Chris Browne
Integrated Facility Management

What a first day! As the new head of Integrated Facility Management at Jones Lang LaSalle, I’ve had the great fortune of being able to connect—or reconnect—with many of our top Corporate Solutions executives and key clients in my first 24 hours on the job. Since everyone is talking about innovation, a lot of the discussion is about the future of facilities management. I don’t claim to have a definitive answer yet, but I do have some thoughts based on my years of experience as a corporate real estate executive and service provider.

In facility management we are often faced with two conflicting goals: minimizing cost and maximizing service quality. We’ve already reached the point where we can match the cost to the level of service delivered and vice versa. Going forward, leading FM organizations will be those that can fine-tune this equation. For instance, a client-facing space has a different service need than a back-office operation, even within the same building. The ability to calibrate service delivery to that level, especially across a large portfolio, will bring cost efficiencies that differentiate one FM operation from another.

A parallel trend is the movement toward a “command center” model, wherein building operations are managed using technology and expertise to optimize the efficiency of resources. As an example, a manager of a large portfolio naturally would like to have a top-grade engineer at each property, but the cost might not be justified. With a strong command center in place, a few top engineers can provide guidance and expertise to less-experienced (and less expensive) professionals in each building, saving significantly on cost without affecting service delivery.

Innovation is already occurring in these areas and will continue to evolve in response to client needs in this fast-moving area.

Chris