What questions should I ask a facility manager during an interview?

If you’re looking to hire a facilities manager for your organization, you may be a bit nervous about the decision. After all, this individual will be responsible for keeping your whole operation running smoothly. Making the right decision will save you lots of stress and headaches down the road; picking the wrong person can become an albatross around your neck.

Selecting someone with years of proven experience in facilities management as well as one who comes with high recommendations is critical. However, asking the right questions during the interview process can also help you determine fit. Here are some types of questions to consider:

Evaluate Thinking

Your facilities manager will have to make many decisions each day so be sure to ask questions that will help you understand the candidate’s thinking process.

1. If you discovered that a contractor was not following safety protocols, what would you do?
2. If we were hosting a large customer event in a week, how would you prepare our facility?
3. What are the first things you would consider if we needed to cut costs?

Evaluate Specific Experience

The questions you select in this category should be specific to your particular facility and business. If you use a particular type of software or need to follow specific regulations, you’ll want to evaluate your candidate’s experience with those items.

1. What experience do you have with OSHA compliance?
2. What CMMS, PM or PdM systems have you used?
3. What do you know about reliability-centered maintenance?

Evaluate People Skills

A facilities manager will be working with many different people throughout the day. The individual may be overseeing a team of technicians or contractors as well as interacting with management, suppliers, and other business partners. You’ll want to ask questions that check people skills.

1. Tell me about a time when you had to resolve a personnel problem among technicians.
2. Have you ever fired a contractor? Tell me about that situation and how you handled it.
3. What steps do you take in communicating planning, strategy, and reporting to upper management?