5 minute read
Facilities management: Keeping skilled staff
Facilities management
Keeping skilled staff
By Chuck Morris
Our jobs have been around for much longer than the date in the above advertisement. Thankfully the salary for our positions has increased dramatically as well!
With so many facility management people retiring these days, and a number of former facility managers being asked to come back, I just had to cover this topic once again. I am aware of a number of openings coming up and there is a fear that there are not enough people trained and with good credentials to fill these spots. Is that really the case?
As a group, we have been discussing how we are going to fill vacancies for many years. A lot of our tradespeople left the educational facility environment to ply their skills in the north with oil and gas because the almighty dollar became the draw. The differences between what we can/could pay these tradespeople and what the oil and gas industry offered cannot be matched.
In an effort to keep as many of these certified people as possible, we attempted to place our efforts in different areas, trying to make our environment better. How did we do that and how do we continue to do so? The jobs our skilled trades have are for the most part very good jobs. There should not be a lot of stress involved in their daily work life. Once in a while, pressure may be evident to complete something ASAP, but those days are few and far between. What else could be done?
We looked at training as an example; when a tradesperson is hired to work in a school district facilities environment, they come (usually) with minimal experience, except in their respective trade. We end up providing training on quite a regular basis to allow the incumbent to learn how to deal with security systems, or install phone systems, P/A systems, maintain wet and dry fire sprinkler systems, deal with cross-connection health issues, and more. This comes all at a cost to the district, but allows the individual to expand their knowledge and put the newfound skills into practice, for you.
We cannot stop there, because as many of us have seen, once trained and skillful with all the newfound training and certification, they become very marketable. That is the down-side;
how to keep the highly skilled person on staff. This becomes a public sector versus private sector challenge and we seldom win. What else can we do?
Your abilities as the manager and director need to be on high alert. Seriously, you do not want to lose staff after spending time and dollars upgrading them to better serve your district. You want to keep them and keep them happy. Two reasons come to mind with that train of thought. First off, a content employee is typically a productive employee. You get things done. You witness a good relationship between that person and your clients (teachers/administration/public). Second, and as important, is your succession planning. Who will replace you when you want to retire or move on? Though someone from the ‘inside’ might not fit the bill when being compared to outside applicants, there is always the possibility they might work well. Many districts have hired from within and have found that was a good choice.
So training is part of the equation. Not just for your skilled workforce either. There is a myriad of problems that all of us will face from time to time. If one of your employees is successful and is promoted into a managers’ position, the learning curve begins again. We have all been there. In fact, training and learning your role and new skills happens nearly every day. It is what enhances your career and makes your everyday work life that much better. I do not see the workload lightening in the near future, but with the new skills, your method of doing things may allow some tasks to be taken care of in an easier fashion and perhaps a little quicker.
It is a challenge to explore how to keep people and how to provide adequate training so they can better serve the employer. It is also a challenge to understand your role in all of this. Think outside the box if you become stymied. Encourage staff, speak to them, and find out about their favourite pastime. Show you care. Create beneficial dialogue with each of them. Sometimes that dialogue will sound different amongst many of them, but have the same end result.
Our jobs will not get easier. You may make inroads that allow you to do certain things at a more comfortable level. Share your knowledge. There is no sense in keeping it a secret. Sharing with staff shows you care, shows you are not concerned about someone knowing more than you do. In fact, they probably do know more than you do! That is why they are there in the first place. Mentor to find out if some may just be a good fit down the road for your chair. Let’s help keep a ready supply of skilled people who are promotion material and ready to take on new challenges. It is comforting to know that for the past number of years educational institutions have developed courses to better equip many individuals for the time when they apply for a facility manager/directors’ vacancy. b
We supply, install and service sound and video systems for educational, commercial, and institutional clients across B.C. From single room audio systems to integrated audio and video systems for an entire complex, Sound Solutions delivers quality work, on time and on budget.
