively influence facilities management.
What is a facilities management strategy?
Facilities management strategy is a collaboration between facility
management and facility planning focusing on long term outcomes and
involves incorporating facility management into company initiatives.
Facilities management strategy calls for an understanding of business
goals and linking them to facility management to improve the workplace
and organization. It's driven by goals.
WHY IS Facility Management MORE RELEVANT THAN EVER?
Facility management can ensure that companies are running efficiently
and effectively.
Buildings with a facility management team run properly as they are
responsible for the day to day analysis of utilities at the company as well
as maintenance and repairs. They also take part in strategic planning
activities of the company to aid the growth of employee productivity and
cut down costs.
Studies have shown that the best workplace environment can affect
productivity and improve the well being of workers which can affect
business output and the success of organisations as a whole. For example,
clean working space and bathrooms can make workers feel comfortable
and secure. Facilities management takes care of such services.
Busters Group offers the best facility management services for all types of
buildings. With skilled management experts and your own facilities
manager, we can offer you tailor-made management services both on a
short or long term basis so you can focus on other aspects of your
business without worry.
What are Facility Management's objectives?
Facility management involves so many responsibilities that include
ensuring comfort, functionality, safety and happiness of occupants in a
building that is being managed. To successfully accomplish all these,
there are facility management objectives that should be met and these
objectives can fit all types of facilities.
Communication with Stakeholders and Occupants
For everything to run smoothly as you manage a building, establish and
maintain communication with occupants and stakeholders of the building.
Such dialogue can help you learn how they view the facility and they can
also offer invaluable suggestions to make the environment more
comfortable and safe.
For every facility that Busters Group is offering facility management to,
our team invents an easy but vital system for communication for
occupants to tell us their recommendations and opinions on how the job
should be done better so every occupant is happy and feels secure.
Provide a Safe and Healthy Environment
Safety is always our main concern here at Busters Group. By being aware
of potential health risks and creating strategies to correct and avoid some
of these risks we can keep a lot of people safe.
In buildings that we are managing, we focus on bathrooms because they
are an essential part of any building. By maintaining cleanliness,
freshness and stocking them with adequate toiletries we make them as
pleasant as possible for every visit made.
Our team also focuses on reducing the level of moisture and mould growth
in bathrooms by doing regular inspections on stalls and investing in high-
density polyethene that not only improves the quality of air but also
prevents mould growth.
Be Mindful of Deficiencies
Some things if left unchecked for a long time can ultimately affect the
functionality of utilities in a building. Routine checks can help identify any
building deficiencies and avoid bigger problems in future. A facility
manager is responsible to make these routine checks every three to 6
months.
Improve and Endorse Energy Efficiency
Making the facility more energy-efficient can save money. By going over
the expenses of the building on water, gas and electricity a manager can
identify how much is being spent and ways of reducing energy wastage.
Investing in equipment that can save energy such as energy-efficient light
bulbs, boosting existing equipment and sealing off leaks on pipes can
reduce and prevent more wastage of energy.
At Busters Group we offer detailed plans on how any building can be
energy efficient after a thorough investigation and implement such plans
to save cost.
Business Continuity Planning
Some facilities depend on fully functioning equipment to run. A business
continuity plan is like a contingency plan that identifies the key assets of
a facility and the potential risks that the asset has. The plan also shows
how business operations could be affected if the asset stopped
functioning. With evaluation and the right plan, you can ensure that a
business or facility does not stop its operations if the inevitable should
occur.
Our team at Busters Group is experienced in creating business continuity
reports so you never worry about continuity.
What Are The 5 Steps in Strategic Facility Planning?
Strategic facility planning (SFP) is a key process that can enhance the
delivery of services from a facility management team to its stakeholders.
An SFP can reduce delays and customer dissatisfaction with services
being offered and ensures that all facility management activities are in
line with the corporate direction of the business. With SFP a facility
manager can help organizations become effective and conducive space for
workers. The process follows these steps:
1) Clarify Your Strategic Position
To know the right needs of a facility, an analysis of the current position or
conditions of the building must be done. The team must study the values,
culture, vision and goals of the organization they want to work with and
develop strategies that will be in line with these core values. The facility
manager must understand where the organization is heading, what
changes might occur and how they will affect the real estate needs of the
organization. This can help predict future needs, requirements and cost for
operations, maintenance and space.
2) Prioritize Your Objectives
After identifying the needs, a facility manager must evaluate the
objectives that collaborate with the core values and vision of the
organization and how each chosen objective can help reach set goals.
Priority should be given to objectives that are more urgent, relate more to
the needs of stakeholders and can support the performance of everyone at
the workplace.
3) Formulate A Strategy
Formulating a strategy involves identifying the right initiatives to reach set
objectives and creating a time frame to reach them.
4) Implement and Manage The Strategy
With the plan on paper, it can be implemented, but for its success,
everyone in the organization must be aware of what sort of strategies you
have put in place. Team members should know what their roles will be
throughout the facility management plan.
5) Monitor and Evaluate Strategy
To determine if the strategy is successful, continue to monitor work being
done and check if progress matches up with set priorities. Managers can
also take opinions from members of the organization to see if the work
they are providing is up to their standards. Where priorities or changes
must be made in approach, the manager is also responsible for these.
Implementing strategic facility management
It takes control to perfectly carry out strategic facility management. The
International Facility Management Association list's four steps to
successfully implement a strategic facility plan:
Understand
Strategic facility management is guided by goals and the capacity of
facilities to support such goals. The strategy must be well understood
before it is executed and this goes beyond knowing the time frame to
identifying if the strategy has enough resources to run.
Analyze
The second step in facilities management calls for a deeper understanding
and experimentation on how the plan can be put into action. Use
experimental and analytic tools to help fully build the strategy. By using
scenario planning you can have a systematic layout of the plan and to
analyse focus areas we use SWOT (Strengths, Weaknesses, opportunities
and Threats) analysis. Brainstorming and Strategic Creative Analysis
(SCAN) can help the whole team come up with facility improvement ideas.
Plan
Developing a strategic facility plan is easy after outlining what you want
to do and how to do it. A facility manager is usually the one who hands in
this physical plan to executive managers for approval.
The plan details what changes should be made to the facility, why they
should happen and what will be done for such changes to occur. Like a
business plan, the facility plan shows the time frame for actions,
responsibilities of team members and shows how success will be
measured.
Act
After the plan is approved, it's time for action. Strategic facility
management requires leaders that can execute the changes in line with
the strategic management facilities plan and who are able to track and
report changes and improvements to the overall plan. These leaders
should value the vision at the facilities level and know how it affects the
goals of the business. After implementation, continue to measure the
success of the strategy on different aspects of the business.
What do facilities managers do?
Simply put a facilities manager keeps infrastructures and real estate
assets alive. They are in charge of security, maintenance and services of
organization or business facilities to guarantee they meet the needs of
employees. Some facilities managers can specialise in hard facilities
management services that focus more on electrical systems and other
physical aspects of a building while others specialise in soft management
that is more people-oriented.
General responsibilities for facilities managers can include:
• Arranging and preparing maintenance and repairs for the building
regularly
• Keeping premises secure and investing or outsourcing technology to
maintain control on access to high-security facilities
• Ensuring the premises are complying with health and safety regulations
• Ensuring the happiness and safety of building occupants
• Identifying and implementing and integrating smart technologies in
 everyday processes of facilities
• Using collective data to understand the workplace
• Supervising cleaning, security and maintenance staff
• Making reports and recommendations for facility changes
Best Leadership Practices for Facility Managers
A facilities management leader must have the right skills and knowledge
to contribute to the development of organization's and the performance of
workers. With training and years of experience, a leader can give
competitive advantages to a facility they are working with. But leaders
must continue to learn to know the current trends and practices in
facilities management. Here are some leadership practices that facility
managers can put to use:
They are on the same page as the higher-ups in regards to the future
A competent facility manager must look ahead and implement and support
strategies that can help the facility and people move ahead with the
times. With the right business continuity plans for emergencies and open
communication, they can stay on top of things.
They know how to plan and budget
A facility manager must know the value of every infrastructure in their
facility and the cost for upgrades. They should also be able to create long
term budgetary plans and efficient tools for saving on costs to support the
productivity of the organization.
They have a feel for developing a great team
Organizations have different needs and a facility manager must
understand the duties and constraints of different employee positions and
come up with ways to work with them.
They are willing to listen
Facility managers work in partnership with other departments by listening
to their opinions to improve workplace relations and communication.
Knowledge of the business in which facility management operates is essential to anticipate costs,
optimize service levels and, above all, provide the desired proactivity so that the company's objectives
are aligned with those of the facility management department.
Let's take a simple example, the company's management reduces its office occupancy by putting one
of the floors of its building up for rent and the facility management team plans a substantial
investment in upgrading the wifi network facilities on that floor to corporate standards and IT security
protocols in the same year. This investment will clearly not result in a proportional increase in future
rents, since any future tenant will not be able to make use of it. Does it make sense to have planned
the investment then? The answer is no.
That is what we mean, the Facility Manager must be the link between the executive management of
the company and its assets and must have a direct connection with the stakeholders that manage the
direction of the corporation and be informed or have enough information to avoid falling into
contradictions that cost the company money unnecessarily.
It is essential to have enough information from out stakeholders to avoid falling into
contradictions spending money unnecessarily
The position and description of the Facility management function in a company has to be conceived at
the job description level by the human resources management, framing the description of its
responsibilities in such a way that it is located either close to or next to the administrative decision-
making bodies along with other functions such as the IT, purchasing, logistics, legal or finance
departments. Ideally, they should belong to the management team of leaders who manage the various
administrative facets of the company.
This will allow the Facility Manager to anticipate their movements and above all to align their
strategy with that of the company, ensuring that their objectives are met.
The EuroFM research group in its process of analysis and identification of the added value of the
facility management function concludes with two important contributions:
1. It is necessary to use the subjective concept of added value in the Facility Management function,
which according to the Royal Academy of the Spanish Language is defined as "the degree of
usefulness or aptitude of things to satisfy needs or provide well-being or delight". This use of the
concept is required since the Facility approach is oriented to satisfy a wide range of needs of each
organization, beyond the simple benefit-cost correlation.
2. It extends the definition of the Facility management client concept to the more general concept of
"stakeholders" on whom Facility products and services impact to meet their needs
Based on this map, value concept is traversed through the resources consumed (resources), the
processes (PDCA), the results (output), the results generated (outcome) and the stakeholders on which
it has an impact. The EuroFM Research Working Group has developed the FM value-added model,
which is composed of the following elements:

1. The strategic alignment of the facility management function as a key part of the generation of
value to the organization, which integrates people, processes and spaces within a space built with the
objective of improving the quality of life of people and the productivity of the core business,
according to the definition of the ISO 41011 standard, there is no generation of value without a correct
strategic alignment between the facility management function and its organization.
People, processes, finance, environment and corporate social responsibility core
parameters where Facility Management adds value

2. Value added impacts 12 parameters, classified into 4 families:

a. People: Health and Safety, Satisfaction, Company Culture and Image
b. Processes: Productivity, Adaptability, Innovation and Risks
c. Finance: Costs and asset value
d. Environment / Corporate Social Responsibility: Social Action and the Environment

3. There are 6 types of actions that can be developed in Facility Management beyond the mere
daily operations:
a. Action on the physical environment
b. Action on services
c. Acting on the interface with the business
d. Acting on the internal processes of facility management
e. Acting on the Facility Management Supply Chain
f. Action on strategy and planning

The main support that Facility Management provides to the business strategy is its contribution to
improve the performance of people, the optimization of internal processes and operating costs, as well
as the impact it generates on the environment where the organization is located.

Human resources strategies and the link with Facility strategies

In many companies the facility department is an appendix to the human resources department, in
many others it is established as its own department with a direct line of command or connection to the
company's financial management. In any case, the interconnection with the personnel management
strategy is closely linked to the facility management of the workplace and what the company intends
to convey to the employee through it.
It is therefore essential for Facility Management to be aware of the company's people management
objectives in order to support and develop complementary objectives.
If our company intends to position itself in the market as a quality employer through globally
recognized seals such as Best Place to Work or Top Employers in order to attract talent and retain
existing talent, it is important to know what these certifying companies value in the workplace and
draw up a joint strategy. Values such as encouraging communication, reducing the apparent hierarchy
or promoting meetings after long periods of distance can be addressed through corporate architecture
as tools that generate an inspirational impact on the group of employees.
Today, the main challenge for human resources departments is no longer just attracting talent, but also
retaining and gaining its loyalty. Replacing an employee who leaves on his or her own has a much
higher training and productivity cost during the first years than the cost of the outgoing employee.
Finding the personal and professional balance of employees while ensuring that business
objectives are met and avoiding employee turnover will be one of the main challenges of the
decade,
In many countries as of 2021, the search for personal work balance has been one of the main reasons
for job change with double-digit percentage growth per year in most Western societies. Employees are
demanding more freedom to organize their lives.
How facility management can support these strategies; in multiple ways. The office or workplace has
to provide differential benefits compared to working at home, either by providing spaces to connect
with colleagues or to encourage interaction and innovation. How to provide services that facilitate the
day to day; catering services, take away (take away dinner) or wellness (fitness, physiotherapy,
aesthetics) can be considered attractive elements to the employee.
Facility and finance
The Facility department is usually one of the first to be called upon when trying to reduce a
company's fixed costs. Let's not forget that historically the Facility function and the operating costs of
property management have been identified as the price to pay for having physical workspaces; on
sporadic occasions it has been seen as a tool for creating added value.
According to Harry E. Cook, all products or services have two values, the value given by the
company and the value suggested by the customer. Obviously, the former is associated with the
production costs required to launch it on the market, but the customer gives value to a product of that
company to the extent that it satisfies his needs.
The adjustment of service levels, the integration of suppliers, standardization strategies, as well as the
optimization of the use of space according to the actual needs of the organization can be strategies
with which the facility management department joins efforts to meet the needs of the financial
department of the company.
hybrid work has proliferated with effervescence since 2020 and opened doors to the
optimization of the resources used
Recently, the definition of hybrid work that has proliferated with effervescence since 2020 has opened
doors to the optimization of the resources used by many organizations in the field of Facility
Management due to allocate part of these savings to other allocations such as the financing of remote
work (allowances, computer equipment or furniture for the home).
Taking into account this interpretation, the added value that the internal customer of the Facility
department (let's assume the employee of the company with a workplace in our building/s) can
perceive from the one that the finance department wants to perceive will be the difference between the
level of service obtained and its cost.
Several methodologies have been developed to improve the added value of products and in this
particular case to the services of an organization to its employees, but most can be grouped into two
basic strategies.
1 Cost reduction: savings in expenses associated with building maintenance.
2 Increase in value: increase in the satisfaction of user needs and therefore in their price (cleaning,
 maintenance, catering, security, energy, etc. ....).
As an example the correlation between extraordinary (corrective) and scheduled (preventive)
maintenance or repairs to keep the building in perfect shape has a direct effect on the total
maintenance cost of the building.
In many cases, the implementation of digital tools by the Facilities department allows the financial
control of the company to make decisions. For example, the introduction of hybrid work, as well as
the social distancing in the spaces from 2020 onwards, has motivated the need to measure more
consciously the use of space.
from 2020 onwards, social distancing and hybrid work have motivated the need to
measure more consciously the use of available space.
Knowing attendance patterns through the introduction of metering technologies will not only allow
organizations to be more surgically efficient in terms of energy use, for example, but also allows the
level of services provided in a building to be adjusted as the same level of cleaning will probably not
be required on peak days as on off-peak days.
The subletting of our owned space, location costs analysis or the adjustment or transference of leases
from fix to flexible with our landlord will certainly be the meeting point between the operations of the
facility manager and a CFO (chief financial officer) or director of administration.
The Facility management not only generates value in the cost strategy but in turn a multitude of
impacts on the business differentiation strategy.
Facility management and its relationship with occupational health and safety and sustainability
There has been a lot of talk about employee welfare in organizations and many of them have used
certifications to demonstrate their good practices in occupational safety. Such as ISO45001 or
formerly OHSAS18001. The facility manager has a close relationship with occupational safety since
it depends on him that the services provided meet the highest standards set by the HSE area (SHE in
some companies) and do not incur any risk, it is also the responsibility of the facility management
area to comply with the correct ergonomic parameters and provide a variety of work areas that
encourage postural mobility reducing sedentary lifestyles.
Innovation in facility management can go hand in hand with the area of occupational
safety, promoting wellness programs among employees
Having catering services under our responsibility in which our service level agreements require food
safety certifications (ISO22000) from the supplier, as well as promoting nutritionally balanced diets,
allows the occupational health and safety area to promote healthy habits and the concept of self-care
among employees.
Innovation in facility management can go hand in hand with the area of occupational safety,
promoting wellness programs among employees that include meditation and rest areas or the practice
of sports activities, as well as promoting inclusion through ethical contracting of services in which
reduced mobility or intellectual disabilities are not an impediment in the environment in which they
are developed, for example, a reception or an office waste collection service.
Sustainability and sustainable development objectives are indispensable requirements in any
organization, so that energy efficiency and certifications such as ISO50001 or LEED (Leadership in
Energy and Environmental Design) seals not only enhance the facility management function, but also
have an impact on corporate reputation and the value of real estate, while supporting business
sustainability objectives.
Sustainability seals with a stronger focus on employee wellbeing, such as the WELL seal issued by
the IWBI (international well building institute), are increasingly in demand and knowledge of them is
a prerequisite for every facility manager.