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Six-Year Salary Trends for Facilities Professionals By Ernest R. Hunter Sr., P.E., ACP, MOS (Master) A s facilities professionals we are responsible to our institution for optimally managing resources placed in our charge. Since many of us have technical backgrounds, our personal attention tends to gravitate toward those resources that require technical solutions to their man- agement challenges. We expend extreme effort to learn all there is to know about the latest leading-edge mechanical systems being considered for the new science building we are about to construct. We conduct exhaustive studies and weeks of analysis to determine the energy con- sumption trends and financial payback of the energy conservation projects being pitched by the sustainability committee. Numerous debates will ensue in technical meetings, regard- ing the merits of central power plants over package power systems when considering expansion to a remote undeveloped site. And we will spend many hours in management team meetings discussing nu- merous technical performance indicators and their trends. All of the above mentioned technical effort, study, analysis, and debate is important and absolutely necessary, because it directly impacts the facilities professional's ability to properly manage tangible and highly valuable institution resources. BUT WHAT ABOUT THE STAFF? While the catchphrase "people are our most important resource" is probably over used, there is no other area where it is more true than the facilities management profession. Without the electricians, for instance, we would find our- selves figuratively and literally in the dark. Such a statement could be made about the people that perform every job in the facilities management organization. So, people truly are our most important resource. But this resource is supported by other important tangible and intangible resources. The intangibles include but are not limited to proper leadership, high-quality work environments, non-monetary award and recognition programs, training, and motivation activities—just to name a few. Employee compen- sation, made up of salaries and benefits, is the most tangible and significant resource that facilities professionals must manage. Benefits are usually set at the institution level, and the facilities organization has little direct impact on this resource. Salaries, on the other hand, are typically managed by internal facilities management organization policies and practices. SALARIES ARE A BIG TICKET ITEM Salaries typically make up the larg- est percent of the facilities management operating budget. In APPA's Facilities Performance Indicators Report (FPI) 2011- 12, participants reported a combined Annual Operating Expenditure (AFOE) 1 of $4,208,404,200, purchased utilities of $1,899,947,343, and salaries without benefits of $1,114,456,245. As can be seen from these numbers, salaries represent 26 percent of the an- nual operating budget excluding purchased utilities. The sheer magnitude of the salary budget coupled with the significant intangible impact salaries have on employees, suggest that facilities professionals should devote just as much effort, study, analysis, and debate to our employee compensa- tion policies, practices, and trends as we do to the more excit- ing and comfortable technical challenges of our profession mentioned at the beginning of this article. Therefore, armed with the realization that acquiring knowledge about employee compensation is critical and necessary, where can you, the facilities professional, turn to for assistance? By participating in, and customizing the data available through APPA's FPI report, we hope to give you [Ed. Note: The following is one of an occasional series of articles and reports that mine data and results found in APPA's annual Facilities Performance Indicators (FPI) report. The salary trends and analysis report will become an annual feature published in the July/August issue of Facilities Manager.] Facilities Manager | july/august 2014 | 45