Top tips, Part 1 – understanding your client

Top tips from people in your industry who have been there and done it!

Know who you are working for and what their priorities are. Neither is as obvious as it seems and both are critical to continued success. In the lexicon of today, who are your customers and what are they looking for? Lowest cost? Executive appearance? Kerb-side appeal? Productive employees? No union issues? Long term maintenance of fixed assets?

Always think from the point of the user of FM; make sure that you’ve done all you can to avoid distraction from their core task(s); everything is well prepared, meticulously organised and flawlessly executed!

Be visible. You’re likely to be written off as unimportant, forgotten and kept out of the loop if you aren’t highly visible and communicating with both management and end users (your customers).

Always ask yourself “what does GOOD look like to them?” It’s a really easy way to start understanding what are the true objectives and therefore your deliverables.

Have fun.

Make sure that you manage the expectations of those that you work for and deliver what you promise.

Don’t assume that just because one client likes the way something is carried out the next one will as well.

Listen to your client and pay attention to your client, doing this you will be able to prioritize your activities during the day. Besides that do the engineering work that the clients very seldom evaluate on the daily operation.

The most effective Facilities Managers with whom I’ve worked over the years have shared the quality of knowing their organization’s mission and business model inside and out. Facilities Management is customer service, and the most effective customer service starts with really understanding what your customer’s needs are and how your customer relies on and uses your product. The FM who understands how their facility is used will be best empowered to maximize its value to the end users they serve.

Always operate with a high level of integrity. There’s no room in the FM business for BS.

Thanks to all those who contributed – too numerous to mention but we’ll give them a name check along the way!

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