Managing The Built Environment

Having been on the supplier and the client side in the past, I know that Key Performance Indicators (KPI’s) themselves don’t result in performance. While some people like the carrot and stick approach, you need a management approach that uses measurements (and other techniques, not just KPI’s) to get performance. Don’t just rely on a passive performance measurement system. In fact, sometimes KPI’s can even drive the wrong behavior if you aren’t careful. Continue reading »

FM is a complex, issues based role. I’ve learned along the way that nobody in the industry knows it all, and the best way to be successful is to leverage the knowledge and great ideas of others, including your staff, colleagues and suppliers.

Recently, I delivered a 3 day workshop on Strategic Facilities Management in Dubai. The location was spectacular, naturally, and the audience was diverse, interesting and most importantly, keenly interested in enhancing their skills and knowedge in the profession, which is quickly emerging in the Middle East.

While the 3 day workshop had many individual modules, the last session was on developing FM skills. This  included an example from my past, dating over 15 years ago from a teamwork exercise while working in the Facility Management department of a major company.

It was so compelling about the the value of teamwork, I still had the exercise booklet. Continue reading »

The reality of the Facility and Property Management industry is that most managers and staff have strong technical skills but less experience and training in the management and business skills they need to fully benefit from their technical knowledge, improve their careers and benefit their employers. The need to focus on non-technical aspects of Facility and Property Managers skills is confirmed by two recent reports: Continue reading »