How to audit your FM resources without hiring consultants

You have three resource buckets in facilities management: money, people, and technology.

Most organizations throw money at shiny technology while understaffing critical roles. Or they hire bodies without giving them proper tools. The result? Reactive firefighting, ballooning costs, and dissatisfied occupants.

The magic happens when you audit what you actually have versus what you actually need—then close the gaps strategically.

Here's how to run that audit yourself.

Start with your people, not your budget

Ask your field workers these questions:

• How would you like to work together?
• What makes you accountable for your work?
• What makes you proud of what you do?
• What failed recently and why?

Your field workers solve daily problems. They work in services because they want to serve. But organizations consistently neglect this pillar—investing in technology while underpaying and under-training the people who execute everything.

I've seen organizations buy the latest iPhone for supervisors while refusing to provide basic digital tools for technicians earning a fraction of that salary. The field worker is becoming less of a blue collar role and more of a knowledge worker. Pay and equip them accordingly.

Interview your end users

Talk to multiple internal clients—not just one. Ask them:

• What does good service look like to you?
• Is it speed? Clear communication? First-time fix rates?
• Where are we falling short?

This reveals the gap between what you think you're delivering and what people actually experience. 64.8% of FM teams cite budget constraints as obstacles to full staffing, yet the real problem is often misaligned expectations and undertrained staff.

Audit what you actually use

Look at your technology stack. What tools are your team actually using daily?

Here's a test: Cut an underutilized tool and see if anyone complains.

Organizations fear technology investment while sitting on unused licenses and redundant systems. Meanwhile, reactive maintenance costs 20-40% more than preventive maintenance—but teams lack the collaborative tools to shift from firefighting to prevention.

Map the real gaps

Most organizations have the right number of staff. The gaps appear in three areas:

1. Training and processesDo people know the expected behaviors? Communication standards? Information requirements?

2. Technology accessCan a cleaning worker easily raise a maintenance job when they spot a problem? Can teams interact across service lines?

3. Strategic coordinationDoes someone orchestrate workload and priorities across all teams with authority to design new processes?

True integration requires a layer that smoothens communication between silos. That layer is a process embedded in technology—giving your FM supervisor visibility, awareness, and control.

Close gaps strategically

When you spot negative trends—response times climbing, satisfaction dropping—diagnose the root cause:

First: Normalize for variables. Are workers sick or on holiday?Second: Verify process adherence. Are people following the general guidance for workflow?Third: Examine communication breakdowns with third parties.Fourth: Identify access barriers to your collaborative system.

This diagnostic framework reveals whether you need to invest in people, process, or technology—not all three at once.

The bottom line

Resource allocation fails when you treat it as separate decisions: a technology purchase here, a hiring freeze there, a budget cut somewhere else.

The audit reveals the system. When you see how money, people, and technology actually interact—and where the gaps create exponential costs—you can close them strategically instead of reactively.

Start with your people. They'll tell you exactly what's broken and what they need to fix it.