This simple three-point memo was written primarily with facility managers in mind and is drawn from a true example of a memo written by a long-time facility owner, known for his vast experience in dealing with the minutiae of building upkeep.
The original memo was just one in a series intended to ease a first-time facility manager or an executive housekeeper into their new work position and help them with the specifics of the job – in this case, the focus is on how to handle carpet cleaning in a commercial or residential facility. But the advice it contains can easily be applied to any facility that includes carpeting and therefore we believe it contains some unusually helpful advice to be read as soon as possible upon commencing your work as a facility manager. Especially since it is highly likely that your facility will include carpets.
Introduction
We hold these three facility manager truths to be self-evident, but in our experience it really helps to have them written down as a reminder of sorts as well as a guide to good practices. Read the following guidelines carefully and if you realize that you already know all of this, good for you! If you learn something that helps you do your job well, even better!
- Plan your budget. The first order of business is money and money is what you need to save. Yes, your budget is usually a given and you are expected to make the best out of it, but your input is also welcome when the budget is being determined, since you will be the one who knows how far it can be stretched in practice and what are the key expenses it is being used up on. And the best advice for making your input relevant and therefore more likely to be accepted and incorporated into the next budget is simple – know what your carpeting expenses will be in advance. Now, if you look at carpet cleaning as a reactive process, i.e. the carpet gets soiled or stained and then it needs to get cleaned, you will not get as far in this business as you may like to.
The only way to achieve this is to find a professional, reputable carpet cleaning company and sign a contract for regular carpet upkeep with them. This will mean not only that your carpet cleaning expenses are fixed and known in advance it will almost certainly mean that they will be lower than if you are doing only “reactive cleaning”. And if they are not lower, you are not doing something right.
- Find a professional carpet cleaning company and stick with it. The most important thing – and probably the most professional thing – to do in order to secure regular maintenance is to find experienced cleaning professionals. The most important mark of such a company is the very fact that they offer regular maintenance as a part of their service.
But in order to determine the best choice from the many competing service providers, you will have to know more about them. First, check their record – not only to confirm their quality of service and their capabilities, but also to see if they are a good fit for your business. Scour their portfolio for clients whom you know and can trust and look for recommendations from satisfied customers – preferably from those whose carpet cleaning needs are comparable to your own in terms of size and scope. Also, they should offer a free survey of the facility, so that they can ascertain the level of effort required to maintain it and to provide you with service that is suitable to the specifics of the space in question. A company that offers all this and uses professional level equipment and cleaning solutions has all the makings of a long-term partner and is your best ally in the difficult task ahead of you.
- Be in the thick of it and know your stuff. The one thing that separates a successful facility manager from an average one is simple: those truly professional facility managers aspire to know their facility inside and out, down to the smallest details. Regarding carpeting, this simply means knowing everything there is to know about it, things like… How long ago was it purchased? What is its declared life cycle? What material is it made of? How well (or unwell) was it maintained before your tenure as a facility manager?
But it is not enough to know all the facts about the carpeting itself – the thing that is arguably even more important is to know how much and in what way it is being used. In practice, this means that you should have a clear grasp of what areas are most frequently walked upon or which areas are more prone to stains (because there is a larger than average chance of people drinking coffee at the area, such as break rooms, for example). This entails some astute observation and constant data gathering on your part – and yes, this means that those things are the most important facets of your job as a facility manager.
