If you are a facility management professional there is a high probability that you know someone in the industry who has experienced the struggles we are about to look at. You may have even gone through very similar challenges as faced by Jason in the story below. The sad thing is that Jason's story isn't an anomaly. Facility maintenance professionals face an uphill task from day one as their department is viewed as a necessary cost center, and they are constantly being asked to do more with less. We all know the huge role that is played by the in-store environment, but FMs rarely receive the respect and recognition that they deserve. Here are a dozen of the most common frustrations experienced by individuals employed in the world of facility maintenance.
Better the devil you know
There is a tendency in the industry for service providers to act in a similar way to the despised car salesman. People in your role are fed up with being promised things that never materialize, and being the one who has to pick up the pieces when things come crashing down. There are even people in the industry who know that they are being ripped off, but are reluctant to make the change. They are more comfortable dealing with the devil they know rather than experiencing the stress and uncertainty associated with selecting and on-boarding a new vendor.
We save facility professionals from being ripped off
At Royal, we don't believe this is right and are disrupting the FM industry by going against the grain and focusing on things that our competitors neglect. Our focus is on long term partnerships that are mutually beneficial and ones in which we help you to achieve your personal and professional goals. We act as an extension of your team in every engagement, providing you with the peace of mind that your stores are always in safe hands. This allows you to focus on more strategic work projects as well as being able to spend valuable time with your friends and family without the fear of being disturbed.
A real life case study - Behind the scenes with a facility professional
A little under 2 years ago, Jason came to us with some huge challenges including overwhelm, stress and a lack of respect from his boss and peers.
Jason is a seasoned professional with 20+ years experience in the procurement world of retail facility services. When he began his current assignment, Jason's responsibilities changed significantly. Instead of solely focusing on the financial aspect of procurement, Jason now also found himself in the daily operations of the purchases that he made.
A lack of personal communication can be problematic
When selecting a project management provider to work with, Jason selected purely on cost with the only exchange of information occurring electronically through spreadsheets, completed RFP forms, and email. The vendor was selected, and within 6 months Jason was struggling daily.
Thrown under the bus by your "teammates"
The worst part of Jason's week was the Monday morning executive management meetings where he found himself surrounded by his peers and his boss. As a manager of over 80 locations, Jason had to manage everything remotely and there was no way that he could be fully aware of exactly what was going on across the portfolio of stores. Jason's superiors spent their days travelling the country and dropping in on stores to get a good feel about how the brand was performing in the marketplace. The problem for Jason was that his "teammates" were on the ground and were able to explore every inch of the stores that they visited. Jason on the other hand was based in central Tennessee and was reliant upon his service providers keeping him in the loop with developments in the field.
The dreaded Monday morning meeting
After a stressful weekend during which Jason was essentially on call 24/7 for any in-store challenges, he would grab his Monday morning cup of coffee and enter the board room petrified of what blame would be thrown his way. His colleagues from around the country would take pictures of problems within the company's stores and would submit them to the CEO and VP of Real Estate who would spend approximately 30 minutes reviewing these issues with Jason who entered every one of these meetings blindly with no idea of what was truly happening within his network of properties.
You cannot sacrifice your family time, health and personal life
Despite selecting the lowest cost provider, Jason's service fees had actually increased due to ambiguity within the contract and a service provider who was only in it for themselves and short-term profit. Jason was left high and dry on a weekly basis, was missing out on valuable family time, and was suffering with health issues due to the unknown and the fear of being chastised in the Monday management meetings.
The ongoing search for peace of mind
After just 6 months of this horrible experience, Jason decided to pull the plug and exit the contract. He proceeded to manage several service providers by himself but this soon became too much for one person to handle. This is when he started looking for alternative solutions. Jason spoke to a colleague of his in the industry who had worked with our team at Royal Services for a little over 5 years and promptly gave us a call to explore how we would be able to provide him with the peace of mind that he was craving.
Try before you buy to put your mind at rest when making a big decision
After the previous experience Jason was naturally cautious about making the decision to partner with someone else, so we worked out a 90 day pilot program for 12 of his stores. This was a small enough sample to temporarily transition to a new way of operating, but was a big enough store count and time frame to evaluate the possibility of a long term partnership across all stores.
Communication is critical for success in a relationship
Jason shared his biggest concerns and we created a solution that would enable Jason to enter the office on Monday morning with his head held high. Near real-time work status updates available at his fingertips, a CMMS database that contained site photos, detailed resolution information, and asset information allowed Jason to understand what was going on in his stores and thorough reporting made tracking spend, data analytics and budget management as simple as possible.
Start working on your business rather than in it
Jason has been able to relax knowing that his stores are being maintained to his standards and has more time to focus on making bigger, more strategic decisions, as well as supporting the expansion of his company's network of stores.
Reclaim your confidence & relieve yourself of unnecessary work-related stress
We will help you to feel confident that your projects are completed to the standards that you need to look good in front of your boss. We know the stress and unrest that comes with not having a trusted partner to help execute your project management needs. We can help you to enter meetings with your C-suite with the confidence you crave by overseeing the management of your stores as if they were ours. It's not right for you to pay for service that you aren't receiving. Your stores need to be maintained to the highest level possible, and you deserve the peace of mind that your service providers have got your back. We can help to propel your career, provide you with a less stressful work environment and provide you with the branded environments that are imperative of your responsibilities.
You can schedule a complimentary consultation with us today to discuss things in more detail. We want to hear your current challenges and what your desired solutions look like, then we can create a customized plan to help you achieve your goals.