IFMA’s Strategic Management Planning Process
New approaches may help facility managers reach
higher levels of achievement.
By Donald A. Young, APR
Business
thought luminaries David P. Norton and Robert S. Kaplan,
creators of the Balanced Scorecard concept said, “Organizations
that try to be everything to everybody usually end
up being nothing to anyone. At that point the organization
has lost its relevance.” To help stay relevant,
beginning in 2003, the International Facility Management
Association (IFMA) incorporated the Balanced Scorecard
(BSC) concept into its Strategic Management Planning
Process. Several IFMA board members had on-the-job
experience with the BSC and had the foresight to see
how it could help focus and align the Association’s
resources to achieve better performance. The IFMA
staff and volunteer leaders were also eager to learn.
Accountants have done a fine job of quantifying
tangible things like production and finance. What
the BSC does differently is align and focus the organization’s
intangible assets like contributions from volunteers,
staff, and information technology. The BSC recognizes
that enhancing the capabilities of intangible assets
can give organizations an extra lift not previously
achievable. It’s a new strategic management
system that is as much based on inspiration as on
measuring performance.
At IFMA, the Strategic Planning Oversight Team (SPOT)
is responsible for developing the Strategic Plan,
Balanced Scorecard, and Strategy Map. Volunteer leaders,
staff, and members are part of that team.
IFMA’s Strategic Plan has all of the elements
of any good plan—strategic competencies, core
values, assumptions, SWOT (Strengths Weaknesses Opportunities
Threats) analysis, goals, objectives, etc.—but
it’s also linked to the BSC. The Association’s
vision is to serve as the resource and representative
for facility management. The mission is to provide
exceptional products, services, and opportunities
that support and advance the facility management profession.
Everything in the plan and BSC is focused on achieving
the vision and mission.
IFMA has four goals—one for each of the four
planning perspectives. IFMA’s four perspectives
are: Stakeholders (customers), Operational Excellence,
People (learning and growth), and Financial. Stakeholders
are IFMA’s reason for being, so this perspective
is stacked at the top of IFMA’s four-layer strategy
cake. It’s the closest to the Association’s
vision and mission. (For-profit entities exist to
enhance shareholder value, so their BSCs have Financial
as the top perspective.) IFMA’s four goals are:
- Goal One in Stakeholders is: Support a community
that fosters vitality, momentum, and impact for
the facility management professional;
- Goal Two in Operational Excellence is: Anticipate
and prioritize the resources required to enhance
effective delivery of products and services;
- Goal Three in People is: Inspire passion for
the facility management profession that compels
facility practitioners to want to join the IFMA
network, engages volunteer leaders, and attracts/retains
talent to its staff; and
- Goal Four in Financial is: Sustain IFMA’s
financial integrity to achieve and fulfill its mission.
The objectives are a very important part of the
Strategic Plan and BSC. They are declarative statements
and calls to mobilize the organization’s resources
to make things happen. IFMA has 10 objectives:
- Provide effective networking opportunities for
all facility management stakeholders;
- Offer a complete suite of learning programs to
advance the career of the facility management professional;
- Improve the stature and influence of the facility
management profession;
- Develop a process to capture and share knowledge
on facility management globally;
- Forecast trends and influence facility management
direction;
- Align long-range growth strategy around core
target markets;
- Optimize IFMA’s role in the global facility
management community;
- Provide the information technology infrastructure
to support the operational excellence perspective
fully;
- Foster a supportive environment that embraces
staff and volunteer growth and development; and
- Maintain viable fiscal position through good
financial management, diversification of revenues,
and optimized asset utilization.
In Norton’s and Kaplan’s second book,
The Strategy Focused Organization, Strategy
Maps are first mentioned. This concept became the
topic of book three, Strategy Maps. IFMA’s Strategy
Map has proven to be the best planning tool for communicating,
educating, and validating the Association’s
Strategic Plan and Balanced Scorecard. It’s
a representation of IFMA’s strategy and many
people grasp concepts better visually. The Strategy
Map also provides the missing link between formulation
and execution.
As IFMA staff members and volunteers go about the
business of the Association, the Strategy Map helps
them see how individual actions contribute to the
big picture. At the very top of the Map, Long-Term
Stakeholder Value is positioned between the Vision
and Mission.
Lastly, IFMA is a multi-tiered organization comprised
of 17,500 members. The BSC must cascade throughout
the organization so more specific BSCs and action
plans can be developed. It also drives IFMA’s
budgeting, risk management, and training priorities.
All the gears must mesh.
However the extension of the BSC to the rest of
the organization is not just a one way flow of information.
The real beauty of the BSC is empowerment. It gets
targeted information into the hands of the people
actually doing the work. They know what needs to be
done to achieve the desired ends. New actionable ideas,
not thought of in the planning process, percolate
up from the functional areas back through the organization.
IFMA absorbs them like a sponge. SPOT captures these
gems for integration back into the planning cycle.
IFMA has made tremendous progress as a result of
its strategic planning and the introduction of the
BSC. It is propelling the Association to higher levels
of performance, with improved quality, satisfied members
and good returns on investments. Everyone on the IFMA
team knows where he or she is going and the BSC work
has become a part of the Association’s DNA.
Young is vice president of communications at
the Houston-based International Facility Management
Association (IFMA), where he has headed the communications
function since March 1989. IFMA is the professional
association for facility management with approximately
17,500 members worldwide.
Do you need to be more strategic in
your facility? Share your thoughts by writing to schwartz@groupc.com.
For past Professional Development columns, see Professional
Development at www.TodaysFacilityManager.com.
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