People First: Mike Zechello's Philosophy on Facility Management

On the April 11^th, 2024, episode of Facil­i­ty Rock­stars, Mike Zechel­lo, Man­ag­er of Facil­i­ties Engi­neer­ing at Math­Works, joins Facil­i­ty Rock­stars with near­ly three decades of expe­ri­ence in facil­i­ty man­age­ment. Mike shares his key philoso­phies: pri­or­i­tiz­ing his team, fos­ter­ing a sup­port­ive envi­ron­ment, and build­ing strong rela­tion­ships with vendors.

Hir­ing the Right Peo­ple and Build­ing Trust

Mike empha­sizes the impor­tance of hir­ing the right peo­ple and empow­er­ing them. ​“The key is hir­ing the right staff,” he states. Ear­ly in his career, Mike real­ized he need­ed to trust his team and empow­er them rather than micromanage.

Cre­at­ing a Sup­port­ive Culture

Math­Works fos­ters a unique and sup­port­ive cul­ture for its employ­ees. This includes:

• A Rig­or­ous Hir­ing Process: Can­di­dates meet with var­i­ous team mem­bers and even join the team for lunch.
• The Bud­dy Sys­tem: New hires are paired with a bud­dy to help them nav­i­gate the com­pa­ny and its systems.
• Focus on Well-being: Free break­fast and lunch, a state-of-the-art gym, and recre­ation­al activ­i­ties are avail­able to all employees.

Valu­ing Ven­dor Rela­tion­ships through QBRs

Mike high­lights the impor­tance of build­ing strong part­ner­ships with ven­dors through Quar­ter­ly Busi­ness Reviews (QBRs). These meet­ings pro­vide a plat­form for open dia­logue, feed­back, and con­tin­u­ous improve­ment. Mike empha­sizes the impor­tance of see­ing ven­dors as an exten­sion of the team.

Key Take­aways for Facil­i­ty Managers

• Trust your team and empow­er them to do their best work.
• Cre­ate a sup­port­ive and inclu­sive work environment.
• Invest in your employ­ees’ well-being.
• Build strong, col­lab­o­ra­tive rela­tion­ships with vendors.
• Always be open to feed­back and con­tin­u­ous improvement.

Mike Zechel­lo’s insights offer valu­able guid­ance for facil­i­ty man­agers look­ing to build high-per­form­ing teams, fos­ter strong rela­tion­ships, and cre­ate a pos­i­tive and pro­duc­tive work envi­ron­ment. His ​“peo­ple first” approach is a tes­ta­ment to the pow­er of invest­ing in your team and valu­ing their contributions.

Lis­ten to the full episode and hear more from Mike:

• Spo­ti­fy: https://​open​.spo​ti​fy​.com/​s​h​o​w​/​0​M​2​X​B​7​8​b​0​9​i​5​v​k​W​y​1​eHsxb
• Apple Pod­casts: https://​pod​casts​.apple​.com/​u​s​/​p​o​d​c​a​s​t​/​f​a​c​i​l​i​t​y​— r​o​c​k​s​t​a​r​s​/​i​d​1​7​2​9​4​58441
• Ama­zon Music: https://​music​.ama​zon​.com/​p​o​d​c​a​s​t​s​/​6​0​b​b​c​4​f​3​— a​1​2​3​— 4​7​c​a​— 9​a​8​3​— e​a​d​e​1​0​2​c​5​8​5​9​/​f​a​c​i​l​i​t​y​— rockstars
• Pod­chas­er: https://​www​.pod​chas​er​.com/​p​o​d​c​a​s​t​s​/​f​a​c​i​l​i​t​y​— r​o​c​k​s​t​a​r​s​— 5616662
• YouTube: https://​youtu​.be/​E​z​E​A​g​K​4cYXI