©  2015  Martin  Leitch

10  Actions  for  Facilities  Managers  to  Improve  Job  Satisfaction

Which  is  more  important  –  qualifications  or  experience?  !The  answer  to  this  on-­‐going  debate  is  that  they  are  both  equally  important.  But  both  take  time  and  qualifications  cost  money.  !So,  are  there  any  other  ways  in  which  you  can  become  more  proficient  at  your  job  and  to  make  it  more  satisfying  that  are  perhaps  less  resource  intensive?

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Yes,  you  need  to  have  the  level  of  technical  and  soft  skills  appropriate  for  your  role,  but  addressing  ten  key  actions  can  improve  your  capability  and  job  satisfaction.  

Whether you work in a corporate in-house FM team or in an outsourced service provider team, these actions are relevant to you.

Whether you are the Head of FM or the FM administrator, these actions are relevant to you.

This will give you the context and framework in which you are working and provide meaning behind your day-to-day tasks.

It also helps you to understand that by adopting a positive approach to completing these tasks you can have a positive impact on your organisation’s competitive advantage.

No, this does not mean you should rush out to learn Chinese or Japanese.

You need to understand your internal customers’ language and learn to talk to them in terms that they understand. !Of course this also means that you need to moderate your own language by dropping the FM ‘buzz’ words and acronyms.

Ok, maybe not literally shout about them, but let everyone know how good you are and how much you are contributing to your FM team performance, to other business units and to the business generally.

Think about it, you have had a few successes.

It is commonly acknowledged that the only time the business is aware of FM is when something fails or goes wrong – turn this around and talk about your successes.

Yes we all make them! But if we didn’t, we would not learn as much.

So why not turn them to your advantage by openly discussing how things could have gone better, looking for the positives and sharing the learning amongst your team.

The common misconception is that FM is all about the building.

But consider this – without the people, there would be no need for the building. The building is a means to an end, not an end in itself. !So, focus on the individuals that work in and use the building, understand their needs and desires and work with them (and the building) to meet their requirements.

It’s not too difficult! It does not necessarily mean taking a day out for a training course!

Networking with your peers, reading relevant magazine articles and monitoring on-line discussion forums are all excellent sources of information about what is happening outside your own corporate or client world. !You can do this over a coffee, in the train to and from work or by ‘phoning a friend’.

Whether we like it or not technology is taking over!

By keeping up to date with developments and applying your imagination to how it can be used will only make your life easier, improve your and your team’s performance and make more time for all the other actions listed here.

It is so easy to get consumed with what you are doing and how you are doing it.

But stand back from doing this to fully consider the outcomes of your actions (or inactions). Your internal customers will judge you by these outcomes, not by how you achieve them. !So engage with your customers to understand their expected outcomes and, who knows, you may even find a better way of achieving them.

But education does not necessarily mean spending a lot of time and/or money. There are many on-line inexpensive, if not free, courses available. Consider studying these to develop your inter-personal and management skills, not just your technical skills. !Make sure you are always pushing the boundaries in what you are doing - this will add significantly to your experience.

OK, this had to figure in this list of actions.

Be proud of your profession!

Facilities managers seem to be habitual pessimists, determined to ‘stay in the basement’. !The profession is worth a lot more than that and it is the responsibility of everyone working in FM to change external perceptions, to demonstrate the value of FM and to raise its profile.

That’s  it  -­‐  10  actions  to  help  to  improve  your  performance  and  job  satisfaction!  

None of them require anyone else’s permission.

None of them cost much money, if anything.

None of them will take up too much more of your time

However, by taking action, you will find you have more time, your interactions with your customers will become more productive and you will become much more effective for your team and your organisation.  !You may even find time to have some fun and enjoy your job better!

Thank you  for taking the time to watch this presentation. It hopefully succeeded in provoking your thoughts

and, more importantly, in inspiring you into ACTION.

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