Attracting, Training and Retaining the Best Facilities Managers

Across the U.S. and around the world, companies are challenged to find candidates to fill vacancies, with job openings at record highs. According to the U.S. Labor Department’s Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey, there were 11.3 million available positions in May 2022. Currently, there are now two U.S. jobs available for every unemployed person.

The Facility Management (FM) industry is not immune. On average, it takes approximately 50 to 90 days to fill an FM position. FM managerial positions in Europe or Asia are experiencing similar challenges.

Today’s acute talent shortage in the FM industry will likely become even more challenging long-term. Many Facility Managers are nearing retirement age, as was highlighted in a 2018 study, referenced on the IFMA Knowledge Library, which reported that nearly 40 percent of facility managers are set to retire in the next eight years. 

The FM industry’s talent pipeline is vital to continue delivering the services other industries rely on to thrive. The workplace shift towards new models and increased focus on human experience, rather than purely asset performance, demands well-trained Facilities Managers. In this complex and evolving scenario, how can companies and supplier organizations attract and retain the Facility Managers of the future?

Boosting the talent pipeline and making FM a career of choice

Attracting, developing and retaining top talent in FM will demand new thinking and new initiatives:

1. Attraction tactics – Hiring managers can look beyond real estate to other industries – hospitality, retail, former military personnel – and identify transferable skills to open FM to talented individuals from a wider range of backgrounds and career experiences.

2. Nurturing existing talent – Enterprises must support and encourage existing FM professionals to stay in the industry by offering formal training, such as bespoke programs with CoreNet and IFMA, as well as mentoring and stretch career assignments, including managing more complex facilities or multiple locations.

3. Reinventing work models – Managers can explore more creative solutions to attract, retain and re-hire skilled FM talent by supporting multi-generational staffing strategies, international remote working, job sharing and flexible work day models. In today’s workplace, many roles can be effectively performed from different locations across the world.

4. Career conversations: Honest conversations about career choices are essential to support personal and professional fulfillment, especially for diversity, equity, inclusion and belonging (DEIB). For example, a company can commit to rehiring seasoned professionals into new roles with the freedom to work remotely.

A career in FM is fast-paced, variety-packed and offers the opportunity to work across the globe to further business strategies, as part of a fantastic community, both at work and beyond – with the power to enable people to be productive and be delighted by the experience. Come join the industry!

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Sources:

• US Job Openings Dip Slightly to 11.3 Million, Remain Near Record - Bloomberg

• Labor market remains red hot amid growing recession fears - The Washington Post

• Why Facilities Managers Should Adopt a Multi-Generational Staffing Strategy