Building Operating Management September 2011 - FacilitiesNet

54
Cutting Costs with Care
The recession has led companies
to demand that facility managers
take a very hard look at expenditures.
That’s been the case at the law
firm Fenwick & West. The last two
years have been very successful, and
Julie O’Loughlin, senior director of
operations and facilities, says that
was a direct result of “cutting out the
fat and focusing in.” Nonetheless,
when the recession hit three years
ago, there were some layoffs (less
than 1 percent of staff). “We looked
to eliminating unnecessary budget
items throughout the organization,”
O’Loughlin says.
O’Loughlin says that the recession
has permanently changed the way
FM operates. “With regard to project
approval, the tech bubble and the recession
are cautionary tales,” she says.
“We are much more careful about the
way we evaluate growth projects and
spending in general.” O’Loughlin says
that as she talks to her peers in Silicon
Valley, there is agreement that each
project must be more thoroughly researched.
Fenwick & West is just now
beginning a $6 million expansion of
a conference center, a project that
was actually approved a year ago, because
the firm took more time doing
its homework. “We are pushing the
limits in sustainability, quality and
aesthetics,” she says. Putting more
time in on the front end, looking for
“multiple wins” and looking toward
the future and not just the fulfillment
of immediate goals, have all been the
result of the recession.
Morgan expects there will be no
going back from the new normal.
“Companies aren’t going to open
their checkbooks again. [They will
be] working more in a performancebased
rather than a prescriptivebased
world,” Morgan says.
For example, the traditional janitorial
contract, where “one size fits
all” and companies pay per square
foot, will no longer suffice. Rather,
contracts are now based on performance
and requirements of individual
locations and facilities, where the
difference between cleaning the exbuildingoperatingmanagement
SEPTEMBER 2011
the company is focused on improving
the quality of services and facility
reliability and may even adjust some
budgets upwards.
Salaries by Job Title
VICE PRESIDENT/DIRECTOR
OF FACILITIES
Median salary: $102,000
Salary range: $38,000 - $291,200
Median raise: 1.5%
Median bonus: $10,000
Bonus eligibility: 45%
VICE PRESIDENT/DIRECTOR
OF FACILITIES ENGINEERING
Median salary: $108,252
Salary range: $42,000 - $210,000
Median raise: 2.3%
Median bonus: $8,000
Bonus eligibility: 59%
VICE PRESIDENT/DIRECTOR
OF REAL ESTATE
Median salary: $120,000
Salary range: $75,000 - $200,000
Median raise: 0%
Median bonus: $9,000
Bonus eligibility: 84%
VICE PRESIDENT/DIRECTOR
OF BUILDING/PLANT
SERVICES
Median salary: $97,000
Salary range: $48,222 - $186,660
Median raise: 0.3%
Median bonus: $6,500
Bonus eligibility: 43%
PROPERTY MANAGER
Median salary: $75,000
Salary range: $27,000 - $165,000
Median raise: 1.3%
Median bonus: $5,000
Bonus eligibility: 68%
PROJECT MANAGER
Median salary: $83,000
Salary range: $35,000 - $170,000
Median raise: 0.8%
Median bonus: $4,400
Bonus eligibility: 50%
DIRECTOR OF
PHYSICAL PLANT
Median salary: $85,500
Salary range: $45,000 - $150,000
Median raise: 0.9%
Median bonus: $3,250
Bonus eligibility: 24%
BUILDING OR
FACILITY MANAGER
Median salary: $77,480
Salary range: $23,000 - $175,000
Median raise: 1.6%
Median bonus: $4,000
Bonus eligibility: 47%
ASSET MANAGER
Median salary: $93,000
Salary range: $48,000 - $224,000
Median raise: 0%
Median bonus: $3,050
Bonus eligibility: 68%
FACILITIES COORDINATOR/
SUPERVISOR
Median salary: $62,000
Salary range: $18,000 - $150,000
Median raise: 1.7%
Median bonus: $2,200
Bonus eligibility: 42%
CONSTRUCTION MANAGER
Median salary: $86,000
Salary range: $33,218 - $160,000
Median raise: 1.5%
Median bonus: $6,000
Bonus eligibility: 31%
PLANT/OPERATIONS
MANAGER
Median salary: $72,900
Salary range: $36,000 - $160,000
Median raise: 1.1%
Median bonus: $3,000
Bonus eligibility: 43%