Despite the importance of the facilities management sector, it is currently facing a number of recruitment challenges that are making it difficult for facilities management organisations to find and hire the talent they need.
The sector plays a crucial role in ensuring that buildings and properties are maintained and managed effectively and is responsible for a wide range of services, including cleaning, maintenance, security, and catering. Outlined below are the key recruitment challenges facing the sector, and what can be done to help address them.
Skills Shortages
One of the biggest recruitment challenges facing the sector is the shortage of skilled workers. Although this is a problem that is affecting many industries, it is particularly acute in facilities management. Many organisations are struggling to find workers with the necessary skills and experience to carry out the work required. This is partly due to the fact that the facilities management sector is not seen as particularly glamorous or attractive, which means that many young people are not considering it as a career option.
Lack of Diversity
There is also a significant lack of diversity in the sector workforce. Facilities management has traditionally been dominated by men, and there are still relatively few women working in the sector. This lack of diversity can make it difficult for FM organisations to attract a wider range of talent and can lead to a lack of innovation and fresh thinking.
Young Workers
Attracting and retaining younger workers is a further challenge as the sector does not have glamourous appeal. In addition, many young people are looking for careers that offer more flexibility and the opportunity to work remotely, which is not always possible in facilities management. This can make it difficult for FM organisations to attract and retain the talent they need to keep their businesses running smoothly.
Increased Competition
As with many other skilled worker sectors, there is increasing competition for talent. As the economy continues to recover, more and more organisations are looking to hire skilled workers, which means that facilities management organisations are facing stiff competition for the talent they need, making it difficult to attract the best candidates, often resulting in higher recruitment costs.
Training and Development
Finally, the facilities management sector is facing a challenge when it comes to training and development. Many FM organisations are struggling to provide the necessary training and development opportunities for their staff, which can make it difficult for them to retain their best talent.
This can lead to high turnover rates and can make it difficult to maintain the high levels of service that their clients expect.
Addressing the challenges
So, what can FM organisations do to overcome these recruitment challenges?
1) Employer Branding
One solution is to focus on improving the image of the sector, and in particular the employer branding of your FM organisation.
By highlighting the importance of facilities management, the vital role it plays in keeping buildings and properties running smoothly, and critically, why your FM organisation is such a great place to work, you can help to attract more young people to the sector and to your organisation.
2) Improve Diversity and Inclusion
By actively seeking out and hiring a more diverse range of talent, FM organisations can bring fresh thinking and new perspectives to their businesses. This can lead to greater innovation and can help to stay ahead of the competition.
This can be done by choosing the right recruitment partner and ensuring you are advertising roles across a broad range of media channels.
3) Increasing Flexible Working
By offering remote working and other flexible working options wherever possible, FM organisations can attract and retain younger workers who are looking for more flexibility in their careers.
Inevitably, there will always be a requirement to be on site for part of the role, but ask the question in terms of whether this does need to be 100% of the time, or only when really required?
4) Training and Development
Training and development is another area that you can focus on. By investing in the training and development of your staff, your FM organisation can help to retain your best talent and can ensure that they have the skills and experience they need to provide high-quality services to their clients.
This will result in a significant reduction in staff turnover, and avoid the costs and challenges of having to recruit to replace leavers.
5) Review of Recruitment Process
Finally, FM organisations can work to improve their recruitment processes. Reviewing the current process and adverts to identify what recruitment channels are attracting candidates as well as where candidates drop out of the process and the reasons why, will help drive improvements.
Attracting quality candidates requires really strong and engaging adverts – about why the role is so exciting and why your organisation is such a great place to work. Once they’ve applied, ensuring candidates stay engaged in the process with regular communication and quick decision making is also vital. Utilising an effective Applicant Tracking System will help deliver this.
By streamlining the recruitment processes and making it more efficient, facilities management organisations can attract more quality and diverse talent whilst at the same time, reducing their recruitment costs.
