The time is now for new blood in the facility management industry. The $1 trillion profession is currently facing a serious shortage of professionals in the industry due to lack of talent, according to a new report from IFMA and RICS.
In the report, “Raising the Bar: From Operational Excellence to Strategic Impact in FM,” is predicated on a survey of more than 2,500 facility managers from all over the world.
“This valuable report provides empirical support for what many FM professionals have been saying for years,” says Tony Keane, President and CEO of IFMA. “It should serve as a clarion call to action for the global FM industry.”
IFMA and RICS launched their global collaboration in April 2016. This collaboration represents a significant evolution in the FM sector, providing an unprecedented level of industry support to meet the growing demands of the 25 million FM practitioners around the world.
“In the past, facility management has been seen as a Cinderella profession, which explains the problems in attracting and retaining new talent to replace professionals when they leave,” says UK Commercial Property Director Paul Bagust. “To challenge this image, we must increase our strategic focus and champion the ways in which facility management can enhance productivity in the workplace and show the vital role that FM professionals play in the workplace.”
“As working practices evolve in the digital age, facility managers will need new skills based on collaboration and forging interpersonal relationships,” says Bagust. “By working together to standardize working practices and standards across the globe, we will unite the FM community and ensure it is ideally placed to attract a diverse range of new talent and take advantage of the opportunities that exist for this dynamic and fast-evolving profession.”
To view the full report available for download, please click here.
