On a single day a Facilities Manager can face a failed boiler, a contractor dispute, a budget review, a compliance inspection and a room full of frustrated colleagues. The role asks for technical knowledge, commercial sense and a lot of judgement under pressure, and much of it never appears in a job description.
101 Things a Facilities Manager Should Know sets out all 101 in full, built from suggestions by people working across the sector. It covers the skills, the habits and the range of services an FM can be responsible for, from communication and compliance to contractors, space, security and sustainability. It is for FMs at any stage of their career and for the employers who hire them.
Read it straight through, or go to the sections that matter most to your role. Each point is short and practical, the kind of advice you can apply on your next walk round the building.
What's inside
The 101 points are grouped into themed sections, followed by a short summary of what they add up to.
- The Reality of the Role: What the job asks of you before anything else: interruptions to your spare time, and accepting that everything relating to the facility is your problem.
- People, Communication and Feedback: Why so much of FM is achieved through other people, and how communication, attention to detail and a reliable feedback loop with customers protect their trust.
- Knowledge, Technology and Responsiveness: Using CAFM, helpdesk platforms and mobile apps for a real-time view, knowing your building in detail, responding promptly, trusting capable professionals and keeping on top of routine jobs.
- Drive, Finance and Working Processes: Financial know-how, teamwork, preventative action and a simple people, process, clients and financials framework for organising your work, plus a frank note on being on call.
- Knowing Your Building and Its People: Finding information fast, being approachable, managing your time, workplace wellbeing, making the most of your space and knowing exactly which compliance requirements apply.
- Customers, Projects and Building Systems: A customer-centric view of FM, running a tender, capital projects, accommodation planning, durable low-maintenance choices and the management systems you may oversee, from BMS to CAFM.
- Money, Strategy and Core Services: Concise reporting, daily finance, aligning with company strategy, admin, your team, property, security, telecoms, logistics savings, cost of ownership and front of house.
- Hard and Soft Services on the Ground: Documents, fabric, catering and support services, mechanical and electrical plant, grounds, waste, cleaning and the daily building walk, with a short checklist of daily habits.
- Judgement, Risk and Delivery: Defending your ideas, reliability, risk, prioritisation, project management, training, value for money, holding contractors to what was agreed, compliance and staying calm when everything arrives at once.
- Standards, Sustainability and Staff: Discipline, adaptability, corporate social responsibility, keeping the building financially sustainable, service charge control, wellness, working alongside your team, space and knowing your KPIs.
- Visibility, Ownership and Maintenance: Supplies, complaint handling, checking plans against what you find, business continuity, taking ownership, mandatory maintenance of safety-critical systems, arriving first, integrity and qualifications.
- Resilience, Growth and Leadership: Networking, staff handling, emergency cover when you are away, optimism, flexibility, going green, public speaking, self-improvement, transaction records, delegation and involving your team in fire alarm tests.
- Bringing It All Together: Why no FM needs to master all 101 on day one, and how breadth combined with sound judgement about where to focus marks out the strongest FMs.
What the data says
Five figures from the guide on the scale, cost pressures and risks that Facilities Managers work with, each linked to its source.
- £102bn: The UK workplace and facilities management sector is worth £102bn and 1.2 million jobs to the UK economy, according to IWFM. Source: IWFM, Market Outlook 2025
- 84%: 84% of FM leaders worldwide identify escalating operating costs and budget constraints as their top concern. Source: JLL, Global State of Facilities Management Report 2025
- £22.9 billion: Workplace injuries and ill health from current working conditions cost Great Britain an estimated £22.9 billion in 2023/24. Source: Health and Safety Executive, Key figures for Great Britain 2024 to 2025, 2026
- 30%: Independent analysis found advanced Class A building energy management systems deliver average energy and carbon savings of around 30%. Source: Building Controls Industry Association (BCIA), Government raises the bar on commercial building efficiency: now operational performance must follow, 2026
- 2006: Maxwell Stephens has specialised in Facilities Management, estates and workplace recruitment since 2006. Source: Maxwell Stephens, 2026
Sources checked in September 2026. Maxwell Stephens figures are drawn from our own published vacancies and placement records.
See it in practice
Facilities Manager Recruitment for Egon Zehnder
Egon Zehnder engaged Maxwell Stephens to recruit a Facilities Manager for its Grade A London headquarters in Victoria, around 24,000 sq ft of premium accommodation. The role spanned hard and soft services, health, safety and fire safety compliance, contractor and supplier management, budgets and business continuity support, and the appointee would operate alone while being highly visible to partners and visiting clients. We assessed shortlisted candidates against technical, commercial, service and behavioural competencies rather than technical skill alone. The appointed Facilities Manager combined technical expertise, commercial awareness and a strong customer service ethic, and quickly became a trusted member of the organisation.
It shows how many of the 101 things in this guide, from compliance and contractor oversight to budgets and customer focus, come together in a single Facilities Manager role.
Read the full case study or browse all case studies.
Related reading
- What Does a Facilities Manager Do?
- Cross-Functional Skills Every Facilities Manager Needs
- The Biggest Challenges Facing Facilities Managers Today
More from Maxwell Stephens Insights
Our Insights library covers FM hiring, leadership and careers in more depth. Continue with:
- The Maxwell Stephens Guide to Modern FM Leadership
- Why Great FM Leaders Think Like Business Leaders
- Facilities Management Career Guide
Browse the full Insights library.
Who this guide is for
Facilities Managers and Assistant FMs, facilities coordinators and site teams preparing to step up, people considering a move into facilities management, and the Heads of Facilities, HR teams and hiring managers who need to know what good looks like in the role.
Next steps
Browse our current Facilities Management vacancies, upload your CV so a consultant can contact you about suitable roles, or join our mailing list for new vacancies and market updates. If you are hiring, contact us for a confidential conversation about your next FM, estates or workplace appointment.