Recently, I've been extremely proud to have been invited to join the BIFM Home Counties Region Committee. It's prompted me to write this blog about my experiences with the BIFM and why I jumped at the chance to get formally involved.
British Institute of Facilities Management
For those who don't know, the BIFM is the professional body for the Facilities Management Industry in the UK. It’s run by industry members, for the benefit of fellow professionals.
Whilst professional bodies are commonplace in many industries, there are few which I believe, can benefit their members as much as the BIFM. In this blog, I explain some of the thinking for this rather bold statement.
One is such a lonely number
FM can be a lonely business: often under-resourced and usually over-stretched.
As a general rule, FM teams are small, at least at the management level. In fact, many FMs work alone. Sometimes they'll have reporting staff, but when it comes to management, they stand by themselves. Organisationally, they report to Operations Managers, HR Managers, Finance Managers, etc, but it can be quite rare event to come across an FM who reports to someone who has served their time in the trenches too and intimately understands the challenges.
For FMs this can be a source of great frustration. We all need someone to "sound off" to once in a while: someone who understands that you can't make machines work by shouting at them and that you can’t buy a new AHU off-the-shelf at your local Argos store. This is where the BIFM comes in.
The BIFM holds regular events where you can meet other professionals, swap anecdotes, nod-knowingly at the tales of others and get a fresh perspective. Sometimes we need to know that it's not just us - that others are in the same boat.
Together we are greater than the sum of our parts
"FM offers such wonderful variation", I once told a colleague. That was the day I spent half the day talking about building a new office and the other half sniffing my way around the building to try and locate the source of a mysterious odour . An extreme example perhaps (and no, I never did find it), but the point stands. Facilities Management is a catch-all job, but what it entails can vary considerably from one organisation to the next. FMs constantly find themselves facing new situations and unforeseen challenges. In many jobs, if you don't know the answer or come across something new, the first person you ask is the boss, but if your boss is the Operations Director, it's probably no good asking them what the requirements for Legionella risk assessments are, or how frequently the AHU filters should be changed - you just have to find out. Again, the BIFM can help.
The Institute was set up to facilitate the sharing of knowledge. Members are actively encouraged to network and share information, knowledge and experiences with one another. As well as its own user forums, the BIFM has very active communities on Twitter (search #BIFM) and LinkedIn. These communities can help you answer questions, find suppliers and resources and give you advice or techniques on how to deal with challenges.
The BIFM also publishes lots of information on its web-site including news, articles and Good Practice Guides, and will keep you well informed with all that is happening in the world of FM with magazine and newsletter subscriptions.
Monkey see - Monkey do
The main way we learn is by seeing others doing. I'm a great believer that FM Professionals can learn all sorts of useful skills and techniques from others in their organisations, but ultimately the question is this: if your organisation doesn't have many (or any) other Facilities Managers, who does it have who can teach you what you need to know? Facilities Mangers need role models and mentors outside of their organisation more than most people. Whilst you can learn many useful communications and management skills in-house, you may have to look further afield to learn about space planning or lifecycle management.
One of the greatest benefits of the BIFM, is the regular CPD (Continued Professional Development) events. These events are usually local and take place during the week, after work. They are an opportunity not only to meet other professionals, but also to learn more about a particular topic.
Over the past year I have attended events featuring presentations and workshops on a whole range of topics; from catering to alternative power generation, from interactive building systems to facilities strategy planning. These events have expanded my personal network, taught me new skills and techniques and increased my industry knowledge. In many ways I would say they have quite literally, changed my life.
Get involved
So my advice to anyone looking to make the transition from managing facilities, to Facilities Management is to join the BIFM and get involved.
It may seem a daunting experience to go to your first event. You may imagine a room full of seasoned professionals with encyclopaedic knowledge and decades of experience. Well some of those people will be there, but the vast majority of delegates will be people like you; people with a passion for FM, who want to share, learn, understand and teach.
