The mission of any private K-12 academic institution is to educate its students and prepare them for the world that awaits them when they reach adulthood. Inside the classroom, this means hiring the best teachers with unparalleled credentials who can engage the students and keep them interested in the subject matter.
Hiring great teachers is a critical component, but the academic experience goes well beyond what is taught in the classroom. Private schools have an amazing opportunity to create a one-of-a-kind setting for students to pursue their interests, build stronger relationships, and achieve their full potential.
Students interact with many different facilities, from the athletic field to the lunchroom, every time they’re on campus. The same standard of excellence that is expected of those teachers in the classroom must also extend to the buildings and grounds that round out academic life.
But with high employee turnover, potentially reduced budgets, and increased expectations from students, parents, and alumni, it can be challenging for school administrators and board members to achieve this. But there is an answer. And we will be sure to show our work.
We will explain how outsourcing facility services to a full-service facility management provider can help academic institutions create a one-of-a-kind learning experience.
Obstacles to Creating a Consistent Standard of Excellence
There are several challenges headmasters, deans, and other school administrators may face right now concerning facility management.
- High employee turnover
- Budget shortfall
- Aging facilities
- Poor deferred maintenance strategy
The pandemic exacerbated these challenges as facility management teams experienced labor shortages and many private schools suffered higher rates of withdrawal, thereby reducing their overall revenue.
Additionally, expectations have never been higher before regarding cleanliness and safety. The schools that invest in world-class facilities and have a facility management program that supports them will have a competitive advantage to attract students and donors to facilitate future growth.
How Outsourcing Facility Management Could Be the Smart Option for Your Institution
If any of these challenges sound familiar, you may be wondering why you should outsource instead of hiring in-house. Let’s think about this in another way. You want the most engaging educators to teach in your classrooms and the most inspiring coaches to shape the minds of your student-athletes on and off the field, right?
Wouldn’t you want the best facility management team representing your school too?
A full-service facility management company, like Berman, offers several distinct advantages to private schools that want to maintain a consistent standard of excellence throughout their campus.
Capabilities
When you outsource, your third-party vendor should provide you with a complete team that includes a facility manager, maintenance technicians, full landscaping crew, and other staff to ensure all of your needs are met.
Consider the diverse types of facilities that make up a private school campus. These facilities require an equally diverse set of capabilities to ensure everything operates as it should, and any adverse issues are handled swiftly and correctly. A full-service facility management company will have the resources to accomplish this.
Scalability
Throughout the school year, you will have different facility management needs. Even in the summer, your facilities team will have projects to do, like stripping the gymnasium floor, deep cleaning classrooms, and maintaining all athletic fields.
When demand is higher, your facility management company should be able to scale up its workforce to ensure projects are completed on time. And when things are slightly slower, like during holiday break, your facilities team can be scaled down without an interruption to your core facility management initiatives.
Expertise
In previous blog posts, we have discussed the talent drain and how fewer people are entering technical fields. When legacy facility managers and technicians retire, there isn’t a highly-skilled younger workforce to replace them.
Another issue many school administrators face is that they want to invest in world-class facilities and technology to retain that competitive edge. But their current facility manager and facilities team don’t have the experience or expertise to operate or maintain them.
By outsourcing to a team with that expert opinion and experience with smart technology, private schools can commit to technologically taking their campus into the future.
Strategy
Too many facility management programs are reactive, which is especially troublesome if your campus has many aged properties. Facility managers and technicians will often defer maintenance until emergency repairs are needed because they don’t have the team or resources to prioritize and plan projects in advance.
A full-service facility management company should be able to assess your properties and determine what is needed now and in the future, using data and technology to make these predictions accurately. By having a clearer picture of your facility management needs and opportunities, your leaders and board can make better decisions that impact every aspect of your campus.
Trust
We saved the most critical feature for last. If you have vetted your outsource partner very carefully, they will have measures in place to hire professionals that will serve as the best representation of your school.
At Berman, we understand that we must provide our academic clients with a staff of the highest level of integrity. We will carefully vet anyone we bring on to help us maintain your campus facilities, including conducting background checks.
We cannot stress enough the importance of having a stable crew of technicians and landscapers who know how your school operates and provide a friendly face to students, teachers, and parents.
It creates a positive influence in their daily lives and brings more success and satisfaction overall.
How Can Berman Help You Ace Facility Management?
Berman maintains a diverse portfolio of educational clients, including religious schools, private institutions, sports-related academies, and charter schools. Our range of capabilities includes traditional facility management, landscaping services, janitorial, 24-hour repair, and more. We can improve how your facilities operate. But more importantly, we will help you create an enriching academic experience consistent with your mission and values.
