How can you collaborate with other teams to improve facilities operations?

Collaboration can also come from outside sources. Reach out to industry professionals with similar associations and consider their thoughts and processes. Every process will have room for improvement and every professional has different experiences that can be shared collectively. If you’re not asking questions, you’ll never grow!

One thing I found helpful, is forming a team with a representative from each team. Try to keep less than 12 per team allowing time for good communication and creativity.

- Establish Clear Communication Channels: - Conduct Cross-Functional Workshops or Training: - Create a Cross-Functional Task Force: - Share Data and Metrics: - Involve Stakeholders in Decision-Making:

In my experience and as my mentor and my Ex-boss(@Richard Guiotto) used to say: 1. Be well organized yourself, that is half battle won. 2. Knowing our role is the key, Job description should be well understood to stay within the company procedures and within the client contractual obligations. 3. Take a moment before making decisions. 4. Establish a system in place and the system will take care of the rest. 5. Know the strengths of your team, it will surely help while in emergency and in cases of key staff exits. 6. The best way to do a job is by yourself. Do not leave the Key and decisive jobs to the sub-ordinates. Not that you do not trust them, but to be safe from any contractual violations. Thanks Syed

The first step to effective collaboration is to understand your role and responsibilities as a facilities operations manager. You need to know what your team does, how it contributes to the organization's mission and vision, and what are the expectations and standards for your performance. You also need to identify your key stakeholders, such as senior management, human resources, IT, security, finance, and others, and understand their needs and preferences. By clarifying your role, you can communicate your value proposition, establish trust and credibility, and avoid conflicts and misunderstandings

The maintenance department is responsible for ensuring timely repairs and maintenance of equipment in a manufacturing facility. Their goal is to minimize downtime and keep operations running. However, if the purchasing department don’t prioritise ordering replacement parts in a timely, it will delays repairs and affect operations. Aligning goals and communication between both departments, can ensure that the necessary parts are ordered proactively, minimizing downtime to operations. In the hypothetical example, aligning goals among departments fosters collaboration, streamlines processes, and enhances operations. It ensures that everyone work towards a common objective, maximizing resources, and delivering better outcomes.

It is very important that everyone in the team knows their deliverables clearly. Whether it's an Enterprise Account or a local account, when forming the org structure, all the team members' names and contact details should be clearly given. One important factor is that everyone's role is clear and transparently shared within the team members. Line managers play a great role in the collaboration especially when some team members could be a shared resource for that account (share resources simultaneously handle multiple accounts e.g. procurement, billing, account payable, HSE teams).

Collaborating with other teams to improve facilities operations involves effective communication, shared goals, and a collaborative mindset. Clearly define the goals and objectives of the facilities management team. Share these goals with other teams to ensure everyone is aligned and working toward common outcomes.

Know where the company wants to go, knowing clearly what the objectives and goals are. Set goals and actions aligned with other areas of the company to create greater synergy to achieve results. Periodically review the results achieved from the actions, and whenever necessary, realign the route in line with the company's strategy. Keep your team updated and maintain regular communication and alignment with all areas involved so that the focus is maintained on deliveries and operational efficiency, contributing to achieving the expected results

One thing I have found out is that clear and precise communication goes a long way. During communication, do not leave room for misinterpretations or assumptions. Ensure that the information and instructions being passed on are clear and precise, that way everyone knows what is expected of them at every point in time. This will increase productivity levels as against just giving vague information.

Foster open and regular communication channels with other teams. This can be achieved through regular meetings, updates, and the use of collaborative communication platforms.

Maintain periodic communication with transparency and clarity with the team and other parties involved, through the most appropriate communication channel for each. Encourage participation and keep the team involved in the actions, assigning individual and group responsibilities, recognize and publicize individual and team results so that everyone involved feels part of the success.

Provide cross-training opportunities for team members to understand each other's roles and responsibilities. This enhances collaboration by fostering a better understanding of the unique challenges each team faces. Establish a system for sharing relevant information and resources across teams. This may include shared databases, documents, or project management tools.

Get to know your team, and mainly identify the positive differences of each member, use the skills and differences of each one in favor of the team, deliberating assignments that converge with the individual profile, this will certainly bring greater quality and speed in deliveries, making processes more efficient, keeping the team engaged in favor of the collective result.

Communicate with those involved and get feedback so you can evaluate the route. Use the strengths of feedback to maintain satisfactory quality and use negative feedback as a guide to implement improvement actions on weak points, focusing on satisfaction and continuous improvement.

Remember that successful collaboration is an ongoing process that requires commitment, communication, and a shared commitment to continuous improvement. Regularly assess the effectiveness of collaborative efforts and make adjustments as needed.

Establish a feedback system for staff to report facilities issues, ensuring proactive identification of improvement areas. Organize joint problem-solving sessions to leverage diverse perspectives for innovative solutions. Collaborate with tech-focused teams to integrate smart technologies, enhancing operational efficiency. Develop training programs to educate employees on efficient facility use. Explore resource sharing and joint projects like sustainability initiatives that require multi-departmental input. Foster a culture of continuous improvement where suggestions from all teams are valued. Celebrate collective successes in facility improvements, recognizing the importance of teamwork.

In healthcare, multidisciplinary input has been proven to result in: -improved decision-making; -reduced medical errors; and -reduced length of stay, all of which has a positive impact on patient outcomes and has a positive financial impact on the healthcare organisation. E.g., a team of doctors, nurses, and social workers can work together to provide discharge planning for a patient, which can help to reduce the need for readmission to the hospital. Multidisciplinary collaboration is a valuable tool for improving clinical operations. It can lead to improved patient outcomes, increased efficiency and cost savings, and improved staff satisfaction and morale.