Over the past few weeks, it’s seemed like almost everything I’ve been involved in has served to remind me about the importance of people in FM. Finally I felt so inspired, I decided to post a blog on the subject. As a colleague of mine recently put it; this is a people business. They were right of course, but when I sent this statement out on Twitter, I got an even better response which I couldn’t help but steal for my blog post title: People ARE Facilities Management.
Everybody’s human
So, what started me thinking about the role of people in FM? Well I’ll get to that in a minute. First I want to share an anecdote.
We recently had a visit at work from one of our top VIPs. It’s a pretty rare event – the last being about three years back. I’m talking about someone so far removed from a mere FM that I’d stand a better chance of getting an audience with God.
Naturally, we wanted to put on a good show, so I assembled the whole team for a hotel-style walkthrough of the schedule and locations that might be visited to ensure readiness. They really enjoyed the process and went at the task with relish. I thought it was a great success.
Afterwards, my cleaning supervisor took me to one side; concerned that I might be worried about the impending VIP visit. “Don’t worry”, she told me, “she’s actually a lovely person and is always really nice to me”. Being somewhat taken aback I enquired further. It turns out, that this god-like executive often chatted to her from across the globe whilst she popped in to clear the video conference room between meetings. And in fact, she made a point of talking to her during the visit too. I think it’s a wonderful story and one I absolutely love to share, because it shows that whoever or whatever we are in work, at the end of the day we are all still human beings.
Back to basics
So where did my recent interest start? Well it started with a contract renewal. We felt that there was some room for improvement with the existing service and decided to speak to some alternative providers. We got an interesting spread of responses. Some talked about cost, some about management, some impressed us with gadgets, but the ones that really fired our imaginations were those who talked about people. The arguments were compelling; they would guarantee a better delivery of service by using the tried-and-tested technique of working with their people and treating them well. They would encourage them, train them, share the vision with them, respect them and above all, ensure that they understood that their roles were pivotal to achieving success. It got us thinking; could it really be that easy? And we realised yes, it could.
The smallest cog in the wheel is usually the most important
What these suppliers were hinting at, was that it’s those who actually provide the service who are fundamental to its successful delivery, not those of us who sit behind desks making decisions or attending meetings. In fact, whilst we attend meetings to make decisions about how things get done – other people are out there getting on with getting them done. An important step in becoming a manager is the realisation that, regardless of how it might appear on the org-chart, you are generally much less vital to the day-to-day running of the organisation than anyone further down the heirarchy than you. If your receptionist phones in sick, it disrupts your entire business; visitors don’t get the right instructions, vital calls are missed or badly handled and someone gets dragged from what they should be doing to provide cover. On the other hand, if you phone in sick, the meetings just get postponed.
The role of the manager
I don’t think of myself as a great manager of people; I only have a couple of years experience at it, so this post is not a "how-to" guide to management, as much as it is my thoughts on how good management is about recognising the role of people. I would say that I do recognise the importance of great management and I try my best to provide this to my team. I'm fortunate enough to have had some excellent managers in my time and have some first hand experience of great managers at work. Also thanks to my employers and the BIFM, I've been exposed to some great training and met a number of inspirational management guru’s and thought-leaders, whose experiences I've tried to draw on as much as possible.
I see the role of the manager as being to get the very best out of those who work for them: to motivate and inspire and to provide them with the tools and resources they need to do the job in the best way possible. In short, it’s our job to do what our people need, not the other way around.
It‘s also the role of the manager, to help their staff understand why we do the job and what we are trying to achieve. It was only a year or so ago, that I first heard the phrase “Management By Walking Around”, but it’s a technique that I’ve grown to love. Talking the time to regularly connect and talk with your staff and contractors even for very short durations, gives you the opportunity not only to let them know that your time is not more valuable to you than they are and that you respect them as people, but it also gives you the opportunity to share and reinforce your vision – reminding people why it is important that we do things a certain way and getting their buy-in is fundamental to getting them done successfully.
The full circle
So going back to where this blog started. Our VIP visit came and went and it was a roaring success. Afterwards people said to me that I’d done a good job, but the truth is: I didn’t really do much at all. Having cleared my diary to be on hand to support any emergencies or disasters, I spent much of the day twiddling my thumbs (metaphorically). The reason for the success was the way the team came together. They all worked extremely hard on the day and in the run-up to it, to be in the right place at the right time, to ensure preparations were made and details were taken care of. In fact, if I’d have phoned in sick, I’m positive it would have still gone well.
And what was my role in this? Quite simply to bring them together in the first place. To share my vision and help them do what they needed to do. And finally at the end of the day, to let them know just how well they’d done it and how proud of them I felt. And now, I’m letting the world know too.
