Afew years ago, Colorado State University’s (CSU) facilities management (FM) department hired an intern. Tom Satterly, who recently retired as CSU’s associate vice president for facilities management, recalled the unique background of the new intern.
“She was an English major who had originally wanted to become a journalist but found she didn’t care for it,” says Satterly. “She had no trade skills as a carpenter or grounds person. What she did have was great communications skills and a passion for service. She began with us in an admin position and took the time to learn about the building trades. She found out she liked building inspection. Now she is a code compliance inspector, and she’s terrific.”
This newly minted inspector is not your traditional FM staff member, but with an aging workforce and a narrow pipeline of up-and-coming skilled professionals, FM departments in educational facilities across the nation are considering new ways to recruit and retain the next generation of employees.
Big Challenges
The median age of the skilled craft workforce is 54, with more than half of those people between the ages of 50 and 65.
According to a recent College and University Professional Association–HR survey, the median age of the skilled craft workforce is 54, with more than half of those people between the ages of 50 and 65. Only 17 percent of that workforce is under 40. Employees aging out is but one of the challenges. In addition, there is competition from the private sector, new certification requirements, changes in technology, and a younger workforce with different values surrounding work, says Andy Brantley, president and CEO of CUPA–HR.
Brantley says that even once employees are on board, retaining them is also challenging, referencing the 2023 CUPA-HR findings on workplace retention. The report found that out of 58.9 percent of those working in facilities/materials management/operations, 23.5 percent were very likely, 11.5 percent were likely, or 23.9 percent were somewhat likely to leave their jobs in the next 12 months. Only 41 percent were unlikely or very unlikely to leave.
What did employees tell the researchers about why they would want to leave? 53 percent of respondents ranked the desire for a salary increase as the number one reason, followed by the opportunity to work remotely (11 percent) and promotion/more responsibility (six percent), which was tied with those who wanted a more flexible work schedule.
Brantley says the report’s findings should encourage organizations and individual departments to focus on their culture and values, specifically what makes them a great place to work. He acknowledges the importance of providing regular and meaningful pay increases but added, “there is more than that. As the saying goes, ‘People don’t leave jobs; they leave managers.’– When you’re trying to recruit and retain, how managers show up and show appreciation for employees makes a difference.”
Finding Employees
According to the Society for Human Resource Management), the share of jobs requiring a college degree fell to 44 percent in 2022 from 51 percent in 2017, making finding FM workers less challenging. Here are some ways educational institutions are recruiting for FM departments:
Cast a wide net: “Review position descriptions to make sure they’re accurate and keep them broad so that you’re open to bringing in a non-traditional candidate that you can train,” Satterly says.
CUPA-HR’s report on the skilled workforce found that only three percent of the skilled craft workforce are women, and 17 percent of the skilled craft workforce are racial/ethnic minorities.
Satterly suggests working with the diversity and equal opportunity office to ensure announcements are posted on as many sites as possible, including APPA and The Chronicle of Higher Education. He says if an engineer is being sought, “post to a women’s or Hispanic engineering group. Work with local community colleges that are training future trades people. Work with the unions so they can get the word out.”
If an engineer is being sought, “post to a women’s or Hispanic engineering group. Work with local community colleges that are training future trades people. Work with the unions so they can get the word out.”
Mary Kate Oreovicz, director of HR for capital planning, and Senior HR Director Jamie Gayer, both at Indiana University–Bloomington, say they partner with central HR to use the Indeed job search website and search resumes for keywords. They also set up a table at the local WorkOne office (employment services). “We’re there with job postings, handing out cards, and a computer for people to apply right then,” Oreovicz says. In addition, they also reach out to veteran groups.
Train up: Five or 10 years ago, Gayer says, her school was able to find well-rounded tradespeople, but not anymore.
“We are adjusting by training people,” she says. IU–Bloomington has created in-house programs targeted to the school’s specific needs, equipment, and processes. For example, “the way they navigate providing the steam and chilled water for the campus. There isn’t a program on the outside. We have to get more creative about whether it is a certified apprenticeship program or if it is creating very specific training and development programs that allow someone to come in with aptitude and come out with a skill at the other end.”
Remove language barriers: In the United States, about 30 percent of the construction labor force is Hispanic. Chances are the pool that FM managers are pulling from may have many Spanish speakers. Satterly’s team translates all communications from newsletters to benefits information into Spanish. They also have interpreters available during performance evaluations so employees understand expectations and opportunities.
“We need to make sure the tech we use is appealing. And recognize that we may have to teach how to use a wrench if they come in with the good technology aptitude.”
Update technology: Artificial Intelligence (AI) is infiltrating every aspect of our lives, and there is hardly a system we don’t label “smart.”
“We can’t be slow in embracing new technology,” Gayer says. “Few universities want to be at the cutting edge, but we don’t want to be at the tail end. The generations coming in are comfortable with tech and frustrated with colleagues who don’t work the same way. They find systems that are clunky and only do something if you need a workaround. We need to make sure the tech we use is appealing. And recognize that we may have to teach how to use a wrench if they come in with the good technology aptitude.”
Use benefits as an attraction: Many schools offer tuition assistance, Oreovicz says, adding that it is also good to talk up retirement benefits, “which are pretty unmatched in the outside world.” Brantley says there should be “a more contemporary approach to benefits overall, including things like meaningful parental leave. That really should be front and center for a lot of our institutions. Higher Ed should be the leader in that, instead of where most institutions currently are.”
Keeping Them
According to CUPA-HR’s survey on higher education workforce turnover in 2023-24, overall turnover was highest for part-time non-exempt staff (22 percent) and lowest for faculty (seven percent for tenure-track and 11 percent for non-tenure-track faculty). Looking at turnover by category, voluntary separation rates were highest for part-time, non-exempt staff, and many of the non-exempt employees likely work in the facilities area.
Retaining good people helps maintain costs, improves customer service, and increases employee engagement, among other things. Brantley points to the CUPA-HR’s workplace retention report recommendations:
- Continue reducing the overwork — additional hours and increased demands and responsibilities — that employees have been experiencing since the pandemic.
- Provide more flexible work arrangements when possible.
- Ensure employee safety and their confidence that leadership will act ethically and responsibly.
- Improve your institution’s parental benefits.
- Support your supervisors in providing all the above.
This list is a good starting point for what organizations should focus on to keep their employees and keep them happy. Ultimately, you want your employees to see that you are willing to invest in them. Here are some ways to get there:
Improve the onboarding process: “On the first day, let employees know who to report to and what time. Let them know that their benefit paperwork is taken care of, so they don’t worry about that,” Satterly says. “You want people to feel welcome and valued.” To that end, CSU created “Facilities Friends.” After one month on the job, a seasoned FM employee takes a new person out for coffee and asks how things are going and whether their questions are being answered. A month after that, they follow-up again. “We talk about career progression and development,” Satterly says. “We make the person feel valued.”
Offer professional development: About four years ago, CSU developed an in-house FM Leadership Academy. Employees must apply and be selected for the program, which CSU FM’s own employees teach. “They learn about the entire FM world—operations, design, construction, sustainability, engineering, code compliance. We’re re-investing in our people, so they understand where they fit in our team of 600. They learn other aspects of facilities and see opportunities for where they can grow.”
An added benefit is that the employees who teach “truly enjoy communicating their level of expertise, and it gives them confidence.”
Arrange apprentice programs: While you can do in-house training, bringing it in from the outside is possible.
When Kevin Gallagher, associate vice president for facilities at Illinois Institute of Technology arrived on campus 15 years ago, “morale was low,” he says, adding, “there was little support and employees were frustrated about not being able to do their jobs well.”
Gallagher was affiliated with Local 399 stationary engineers’ union and could tap into their resources. “It was a catalyst for change,” he says. Through the union, employees were able to take classes to qualify for the City of Chicago’s stationary engineer’s license. They worked with senior members and underwent a two-year training program while on the job. Once completed, they would be qualified to take the license and become a building engineer. “It really helped them get an edge. They got a title change, an increase in pay, and they had more confidence when they came to work.” Having this program in place has helped them with recruitment as well, Gallagher says.
Elevate to Engage
“We need get people excited about what we do,” says Margaret Tennessen, deputy chief facilities officer at the University of Wisconsin-–Madison, and vice chair of APPA’s board of directors. “We need to proactively show the value of being in educational facilities management and show prospective and existing employees that there is growth and development, and they can have a strong career path.”
“We need to proactively show the value of being in educational facilities management and show prospective and existing employees that there is growth and development, and they can have a strong career path.”
One thing that might help elevate the profession is the use of technology, at least as Emmanuel Daniel sees it. He was director of industry innovation, smart buildings and campuses at Microsoft and now is CEO of Alosanar, a smart building and smart cities advisory. (Daniel spoke at APPA’s 2024 Thought Leaders symposium in Alexandria, Virginia.)
Daniel says the profession needs a rebranding. “With the advent of data systems integration, buildings have become extremely complex. Facilities managers are using data analytics to manage these highly complex buildings.”
FM’s focus is not merely “hot-cold calls,” as Daniel puts it, but rather “human experiences in their physical spaces, health and wellness in a building, rejuvenation, engagement. And that’s where all the data elements come into play. They are not only looking at efficiency and operations of buildings; they are also looking at efficiency and performance of the human beings inside those buildings.”
Students—at this point, all digital natives—who may otherwise not have thought about facilities management may be more inclined to engage in a data-driven profession. Those in related fields such as engineering, architecture, design, and construction management might see a way in, through the integration of data with building science.
Many existing campus buildings are already old and in need of upkeep, renovation, repair, or replacement. What we build now, Daniel says, will also be around for a very long time. “But if you don’t know how to maintain it, what is the point? We haven’t invested in equipping the next generation of leaders to be able to manage those facilities because our curriculum is not geared toward that.” The next generation workforce may also get excited about learning about buildings’ significant impact on the way our environment and planet perform—issues Millennials and Gen Z care deeply about.
Daniel is positive about the future of facilities management. “I do believe that building operations and building maintenance and how buildings impact the lives of the people that are in them, in addition to the future of the planet, are what is going to make it ‘sexy’ and the most sought-after profession,” he says.
Stacey Freed is a freelance writer based in Pittsford, NY. She can be reached at [email protected].
