What is a Facilities Manager? As stated by The International Facility Management Association, facility management is a profession that encompasses multiple disciplines to ensure functionality of the built environment by integrating people, place, process, and technology. Notice the definition is fairly vague as to the specifics of the job performed by a facilities manager. That is because there is not a homogenous set of tasks a facilities manager is responsible for. The job is constantly evolving as facilities managers are asked to take on more and more responsibilities. This added burden of responsibility can be directly attributed to many organizations downsizing their staff, forcing their facilities managers to wear many hats. Some of these hats may include (but are not limited to); planning, budgeting, coordinating and directing the activities of one or several buildings, preparing and maintaining annual budgets of the facility, maintenance and construction organization and much much more. Sounds like a lot for one position doesn’t it?
The amount of responsibilities placed on the shoulders of the facilities managers forces them to instill trust in all of their vendors. This makes it critical that the most reliable vendors are selected. Facilities managers are seeking vendors that can complete a task with minimal management and direction. Having an effective relationship with a vendor alleviates an enormous amount of stress, as facilities managers are able to focus on other projects.
Now imagine you are the facilities manager of a new building that occupies over 200 employees and you are presented the task of outfitting your building with office furniture. Now you must figure out how to fit this assignment into your plethora of other duties. You must thoroughly research office furniture companies, discuss with key decision makers the type of office furniture to purchase, then figure out how to make it all fit within your budget. And this is only the beginning. You need to figure out timeframes in which the furniture needs to arrive, coordinate installers, and keep track of all the other trades performing work. Depending on if you’ve hired and architect you need to contract out the design and layout of the office space. If you are located in a city and without a loading dock then you must figure out the best possible way to bring the furniture in and during what time.
All of this may seem a bit overwhelming, but there is an easy, reliable source for your office furniture solutions. EthoSource. EthoSource offers complete office furniture management services that take care of every facet of furnishing your office space. The EthoSource project management team is in charge of handling your entire order from beginning to end. It is their job to remove the stress of furnishing your office by covering all of the details involved in this process. They will coordinate the installation team, take all site conditions into consideration for a smooth installation, and communicate with you throughout the entire process. They will work around your schedule and work with you to resolve any problems that may arise. The EthoSource design team will design and configure your office space for you. You tell them your needs and they will comprise layouts that maximize your office space efficiency and help you achieve the aesthetic feel you desire.
EthoSource is your one stop solution for everything office furniture. Whether you have experience or not in furnishing your office space, EthoSource can handle every aspect of the office furniture process. Allow us to wear the hat of your office furniture solutions provider. For more information about our project management team view this video. For more information regarding our design process view this video.