How to manage office maintenance without a dedicated facilities team

For companies under 200 people, a dedicated facilities team is usually not justified. But without one, maintenance gets deferred until something breaks, vendor relationships are informal, and costs are uncontrolled. A part-time approach with clear ownership works well.

Assign an office manager or senior admin person as the facilities owner. This doesn't need to be their only responsibility — but someone needs to own the maintenance calendar, the vendor relationships, and the immediate response to facilities issues. Without clear ownership, everything gets deferred.

Build an annual maintenance calendar. AMCs (Annual Maintenance Contracts) for critical systems — HVAC, elevators, fire suppression, UPS, generators, and electrical panels — are the foundation. Unplanned breakdowns are 3–5x more expensive than planned maintenance. Get AMC quotes from 2–3 vendors for each system and choose based on response time guarantees, not just price.

Maintain a vendor list for reactive needs: plumber, electrician, pest control, deep cleaning, and carpentry. Having 1–2 reliable vendors for each category means when something breaks, you're not searching — you're calling.

Keep a maintenance log. Every issue reported, when it was fixed, and at what cost. This data tells you which systems are high-maintenance (and may need replacement), and provides the history you need for insurance claims, lease negotiations, and budget planning.

Budget realistically. For a well-managed commercial office in Delhi-NCR, budget ₹15–25 per sq ft per year for maintenance and upkeep, excluding major capital works. If your actual spend is significantly below this, you're likely deferring maintenance.