Facilities Management Salary Survey 2014
Resource type and category
Resource type: Salary survey / industry research report
Category: Facilities Management Salaries, FM Market Insights, Recruitment Research and Career Resources
Intended audience
Facilities Management professionals, FM Directors, Heads of Facilities, Regional and Multi-Site Facilities Managers, Property and Estates professionals, HR teams, Talent Acquisition professionals and employers interested in historical salary and employment trends within UK Facilities Management.
Resource-card description
Explore the Maxwell Stephens Facilities Management Salary Survey 2014, covering FM salaries by role, region and sector alongside benefits, qualifications, working hours, experience and career trends.
Full resource-page description
The Facilities Management Salary Survey 2014 from Maxwell Stephens provides a detailed snapshot of the UK Facilities Management employment market at a significant point in the profession’s development.
Based on 568 responses from FM professionals working across different levels and sectors throughout the UK, the survey examines remuneration alongside qualifications, benefits, working patterns, job satisfaction, professional development and wider career priorities.
The research followed Maxwell Stephens’ earlier 2012 salary survey and was designed to identify how the Facilities Management market had changed over the intervening two years.
The report found an industry showing renewed confidence, with salaries generally increasing, permanent employment remaining strong and many respondents expecting further salary growth.
At the same time, one of its most interesting findings was that salary was no longer the single factor FM professionals valued most. Interesting and engaging work moved ahead of remuneration, highlighting the importance of challenge, variety, recognition and responsibility within an FM career.
Gender within Facilities Management
The survey found that Facilities Management remained predominantly male in 2014.
77% of respondents were male and 23% female, broadly maintaining the gender divide identified in the earlier Maxwell Stephens research.
At senior level, women represented 18% of Director/Head of FM positions. The report nevertheless observed that female representation in more senior FM roles appeared to be improving compared with 2012.
The chart on page 7 provides further detail by job role.
Office Management showed considerably greater gender balance, with 48% of professionals in those positions being female.
The report linked this changing profile with the evolution of Facilities Management away from its traditional trade-orientated image towards a profession increasingly focused on customer service and broader workplace management.
An ageing FM workforce
Age was identified as a significant workforce issue.
The survey found that 58% of respondents were aged over 45, while just over 1% were between 18 and 24.
Only around 16% were below the age of 35.
The relationship between age and seniority was also clear.
Around 72% of Directors and Heads of FM were over 45, while 64% of Facilities Assistants were below 34.
The report interpreted this as evidence of the importance employers placed on practical experience, but also raised concern about the longer-term implications of an ageing workforce.
Apprenticeships, graduate programmes and internships were suggested as potential routes for bringing younger professionals into Facilities Management and transferring knowledge from experienced leaders to the next generation.
Permanent versus interim employment
Employment stability remained high.
92% of respondents were permanently employed, compared with only 8% working in temporary or interim positions.
This was unchanged from the 2012 survey and was interpreted at the time as a sign of increasing employer confidence following the economic uncertainty of the preceding years.
Facilities Management salaries by region
Geography had a significant influence on remuneration.
According to the survey, London and the South East accounted for 57% of FM roles represented, reinforcing their importance within the UK Facilities Management employment market.
The map on page 10 provides historical average salaries by region, including:
- London: £50,537
- South East: £50,122
- Wales: £49,813
- Midlands: £47,774
- Scotland: £46,125
- East England: £44,690
- South West: £44,103
- North East: £42,600
- North West: £41,671
- Northern Ireland: £40,500
Professionals with a national remit recorded the highest average overall at £63,000, based on 37 responses.
These figures provide useful historical context, but they should be treated strictly as 2014 benchmarks rather than present-day salary guidance.
FM specialisms
The survey also explores different Facilities Management specialisms.
More than half of respondents—52%—identified themselves as specialising in Total FM, reflecting employer demand for professionals capable of working across both hard and soft services.
Soft FM accounted for 13%, Hard FM 6%, Consultancy 4% and Building Management 23%.
The salary analysis on page 13 shows that Consultancy was the highest-paying specialism within the survey, with more than 66% of those respondents earning above £46,000.
Around 55% of Total FM professionals also earned above £46,000.
Soft FM and Building Management had lower proportions above this threshold, at around 36%.
Facilities Management across different industries
Facilities Management professionals worked across a very broad range of sectors.
Property and Real Estate remained the largest employer, accounting for 26% of respondents.
Finance, Banking & Insurance represented 10%, while the survey also included professionals working across Government, Education, Healthcare, Engineering, Energy, IT, Retail, Transport, Legal Services and Media.
This illustrates one of the defining characteristics of Facilities Management: FM capability is required across almost every major type of organisation.
Highest- and lowest-paying sectors
Page 15 compares average salary by industry.
The survey found that Healthcare & Pharmaceutical was the highest-paying sector represented, closely followed by Finance, Banking & Insurance.
Energy & Utilities, the Armed Forces, Legal Services, IT & Communications and Media & Publishing also sat towards the upper end of the chart.
At the other end, Transport & Logistics and Charity & Not for Profit recorded the lowest average salaries among the sectors included.
As with all figures in the report, these comparisons reflect the 2014 respondent sample rather than the current market.
Overall FM salary distribution
The survey found evidence that salaries had generally risen since 2012.
Only 6% of respondents earned below £25,000, while 12% earned more than £75,000.
The largest salary group was £36,000–£45,000, representing 26% of respondents.
A further 24% earned £46,000–£60,000 and 21% earned £26,000–£35,000.
The page 16 chart gives a useful picture of the overall 2014 salary distribution across the FM profession.
Salaries by Facilities Management job title
The salary-by-role analysis is one of the most useful sections of the report.
Unsurprisingly, average salary generally increased with seniority and responsibility.
The survey reports an average salary of £73,013 for Director/Head of FM, compared with £28,682 for Facilities Assistants.
The chart on page 18 also positions the other roles between those two levels, including:
Head of Engineering, Senior Facilities Manager, Regional or Multi-Site Facilities Manager, Office Manager, Single-Site Facilities Manager and Facilities Supervisor.
The report notes that the Facilities Assistant average had increased significantly from £19,590 in the 2012 survey to £28,682 in 2014.
Further analysis found that 48% of Directors earned more than £76,000, while 55% of Facilities Assistants were in the £26,000–£35,000 bracket.
Benefits and total remuneration
Salary was only part of the overall employment package.
The survey found that 97% of respondents received at least one employee benefit.
Half said benefits represented between 0% and 5% of their total remuneration, while higher earners were generally more likely to receive a larger proportion of their package through additional benefits.
The most widely received benefits included:
- Annual leave – around 80%
- Pension – around 79%
- Health insurance – more than half
- Bonus or commission schemes
- Life insurance
- Car allowance
- Flexible working
- Share incentives
- Paid overtime
- Gym membership
Only around 3% indicated that they received no benefits.
What benefits did FM professionals value?
Pensions were particularly important.
74% of respondents identified a pension scheme as one of the most important benefits when considering a new role.
Annual leave and bonus or commission schemes also ranked strongly.
One of the interesting historical comparisons is flexible working.
Although it appeared within the benefits data, it did not occupy the same dominant position that flexibility has acquired in later employment markets.
This makes the survey useful not just as a salary benchmark, but also as evidence of how the FM employee proposition has evolved.
Qualifications and education
The survey found that 64% of respondents held at least an HNC/HND or equivalent, while 38% had achieved a degree or Master’s-level qualification.
Less than 6% reported having none of the listed qualifications.
The report discusses the longstanding FM debate around experience versus qualifications.
Practical industry experience was often viewed as particularly important, but the data also showed a positive relationship between higher qualification levels and salary.
Among respondents earning more than £76,000, 31% held a Master’s degree or MBA, compared with only 9% of those earning up to £60,000.
The report therefore concluded that formal qualifications were not necessarily essential for reaching senior FM positions but could positively influence career and earning potential.
NEBOSH, IOSH and FM qualifications
Additional professional and health and safety qualifications were also explored.
The survey states that 82% of respondents held NEBOSH, IOSH or both, reflecting the importance employers placed on health and safety knowledge within Facilities Management at the time.
The guide also includes what were then BIFM qualifications across several levels, together with NVQs, ILM and Construction and Built Environment qualifications.
Because professional-body names and qualification structures have evolved since 2014, these sections are best presented as historical evidence of professional development rather than a current qualification guide.
How valuable were qualifications?
Respondents were asked whether qualifications helped them secure both their first and most recent Facilities Management positions.
For their first FM role, 31% said qualifications were not valuable, while the remainder considered them valuable to varying degrees.
For their most recent appointment, only 24% said qualifications were not valuable.
Almost half—48%—described their qualifications as valuable or extremely valuable in securing their most recent role.
The report interpreted this as evidence that qualifications could become increasingly useful as professionals developed within the sector, even where practical experience remained highly valued.
Professional membership
Professional institutes were also prominent within the survey.
70% of respondents reported membership of BIFM, the professional body now known as IWFM.
The survey also recorded membership of organisations including RICS, CIOB and CIBSE, while the accompanying discussion mentions a wider variety of bodies such as CMI, IOSH and CIPS.
Senior FM professionals were more likely to belong to several professional bodies, while Facilities Assistants were more likely to have no professional membership.
Working hours
The working-lifestyle section shows that Facilities Management could involve significant time commitment.
The majority of respondents worked at least 41 hours per week, while 23% worked more than 51 hours.
The chart on page 26 shows 53% working 41–50 hours, 17% working 51–60 hours and 6% exceeding 60 hours.
Unsociable hours were less prevalent.
Around 60% said they were rarely required to work unsociable hours, while 6% said never and 34% said regularly.
Why people chose Facilities Management
The survey provides useful insight into what attracted people to the profession.
More than 70% selected the variety of work, making it by far the most important attraction.
Career progression was also prominent, while only 13% said salary attracted them to the FM profession and 12% selected work-life balance.
This supports one of the report’s major conclusions: Facilities Management appealed strongly because of its variety, challenge and opportunity for progression, rather than pay alone.
What attracted people to their current role?
A similar pattern appears when respondents were asked why they accepted their current position.
33% selected a fresh challenge, making it the most common answer.
Career advancement followed at 27%, while only 13% cited improved salary and benefits.
This provides a useful lesson for employers: even in a salary survey, the data suggests that attracting FM professionals requires more than offering higher pay.
Challenge, development and opportunity matter too.
Likelihood of changing employer
The survey identified considerable potential movement within the FM workforce.
56% of respondents said they were fairly or very likely to change employer within the next 12 months.
Only 11% were completely confident that they would not move.
The report also found that 44% had been with their current employer for fewer than three years, suggesting increasing movement between roles compared with the earlier 2012 findings.
Job satisfaction
Despite the willingness to move, satisfaction levels were generally positive.
The page 29 chart shows:
27% very satisfied, 52% fairly satisfied, 17% not very satisfied and 4% not at all satisfied.
That means approximately 79–80% were fairly or very satisfied with their existing role.
The report nevertheless highlighted the importance of retention, particularly because employee satisfaction could influence wider service delivery and organisational performance.
Experience within Facilities Management
Experience was one of the clearest themes in the survey.
60% of respondents had more than 11 years of experience in Facilities Management, while only 15% had fewer than five years.
Among Directors and Heads of FM, around 44% had more than 20 years of FM experience.
The salary-and-experience chart on page 30 also demonstrates how more experienced professionals were increasingly represented within the higher salary bands.
The report notes that the vast majority of respondents earning above £76,000 had more than 20 years of industry experience.
Salary increases
The survey was conducted at a time when confidence in the FM employment market appeared to be improving.
51% of respondents had received their latest salary increase during 2013, while a further 17% had already received one in 2014.
When asked by how much their salary had last changed, 66% reported an increase of up to 5%, while 18% had received more than 5%.
The report interpreted this positively, suggesting employers were becoming more willing to invest in retaining experienced people.
Did employees feel fairly paid?
Despite those increases, a significant disconnect remained.
The chart on page 32 shows that 57% of respondents did not believe their salary accurately reflected their role, compared with 43% who felt it did.
At the same time, respondents remained optimistic.
Half expected an increase of up to 5% during the following 12 months and 17% expected an increase above 5%.
Where did FM professionals expect to find their next role?
Recruitment agencies were identified as the most common expected route to the next career move.
37% of respondents expected their next position to come through a recruitment agency.
Internal promotion followed at 23%, direct applications at 17%, headhunting at 14%, word of mouth at 5% and social media at 4%.
Senior professionals showed a different pattern.
Among Directors and Heads of FM, 54% expected their next career move to come through being headhunted, reflecting the more search-led nature of senior Facilities Management recruitment.
What did FM professionals value most?
Perhaps the most significant finding comes towards the end of the report.
Despite more than 72% of respondents earning above £36,000, salary did not rank first among career priorities.
Instead, interesting and engaging work was the highest-rated factor.
Salary remained extremely important, but challenging work, responsibility, recognition, career prospects, job security, company culture and training and development all contributed to the wider employee proposition.
This represented a clear shift from the 2012 survey and reinforced the report’s central message that Facilities Management professionals were increasingly thinking about the quality of the role as well as the level of remuneration.
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