"Performance Review" A regularly featured interview with one of our chapter's professional members.  
 
    Meet Norm Erlandson, CFM,  Emerson Process Management

Provide some insight on your Employer/Company's core function/service.  
We provide the control systems that operate refineries, food processing, pharmaceutical, chemical, and other plants, from batch/flow control to financial reporting.

Identify Company's total number, sq. ft., types, and locations of offices, e.g., corporate, industrial, owned, leased, downtown, suburban, local, regional.
We have a mixed portfolio of leased and owned properties.  Domestic sites include Bradenton FL, Atlanta, Philadelphia, Baton Rouge, Corpus Christi, three in Houston, Austin, Bloomington, MN, and Concord CA.  International locations include Calgary, Brazil, Venezuela, Costa Rico, Puerto Rico, Singapore, Manila, Shanghai, Pune, India, Leicester, UK, and Scotland.

Identify Company’s total number of employees.   
Four thousand.

How many total sq. ft. are you responsible for?
1.5 million.

What are your primary job functions?
I have responsibility for the justification and rationalization of locations to meet business requirements, lease negotiations, construction, relocations/consolidations, and operations of all North American sites.

How long have you been in the FM field?  Education, certifications?
I've been in the field for 20 years, and have an associate degree in psychology and mathematics.  Certifications include CFM (Certified Facility Manager – IFMA), CPP (Certified Protection Professional – ASIS International), CIE (Certifies Indoor Environmentalist – IAQA).

Who do you report to?
Director of Finance, World Wide.

Who reports to you? 
I have 20 Facility Managers reporting to me on a dual, dotted line reporting structure.

What functions do you outsource?
Currently, we do mostly out tasking, rather than full outsourcing.  We generally out task almost all facility functions.

Describe your recycling program, if applicable.
We recycle glass, plastic, cans, cardboard, shredded paper, and all computer components.

Describe any energy conservation measure you have implemented in your facilities.
We have converted from T12 fluorescent lighting to T8 and T5, to compact fluorescent from incandescent, and utilize occupancy sensors.  We closely monitor HVAC response and control and perform continuous commissioning.  We profile our electrical loading to control peak demand issues, and we are a founding partner in Austin Energy’s Green Power Program.

Identify some FM challenges you face within your organization.
The biggest challenge is to provide appropriate resources to very diversified cultural and generational customers.

Identify some challenges the FM industry as a whole must face in the near future.
I think it will be the continued generational constituency, gradually needing to accommodate an older work force, the multicultural needs of multi-national corporations, and sustainable, energy efficient structures.

What are some of your hobbies and interests outside work?                               
My wife and I have enjoyed participation in construction as part of the Habitat for Humanity program, taking a pick and shovel out in the back country as founding members of a group called Central Texas Trail Tamers, creating and or maintaining hiking trails for the National Park Service, Bureau of Land Management, and Forestry Services all over the central and western portions of the U.S..  Currently my wife and I do cat/kitten rescue, taking in animals that would otherwise be euthanized, getting them healthy and into loving homes.  We normally rescue and adopt around 400 cats/kittens per year.

Thank you, Norm! 
 

"Cold Call" is a regularly featured interview with an associate member. 

Describe your company's core competency.
CORT is not just a furniture rental company. CORT is the leader in seamless support for companies and individuals in transition. We provide people, and companies, moving from one place to another the most complete range of services and products of any company anywhere. CORT offers the world's largest inventory of commercial and residential rental furnishings and you can choose from thousands of items in a variety of styles from classic to contemporary.

Services we provided include: Furniture Sales and Leasing, both new and pre-leased, and we specialize in both Commercial and Residential furniture. We are a G.S.A. approved vendor and we also have our own apartment search website, ApartmentSearch.com. We can give you a tour of a city, find you an apartment, get your utilities hooked up, and furnish your home and business. We have our own Tradeshow and Event Furnishings division as well. CORT has been in business for over 35 years, and we have been a Berkshire Hathaway company since 2000.

Describe your primary job functions.
My main focus is to implement corporate strategies, uphold corporate standards, and pursue the goal of driving new sales and increasing market penetration while maintaining our current business.

Describe an average day.
Well, now that I am no longer working as the District Operations Manager I don’t start my day at 4:00 in the morning anymore, although I still get up way too early!  Checking emails, reviewing business reports and working on district game plans is generally the way that I start my day.  I try to split my attendance at morning meetings between our three locations so that I can gauge the feeling and spirit of the entire District.  After that, my day is spent supporting the different departments as necessary, as well as attending functions related to marketing and networking and growing our business.

What type of clients do you work with?
CORT does commercial and residential business with 80% of the Fortune 500, and is a GSA vendor (local customers include Ft. Hood in Killeen and Camp Mabry in Austin).  CORT was selected again this year as the national provider for the Census.  We also support corporate relocation companies by providing furniture for relocated employees, third party housing companies, insurance claims customers, realtors, home stagers, and apartment complexes.  Even individuals and students -- anybody in transition -- whether for business or personal is an ideal client for CORT.

What percentage of your work and clients is local/regional/national?
The CORT-Austin District is generally responsible for the area from San Marcos to Waco, and from Marble Falls to College Station.  Nationally, CORT has over 125 locations and over 50 Distribution Centers. This was all PRIOR to the recent acquisition of our largest national competitor, Aaron Rents.  In addition, we recently partnered with our first overseas business, RoomService, headquartered in London.  Our ability to deal with other providers throughout the world allows us to truly be a worldwide Relocation Services provider.

How long have you been in this field?  Tell us briefly about your career, education, certifications.
I am celebrating my 20^th year with CORT this year!  I started in 1998 as a Helper on the trucks in San Antonio after having been in the Air Force at Lackland AFB for 5 years.  Initially, CORT passed on me for employment for what I later learned was because they thought I was too small.  Imagine that!  I have worked for CORT in four different cities over the years, including stops in San Antonio, El Paso, Denver and Austin (twice).

What’s the best lesson you’ve learned from a client?
Be a good partner and do what you promise to do.  If you can’t do it, than say that you can’t do it.  These are all old sayings, but I have learned them from experience.  It is much better to be honest about my ability to service the customer.  If I over promise and under deliver, I am potentially impacting their entire team, or worse, one of their customers.

How's business right now?
Crazy busy!  As I mentioned above, on November 6^th we finalized the acquisition of our largest competitor, Aaron Rents.  This is actually the 55^th acquisition in the history of CORT, and it was the biggest.  In Austin alone, we grew our revenue more than 60%, OVERNIGHT!  

Identify some challenges in your industry.
Getting the word out about the benefits of furniture rental, as well as the savings available by purchasing previously leased furniture.  For example, as an alternative to purchasing new office furniture, renting allows new and growing companies the opportunity to use funds on other areas that can help to ensure the growth and success of their business.  These areas include advertising, staffing, training, etc.  Of course, this is not the right path for every business, just as leasing a car is not the right choice for everybody.  It simply offers an opportunity to hang on to that cash if you need it to grow or support your business.

Tell us about your personal life, family, hobbies and interests outside work.
My wife, Gwen, and I have been married for 13 years as of December.  We are the proud parents of two awesome daughters, Jessica (11) and Jillian (9).  I am truly the King of my castle, and we do everything together.  From watching movies, swimming, or just plain driving around and seeing new stuff, we just enjoy being a family.  While my wife has both a marketing degree and a real estate license, she has been very fortunate to have been able to be a full time Mom to our girls since they were born.  It has been great for the girls and I truly appreciate Gwen for what she has done for us. 

Can we quote you on that?
Two things actually: 1) Do what you promise to do; 2) If you have something to say about somebody, have the courtesy to say it to them.  If not, keep it to yourself.  There is nothing worse than cancer in the workplace. 

Thanks, Terry!

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