Automation Investments Pay Off When Facilities Strategy Prioritizes ROI, Team Cohesion

Modern facilities management in hospitality is under pressure to deliver visible impact and measurable return across increasingly complex properties. As resorts and private clubs invest in automation, energy systems, and capital upgrades, leaders face figuring out which technologies and processes truly add value, and which simply add cost and complexity. The stakes are higher now as expectations rise for efficiency, guest experience, and financial accountability all at once. To navigate the shift, industry leaders must ground modernization in return-on-investment analysis, prioritize actionable data over data volume, and build cohesive, hands-on teams capable of sustaining excellence across every aspect of a property long after the upgrades are complete.

Enter Eric MacLean, Assistant Director of Facilities at Hunters Run Country Club, who oversees the full spectrum of facilities operations for the private residential community in Boynton Beach, Florida, from assisting team members on the shop floor to managing installations and planning complex capital projects. A Certified Facility Manager and Certified Associate in Project Management, he previously held roles at large-scale properties including Walt Disney World Resort, building a foundation that blends strategic capital planning with hands-on technical leadership. As President of the South Florida chapter of the International Facility Management Association, he brings an industry-wide perspective to modernization, team development, and succession planning.

Over the past two years, the facility has undergone a significant modernization effort, removing deferred maintenance and positioning the organization for the future. "One of the biggest breakthroughs has been building a team of not just skilled technicians, but a cohesive group that communicates, collaborates, and grows together,” MacLean says. “The work is not complete, but we have made significant progress,” he adds, noting that the progress has been guided by Director of Facilities Jim Galske and made possible through the continued support of Hunters Run leadership and the board.

• Value over volume: As automation and analytics tools proliferate, MacLean believes facilities leaders must become more disciplined about what they measure and why. By narrowing the focus to actionable insights, his team avoids overcomplicating systems and keeps investments aligned with operational outcomes. “The big change in the industry is how we define good data,” he explains. “We focus on what we need to see, what we need to control, and what actually adds value. While efficiency is still a goal, there is much more attention on whether the upfront cost, especially for control or automated systems, delivers meaningful return.”

• Lobbies, not life-support: Facilities strategy depends on environment. A hospital and a country club operate under entirely different definitions of critical risk, and leaders must embed those distinctions into their processes. “Life-and-death versus appearance require different approaches,” MacLean says. “In a hospital, the operating room takes precedence because lives are at stake. In a country club, it might be the paint in the lobby. The key is determining where we place value, how we rank it, and how we embed that into our processes so it is managed correctly."

After modernizing the facility, MacLean discovered that the most meaningful breakthroughs were human. His focus on team building and personalized coaching creates a culture where collaboration and communication become everyday habits that strengthen the team’s performance.

• Teams in sync: Technical skill alone does not create operational excellence. MacLean invests in cohesion, ensuring the team functions as a unified group rather than a collection of individual contributors. He reinforces alignment through structured meetings, informal check-ins, and shared accountability for outcomes. The result is consistency across shifts, projects, and daily work orders. “We have team members with top-tier skills and others who are still growing,” he says.

• Safety in speech: High performance requires psychological safety. MacLean actively removes barriers that might prevent team members from speaking up. This approach strengthens trust and ensures issues are addressed before they escalate. “When a team member brings a concern to me one-on-one, I ask if they are comfortable sharing it with the whole team,” he explains. “If not, I introduce the topic without attribution. That way, the conversation happens while removing any pressure from the individual.”

Beyond Hunters Run Country Club, MacLean views succession planning as one of the industry’s biggest opportunities. Through his involvement with IFMA, he mentors emerging professionals and advocates for stronger talent pipelines that move skilled tradespeople into leadership roles, a mission shaped by his own rise through the ranks.

• Mind the gap: Sustaining excellence requires a steady flow of new talent prepared to step in. Developing that pipeline supports innovation and ensures facilities teams can keep pace with evolving technology and rising expectations. “We need more technicians entering the trades and more qualified people ready to move into leadership roles, from facility coordinators all the way up to directors,” MacLean says.

• Ground-up respect: Leaders who understand the work at the ground level make better strategic decisions and earn trust across the organization. “Many in the current generation focus more on desk work than hands-on experience,” he reflects. “You can reach a leadership role without it, but having that foundation makes a real difference. I came up through the trades, and that experience gives me greater knowledge and respect from both executives and technicians.”

For MacLean, the future of facilities management will be less defined by how much technology a property installs, but by how intentionally leaders align systems, people, and purpose. As automation becomes more accessible and properties grow more complex, the competitive advantage will belong to organizations that can translate investment into real operational value while developing teams capable of sustaining it. Modernization, in his view, is as much about culture as it is about controls. Above all, he measures success by the growth of the people around him. “One of the biggest things for me is when I see somebody else succeed or accomplish something they once thought was out of reach,” MacLean says. “That is when I know we are building something that will last.”