7 Tips for Managing a Business Facility

21.12.2018 BUSINESS 0.0 0

green business facility

So, you're tasked with the responsibility of managing a business facility and you need some guidance, but you don't know where to start. This is a common but easily fixable problem that you will have solved by the time you're done reading this brief guide. There's no shortcut to becoming an excellent building manager, but if you're dedicated to the success of your company, you'll be willing to put in the extra effort to add this skill to your business management repertoire. With that said, here are seven tips you can use to simplify the process of managing a business facility.

Keep Up with Management Trends & Technology

Knowing how to manage a building the conventional way is not difficult. In fact, it can become quite boring and mundane once you've gotten the hang of it. When you're ready to delve into advanced management topics and techniques, start paying attention to the most recent facilities management trends. This guide from Bevi is a good place to start and it will let you take a more progressive approach. Subscribe to blogs and magazines that regularly cover this topic and you'll receive an ongoing flow of information that will improve your overall business management ability.

Learn Space Management & Office Organization

To truly get the best usage out of every square foot in your facility, you'll want to practice effective space management and organization. This will not only improve the aesthetics of the workplace, but it will also boost productivity significantly by making everything easier to find and quickly utilize. Since this is the most basic and readily apparent aspect of facility management, it's a good introductory topic to study in your quest to become a better business facility manager.

Reduce Energy Usage and Decrease Waste

It's important to be cognizant about the amount of electricity, water, paper, and other resources your company uses. Wasteful usage of resources will lead to unnecessarily exuberant bills and it's also bad for the environment. Additionally, companies that take steps to protect the environment can use their eco-friendly status as a means of appealing to prospective customers. There are entire books written on this subject, so make this a topic of interest to study during your spare time.

Conduct Routine Inspections

Of course, business facilities need to be continually supervised and inspected to ensure compliance with company rules and local regulations. Set up a schedule that allows you to inspect the facility on a frequent enough basis to avoid potential mishaps and hazards. The ideal frequency will vary depending on your business type and operating hours, but generally speaking, 2-4 inspections per day is a typical average for most facilities.

Consider Ease of Mobility

Managing the flow of people, products, and other physical objects through the workplace is another factor you should take into account as a facility manager. In order to promote optimal productivity, the space should be set up in a way that allows employees to move about freely and efficiently. You may also want to look into Feng Shui – the ancient oriental art of arranging furniture to positively impact mood and outlook. You could also use 3D interior office design software to conceptualize and compare multiple layout ideas for allocated work areas.

Enforce Maintenance Procedures

Whether you're talking about a vehicle or a company, routine maintenance is essential for anything that needs to operate at a high level for a long period of time. Your facility is a lot like an engine, gradually incurring wear and tear as it strenuously works to facilitate the mobilization of your business transactions. However, facilities need much more frequent maintenance than automobiles, and many office upkeep duties should be handled on a daily and weekly basis rather than every other month.

Keep a Proper Record of Expenses

Finally, once you've taken care of the cleanliness and functionality of your facility, it's time to optimize your building's monthly budget. To do that, you'll need to practice accurate accounting to determine your average monthly overhead. From there, you can examine your overall spending to see which expenses can be reduced or eliminated altogether. Unnecessary expenses can drain cash flow and decrease profits. Furthermore, by keeping a thorough record of your facility's ongoing costs, you'll be in a better position to easily file appropriate tax deductions.

One of the Easiest Aspects of Running a Business

Overall, managing your company's facility will be one of the easiest parts of running the business, as it's a relatively straightforward and predictable process. In every other area of business management, there are no guarantees or assurances about how things are going to pan out. If you thoroughly heed all seven of the tips listed above, you can be sure that the process of managing a facility will be roughly the same each month, with only a few minor circumstantial differences.