The facility management industry could not escape Covid-19. Quite the contrary, the way facility management companies operate has considerably changed because of the pandemic. Ensuring that health standards are met in the companies they work for has become their number one priority.
Here are some of the situations that facility management companies must deal with to ensure the safety of their employees and the success of their missions:
Sanitation
Facility Management includes many services. What they have in common is that they all intend to create a safe and functional working environment. Therefore, sanitation has taken a major importance since covid-19 arrived.
The maintenance and cleaning companies had to take into consideration new demands, measures and needs to prevent covid-19 infection in the best possible way. They had to revise their employees’ schedules to comply with health barriers, daily cleaning practices to eliminate the risk of infection or workplace specific sanitation standards.
They also had to ensure that the products and practices used on a daily basis were effective against the virus. And if not, they had to invest in ensuring the safety and quality of their services.
Workspace Organization
One of the first post-pandemic measures implemented in companies was the reconfiguration of workplaces to maintain social distance every day. For this purpose, facility management companies were asked to provide their expertise on the safest arrangements that would comply with covid-19 guidelines.
Facility management providers then spent time reorganizing the offices but also adapting spaces with specific requirements.
Another challenge was to check the effectiveness of these reorganizations in the short and medium term.
Indoor Air Quality
Covid-19 has made many companies aware of the risks of poor air quality. As the virus mainly spreads through airborne droplets, indoor air quality quickly became a major concern.
Companies have tightened the screws and asked their facility management providers to comply with air quality guidelines to avoid infection. To comply with those guidelines, some companies even had to invest in specific equipment such as air cleaners, which can be expensive and cumbersome.
New Workplace Measures
As for any business, the pandemic forced management to review the safety and hygiene measures in place within the company. For facility managers, this was especially important as employees are primarily responsible for enforcing barrier measures and providing a healthy environment for customers.
Therefore, new daily policies were adopted: wearing a mask, social distancing, use of appropriate equipment, sanitation… These new measures require time and energy and involve regular monitoring. Poor application of the barrier measures could damage the company’s image, especially when the company is responsible for the health safety of its customers.
As the virus is constantly evolving, company managers also must adapt their rules to the new guidelines of the official agencies.
Hybrid Team Management
In the business world, covid-19 has long been synonymous with remote working. For the facility management players, an efficient infrastructure had to be put in place to coordinate assignments and collaborate efficiently. The digitalization of collaborative tools became a necessity to avoid further confusion and to support employees when it was not possible to come to the office.
All these new challenges have not always been easy to overcome for facility management companies. However, every challenge is a chance to bring new and modernized thinking into a company. New skills have emerged, and many organizations have seen the pandemic as an opportunity to digitize their processes, increase their efficiency and cope with new developments.
Great post about this. Im surprised to see someone so educated in the matter.