10 QUESTIONS WITH...
10 QUESTIONS WITH… Q1
In each issue we ask an FM professional the Tomorrow’s FM 10 Questions. This month we spoke to Brigita Perry, Front of House Manager at Anabas.
WHAT WAS YOUR FIRST JOB?
I started to earn my own money when I was quite young, helping my grandparents on our family farm – picking cherries and apples and selling them to the wholesalers, looking after the animals and growing vegetables.
Q2
HOW DID YOU GET INTO THE FACILITIES
MANAGEMENT INDUSTRY?
I started my career in the hospitality industry, working my way up to be a Hospitality and Client Services Manager which was a great way to nurture my passion for food. In these roles, I was looking after a number of sites and my client contacts were building managers. From there, it wasn’t such a big step to move into FM. The opportunity came up with Anabas and I took it on to broaden my knowledge and skills in facilities management.
Q3
HOW DO YOU CHALLENGE THE
STATUS QUO?
I think it’s incredibly important to have good situational awareness. Every situation is different and should be treated as such. Just because things have always been done that way, it doesn’t mean it’s best practice. That goes for myself as well as others. I encourage my team to be flexible, to be analytical about the way we work and look for new, smarter ways that deliver best-in- class service.
Q4
SINCE YOU STARTED IN FM WHAT HAS
BEEN THE BIGGEST CHANGE THE INDUSTRY HAS SEEN/
YOU HAVE OBSERVED? Seeing as I’ve been doing my job from my own home for the last month,
58 | TOMORROW’S FM
I believe we may be living through the biggest change the industry has seen. The use of office space has evolved significantly over the last decade or so, with more focus on health and wellbeing and flexible working practices. I believe that the coronavirus crisis we are living through will act even further as a step change in the way space is needed and required. There will be an increased focus on getting the best out of their staff, on staff wellbeing, and increasing productivity.
Q5
WHO, IN ANY OTHER INDUSTRY,
DO YOU MOST ADMIRE?
Jamie Oliver - I admire him for encouraging young people to cook fresh, seasonal and locally- sourced food and for his work with disadvantaged young people coming into the hospitality industry.
Q6 Q7
WHAT IS YOUR FAVOURITE BOOK?
Norwegian Wood by Harumi Murakami. It’s a nostalgic story of loss and burgeoning sexuality and told from the first-person perspective of Toru Watanabe, who looks back on his days as a college student living in Tokyo. I also love food and travel books to get inspiration and new ideas for home cooking.
IF YOU COULD HOST A DINNER PARTY
WITH THREE GUESTS, DEAD OR ALIVE, WHO WOULD
THEY BE AND WHY? Bearing in mind that the current lockdown means that I can’t see my family, there’s nothing more I would like than seeing my nieces and nephews. However, seeing as they can’t stay up late at a dinner parties
anyway, I’ll go for Rick Stein, Karl Pilkington and Sigrid.
Q8
ANY ADVICE TO SOMEONE
JUST STARTING OUT IN
THE INDUSTRY? Be open-minded, ambitious and always focus on service. Technology will change the way jobs are done – not just in our industry, but across the economy, with increasing numbers of jobs becoming automated. However, the value of the employee experience and the power of people will not be going anywhere. Use technology to create better customer service and you can’t go wrong.
Q9
WHAT DO YOU THINK IS THE FUTURE
OF THE FM INDUSTRY?
In the medium-term, it will be about not artificial but augmented intelligence. More and more jobs are becoming automated. Robotic processes are increasingly becoming more important in a number of jobs. I think the future will be these collaborative ‘robots’ making the mundane and lower value tasks more straightforward. This probably doesn’t mean a future that looks like Star Wars, where we all have our own personalised robot, but will it mean that more time will be freed up for activities that genuinely add value.
Q10
JACK FLANAGAN OF PARETO FM
ASKS: WHAT IS THE SINGLE BIGGEST CHALLENGE FACING SCHOOL/ UNIVERSITY LEAVERS ENTERING THE FACILITIES MANAGEMENT
SECTOR TODAY? The shortage of qualified professionals entering the FM industry.
twitter.com/TomorrowsFM
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