Performance management in FM

Facilities Management can contribute to the performance of organizations in a number of ways which include strategy, culture, and control of resources, service delivery, supply chain management and change management.

The elements of performance measurement in facilities management are neither well-established nor standard. The approach to facilities management has historically tended to concentrate on financial measures in line with the rest of the business world. However, in recent times, there has been emphasis on customer satisfaction and quality as it was acknowledged that financial measures are inadequate for demonstrating workplace effectiveness.

Modern businesses require dynamic measures to be in place to motivate continuous improvement in critical areas such as customer satisfaction, flexibility and productivity.

Facilities Management service providers should therefore implement performance management initiatives in order to measure their current position and drive future improvements. Additionally, this can be used as a marketing tool and it may be advantageous to describe appropriate performance management techniques in bidding situations.

One technique that is becoming increasingly popular for measuring performance criteria that are not linked to profits but will have a potential impact on future profits is the balanced scorecard. It can provide real insight into an organisation’s operations, finances and become a driver of future performance, assisting in implementing strategy. The measures of Balanced Scorecard can be built around four perspectives namely:

1. Customers – how do the facilities users see us?

2. Internal processes – how effective and efficient is the delivery of facilities management services?

3.Learning and Growth – how does the facilities management function continue to improve itself and to assist the core business?

4. Financial – how is the facilities management function managed in terms of value for money?

To satisfy the various customer needs, it is essential that facilities managers identify, focus and monitor key performance indicators. This applies to clients and service providers alike. Individual organizations may adapt the Balanced Scorecard as appropriate for the services provided. The balanced scorecard is particularly suitable for the differing types of service providers due to its adaptability to different industries and businesses. It is also important for the Balanced Scorecard to be reviewed and where necessary updated on a regular basis if the scorecard is to remain relevant and useful.

The use of Balanced Scorecard can be carried out in phases. The phases may be the definition of the research problem, selection of KPIs, prioritization of KPIs and rating of FM performance.

To define the research problem requires structured group and individual interviews that focus on current performance assessment techniques and the perception of FM priorities.

The selection of KPIs involves identifying a list of potential indicators in an arbitrary manner from which a comprehensive and coherent set of performance indicators is selected. A useful method of selecting KPIs is to complete questionnaires to assess the importance of each KPI. These KPIs must be deemed essential.

Prioritization of KPIs can be achieved by consensus after using a scaling measure.

Rating of FM performance requires evaluating the current level of FM service against each KPI using a semantic scale of excellent, very good, good, fair, poor and very poor.

In concluding, performance management is a key element in determining how well the FM industry can rise to the level that all stakeholders want to see it.

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