Facility management departments in the United States and Canada are frequently reorganizing the manner which they direct the functionality of the built environment. What is driving this constant change is the subject of this research.

The research approach is an exploratory mixed method design. Through interviews of several facility managers, attributes were discovered that added understanding of the business and personnel activities that occur before department reorganizations. Additional understanding of other potential variables was explored. From this exploratory information a survey was prepared based on themes found. The survey was sent to professional facility managers in the United States and Canada. The survey data were then analyzed with quantitative methods to determine relationships of themes to reorganizations as well as frequency of reorganization types. The survey data built upon, validated, and helped explain the qualitative findings.

Drivers found for facility management department reorganizations included (a) Business Change, which include both business growth and business decline; (b) Business Practice, which includes changes in the host organization, the facility management organization, technology, and communications; and (c) Management or Leader changes or preferences.

The most common type of reorganization that occurs is adding functions to the responsibility of the facility management departments. In two-thirds of the reorganizations the individual most responsible for initiating the facility management reorganization was a senior manager or executive outside the facility management department. Reorganization of facility management departments was found to occur frequently and on average more than once each year.

An increased understanding of relationships among type of organization, change drivers, and management initiators and the types of reorganization help the facility manager to anticipate or respond better to change. Recognizing reorganization drivers for facility department reorganizations will further help managers better anticipate and control the disruptions of reorganizing for the benefit of the organization.