How to Leverage a Facility Management Company When Hiring A Commercial Plumbing Contractor

Commercial plumbing contractors are an incredibly important vendor for facility managers. It’s a category within your Integrated Facility Management database that is equally as important as any other licensed vendor. And, just like the electricians, groundskeeping, and HVAC vendors in your database, your IFM company will develop a close working relationship with them.

Let’s look at three ways this relationship can be leveraged to maximize your investment in your integrated facility management contract.

Reputable Facility Management Companies Work With The Best Commercial Plumbing Contractors

Best is sometimes an ambiguous word, as each person defines it differently. However, we believe there are several key behaviors that quality commercial plumbing contractors will demonstrate time and time again.

These include:

• Clear project communication: They proactively keep the facility manager in the loop at all times. They clearly define expectations, timelines, and any hiccups that they encounter.
• Reputation: While pursuing the trades is a commendable decision, not everyone who chooses that career path will do a quality job. The best commercial plumbing contractors will have a reputation that can be verified by other companies or customers.
• Organization: To be clear, we’re not referring to each tool being in the right spot or a spotless vehicle. Rather, we’re referring to a plumber who proactively maintains their cost structure, keeps their insurance up to date, renews their certifications as they come due, and seeks out ongoing education.

Using that quality of “best,” your integrated facility management firm will build close working partnerships with plumbing vendors who match this stringent criteria, only working with those individuals or companies who demonstrate their commitment to excellence.

Commercial Plumbing Contractors Enjoy Working With Reliable IFM’s

It’s important to understand that this isn’t a one-way street. Earlier, we mentioned how this relationship can be leveraged to maximize your contract investment. Quality commercial plumbing contractors will likewise only work with reliable IFM firms. Think of the relationship this way: sometimes, as a business manager, you have to say goodbye to a client. Whether they’re overly demanding, lack a return on investment due to their revenue-to-time ratio, or simply aren’t a good culture fit, it’s safe to say you’ve likely had to terminate a business partnership at least once before.

Commercial plumbing contractors are business managers too. They have to judge each client they take on to determine what the relationship will be like and if the client will work with them instead of against them.

They actively enjoy working with reliable integrated facility management companies because they, too, recognize a valuable partner when they see one. An IFM firm that has policies in place for after-hours work, for example, demonstrates a proactive thought process. As we said, it’s a two-way street. If you’re trying to evaluate which IFM company to go with, and you have a plumbing or other vendor you work well with, ask them for a recommendation for IFM services and see which names they mention.

Facility Managers Should Provide A Test Region

Facility managers may be responsible for multiple buildings or campuses, all with vast plumbing needs. When selecting an IFM firm for your organization, a good way to test them out is with a trial region. Select a smaller campus or building to start. Then, evaluate the IFM firm, particularly how they work with your vendors. The way they treat your vendors is highly indicative of how they’ll treat you. If their relationship with your vendors is a positive one, you can safely expand the contract with them.

It’s All About Trust When Finding a Commercial Plumbing Contractor

Relationships in business are crucially important to running a successful enterprise. An IFM firm that treats your current vendors well will be vital in selecting new ones later. The way they manage those relationships will tell you a lot about the quality of both the commercial plumbing contractor as well as the integrated facility management company itself.