Serving People through Facility Maintenance

by Andrew  Pust

Have you ever finished a job and stepped back to enjoy the feeling of accomplishment only to be immediately buried by an avalanche of additional problems? While digging our way out of the pile, we usually notice that some of these problems are not new, and in fact, are considerably more important than the one we just finished. Managing a department or program of any type requires that we develop the ability to see the individual details as well as the entire picture and then choose to do that which is most important even though there may be many other matters demanding our immediate attention.

So how do we consistently spend our time doing what is really the most important? How do we set priorities that accurately reflect reality? Priorities are really about what we will not be able to do today. Whenever we say yes to one thing, we are saying no to a dozen others. The two dynamics at work in setting priorities are importance and urgency. Their relationship can be visualized by using a graph like the one to the right. The axis are importance and urgency. Every problem or request can be charted on this graph in one of the four quadrants. The upper left contains those things that are important or vital to the direction and long-term success of the organization. This is where we should operate consistently.

The lower right contains those things that are urgent or personally desirable immediately but not vital to long term success. At the lower left are things that are neither important nor urgent. The upper right quadrant then is the red alert zone. Items here are usually important things that have been put off and are now urgent. Occasionally, something that has been urgent gets re-evaluated and moves into the red zone. These important and urgent problems are not only vital to long-term success but have now become tangibly detrimental to the ministry and must be dealt with immediately.

How do we differentiate between important and urgent? Importance is determined by an objective examination of the facts. Urgency, on the other hand is the pressure we feel to solve a particular problem. This pressure is the subjective result of being personally affected by the problem and can be self-imposed or brought to bear by others. We get into serious difficulties when we allow objective judgment to be superseded by urgency. This apparent conflict between our stewardship responsibilities and our desire to serve people is the root of the overwhelming frustration with which many maintenance personnel live. 

I say it is an apparent conflict, because it is not a necessary conflict. The conflict is actually not caused by either our work responsibilities or the pressures of life. This conflict is self-imposed by our own sin nature. We naturally want to please ourselves. When we succumb to the urgent at the expense of the important, we are really serving ourselves. We are looking for a pat on the back, or we are just doing what we would rather be doing instead of what we should be doing. It takes discipline to choose to spend the majority of our limited resources on what is truly important, but that is the only way to gain the trust and support of those we serve. Important things that are neglected always become urgent; when they do, everything else must give way. 

For example, putting off for several years an electrical upgrade. If we don’t take care of this important thing at the time of our own choosing, we will undoubtedly work on this important and now urgent thing some afternoon at the very point we can least afford the down time or the resources needed. What is more damaging is that our colleagues will begin to wonder what other time bombs are being neglected. They are not sure they can trust us, so they will turn up the pressure on the things that are important to them to protect their own interests.

The key to resolving this conflict is to create objective, decision-making tools and guidelines whereby we can evaluate and compare the situations facing us. One such tool is the Top 10 List of Distractions in the sidebar on page six. The top three items deal with the people affected by the problem. Our colleagues can deal with the lack of anything else on the list patiently if we have taken the time to determine a plan and have given them an answer. That answer should assure them that we have explored every other possible solution and give them confidence that we have taken the necessary steps to ensure their safety and the safety of those for whom they are responsible.

We can make the right choices and move ahead on solving the problem; however, without clear communication, those we serve will become uneasy. That uneasiness can manifest itself in many ways. Some people will watch us work. If we haven’t communicated the plan, they will try to find out for themselves. Others will take care of the problem themselves. They have interpreted the fact that we aren’t there yet along with the lack of communication as indication that we aren’t coming and that their problem isn’t important to us. Our colleagues need to understand that their problems are important to us but that another more important problem needs to be dealt with first according to our list of distractions. When a distraction pops up that overrides previously communicated plans, a clear and timely answer to all parties affected will maintain trust and clear the way to focus on the problem at hand. 

Due to different settings and circumstances, your top ten list will probably be a little different. It is vital that your colleagues are included in the process of developing the objective tools you will use. A previously determined consensus is a powerful ally in times of conflicting priorities and enables the people we serve to cheerfully put off their own urgencies in order to allow another’s need to be met. On the other hand, a priority list instated by official decree will only serve to provide an environment of discontent and our motives will constantly be questioned. With all that has been said about doing the important things in our quest to serve people through facility maintenance, it never hurts to go the extra mile—to quietly take care of some of those urgent matters as opportunity
arises and maybe even on our own time; not so our colleagues can pat us on the back, but to show that we are listening and that we love them.

Click for graph of Urgent to Important.