Not all facilities management software solutions are created equal. With a vast array of options available, selecting the right Integrated Workplace Management System (IWMS) or Facilities Resource Planning (FRP) system for your organization can feel completely overwhelming.
But, we’re here to take the mystery out of selecting the perfect facilities management software for your organization.
So, sit back, relax, and discover the essential characteristics of a high-quality IWMS or FRP solution.
A truly integrated solution:
A truly integrated facilities management solution allows you to care for all aspects of your built environment within one ecosystem.
Robust support for all five pillars of an IWMS/FRP:
Without a solution to support all aspects of facilities management (real estate, facilities maintenance, space utilization, capital planning & project management and energy & utility chargebacks), you’re left to depend on cobbled-together systems to keep your facilities running.
Integration = efficiency:
When your software systems communicate seamlessly, you remove silos from every aspect of facilities management – from utility billing to fulfilling a customer service request. This gain in efficiency translates into hundreds of work hours eliminated each year.
Mobile capabilities:
A modern facility management software solution must include mobile capabilities. Mobile facilities management software solutions empower your field personnel and technicians to remain active in the field.
Providing the right blend of functionality and usability, your organization will benefit from solutions that make your workforce more agile, flexible and productive.
And, while we’re on the topic of mobile facilities management software, let’s take a minute to talk about best practices for managing mobile devices in the field...
A customer-facing solution:
As a facilities professional, your customers are always on your mind. After all, that leaking pipe in administration building or the broken AC unit in the training center directly impacts their life and work.
Your customers, on the other hand, are frustrated by the cumbersome process for obtaining facility services and demand more transparency into ongoing and backlogged work.
When it comes to a customer-facing facilities management solution:
- You need a service request solution that is natively connected to your facilities management software
- You want workflows that are lightweight, but complex enough to handle the intricacies of security and funding concerns.
- Your customers want more two-way communication, not just email updates on status changes.
- You need a solution that requires minimal training and can be used by everyone in your organization, not just a few power-users.
Your customer-facing solution should provide a simple way for your customers to reach out when they need a hand.
Customers fear being forgotten when faced with uncertain wait times. Using a customer-facing solution at your facility, you can collect data and communicate with your customers directly – eliminating uncertainty and establishing a clear channel of communication between the facilities team and customers.
Visibility:
Visibility is critical in reducing silos within your organization. You need a truly integrated solution that provides integrated business intelligence to those across all levels of your organization.
An IWMS or FRP that promotes visibility is necessary for eliminating information silos and promoting transparency across all levels of your organization.
Accuracy:
Your solution must provide and keep accurate records for your organization. For the sake of accuracy, you need a true IWMS/FRP – a system that manages all five pillars and integrates smoothly with your systems across your facilities department.
Also, the system should provide an automated solution. If you’re manually pulling spreadsheets or data reports, you substantially increase the risk of inaccurate records and, corrupted data, or human error.
Financial Insight:
The system should also support accounting, and allow for tracking expenses back to the source for accounting chargebacks. Accounting insights are especially critical in larger organizations where budgets are allocated per department. Accounting in this regard can often get messy without support from an IWMS and the ability to track the expense back to the requestor or department. Accounting is one area where an FRP excels over an IWMS system.
With the right IWMS or FRP in place, you can perform and track proactive and preventive maintenance – extending the life cycle of the assets within your organization. The benefits here are twofold. First, you avoid costly emergency maintenance calls and prevent equipment downtime. You can also extend the life of your equipment – warding off the need for expensive replacements.
Furthermore, the data provided by an integrated solution allows you to make decisions based on historical information, rather than best guesses. This data enables you to have strategic (rather than reactive) planning – providing an even more profound financial benefit to your organization.
Efficiency:
Time is a precious resource. If you’re like most facilities professionals, your time is always in demand, and there just isn’t enough of it to go around. This is why mobile integration is critical to your facilities management software.
Ultimately, you need a facilities management software solution that provides the functionality, efficiency, and support to meet the needs of your organization.
