Communications
By Paul J. Haley, IFMA NYC Chapter Communications Committee
I was never much of a country music fan, but as a very young boy I was engrossed by the very wise, philosophical song “The Gambler” by Kenny Rogers, a song I listened to obsessively thanks to my next-door neighbors who owned the record of the same name. To this very day I live by the lyrics of the song, especially the chorus, which goes a little like this:
"...You've got to know when to hold 'em
Know when to fold 'em
Know when to walk away
And know when to run..."
These lyrics fit perfectly in nearly every situation; yes Virginia, even in a Facilities Communications Plan.
Communication is a key Facilities competency and essential for any successful Facilities team. While not unique to the profession, communications can take on many different forms. If you read between the lines, the message is quite clear and true: When communicating, know your audience and how to communicate clearly and effectively to each person. This is similar to how you would handle every card hand dealt in the poker game of your professional/personal life.
Facilities communications are usually strategic, periodic blasts to the employee population about an office/company-wide event (i.e. an evacuation, fire drill or a scheduled power outage by property management). Of course, because the daily business will be severely impacted, detailed messages with the “five Ws” should be properly and even overly communicated so that everyone is on the same page, in an effort to cut confusion to a minimum. So in these instances, run with as much information you can provide as possible.
Or in other situations you can just walk your communications in a clear, straight line for maximum results. For example, Finance Budget Teams usually just want to talk about budget numbers, so whether you are trying to get your annual capital budget approved or trying to justify going over budget on a project, just keep it simple; speak their language and get to the point. Finance types aren’t your parents and most likely won’t yell at you. Their goal is to justify any impactful fluctuations to the budgets they manage in preparation for review by higher ups, who will have to answer questions on the very same numbers. Even put a little swagger in that walk by tossing a positive in with the negative: "Yes, I went over budget on this project, BUT I was able to save significant costs on this project.”
Think about if you have a 15-minute meeting with your CFO on the cost-savings opportunity to consolidate some national offices or a meeting with your national HR executive on the benefits of instituting a green program across all offices. If your meeting isn’t abruptly rescheduled ad-infimum, you probably only have 7.5 minutes to make your point, so go in prepared and be ready to get your point across in 5 minutes or less. Executives have very little time, so cut to the chase. A PowerPoint presentation with 10 bullet points or less is most effective. Again, walk your communications in a clear, straight line and get to the point.
Finally, the level of transparency of your communication depends on the situation. You may want to fold 'em outright on some communication. Meaning, the entire office doesn’t need an annoying, inbox-clogging email about every snowflake that falls from the sky. Even your work friends will stop reading with one too many communications. You may want to hold 'em on certain communications, or at least until all of your ducks are in row.
A good example could be, while construction is underway in your office, you discover asbestos floor tile under the carpet. Yes, employees are due an explanation on such safety matters before rumors take flight, but you don’t want to show your cards and launch an email on such a panic-triggering matter until you gather guidance and support from your HR, Risk and Legal Teams.
Always seek a second opinion on Hold ‘em and Fold ‘em communications.
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