Are you a facility coordinator? Wondering whether you’re making any common mistakes? If so, this is the article for you. Facility coordinators are the backbone of smooth operations, staying on top of endless tasks, competing priorities, and rising expectations.
Yet even the most capable coordinators can fall into avoidable traps that create frustration, inefficiency, and unnecessary cost. In this article, you’ll learn about the most common mistakes we see, and best practice advice on how best to avoid them. By the end, you’ll be able to implement these industry best practices, keeping your building, budget, and team running like clockwork.
1. Getting stuck in reactive mode instead of planning ahead
It’s easy for facility coordinators to slip into reactive mode—dealing with leaks, last-minute complaints, and equipment breakdowns as they arise. But when you spend most of your time firefighting, there’s little left for proactive work that prevents these issues in the first place. The result? More unplanned downtime, higher maintenance costs, and unhappy building users.
Here’s how to fix it:
- Build and maintain a preventive maintenance plan: Develop a schedule for inspections, servicing, and routine checks to catch problems early. Use a simple calendar or a full Computerised Maintenance Management System (CMMS) to stay organised.
- Use checklists and logs: Document recurring issues to spot patterns. This helps you address root causes instead of treating symptoms.
- Communicate the plan: Keep everyone—from tenants to contractors—informed about planned work, so surprises and interruptions are minimised.
By shifting from reactive to proactive, you can cut down on emergencies, extend the life of assets, and free up time for higher-value tasks.
2. Overlooking staff, contractor, and vendor oversight
Facility coordinators depend on a mix of internal staff, external contractors, and service providers for everything from cleaning and landscaping to HVAC and security. But when there’s no clear oversight or follow-up, things fall through the cracks—resulting in incomplete jobs, poor standards, or unnecessary repeat work.
How to fix it:
- Set clear expectations: Agree on detailed service level agreements (SLAs) that define what’s required, how it’s measured, and when it’s due.
- Inspect and verify: Regularly check completed work, keep photographic records, and compare invoices with actual delivery.
- Keep performance data: Track contractor performance and build a reliable preferred supplier list so you know who to trust for future jobs.
Good vendor management keeps your building running at a high standard, avoids wasted spend, and shows you’re in control of quality.
3. Failing to track and share key building data
Many facility coordinators do great work behind the scenes but fail to collect or communicate the evidence. This makes it harder to justify budgets, get buy-in for upgrades, or show stakeholders how your work protects the building’s value. Without clear reporting, your achievements—and your needs—often go unnoticed.
How to fix it:
- Collect relevant metrics: Track energy usage, maintenance costs, response times, tenant complaints, and downtime incidents.
- Use simple reports: Turn raw data into clear dashboards or monthly summaries for managers and stakeholders.
- Celebrate and share wins: Highlight cost savings, sustainability improvements, or successful projects to strengthen your position as a trusted coordinator.
When you show the impact of your work, it’s easier to gain support for investments that make your job easier and the facility better for everyone.
Avoiding these common mistakes—reactive firefighting, poor contractor oversight, and missing data—will help you coordinate with confidence. By planning ahead, managing your partners, and demonstrating your value, you can ensure your facility runs efficiently and that your hard work is seen and appreciated.
What’s your approach to solving these common problems? Let’s talk