The Facilities Management industry offers a great chance to develop a career in a diverse, exciting and advanced field, although with the financial conditions that the previous few years have brought, it will come as no surprise that facilities managers do not actually advance in either role or responsibility nor do they gain additional salary simply by doing the day to day job i.e. running a building.
Significantly, those with the desire to push on, either within their existing organisation or elsewhere, do need the ability to contribute to the much larger nationwide UK PLC issues. These broader thoughts are increasingly likely to become more and more central to the Facilities Manager job specification. This perhaps could start to be an issue for those Facilities Managers that perhaps do not keep up with the times and changing economic landscape.
Even in the downtrodden world we find ourselves in, in December 2011, the Facilities Management sector in the UK is thought to be worth up to nearly £100 billion a year. In fact it is one of the fastest growing professions in the UK, and covers an increasingly broad range of duties.
Additional duties of the modern day Facilities Manager include: strategy and property matters, space and project management, telecommunications and general communications, building maintenance and engineering, administration and contract management and of course health and safety. After recruiting in FM for 11 years or so, I no longer feel like I am out of place saying that that it could be argued that the success of any organisation depends on its facilities management.
Done correctly Facilities Management seems to boost an organisation’s look, image and perception; It now enables innovation and allows effective business continuity and overall security.
The key problem with the FM industry is that once an FM has set up his or her systems and process; there are often slow opportunities for career advancement. Perhaps that is then time for that said FM professional to tackle broader organisational issues otherwise they may then be threatened with the FM department being downsized or outsourced or leave off their own accord.
Facilities managers seem in 2011 to be better positioned to address these wider needs than ever before, given the chance, which some are never afforded. A key frustration of the Facilities Managers that I meet.
There has definitely been a change in the perception of what facilities managers can offer in the last few years and the general credibility of the industry has improved dramatically.
For success in FM - It is not now just about getting the day Job done, it is about thinking more strategically about the general business environment. Being a change agent, to have the confidence to experiment, to comprehend finance and financial matters, and to be more of a people person delivering excellent customer service – This customers service element is what will make all the difference! The "Je ne sais quois!"
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Peter Forshaw BA Hons
Managing Director
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