This chapter examines an approach to measuring, analysing, controlling, reporting and improving the efficiency and effectiveness of facility management that and applies to both in-house and outsourced services.
The performance of service delivery has to be measured and used as a basis for understanding if agreed service levels, based on goals and targets set down in SLAs, are being achieved.
The following points, among many others, are covered in the chapter.
- Performance management involves reconciling the levels of service delivered to users against agreed standards and targets set out in service specifications and service level agreements (SLAs).
- A distinction between quality and performance might have to be drawn for some services – for example, catering and maintenance – where they include tangible products in addition to the physical performance of tasks.
- Performance should be reviewed from a number of perspectives, including regulatory compliance, users, operations, finance and human resources.
- Performance review meetings should be held on a regular basis, usually not greater than monthly.
- The correction of discrepancies and the updating of service specifications and SLAs require the joint participation of the organization and service providers.
- Performance requirements should be described in terms of critical success factors (CSFs) for service delivery from which performance indicators can then be defined.
- Performance indicators measure actual achievement, as well as any deviation from specifications and SLAs; the most significant are referred to as key performance indicators (KPIs).
- Performance reporting demands information and communication technology (ICT) to handle the wealth of information and data that are now routinely gathered and which have to be analysed and summarized.