NEWS & ANALYSIS FMJ.CO.UK
ASSOCIATION NEWS
AS EXAM RESULTS LOOM, WE NEED TO
ATTRACT THE FM’S OF THE FUTURE
Jo Sutherland, Director of Magenta Associates and board member of the IFMA UK chapter
THE CASE FOR THE WORKPLACE PROFESSIONAL
8 AUGUST 2019
Eighteen years ago,
as one of the many
school-leavers ripping an
envelope apart, I knew my
exam results would play
a small part in shaping
who I would eventually
become. Did I know I’d
end up working for a public relations firm that
specialised in FM? Err, no. In fact, if
you’d asked me what FM was,
I’d have muttered something
about a radio.
A lot has happened since
2001. We’ve had five Prime
Ministers; London’s skyline
has transformed with the
construction of now-iconic
buildings such as The
Gherkin and The Shard. But
ask a modern-day teen what
facilities management is, and
they’ll have a similar response to
my sixteen-year-old self.
Go to any FM conference and the ‘talent gap’ will
crop up, as will confessions from people saying
they just ‘fell into’ the profession. So, despite the
passing of nearly two decades, we still have more
work to do. The world’s two largest organisations
representing FM, IFMA and RICS believe this US$1
trillion profession of ours desperately needs an
influx of new blood. To that end, one of the key
goals underpinning the collaboration is to address
the critical skills shortage and to attract new talent
by making FM a career of choice.
Earlier this summer, the IFMA Foundation
announced major progress on its
Global Workforce Initiative (GWI),
a multi-industry e– ort to fill a
growing talent gap in facilities
services. By working with
educators at all levels and
increasing the number
of accredited FM degree
programmes around the
world, the GWI is helping
to create a clear career
pathway to an exciting and
fulfilling career in FM.
RICS operates an engagement
programme with schools, universities
and employers across the UK. The aim is to ensure
much greater diversity in the profession. The
Future Talent team at RICS is on a mission to reach
young women, the BAME community, and schools
in disadvantaged areas in order to widen the talent
pool. They are also promoting apprenticeships
to improve access for those not pursuing more
traditional academic pathways.
Elsewhere, great work is being done. For
example, FM service provider Atalian Servest o– ers
over 60 apprenticeships (featured in FMJ July). Its
Hidden Talent programme welcomes applicants
from any age and background – it has been
designed for both entry level candidates and those
looking for a career change. When someone joins
the programme they are given first class training
and guidance throughout, while gaining real world
experience in their chosen field.
A greater sense of consciousness pervades the
younger generation – they are more responsive to
social issues than the generations of yesteryear.
This presents an opportunity to communicate the
social value/environmental impact piece to an
audience that wants to listen. The FM story is ours
to share. So, let’s start sharing it to build a bigger,
brighter, bolder future – for young careerists, and
for FM.
The story of Britain’s
cycling renaissance is
well known. Between
the first modern Olympics,
Athens 1896, and the Sydney
event 104 years later, Great
Britain won a solitary gold. The
inaugural Tour de France took place in 1903, but
a Brit didn’t claim the yellow jersey until 2012.
Things changed when Dave Brailsford arrived
on the scene in 2002, bringing his philosophy of
marginal gains with him.
Brailsford and his team broke down every
component of a bike race, from the equipment
and clothing to aerodynamics and maintenance,
and set out to improve every little thing by one per
cent.
The idea was that these tiny improvements would
have a huge cumulative e– ect, and they did. Team
GB topped the cycling medal table at Beijing 2008,
London 2012 and Rio 2016. Bradley Wiggins then
won the Tour de France in 2012 and British riders
have won all but one race since.
Many of the things Brailsford and his team
improved weren’t the sort of issue that cyclists
had traditionally considered. They re-designed the
bike seats to make them more comfortable. They
hired a doctor to teach cyclists the proper way to
wash hands. They even took personalised pillows
across the world to make sure their riders got every
possible advantage.
These are the sort of benefits organisations can
get from improving even tangential things. In an
era when profit margins are tight, when technology
and consumers are evolving daily, why wouldn’t
you ensure that facilities management, which
reflects the DNA of an organisation, is doing its
best?
Historically, the C-suite has underestimated the
impact workplace and facilities management can
have, and perhaps FMs have been too shy about
promoting themselves and their profession. But
the time has come for Finance and HR Directors,
and everyone else around the boardroom table,
to seize the not-so-marginal gains facilities
management o– ers.
Research by Leesman shows that only 54 per
cent of workers in this country agree that their
workplace enables them to work productively,
which seems a massive oversight. The role of the
facilities management team is to create amazing
places for people to do amazing work; supporting
and enabling organisational performance through
people. It’s no secret that employees perform
better when they are safe and comfortable.
Surely the time has come for the C-suite to turn
to facilities managers and ask them how they can
contribute to the organisation’s performance and
bottom line.
The workplace is crying out for someone to
act as the interface between people, place and
process. A person who removes obstacles, fosters
collaboration and oversees an environment
in which peer to peer information sharing,
collaboration and production can occur. The
person responsible for all this will be ideally placed
to serve as a bridge between HR, IT and CRE;
representing the employee within the workplace
ecosystem.
This is the natural progression for FMs in the years
ahead, and it’s time for the UK’s Boards to take real
advantage of the contribution they bring.
RICS operates an
engagement programme
with schools, universities and
employers across the UK. The
aim is to ensure much greater
diversity in the
profession.”
IWFM CEO, Linda Hausmanis