Some people may go the extra mile to impress their boss in hope of a promotion, a raise, or maybe a more flexible work schedule. However, is this really worth it? Do you spend more time trying to impress them, rather than actually focusing on completing tasks that are guaranteed to build your credibility within the organization? We believe that the best way to impress your peers and supervisors is by constantly doing the right thing and always delivering the results that the organization needs to move forward. This isn't necessarily tied to the number of hours you spend in the office, but rather the productivity of your time spent on work related items. Riding the clock without making progress is a complete waste of time for all parties and is not the methodology that we recommend.
Bill Yanek, CEO of Connex, discusses multi-site facility management
Day in, day out, millions of Americans spend a huge portion of their day at work trying to impress their supervisors, managers, directors and owners. This desire to impress spans all industries and positions from a restaurant manager to a firefighter-paramedic. In our world of multi-site facility management, we act as an extension of our client's team and work in tandem with their gatekeeper to enhance the in-store experience for their customers. The story that we look at today is a behind the scenes look at the responsibilities and challenges associated with being a modern-day multi-site facility management professional.
A little under 2 years ago, Jason came to us with some huge challenges including overwhelm, stress and a complete 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 beginning 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.
Solely electronic communication is a terrible starting point
When selecting the project management provider to work with, Jason selected them 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 on a daily basis. The information that Jason used to compare vendors is something that unfortunately can be easily manipulated and misrepresented, and this is one reason why many facility maintenance professionals treat service providers as used car salespersons.
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, his boss and the owners of the company. As a manager of over 80 locations, Jason had to manage everything remotely and there was just 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 officed 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. They 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 ridiculed 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. The only option available at the time was to manage several service providers by himself. This soon became too much for Jason and so he started looking for alternative solutions. Jason spoke to a former colleague of his in the retail industry who has 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 are available at his fingertips. RAZOR, our proprietary CMMS database that contains 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
Since becoming a partner of ours, 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. Jason is now spending less hours on work, but his time is now being spent in areas that truly matter and are moving the organization forward.
Reclaim your confidence and lose 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 fall within your responsibilities to create.
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, and will then create a customized plan to help you achieve your goals.
We look forward to helping reduce your stress levels and making your C-suite engagements something you look forward to.
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