Why Facilities Managers Should Adopt a Multi-generational Staffing Strategy Build high-performing modern facilities teams that include millenials Nearly 40% of facilities managers are set to retire in the next eight years1 and their replacements are nowhere to be found. As millennials flock to more tech-savvy fields, the FM industry has fallen short on attracting talent and promoting a future in facilities management careers. If the FM industry is not able to attract millennials (who make up the majority of our workforce), the industry may be forced to draw talent from a shallow (and potentially more expensive) pool. Further, adopting technology for facilities management is on-the-rise and most millennials are more adept at using technology than many of the retirees they are replacing. To fully leverage technology and transform
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facilities management, recruiting millennials is an important strategy and an opportunity to maximize returns on one of the largest assets: real estate. The simple (but not necessarily easy) solution is to attract and retain millennials while continuing to leverage the skills of the existing, older generation. Still, in solving this problem, FM as an industry faces a difficult question: How do you attract and retain millennials to a career that may be considered less enticing than a career with a tech company? It starts with reframing the question.
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A Facility Management Branding Problem External Perceptions of Facilities Managers Prior to 2018, “facilities manager” wasn’t even recognized as its own occupation by the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS). Instead, facility management was grouped into related classifications like “Administrative Services Manager” or “First-Line Supervisors of Mechanics, Installers and Repairers.” This classification was crippling for a couple reasons. One reason was identified by IFMA, in the document2 that provided the impetus for the BLS to make a change: “When educational institutions consider vocation-based curricula, they often look first to the BLS for relevant data. If facility management is not found as a separate occupation, they dismiss the need to train students to pursue the profession.” But the BLS classification spoke to a larger identity crisis that only FMs, with some outside help, can solve.
Internal Perceptions of Facilities Managers In the report, Raising the Bar3, IFMA asked 1750 facility management professionals: “What is keeping FM from acting more strategically?” IFMA split the 520 responses into 80 themes. Within the top ten most common themes were: “lack of understanding FM service,” “perception of the FM role,” “understanding benefits of FM,” and “cost focus.” These responses are indicative of the fact that executives see facilities management as a cost center. Because of this, the facilities manager is generally evaluated based on his or
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These responses are indicative of the fact that executives see facilities management as a cost center.
her ability to keep costs low, rather than their ability to contribute to the bottom line. This misunderstanding creates a disconnect when it comes to recruiting new talent.
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If executives don’t recognize the potential impact of FM on the business they won’t consider it a problem that they’re not attracting top talent. As a result, the facilities department doesn’t get the resources they need to attract the best employees. Without top talent, the department struggles to impact the business. That struggle then reinforces the executives’ existing view of FM. The onus is on facility managers to reframe themselves as strategic contributors within their organization. Consider how Maureen Ehrenberg4, President of Global IFM at JLL, puts it: “Facility executives can be instrumental in providing the physical environment and workplace technologies that make working easier and more comfortable.” Reframe your understanding of FM based on
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Ehrenberg’s description and you’ve taken the first step in reframing the question we started with. Now, the question is: “How do you attract and retain millennials to a career in which they are instrumental in providing the physical environment and workplace technologies that make working easier and more comfortable?” This already sounds much better, but there’s more work to do.
Abandoning Inaccurate Perceptions For the FM industry and millennials to meet somewhere in the middle, both groups must do away with stereotypes. Despite popular culture’s portrayal, millennials aren’t inherently lazy, disloyal, or entitled. Nor are baby boomers automatically averse to using technology. From a 2014 White House5 report: “Contrary to popular perceptions millennials actually stay with their employers longer than Generation X workers did at the same ages.” According to the Pew Research Center6, millennials are “on track to be the most educated generation to date.” Citing a study by a consulting firm, The Economist7 reported that, among 90,000 American employees, millennials are the most competitive. In addition, Gallup8 discovered that millennials are driven to work for organizations with a mission and purpose. They are also pursuing professional development over job satisfaction.
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FM has what young people want: opportunity for growth, a dynamic work environment, a clear path to advancement, and lots of job openings. Facilities managers and their teams need to help get this message out there.
The list of statistics that disprove perceptions surrounding millennials goes on… Of course, there are legitimate generational differences. Millennials do tend to job hop more often than older generations9, as shown by a Corporate Executive Board study - but only slightly. Younger people have always switched jobs more often, and the data backs this up10.
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For facility managers, it’s important to recognize that young people are people, not stereotypes11, which will help you further reframe the question we started with. Now, the question is: “How do you attract and retain young people to a career in which every day, they make people happy, help them perform better and more productively, and keep them safe? This is exactly the kind of meaning Millenials are craving – a career and purpose that does good in the world.
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All of a sudden, it’s not such a monumental task. FM has what young people want: opportunity for growth, a dynamic work environment, a clear path to advancement, and lots of job openings. Facilities managers and their teams need to help get this message out there.
Where to Start? The IFMA Global Workforce Initiative12 conducts various programs to connect teachers, students, businesses and local facility professionals. You can also leverage IFMA’s JOBnet and IFMA Foundation’s INTERNet, two job boards that will help you uncover potential interns. Or you can go the same route as the Smithsonian Institute13 and recruit interns on your own. If you’re looking to target your efforts, try reaching out to and partnering with universities that offer accredited FM programs14.
Harnessing All the Power of Techology So far, we’ve only focused on attracting the younger generation. But what about retaining them? And how do you do it so that your existing employees don’t feel alienated? To do that, FM can tap into the appeal of technology. The real challenge is integrating technology without alienating the more experienced workers who are happy with their current processes. Instead of suddenly introducing sweeping changes, search for things that cause people the biggest headaches and show them innovative solutions. Matt Baker—Facilities Supervisor at the City of Wilsonville—did just that when he pushed for a solution to his department’s document management problem.
Matt Baker, Facilities Supervisor City of Wilsonville, Oregon
Baker’s Innovation Situation: Everytime Matt Baker’s employees needed building information, they were faced with entering the plan room. This room was filled with disorganized information that employees had to spend time searching to retrieve drawings, as-builts, O&M manuals and other building information. It was timeconsuming and very annoying for Baker’s staff. Solution: Baker’s solution allowed his employees to simply pull out their phone, tablet, or computer and find the information they needed. They could scroll through a set of plans and hyperlink to the specific details required to do their work. By starting with something that was universally seen as a waste of resources, Baker showed his team the potential of technology.
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making a concerted effort to understand executives’ short and long-term goals. It also means gaining a very solid understanding of key financial metrics. Then, when you understand your department’s issues within the larger context of the business, you’ll be able to explain things in a way that resonates with executives.
Building Generational Bridges
Innovation that also Speaks to the C-Suite As we’ve discussed, reinventing FM as a desirable career for younger generations will require buy-in from executives. After all, that’s where the hiring resources will come from. Baker’s innovation took a step towards gaining that buy-in by addressing many of the C-suite’s concerns. • •
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He freed up real estate (former storage space) for higher and better uses. He reduced his organization’s carbon footprint by minimizing extra driving trips between the plan room and the field. And he boosted productivity for the entire department, setting a standard for his organization.
These are all achievements that resonated with Baker’s bosses. So what’s the takeaway? For a facility manager to get C-suite buy-in, they need to understand the business and speak the C-suite’s language. That means
Perhaps most intimidating for managers is creating a workplace where multiple generations can coexist and thrive. Fortunately an independent survey commissioned by JLL15 showed that it can be done. JLL concluded: “Millennials are loyal when they were part of a larger organization, had growth opportunities and could try new roles.”
Cross-generational Mentoring One effective way to provide growth opportunities for millennials is through cross-generational mentoring16. Suffolk, the construction giant, does this by inviting younger employees to training programs designed for senior management. At one of their quarterly meetings, newcomers worked together with top leadership on management case studies.
Generational Mixing Building generational bridges can very simple too. Some companies choose to be intentional about assigning seating so that younger generations and newcomers are seated near upper management at social events. Carpooling to offsite meetings is another easy opportunity to mix generations.
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Team Building Team building activities provide an opportunity to improve retention by encouraging collaboration and strengthening relationships among various generations. Millennial author and speaker, Ryan Jenkins17, suggests a team-building activity that has a purpose, requires team effort, is well organized and inspires creativity.
Recruiting Involving younger members of the facility team in the recruiting process itself will also lend to creating a collaborative environment. The more experienced team members know what skills are required to perform various roles. But it is the younger team members who can guide the recruiting efforts to ensure the job postings and role descriptions include the messaging and language that will attract the right job candidates.
An Opportunity for Facility Managers to Step Forward The exodus of the old guard in FM presents a daunting challenge, but also an incredible opportunity. The FM industry can sit back and let the chips fall as they may. Or it can step forward and help the next generation become the professionals who make our buildings more efficient and our people more productive.
big data, and more mean that the facility manager skill set of today will transform in the coming years. As this happens and building owners continue to seek a competitive advantage, facility managers and their teams will be seen as increasingly important strategic assets. And the incentives of the FM career of the future will attract talented contributors. When that time comes, only the most efficient, highest performing organizations will prepare their facilities teams of tomorrow be ready to shepherd the industry to new heights.
To take that step forward, facilities managers, recruiters, and executives must dispel of preconceived notions and solve the recruiting and retention problem that’s in front of them. The ingredients are available. Facility management is a growing, dynamic field. Building automation, machine learning,
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Sources: [1] ARC AIIM Survey August, 2017 http://bit.ly/2EED2qn [2] Many Paths To Facility Management Career? https://facilityexecutive.com/2017/10/many-paths-to-facility-management-career [3] Raising the Bar https://www.ifma.org/news/what’s-new-at-ifma/what’s-new-at-ifma-details/2017/03/27/report-facility-management-faces-critical-talentshortfall [4] The Future of Facilities is Digital https://facilityexecutive.com/2017/12/the-future-of-facilities-is-digital [5] 15 Economic Facts About Millennials https://obamawhitehouse.archives.gov/sites/default/files/docs/millennials_report.pdf [6] How Millennials Compare with Their Grandparents 50 Years Ago http://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2015/03/19/how-millennials-compare-with-their-grandparents [7] Myths about Millennials – Businesses Should Beware of Dubious Generalisations about Younger Workers https://www.economist.com/news/business/21660110-businesses-should-beware-dubious-generalisations-about-younger-workers-mythsabout [8] Millennials: How they live and work http://news.gallup.com/opinion/chairman/191426/millennials-live-work.aspx [9] Study: Older Employees job-hop just like Millennials https://www.cebglobal.com/talentdaily/study-older-employees-job-hop-just-like-millennials [10] Enough already about the job-hopping Millennials https://fivethirtyeight.com/features/enough-already-about-the-job-hopping-millennials [11] Managing People from 5 Generations https://hbr.org/2014/09/managing-people-from-5-generations [12] Making Facility Management a Career of Choice by Expanding Educational Opportunities https://foundation.ifma.org/docs/default-source/documents-for-download/ifma_brochure_single_pages_rev5.pdf?sfvrsn=4 [13] Smithsonian: About Our FM Internship Program https://facilities.si.edu/internships [14] FM Academic Registry http://fmacademicregistry.org [15] Millennial Interest in Facilities Management http://www.us.jll.com/united-states/en-us/Documents/winning-the-loyalty-of-millennials-in-FM-July-2014.PDF [16] How to Get Employees from Different Generations to Work Together Effectively https://www.bostonglobe.com/business/specials/top-places-to-work/2017/11/16/how-get-employees-from-different-generations-worktogether-effectively/1S5qJKtoQvDOl7RWsYUAOI/story.html [17] 7 Ways for Millennials to Work Effectively Across Generations https://www.inc.com/ryan-jenkins/how-to-get-generations-working-effectively-together.html
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