In different forms, every business – either Blue Chip Multinational or Small and Medium Scale Enterprise – has some form of Real Estate and Facilities Management (REFLM) objectives. For some, it might be saving cost through strategic management, while for others it might be expanding their asset for high employee/occupant productivity, etc.

While some, particularly the Blue Chip Organisations, clearly articulate their objectives and document them, it can hardly be established that SMEs have theirs in any form of documentation. Notwithstanding the category any business belongs however, the reality that Real Estate and Facilities Management activities gulp up to 30% of business overhead cannot be lost on them.

So in the face of current economic situation, it is no surprise that most organisations are taking a closer look at their overhead and seeking creative ways of reducing overhead or increasing productivity to salvage dwindling bottom line. But how can organisations reduce Real Estate and FM spends without heaping up deferred maintenance or truncating operational efficiency required to deliver the result at the end of the day?

Here are few lessons that could help you meet your REFLM objectives and your corporate goals, without impacting negatively on your business performance. These lessons stem from the top drivers identified in a case study survey of 250 top business decision markers in the United States.

 The following are some actions the survey attributed to the superior performance. Thus, for businesses looking to align their corporate goals to REFLM objectives, here are actions to be taken:

1. Standardize your Policies, Processes and Procedures: This is the first step to consider if you want to align your REFLM objectives with your corporate goals. Standardizing your processes, procedures and policies gives a clear picture of your organisation’s entire asset management process – from procurement, to maintenance and eventually disposal. This helps in better planning of the business operations. For example, the policy can state clearly what could be procured, when to procure, how to procure and even how to dispose. When things like these are under control, the business goals are clear and the REFLM objectives can be easily planned into it. For example, if a bank has a clear policy on new branch roll out, then it is easy for it to plan its Real Estate and FM operations ahead.

2. Place your Spend under Management Control: This is the next thing to do after standardizing your policies and procedures. Doing this engenders process efficiency and helps the procurement department deliver strategic value, because there are established plans upon which they can leverage economy of scale to the benefit of the corporate goal. It also ensures that spends are made strategically as, approval will be base on business cases and operational exigencies.

3. Computerize your Operations and Maintenance Systems: According to the survey, best-in-class organisations who have strategically aligned their corporate goals and Real Estate and FM objectives achieve 56% savings through improved operational efficiency. This figure becomes instructive in the face of the increasing sophistication of Real Estate assets, especially in emerging markets like Nigeria.

4. Support Capital Projects Planning with Systems and Technologies: If your corporate goal and FM objectives must align for better business performance, this support is very essential. Planning elements such as budgeting and fund allocations must be supported with systems and technologies is such ways that they impact operational areas like space planning and put in place measureable Key Performance Indicators (KPIs). From result of the survey, organizations that did this were able to save up to 29% on capital project expenditure.

5. Improve Space Planning: If the REFLM objectives of any organization must deliver on its corporate goal, space planning will play a critical role. Planning, besides helping businesseses optimize the use of space, also plays significantly in employees’ productivity. For example, the survey under review shows that best-in-class organizations increase their utilization by 2.5% and achieved 14% cost savings from higher visibility in space-related costs.

6. Establish Measurable KPIs: We have written a few articles on different KPIs and the important questions to ask before setting them. This part further gives credence to the need to set realistic and measurable KPIs that align with your corporate objectives. However, we must quickly establish that while cost savings should be one of the KPIs that make up the list of KPIs for operational efficiency, businesses must be careful not to starve productivity and key business drivers on such basis.