The Year Ahead: Resolutions for Facility Management

With the new year here, now is the perfect time for facility managers to reflect on the past year, while also setting their sights on how to improve operations over the coming year. For many, new year’s resolutions provide an opportunity for new commitments, new goals, as well as a drive for overall improvement. Who’s to say these aspirations can’t extend into the professional world? Below are five resolutions that facility managers and businesses could find valuable for 2024.

5. Prioritize preventative maintenance.

Routine preventative maintenance extends asset life, improves efficiency, and has the benefit of being able to be performed while the equipment is still working. The benefits of this maintenance are well-known, yet it often takes a back seat to other priorities. According to this article, run to failure or repair easily costs somewhere between three and 10 times as much as a good maintenance program. When done properly, preventative maintenance can lead to big savings.

4. Strengthen vendor relationships.

Building and maintaining strong relationships with vendors benefit everyone involved through increased communication, reliability, and allows for continual improvement of operations. A mutually beneficial partnership with vendors is growing more important, as facility managers themselves are looking to streamline efficiency; preferring to partner with fewer vendors offering a wider variety of services versus working with many vendors offering one service. Why? Working with fewer vendors allows for clearer communication, a consolidation of billing, and there is one standard of quality for all services.

3. Network with other facility managers.

The role of facility managers often comes with the assumption that you’re a “jack-of-all-trades”, but due to ever changing standards, trends, and technology, the harsh reality is that it’s impossible to know everything, and that’s ok. This is where the importance of having a strong network come into play. Whether it’s from others in the field, being subscribed to facility management websites and emails, attending conferences and events, or taking advantage of online certification courses.

2. Make the push towards sustainability.

While it’s often touted as a fundamental of the job, the topic of sustainability made our resolution list as the idea encompasses environmental, economical, and ethical considerations. The idea of sustainability has been a hot topic over the last few years, and we believe it will gain even more traction in 2024. As more and more organizations look to align with global concerns
about climate change, many of these businesses understand that the decision towards achieving sustainability makes good business sense, as it contributes to regulatory compliance, cost-savings, employee and customer satisfaction, as well as an increase in the image of your brand.

1. Develop employees (and yourself)

Employees are an extension of a businesses core values. When these values align between employee and business, it opens the door to many benefits, including enhanced skills, increased productivity, higher retention rates, improved customer satisfaction, as well as contributing to a more positive workplace. A report from HR Digest states that companies that offered employee development saw a 58% increase in employee retention, as well as a 24% increase in productivity. Investing in your employees is one of the single biggest factors in your company’s future success. Offering further education, personal development time, cross-training and mentoring, helping build employee networks, and the opportunity for growth in the company are all highly desired services that will leave your employees happier while adding to the positivity and success to your brand. Don’t forget to celebrate their successes and growth; a good leader inspires their peers, which will cause a positive ripple effect for others.

Resolutions are more than words, they’re opportunities. By turning these resolutions into actions, we hope you’re able to set the stage for growth, innovation, and sustainability. From all of us at CorpClean, happy new year!