Research

Benchmarking and metrics are terms that are often used in today’s business environment but are often misunderstood. Benchmarking is a continuous and systematic management process that measures work processes, protocols and services for the purpose of organizational comparison and improvement. When properly applied, benchmarking can identify costly or inefficient practices and quantify your department’s overall contribution to the bottom line.

IFMA’s Operations and Maintenance Benchmarks report breaks out janitorial, maintenance and utility costs by facility type, industry, age, region, climate zone, and many other sorts. The report also includes staffing and utility consumption data for more than 600 million square feet of facilities. The percentile charts in this report allow you to see how your operation ranks against other organizations. The arrows beside some charts show the “best-in-class” direction. Using your metrics as the performance indicator, determine whether your building is above or below the median (50th percentile). If your facility falls way above or below the median, you may want to examine your cost or procedures on that area. However, your facility may differ from the median due to your type of facility, climate, or labor market. The data should help you identify areas where you can improve your facility operation.