Crafting a Winning Business Case: A Facility Manager's Guide

To grow your career as a #facilitymanager, you should be able to master business skills! And writing a business case is one of those skills you must always have in your pocket.

Throughout the CFM classes, I keep insisting to the participants that #facilitymanagers should combine their communication skills and financial literacy to craft a winning business case!

But we are facility managers! Do we really need to know how to make a business case?

Why to write a business case?

As a facility manager, it is important to be able to effectively communicate the value of your projects and initiatives to upper management and colleagues. One tool that can help with this process is crafting a business case.

But what exactly is a business case, and how do you create one?

A business case is a document that outlines the reasoning behind a particular project or initiative and how it aligns with the organization's strategic plan or supports specific organizational goals and objectives.

How does a business case look like?

It should clearly define the financial implications of the project, including how much money will be involved and how much the organization is expected to make or save as a result.

Simple, isn’t it? But a business case is not only a financial document...

In addition to addressing financial concerns, a business case should also consider other factors that may be important to the organization, such as the potential impact on the lives and welfare of people, the triple bottom line, and compliance with legal, statutory, or local authority requirements.

What are the components of a business case? And how do you make one?

Here are seven components and some steps to follow:

1. Executive Summary; Identify the purpose of your business case and the specific goals and objectives you hope to achieve.
2. Current Status; Review relevant data and information to contextualize the proposed project or initiative.
3. Assumptions: Make a list of assumptions and outline how you plan to address them.
4. Business analysis: Conduct business analysis, including thoroughly examining the costs and benefits of the project using the TCO approach.
5. Risk analysis: Identify potential risks or challenges and outline how you plan to mitigate or manage them.
6. Recommendations: Make recommendations for moving forward with the project or initiative.
7. Goals and timeline: Define your goals and timeline in addition to the people and money needed to deliver the solution.

By following these steps, you can create a well-crafted business case that effectively communicates the value of your project or initiative to upper management and colleagues.

In conclusion,

Creating a business case is an important tool for facility managers looking to sell projects and initiatives to upper management and colleagues.

By thoroughly outlining the reasoning behind a project, demonstrating an understanding of the organization's financial concerns, and quantifying the costs and benefits, facility managers can effectively make a case for the resources and capital needed to move forward.

Be careful; that’s not enough!

Mastering business case writing alone is not enough to win it!

Nor is it enough to grow your career as a facility manager. You need to employ multiple skills to win the case and much more to grow your career.

So tell us in a comment; What other skills do you think a #facilitymanager needs to win a business case?

To read more about quantifying costs and benefits, look at other related posts and articles,

• A Quick Guide to TCO (Total Cost of Ownership)
• Six tips to win the battle of CAPEX budget

I use?#linkedin?to share knowledge with the community of?#builtenvironment?professionals.

? Follow me for more... share your thoughts with us and share the post to help exchange knowledge among the community.

?I also help facility managers grow their careers through interactive learning. You can view my Certified Facility Manager course (CFM) at the? Built Environment Institute ?(BEI).?