2023 FM TRAINING OUTLOOK SURVEY KEY FINDING 1
BUILDING AND RETAINING THE FM WORKFORCE
Organizational growth and attrition are driving the need for more FM staff. Providing an attractive work environment and employee development programs can help attract and retain talent.
SURVEY STATISTICS
Staffing and retention continue to be at the forefront of facility managers’ minds in 2023. With business growth coinciding with staff retirement and turnover, FM leaders are looking for individuals with technical and managerial skills who can make an immediate impact. The result is a competitive hiring landscape in an industry already financially strained by inflation and supply chain challenges.
Employers who can increase staff retention keep their knowledge in-house and reduce the time and cost associated with recruitment and onboarding.
Staffing and Retention Top the List of FM Challenges.
The top 3 challenges facing facility professionals are:
Staffing & retention
Budgeting & funding
Rising costs
of FM managers and staff have left or have considered leaving their job in the past year.
50% of FM leaders expect to have open FM-related
positions in 2023.
Organizational Growth Is Driving Staffing Pressures.
of FM employers have had difficulty finding individuals with the required technical skills.
of FM employers have had difficulty finding individuals with the required management skills.
Top 3 reasons for open positions:
Growth requires more staff
Lost staff to other employers
Retirement of senior staff
Look Beyond Compensation to Improve Retention.
FM staff identified the top 3 factors that would influence them to stay at their current organization:
Better work-life balance
Development/training opportunities
Increased compensation/benefits
of organizations offer flexible work schedules to FM staff.
of organizations offer hybrid or remote work options to FM staff.
INDUSTRY REACTIONS
Join the conversation by reviewing some of the additional insights shared on this topic or by sharing your own.
What Industry Experts Are Saying
In order for the facility industry to evolve and successfully exhibit value, it is incumbent upon us, as its beloved practitioners, to continually advance our skill sets and employ new knowledge within our organization, collectively raising the bar. As the saying states, ‘a rising tide lifts all boats’; we must do our part to raise the tide.
John Rimer, CFM, ProFM
President, FM360 Consulting
While 2023 presents a somewhat brighter picture of the work environment overall, we know the issue of retention and recruitment of FM professionals will be a pressing issue for the foreseeable future. Ensuring our existing workforce is highly skilled and credentialed will help offset the shortfall of professionals available in the external FM pipeline.
Stormy Friday, MPA, Hon. FMA, IFMA Fellow
President, The Friday Group
ProFMI Commission Chair
The process of gaining a Facilities Management certification leads an individual to think differently about the job. Focus on the operation as a whole becomes important when people begin to understand how the business of Facilities Management can better support the goals and objectives of the company. This results in less unexpected downtime, better efficiency, and happier people that tend to stay longer because the business believes in and invests in them and their long term advancement and earning potential. This is a huge benefit to the company and the individual.
Steve Smith, CFM, CFMJ, MFE, DCEP, DCEP-IT
Director of Physical IT Network, Arvest Bank Operations
All FM companies will need to either train or hire-in the skills required for the future requirements of a new look FM due to the rapid advancements in AI, robotics, and adaptive reuse together with the decline in office usage.
Anonymous Survey Participant
Few other industries (besides FM) require that their staff have such a broad range of skills, from boiler and chiller plant operations, to energy management, to customer relations, to budgets and contract administration. In this field, you can’t just be a jack-of-all-trades, you have to be a master of all.
Anonymous Survey Participant