Building Operating Management September 2011 - FacilitiesNet

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buildingoperatingmanagement
SEPTEMBER 2011
FM PULSE
How the
Recession
Remade
FM
It took more than
cost cutting to get FMs
through the downturn
by maryellen lo bosco
The great recession didn’t spare
facility management, but the
tough economic times didn’t devastate
facility managers either. Some of
the change has been painful, but the
new normal of having to do more with
less has spurred innovation in the allocation
of both people and resources.
Facility managers have sharpened not
only their pencils, but also their communication
and management skills.
“You have to continue to reinvent
yourself, adapt and figure out new
ways of doing things,” says Mike Kastner,
director of building services and
construction management at Lakeland
Health and Healing.
At Lakeland, the biggest effect of
the recession was severe cuts in overtime.
“We used to manage our overtime,
but now we have to report any
overtime we have by pay period,” he
says. “Overtime has gone to 20 percent
of what it used to be.”
Workers were not happy about
the cutbacks at first, but given the
economy, they were able to adjust
fairly quickly, and it helped that costcutting
measures were spread equally
throughout the organization. “The
bottom line is they recognized that
there were a lot of people who didn’t
have jobs, and that although our operating
costs and capital budgets are
tightly scrutinized, we can still get
what we need,” Kastner says.
“
We are much more
careful about the
way we evaluate
growth projects and
spending
in general.
”
Julie O’Loughlin
Senior director
of operations
and facilities,
Fenwick & West
Kastner says his organization has
been fortunate because it has gone
through more than one merger,
which has wrung costs out of the system.
“We bring value and purchasing
economies to partners and have less
overhead collectively,” Kastner says.
“But tough times are not over. They
are looking in Washington for ways to
squeeze more money out of the payment
system.”
Becoming More Efficient
SAP responded to the recession
with a hiring freeze for the past four
years, says Larry Morgan, head of
operations for SAP in Palo Alto and
Vancouver. As an alternative to filling
FM Careers: Then and Now
The number of FMs who expect to be promoted in the next year fell by
23 percent following the crash in the financial markets, while those who
fear they will be downsized in the next year rose by 75 percent.
15%
12%
9%
6%
3%
0%
13%
Expect to be
Promoted in
the Next Year
Before the Financial
Market Crash
4%
Expect to be
Downsized in
the Next Year
15%
12%
9%
6%
3%
0%
10%
Expect to be
Promoted in
the Next Year
Today
7%
Expect to be
Downsized in
the Next Year