Facilities management is often the topic of conversation among a wide variety of industries. What's interesting is that it is frequently seen as an unnecessary cost center, but it plays a massive role in each company for employees and customers alike.
According to www.salary.com, the median salary of a facility manager as of March 1st 2018, is $92,263 which works out to be a very comfortable $46.13/hour. On the higher end of the spectrum the 90th percentile value comes in at $127,882 per year or $63.94 per hour. This is obviously a very well-paying position, just as it should be given the monumental task these individuals undertake.
That being said, a very common sentiment among facility professionals is that their wages are often not taken into consideration when their list of responsibilities is being developed. They spend their time working on mundane, time-consuming tasks when they could be working with a company who will take those tasks off their plate.
If I am a business owner and I find that my employee is being paid $63.94 per hour to find a licensed electrician for a store in Spokane, WA, I'm not going to be too happy. We frequently see FMs working in the business, rather than on it, a situation which is about as smart as a dog chasing it's own tail. Too often, facility managers are putting out fires, but as they are doing this more fires are igniting around them. It is important to look at the bigger picture and have a strategic plan in place to control these fires, but unfortunately there just isn't enough time to get things under control.
With the knowledge that you possess you should not be wasting your time reaching out to vendors to verify their COIs and tax information. Instead, you should be focused on implementing a thorough HVAC scheduled maintenance program that will reduce your repair spend, create a comfortable store climate, and extend the lifetime of your units. The problem is that too many FMs find themselves on the Titanic and they are trying to bail themselves out with saucepans. It's never going to end well, but there is a reluctance to ask for help as they don't want to appear as though they cannot handle the job. Unfortunately, this mindset will lead them to a point of no return where they will more than likely be offered the opportunity to go and work elsewhere.
Another challenge that people have is the fear of losing their job, and with that fear a sense of self-preservation kicks in. Anyone with even the most basic understanding of psychology is probably familiar with Maslow and his hierarchy of needs. Our highest need is survival, so it makes sense that these people are hesitant to give up control. However, Royal acts as an extension of your team, not a replacement. You are still calling the shots and managing your portfolio of properties, but now have 40+ project managers and 16,000 technicians at your disposal whenever you need them. We will sweat the small stuff so you can focus on the more important aspects of your position.
This is a huge paradigm shift for the majority of facility managers, so to make the evaluation process simpler, we offer a short term pilot program. This is across a handful of stores for 90 days, and provides you with the opportunity to explore whether this is a good solution for you and your team. You don't have to put all of your eggs in one basket, and you have time to test-drive a potential solution and iron out the creases before shifting your entire portfolio over if you decide to pursue the partnership. We would love to discuss this in more detail and see where a pilot program could give you the change that you have been looking for. We look forward to talking with you!