Facilities fitness

Credit Union Management, Jun 2002 by Molvig, Dianne

Like other credit union executives, Ed Reynolds has had days on the job he'll never forget. Take, for instance, the time a member tried to convert The People's Credit Union's drive-through into a drive-in, by accidentally propelling her car right into the drive-through window.

For Reynolds, that's just one in a string of incidents-most of them far less catastrophic-that have occurred over the years, each demanding that he drop whatever he's doing and respond to the problem at hand.

In the case of the shattered drivethrough, he made sure no one was hurt, cleaned up the mess, dealt with the insurance adjusters and hired contractors to repair the damage. It was all in the line of duty for Reynolds, as the senior manager of facilities and security at The People's CU (www.peoplescu.com), which has $256 million in assets, 30,000 members and eight branches in a 20-mile radius surrounding Middletown, R.I.

With eight buildings under his charge, "you never know what's going to happen," Reynolds says in describing the nature of a facilities manager's job. "A boiler could blow up, or something could go bang in the middle of the night, and you get a call. You never know."

Indeed, that element of unpredictability is part of the appeal-and perhaps also the frustration-of being a facilities manager, say those who hold that position in credit unions. They enjoy being on the move, not tied to a desk, handling whatever situation arises.

"You can never tell from one day to the next what will need your attention. And that makes this job fascinating," says Marc Rhodes, CSE, for whom facilities management is a key responsibility in his job as VP/support services at $539 million Fort Worth Community Credit Union (www.ftwccu.org) in Bedford, Texas, with 40,000 members.

SERVING INTERNAL CUSTOMERS

Not only do individual facilities managers have diverse duties within their own credit unions, but the position carries varying expectations from one credit union to the next.

Despite the variations, one common thread is that, by definition, a facilities manager is responsible for keeping all of a credit union's facilities in good condition and operating properly.

Building repair and upkeep, parking lot maintenance, landscaping, electrical systems, heating, air conditioning, plumbing-all these and more may fall under a facilities manager's supervision, according to Paul Seibert, principal at Seattle-based Emick Howard & Seibert (www.ehs-design. com), a strategic facility planning, architecture and interior planning firm. Seibert also is author of Credit Union Facility Planning and Management, published by CUES.

"In some credit unions, facilities managers are also security officers," Seibert adds. "They might also be running the mail room, buying the supplies or in charge of the repo depot (for repossessed vehicles) ... If the credit union owns a building and rents out extra space it's not using, the facilities manager becomes a landlord who works with the tenants and satisfies their needs."

As just one example of someone wearing multiple hats, consider Rhodes at Fort Worth Community CU. In the facilities manager portion of his job, he looks after six buildings, including serving as project manager during construction of a new $10.5 million headquarters completed in early 2002.

In addition, Rhodes is responsible for the security systems and he's the procurement officer. "I order the supplies and equipment," he says, "everything except our computers, which are purchased and installed by our IT department."

No matter what their precise job title and duties may be, all facilities managers serve the same type of clientele: their fellow credit union employees. By seeing to it that the credit union's facilities are in good shape inside and out, and that the work environment is comfortable, safe and suited to the tasks to be performed in it, facilities managers help assure all employees are able to work productively.

Still, the facilities manager's job is one that fellow employees often misunderstand and underestimate. "I think it's an extremely difficult job," Seibert observes, "because few people appreciate how complex it can be."

As someone with 15 years' experience in facilities management at $460 million, 62,000-member Kitsap Community Federal Credit Union (www.kit sapcu.org) in Bremerton, Wash., Dave Willis can identify with Seibert's words. As the facilities manager, Willis was responsible for 12 buildings. Recently he moved on to take the VP/operations post and hired a new person to fill his old job. But, as VP/operations, he'll continue to play a role in strategic facilities planning.

"As long as the buildings operate wonderfully and look nice, and people are comfortable," Willis points out, "everybody thinks, `Why do we need someone to manage our facilities?' But to keep the buildings looking nice and operating smoothly, you do need someone who knows building maintenance well."

While every credit union has someone who takes care of facilities because, after all, every credit union occupies at least one facility, relatively few credit unions have a staff person who devotes all or most of his or her time to this task.