By B. Kevin Folsom, CEP
Published in the November 2013 issue of Today’s Facility Manager
QDo you have any ideas or suggestions for rating facility management (FM) professionals other than the norm (such as budgets, projects, etc.)? I am looking for some out of the box thinking. Is there a way to incorporate customer satisfaction levels in a more quantifiable manner?
Joe Howlett
Plant Engineering FT Supervisor
UPS
Louisville, KY
AWhile projects, budgets, schedules, and competitive bidding are quantifiable ways to measure the success of a facility manager (fm), there is another very important task that he/she must accomplish: leadership. The most widely acceptable form of leadership in the FM realm is “servant leadership.”
A servant leader is one who does not turn their nose up at any task. They are always eager to serve with their hands or to take the lead for whatever is needed to propel the mission of the institution. Then they have to make this spirit infectious to their staff, and indirectly to the institution as a whole, by serving and being observed as others create perceptions of their work ethic.
Fms and their staffs are highly visible people within their organizations, and believe it or not they are actually setting a tempo for the work ethic and the spirit that everyone should have throughout the institution. It doesn’t stop there because fms are responsible to hire contractors who are also an extension of the fm. Does this fm hire/fire the people and contractors to make this happen? And do they model this type of behavior themselves?
