Office Facility Management in Tel Aviv: What It Covers and When to Outsource It
Electra Tower, Yigal Alon Street, Tel Aviv
For an office, facility management is everything that keeps the workplace running once the team has moved in: cleaning, maintenance and repairs, suppliers, kitchen and office supplies, and the relationship with the landlord and the building's management company. In many Tel Aviv tech companies it falls on the office manager or the COO, on top of their main job. Handing it to someone outside makes sense when the office has grown past what one person can run on the side, when there is nobody on site, or right after a move or a fit-out.
What facility management means
The international vocabulary standard for the field, ISO 41011, describes facility management as an organisational function that brings together people, place and process in the built environment, so that people work well and the business stays productive. In plain terms, the office should work and the team shouldn't have to think about it.
The work usually divides into two halves:
- The building's systems: air conditioning, electricity, plumbing, lighting, fire safety equipment, access control, and anything else with a technician behind it.
- The services: cleaning, the kitchen, coffee and consumables, office supplies, waste, and small moves inside the office.
Where the building stops and you start
In a rented office in a Tel Aviv tower there are always two parties. The building's management company looks after the lobby, the lifts, the central systems and the shared areas, and the tenant pays for that through management fees. In Class A towers in Tel Aviv these averaged about ₪20 per m² a month in the first half of 2026, according to the Newmark Natam survey. Inside your own space, most of the responsibility is yours.
The exact line is set in the lease, and it is worth reading before the first fault. Who replaces a faulty air-conditioning unit on your floor? Who pays for a leak that starts in the floor above? Who needs to approve a new partition? Whoever manages the office has to know these answers and deal with the management company on your behalf.
What day-to-day office management includes
- Cleaning and routine maintenance: regular suppliers, a schedule, and checks that the work was actually done.
- Repairs and faults: from a light bulb to air conditioning, electricity and plumbing, with someone who knows which supplier to call and follows up until it's fixed.
- Orders and office shopping: the kitchen, office supplies and consumables, so nothing runs out.
- The landlord and the management company: service calls, approvals for changes, and the questions about who pays for what.
- Small changes: moving desks, adding workstations, turning a corner into a meeting room.
- Records and reports: a list of suppliers and agreements, a log of faults, and a regular report on what was done and what it cost.
Who runs it today, and what it costs you
In many companies, the office falls on one person alongside their real role. It works until the company grows: the number of suppliers rises, faults pile up, and the knowledge of who to call lives in one person's head. When that person goes on holiday or leaves, the office stops working smoothly.
The cost of running it in-house rarely appears in the budget. It shows up as hours away from that person's main job, suppliers without agreed terms, and faults that take days instead of hours.
In-house or outside: how to decide
Outside management usually makes sense when:
- The office has grown. Several floors, dozens of employees, or a long list of suppliers and systems.
- There is nobody on site. International companies whose Tel Aviv office has no facilities person, and teams that rely on someone abroad to approve every repair.
- You have just moved or finished a fit-out. The first months in a new office bring the most faults, and some of them belong to the contractor under the warranty in the contract. Someone has to log them and make sure they get fixed.
- You want one person who is responsible. One phone number for every problem in the office.
Keeping it in-house makes sense when the office is small, the systems are simple, and someone on the team has the time and wants the job.
Questions to ask a provider
- Who is the one person responsible for our office, and how fast do they respond to a fault?
- Which suppliers do you work with, and do we sign with them or do you?
- How are purchases approved, and up to what amount can you order without asking?
- What do you report to us, how often, and in how much detail?
- What is outside the service: IT, reception, security?
- How easily can we change the scope or end the agreement?
How we do it at Bauhouse
We manage offices for companies in Tel Aviv, from the cleaning to a new light bulb and the office shopping, so nobody on your team has to deal with it alongside their real job. It starts with a walk through the office: what works and what doesn't. Then comes a service plan: suppliers, frequencies and who to call for what. After that we handle the faults, orders and suppliers day to day, and report to you regularly on what was done and what it cost.
The service stands on its own. It doesn't have to be an office you found or built with us. More on office and facility management. If you are still at the move or the fit-out, see office fit-out project management, or all our services for companies.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is facility management?
The day-to-day running of a workplace: cleaning, maintenance and repairs, suppliers, supplies, and the relationship with the building. For an office, its goal is that the office works and the team doesn't have to run it.
What is the difference between facility management and the building's management company?
The building's management company looks after the shared areas and central systems and is paid through the management fees. Facility management looks after your own office inside the building, and deals with the management company on your behalf.
Is outside office management only for large companies?
No. It suits any company where the office falls on someone alongside their main role, or where there is nobody on site, such as international companies with a team in Tel Aviv.
Do we need to have found or built the office with Bauhouse?
No. The office management service stands on its own, for the office you are in today.
