The Talent Deficit

THE TALENT

DEFICIT FM companies and employers are struggling to find top-quality candidates to fill vacant posts.

FMX talks to FM recruitment specialists to find out what, exactly, is going on

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A FEW WEEKS AGO AT A DISCUSSION CHAIRED BY FMX involving senior decision-makers in FM, the CEO of a growing £100m turnover FM operation commented he could not find the right calibre people to join his business (‘Where are we going?’, FMX September). Noel Clancy, CEO of Shepherd FM, said: ‘One of the biggest challenges facing us as a major FM organisation is finding the right people. I’ve spent a lot of time over the last two years interviewing people and it continues to take considerable time to find quality staff. In FM there are no clear benchmarks in the way there are in engineering, surveying or accounting…’

This raises several important issues in FM recruitment. Is there, as Clancy implies, a talent shortage? If so, are we talking about too few people entering FM, or a skills gap in the people we have,

RECRUITMENT

or both? And if it is true that FM as a profession still lacks ‘clear benchmarks’, how are employers to evaluate the CVs of potential candidates?

There seems to be general agreement that too many people in FM today lack the qualifications, skills and experience to cope with current challenges and drive the industry forward. As we know, most people entering the profession in the past have, in the absence of a formal academic or vocational path, ‘fallen’ into FM from a variety of different backgrounds. Does this mean they are not of the ‘right calibre’?

Ashleigh Brown, senior FM account manager at Dovetail FM Recruitment, notes that ‘we still have a large legacy of people being “qualified by experience” working within FM’, but believes they should not be discounted ‘as this route tends to promote intuition, ingenuity and creativity’.

However, many would argue that experience and on the job training, while valuable, are no longer enough. Samantha Bowman, facilities consultant at Acuity Management Solutions, argues that ‘you should never appoint anyone to an FM role if they have no formal qualifications around the core competencies’. For Claudia Halabi, senior consultant, property and facilities at Randstad Financial and Professional, the pioneering FM of the future will combine ‘customer focus, commercial acumen and communication skills with a formal FM graduate qualification.’

The problem is, the new generation of well-educated, highly qualified young FMs is coming through in more of a trickle than a flood. Samantha Bowman points out that the FM workforce is ageing, with more older employees (aged over 55) and fewer younger workers (aged 16-24) than the UK workforce as a whole (see page 29).

Claudia Halabi believes there is still a problem with attracting young people to FM as a career, and providing suitable pathways for them into the profession. ‘I believe the lack of graduate opportunities in the FM space is contributing to the skills gap issue,’ she says. ‘If you look at more established functions, they have strong graduate pipelines with focused rotational programmes and on the job training.

‘This ensures that people don’t simply “fall into” a role and instead are making

INSIGHT

overpromoted candidates are a widespread problem. ‘Interestingly in the current market, it isn’t true to say that talent shortages mean organisations are more willing to promote someone above their current capabilities, or settle for less than their ideal candidate,’ she maintains. ‘Even when companies are desperate to fill an FM position, they’ll continue to split the responsibilities across any existing team rather than hire the wrong person.’

Bowman, on the other hand, believes it is an issue and advises recruiters to look for evidence of core competencies.

‘For example, regardless of what the job title is, an employer should not recruit someone for a role that has health and safety responsibilities if they are not able to demonstrate their level of competence.

Similarly, someone should not be appointed to undertake a FRA [fire risk assessment] as the “competent person” just because they are the only person available to undertake the task.’

Nikki Dallas, director of Talent FM, agrees it is necessary to look a little deeper than job titles. Evidence of such qualities as ambition and commitment are also important. ‘Rather than just looking at the Deciphering CVs In the meantime, this leaves the second of current position on a CV, it is much better Noel Clancy’s points: how are employers to to look at somebody’s career progression, recognise the skills and qualities they need how often they are promoted, and how ambitious they have been to steer their from the pile of disparate CVs on their desks? Clancy echoed the concerns of many career to this stage. This will give you an idea of whether this person is somebody when he said: ‘Facilities managers tend to who you can professionally develop, but, not have formal FM-related qualifications, more importantly, is likely to significantly so you find yourself looking solely at their add value to your organisation.’ experience and current position.

The fog of qualifications and experience ‘However, current positions can be that hangs over FM is an excellent fortuitous because of talent shortages or similar recruitment issues, so many people reason for using a specialist recruitment consultancy, says Claudia Halabi. ‘Every are in roles that are way beyond their candidate we represent has to attend a comfort zones. You can end up with CVs pre-screening registration interview where from facilities managers with no way of we delve into their CV in more detail. telling what level they’re actually at.’

Typical questions that we ask include Claudia Halabi agrees the lack of the square footage of any buildings they benchmarking in FM poses difficulties. manage, the size of their team or contracts/ ‘It’s true that it can be difficult to gauge budgets handled and what facilities services the level a facilities manager is at from they are responsible for. their CV alone. For example, the number ‘In some larger organisations the level of years of experience an FM professional of responsibility can be very lean and has gained isn’t actually that helpful an indication, especially if a candidate has only biased to one area, ie soft services, whereas a candidate on a similar salary bracket worked at one organisation.’ could be working for a smaller firm and Ω She does not, however, agree that

an active commitment to building a career within a particular discipline.’

The efforts of BIFM and others to develop qualification and development frameworks, and the introduction of more FM degrees, should help resolve the question of academic pathways. But as Halabi suggests, employers will need to play their part: ‘If we have universities that are offering facilities degrees, then we need more employers willing to invest in trainee FM roles. Only then will we be building a more formal programme of development for future FM professionals.’

Samantha Bowman agrees that employers must take more positive steps to help close the skills gap. ‘You get better results from people if your expectations of them are linked to their own personal development plans,’ she says. ‘Employers and providers must recruit at the right level as an absolute minimum. They must then make a commitment to train and retain their employees if they are to have the quality of people they need. They must be prepared to invest in the individual as they develop over their career.’

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INSIGHT

RECRUITMENT

‘There is a definite discrepancy between client side and service provider operational FM salaries’

managing a total FM service. It’s only really through this information that you can secure the right perspective on their experience.’

Ashleigh Brown argues that a long-term partnership with a specialist recruiter is the best way to find quality staff who are the right fit. ‘Align yourself with a specialist FM recruiter who will partner with your organisation, understanding the culture and aspirations of the company as well as the skills and experience needed when recruiting staff,’ she advises. ‘Moving towards long-term collaboration between a company and recruiting agency can pay immense dividends as agencies can be powerful ambassadors when trying to attract the best industry professionals.

‘You both need to fully explore what the company is really seeking, and any time spent with your recruitment agent will allow them to become intricately involved in understanding your business needs.’

Of course, the talent deficit means it’s not just about finding top talent – it’s also about working harder to secure and retain it. ‘Take a look at your own recruitment practices to see if you’re doing all that you can to attract the right people into the right roles,’ says Nikki Dallas. ‘Ask yourself, what are you doing to make your organisation an employer of choice within the FM industry? Why should

candidates want to work for you? How well do you communicate that message? How competitive is your remuneration package against your competitors?’

Every aspect of the recruitment process is an opportunity to create a positive impression with candidates, she points out, yet too many companies fall short. She cites poor first impressions, inconsistent interview practices, poor interviewing techniques, failure to communicate the exact requirements of the role, and appalling or non-existent interview feedback.

‘Unfortunately,’ she concludes, ‘in my 14 years’ experience I have seen some very shoddy practices from clients, and when people have a poor experience they tell their friends and colleagues and gradually the reputation of the business is devalued.’

The question of remuneration is an interesting one. ‘One of the unusual consequences of the lack of formal benchmarks for FM professionals is the sheer disparity in salaries,’ says Claudia Halabi.

‘It’s not unheard of for two candidates with the same type of experience to have a salary differential of around £10,000. This causes complications when underpaid or overpaid candidates come to market – as the jump up or down to bring them to true market rate can hinder their recruitment prospects.’

At the same time, many employers are

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reacting to the current economic climate by reducing their wage bill and squeezing salaries. This in turn is opening up new faultlines. Ashleigh Brown comments: ‘I feel that there is a definite discrepancy between client side and service provider operational FM salaries. My experience has shown that client side roles tend to be better paid than many service provider equivalents, although the client side roles are getting fewer and further between.

‘In the current market we are also seeing service providers having to reduce margins to win a contract, which in turn filters down the line to what they can afford to pay someone and still remain within their contracted budgets. This again opens up a whole new discussion on whether or not the person they can afford to bring on has the right level of skill and experience to deliver what they need.’

Remember that you get what you pay for, she warns. ‘Tying great people to your organisation financially really helps to eradicate losing your talent – and thus preventing all their collected knowledge of your company leaving with them when they move elsewhere for a better salary.’

Because if one thing is clear, it is that first-rate FM professionals, however they acquired their skills, are as much in demand as ever fmx