To Have Value, Facility Management Metrics Must Be Transparent
April 16, 2009
I’m Ed Sullivan, editor of Building Operating Management. Today’s topic is facility making facility management metrics effective.
Metrics are among the most valuable tools facility executives have for focusing their work and demonstrating their value to the organization. But if the metrics are to be useful, they have to be transparent. Transparent means that anyone can drill down into the metric to find out exactly what data it is based on. Transparent numbers are essential if, for example, a business unit wants to understand its occupancy costs and use that information to make decisions. The business unit will want to be sure that the metric is based on solid data before acting on the basis of the metric. For example, if a metric is showing that one business unit has much higher occupancy costs than others, the head of that business unit will want to know that all of the business units are using the same definition of occupied space.
Not surprisingly, a transparent metric is more credible. But transparency invites challenges from those who are being measured. If the metric is sound, transparency adds to its credibility – and the credibility of the facility executive. If there are problems with the data – for example, if different business units are using different definitions of occupied space – it’s up to the facility executive to resolve the discrepancies, or to indicate the limitations of the metric to all who receive the numbers.
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