Tools, Tips, and Tricks for Empowering, Developing, and Retaining the Next-Generation Workforce

Recruiting and retaining skilled facilities management (FM) employees is always challenging. However, it has now reached a crucial tipping point. More HVAC, electrical, and plumbing technicians are set to retire than enter into the skilled trades (53 percent of open HVAC technician jobs may be unfilled by 2025). This, plus the historically high churn in janitorial and other FM positions, means that to survive—let alone thrive—higher education facility services providers must focus on getting workers excited about and committed to their careers.

FM managers in particular play a key role in empowering employees to reach their potential and cultivating the value of life-long learning. Here are some best practices FM managers can follow for developing the next generation workforce, and retaining happy, highly skilled employees who are passionate about providing service excellence.

1. Foster Relationships With Each Employee

It’s often said people don’t leave organizations; they leave managers. That’s why managers must develop strong, mutually beneficial relationships with their staff. This means developing employees in ways that serve their interests (so they’ll stay at the company) as well as the FM organization, so you’ll continually satisfy constituents, and be able to effectively leverage advanced methodologies and technologies to deliver service excellence.

2. Take Time to Understand Your Employees

Managers can’t develop true relationships unless they truly know each employee. Make sure to learn about them as people, not just employees. That’s how trusting and fulfilling relationships are born.

Find out:

• • What motivates them: Are they inspired by being challenged, problem-solving, or mentoring others? Do they value predictability and work/family balance over longer, anything-can-happen workdays?
  • Their preferred environment: Some people prefer working on their own. Others need the social and collaborative aspects of teams. Maybe they like being in charge and would benefit from opportunities to lead a team-oriented project or task.
  • Career aspirations: Where do employees see themselves in three, five, or more years? Have they even thought about it? The more managers know about whether and how team members would like to advance—i.e., technical skills, managerial skills, etc.—the better they can help fulfill their goals.

The more support they have from FM managers, the happier employees will be—the better they’ll perform, and the longer they’ll choose to work for the organization. Keep in mind that dissatisfied employees are four times more likely to leave their jobs.

3. Institute Career Conversations

Communication is key to fostering deeper relationships between managers and employees. Hold ongoing career conversations focused on the employee’s development. This shows you truly care and want them to succeed. Often, employees think bosses should know what the employee wants and needs. Remind them that managers are not mind readers. Encourage them to be honest about their goals and concerns and be careful not to judge them. They need to be able to trust and lean on managers to help them navigate workplace interactions.

When working with high-performers—the people managers tend to rely on most—take care not to overburden them. Talk to them about how to reach their goals without burning out. Over-stressed employees tend to perform poorly.

Additionally, according to 95 percent of HR professionals, too much stress impacts retention. Of those HR professionals polled, 46 percent say employee burnout is responsible for up to half of their annual workforce turnover.

Be sure to model the behavior others should adopt. Don’t keep the foot pressing on the gas pedal 24/7/365.

4. Teach Employees How to Empower Themselves And Become Life-Long Learners

Employees need to be in the driver’s seat regarding their own development. Encourage them to be active participants and help them find their voice to advocate for themselves in their development.

Use tools such as talent, strength, and personality assessment tests to help employees garner information about themselves. This will enable them to leverage their strengths in ways that serve their goals and align with their values. The more they know about what they want, the more on-target their objectives will be and more likely they are to obtain them.

Lead by example when it comes to promoting the value of life-long learning. Demonstrate how managers also need to take time for their own development. Make it a habit to share interesting learnings with the team. This helps infuse the importance of continuous learning and development into the culture.

5. Create And Follow Through on Development Plans

Understanding employees’ goals, motivations, and habits gives managers the foundation to create truly effective development plans. These tips can help FM managers deliver on their promise:

• • Tailor each plan to the employee’s goals and skills gaps: Include formal soft- and hard-skill trainings, suggestions for mentorships, and discussions of new milestones and opportunities. Managers must live up to their end of the bargain. This means continually focusing on employee development, even if not in a formal way.
  • Be a conduit: A manager’s strengths may not perfectly align with the skills their direct reports need to develop. That’s ok. Take responsibility for connecting them with others better suited to helping them develop skills/abilities they need to grow and reach their goals.
  • Help direct reports cultivate an appetite for cross-functional “networking”: Connect employees with people and resources that can open the door to new opportunities. Encourage them to reflect on their interactions with others cross-functionally, and to capitalize on fostering and honing those relationships. This will help them tap into a wealth of additional knowledge, diversify their perspective, and extend their professional reach. It will make them better collaborators and future leaders.

Employees are FM’s greatest assets and they’re getting harder to retain. One-third of hiring managers believe their organization will suffer more employee turnover this year than last year. Additionally, 73 percent say turnover places a heavy burden on existing employees. Naturally, that becomes a snowball effect. FM managers must take steps now to keep the next generation of employees fulfilled and growing in their own company.

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Lauren Lanzillo is the vice president of culture and community at UG2 in Boston, MA. She can be reached at [email protected]. This is her first article for Facilities Manager.