MAC Of All Trades
MAC Of All Trades
By: Annie Kutsuris
MAC coordinators are the unsung heroes of the workplace, making transitions smooth for new and existing employees and supporting the overall goals of facilities teams. But what exactly is a MAC coordinator and how do they improve the workplace experience? MAC stands for moves, adds, and changes. These specialized move managers are often embedded at a client’s facility and are responsible for small to medium-sized moves within the office or campus, typically after-hours and over the weekend. They work closely with facilities teams, department heads, team leads, and dozens of external vendors to optimize space usage and minimize disruption to daily operations so employees can focus on their work. They are skilled at providing quick responses to complex projects and optimizing space usage. Let’s explore four of the services a MAC coordinator provides.
Elizabeth Cisneros
Sr. Project Manager
Meet the MAC team
What skills are needed to be successful in this role?
“Be extremely organized because the train does not stop!”
Tom Nguyen
MAC Coordinator
What’s the most important thing you do for your clients?
“[We] provide quick responses and fixes daily to optimize the space for employees.”
On/off boarding
One of a MAC coordinator’s many jobs is the onboarding and offboarding of employees. When a new hire is made, the MAC coordinator assists in space and occupancy planning to locate or create the appropriate workspace for the employee, with consideration to accessibility needs, job function, remote work schedule, equipment, and furniture system needs. The inverse takes place when an employee is offboarded or has a significant job change. MAC coordinators work with warehouses, IT teams, furniture dealers, and movers to decommission workstations and to make room for larger moves and reconfigurations.
Vendor sourcing and management
Depending on the size of the organization and churn, there may or may not be preexisting contracts in place for vendors. When a new vendor is needed, MAC coordinators will develop and manage the RFP process and assist in vetting and making recommendations to the facilities team. The Bridge Group’s MAC team is skilled at writing RFPs and ensuring clients are covered. The MAC team coordinates with dozens of external vendors for every project, including electrical, data cabling, furniture, biophilia, moving, and audio visual, in addition to the internal IT, facilities, and leadership teams.
Facility management software
Computer-aided facility management (CAFM) is important for organizations with multiple locations or large campuses. This software tracks employee changes, allocation of physical and shared resources, space assignments, and more. Having an up-to-date record of all moves, adds and changes is critical to maintaining the efficiency of a facility’s operations. The Bridge Group’s MAC team is proficient in setting up and managing CAFM programs.
Trend forecasting
The Bridge Group’s MAC team manages an average of twelve moves every week, which gives them keen insight into the trends and needs of the modern workplace. They report their observations to client leadership to aid in strategy and budget planning. Some of the trends they’ve observed as a result of recent return to office requirements are increased demand for meeting spaces (i.e., conference rooms and meeting pods), flex desks, hoteling spaces, and hybrid spaces where employees have the flexibility to do either focused or collaborative work.
MAC coordinators provide tremendous value by executing smooth transitions for employees, developing solutions to workplace challenges, and supporting organizational goals. The Bridge Group team handles all this and more so your employees can focus on your core business.
