Right Sizing Key Processes

Good processes are key to becoming a high-performing facilities management team. Ensuring processes are the right fit for your team and organisation supports a consistently high level of service delivery, and creates a better operating environment.

The key to developing good processes is making sure they’re the right fit for your organisation.

A lack of processes creates inefficiencies and can easily lead to important tasks being neglected. On the other hand, over-engineered processes can be difficult to follow, and can leave team members frustrated.  

At both ends of the scale, the team suffers, and service delivery is inhibited.

Developing the right processes for your business is about striking a practical balance. Processes should be accessible, easy to follow, and designed with organisational objectives in mind.

Rethinking the work request process

For many facilities teams, work requests are central to service delivery. The work request process considers everything from how a request is logged, to triaging, completing the job, and the communication throughout.

A key process with so many considerations means there’s plenty of room in the process to unlock efficiencies.

Consider facility users

The needs and expectations of facility users should be at the heart of the work request process.

How easy is it for them to log the request? Are there clearly defined service levels to maintain? What kind of communications should the requester receive?

If the process to submit a request is onerous or confusing, it can be frustrating for facilities users. Your users expect to be able to just snap a photo and fill in a few key details to have their request actioned.  

Further to this, they expect acknowledgement that the request has been received, and some form of update when it is completed.

By using a dedicated facilities management solution, such as FMI Works, you can create a seamless process for facility users. An easy-to-use platform, and simple automations, can eliminate a lot of the work and frustration for both facilities users, and the facilities team.

Supporting the work process

Making the process of submitting a work request easy for requesters is an important part of the equation. But what about making sure that work gets done, in line with expectations, with facilities team and requester supported throughout?

Can you measure key service delivery metrics, like average time to resolution, response time or feedback from facility users?

Streamlining request submissions through a single channel and providing proper visibility to the team are key to delivering work on time, and in line with expectations.

Multi-channel, manual processing of work orders increases the chance that requests will be lost to various inboxes and inhibits efficient allocation of resources. Further still, without a streamlined process, it can be difficult to measure and evaluate key performance metrics.

Considering contractor management

Facilities managers often spend hours each week on contractor management. Whether that’s assigning work to contractors, reviewing service level agreements, or double-checking important documentation.

Decoding documentation

External contractors and trades are an essential part of facilities management. When work is performed, it must be done by someone appropriately skilled and qualified.

Each time a contractor is assigned work, it’s critical to ensure the required checks of licences, insurances, inductions, and permits are undertaken. Typically, this is done by manually emailing contractors every time to double check expiry dates, or digging up documentation that’s been previously received.

Streamlining this process can reduce the double handing of documentation.

Empowering contractors to upload their own documentation directly into a dedicated facilities management solution can reduce back and forth in chasing up accreditations and credentials.

When work orders are assigned to that contractor in future, the system can automatically re-check details like licence expiry dates. The details already on file from previous engagements, mean those details are automatically linked to the relevant work order.

The scope for error is reduced, with the system preventing work orders being assigned to contractors whose licences have lapsed.