TRAINING & CPD
STRIVING FOR SUCCESS One of the biggest single challenges for any FM team is to make a positive
impact on the senior management agenda – and encourage a more strategic approach to planning future needs, argues Quadrilect’s Director of Learning and Development Services, Jane Bell.
Facilities Management has always been a highly diverse function, covering everything from property, construction and design through to operational services and physical infrastructure. The combination of knowledge and skill required to deliver appropriate service levels varies with the scale and context, but, the key to success is being able to make the all-important link between core business direction and values and the supporting FM operation – often made much more challenging by constant change.
For many FMs, leaving the relative ‘comfort’ of day-to-day operations can be daunting. Stepping up to this level means not only being able to translate and interpret FM decisions in the wider business context, recognising that projects and services will need to compete for hard-won resources, but also winning the hearts and minds of busy senior executives to encourage strategic change. How should aspiring FMs prepare for such a major career leap, and what kinds of additional skills and capabilities will be most valuable as they head for the top?
One of the hardest parts of transitioning to a senior role for many FMs is the change of mind-set. Facilities operations can be all-consuming, and being able to keep things on track against all the unexpected day-to-day challenges is undoubtedly a major achievement. But perversely, avoiding problems can work against the FM agenda where success is less visible, and senior decision-makers don’t understand or appreciate what lies behind a competent and professional operation. The importance of FM issues needs to be fully recognised at a strategic level, along with a commitment to effective change management and planning to help avoid the pitfalls of enforced crisis management.
According to Bell, the most successful high-level FMs are those who can bridge the gap and win the argument for better long-term thinking about workplace needs and
38 | TOMORROW’S FM
services. Being comfortable with analysing and evaluating performance data, building effective business cases, and becoming politically astute are just some of the skills required to succeed at this level. But more than this, senior facilities professionals are increasingly expected to deliver innovative solutions and to build service models that can remain agile and responsive to change. Business as usual is not possible in today’s volatile business climate and the chances are conditions will become more challenging as our economy adjusts to BREXIT and other major external factors.
Another important underlying skill affecting long-term FM success involves taking a more predictive approach, which means being able to spot the key emerging trends in both business and society as whole and evaluate their impact on the FM function. A case in point is the growing debate about artificial intelligence. As a sector, we need to be analysing what impact this is likely to have on the shape of FM operations as well as the prospects for FM jobs longer term. FM leaders of the future will need to be able to articulate how this new phenomenon can both transform operational performance and help us reshape our profession. It’s a shining example of how tomorrow’s FMs can make a difference to the strategic agenda and take a lead in business transformation.
Education and training providers face equivalent challenges in making sure that programmes are constantly updated to reflect current priorities at all levels. However, it’s clear that many of the biggest educational challenges in FM today are around so-called ‘soft skills’ and behavioural training. Technical knowledge remains an operational prerequisite, but broader business, change management and people skills are now an essential part of the FM toolkit and can provide the passport to success at the top.
www.quadrilect.com twitter.com/TomorrowsFM
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