Optimizing Facilities Services: Managing Staffing, Roles and Budgets

Industries Profiled:
Energy; Publishing; Transportation; Financial Services


Companies Profiled:
AEP; Duke Energy; Mirant; Progress Energy; Reliant Energy; Scholastic; Southwest Airlines; T. Rowe Price

Study Snapshot

This Best Practices Benchmarking^® Report profiles a highly-regarded group of companies that have proven facilities services excellence in place. These companies have not only demonstrated effective operating principles and winning strategies in facilities services management, but they have also enabled their facilities organizations to contribute hard-dollar cost savings that positively affect bottom-line profitability.

This study report includes extensive analysis of benchmark partners' corporate facilities staffing and budgeting levels.  By studying other organizations’ best practices in facilities services management, your company can better understand how to allocate budget and staffing resources, as well as predict growth needs and improve technological capabilities.

Key Findings

The facilities services research uncovered general trends affecting corporate and business unit facilities services organizations across multiple industries. Best Practices, LLC was able to identify and profile many of the tactics and most effective practices embedded in these companies' winning facilities services management strategies. Survey data and best practices interviews reveal the following key lessons learned:

• Flexible Strategic Planning - Benchmark research reveals the need to create flexible strategic plans for administrative services growth. Companies use a variety of strategic planning tools, including a combination of short- and long-term strategic plans that are evaluated periodically and business project and activity indicators.
• Customer Insights – Leading administrative services organizations understand the importance of gathering and using internal customer insights to drive strategy. Benchmark findings suggest that companies use customer insights to project administrative services staffing and budget needs, uncover desired services and identify improvement opportunities. Top benchmark companies obtain valuable insights by developing strong relationships with business unit department heads through informal meetings, surveying senior management semi-annually and having regular conversations with employees.
• Innovative Tools and Technologies – Superior administrative services functions use various tools and technologies to improve responsiveness, reduce costs, identify space needs and improve workflow processes.  Benchmark companies use facilities management and preventative maintenance software, corporate intranets and wireless hand-held devices to automate many administrative activities and process work-orders in real time.  New tools and technologies are helping advanced companies perform the following functions: analyze historical data to plan for future growth or cutbacks, produce charge-back reports for space usage, track service orders, dispatch wireless work requests, track key performance indicators and generate maintenance work orders based on equipment usage. 

• Study Background and Methodology
• Project Focus
• Critical Lessons Learned
• Benchmark Class
• Report Structure and Organization
• Next Steps
• Lessons Learned Matrix

• Balancing Facilities Services Activities with Company Growth
• Managing Facilities Services Staffing and Budgets
• Measuring Facilities Services Performance/Impact

• Predicting and Managing Facilities Services Growth
• Management Structures, Roles and Strategies
• Leveraging Administrative Services Management Tools and Technology