• INCREASE MARKETABILITY AND VALUE IN THE JOB MARKET: The job market is ever-changing and developing, and it is essential to stay on trend. Skills are the critical factor that can help you stand out from the pack and make yourself more valuable to employers. Your job market value is determined by various factors, including your skills, experience, and education. Investing in improving your skills is essential to get the best out of said skills. It includes developing new skills, continuously learning and updating your knowledge.

• HAVING MORE OPTIONS FOR YOUR CAREER: Skill sets and jobs are plenty, and as the world is evolving and taking the Job market in its stride, it is essential to know the latest developments. To mitigate this issue, you need to upgrade your skillset. If you want to find a job in a particular domain, it will be difficult if you don’t have the skill set required for that industry. Upgrading your skill sets can help you find new opportunities and make yourself more attractive to employers. There are many ways to upgrade your skills, such as taking short courses or learning new languages. You can improve your skills by taking online courses for your various interests. You can also do a lot of research on what kind of jobs are available in the market and where they are located.

• COMMAND A HIGHER SALARY: The world has changed, and the skills that used to be in demand are no longer so relevant. You can still get a good job if you have a set of skills in demand, but if you want to command a higher salary, you need to upgrade your skillset. People are always in need of higher remuneration. This is because there is a huge gap between the salary of the top earners in a company and the lowest earners. However, this concern is not a big one because you can always upgrade your skills to earn more money. You could get an MBA, learn to code, or speak another language.

• COMPETE IN A GLOBAL ECONOMY: Certification training and skill upgradation bring you up-to-speed with the latest knowledge in your practice area from a global perspective. With this education, you can benchmark yourself as someone who can apply best practice methodologies to any work scenario and drive mission-critical projects to a successful conclusion anywhere in the world.

• ENHANCE YOUR PROFESSIONAL NETWORK: Wherever you choose to study, you are likely to meet a range of individuals from different walks of life and professional backgrounds. While you may not be working in the same industry or function, these people may become valuable business contacts in the future. As you part ways with your classmates, stay in touch with them. You’ll never know what business or career opportunities come up.

Planning to take your career to the next level? Here is a special offer to upgrade your skills at no additional cost.

STEPS TO ENJOY ACCESS TO THIS SPECIAL OFFER

1. Simply visit https://elearning.alphameadtraining.com/

2. Click on *Important Tips for Succeeding as a Facility Manager* in the FM Courses section

3. Register for the course, Learn and Earn a Globally recognised certificate

4. Rate the course and share feedback upon completion.

You can also take advantage of trainings offered at Alpha Mead Training.

We are conducting a Facility Management survey of organizations to gather data on their current FM deployment and assess how we could help solve their FM needs. We would really appreciate you taking a minute to take this short survey. Facility Management Solutions – Google Forms

Eniola is a veteran in the Facility Management industry, and even though her entire experience was gathered in just one organisation, she found the question absurd. She assumed that vision for a career path was a question meant for a young professional just starting out and not someone with her level of experience. Eniola is one of many, that believe vision is less important as you grow older.

Conventional wisdom holds that life is a journey, and we move from infancy to childhood to youth to maturity and eventually old age. Of course, everyone knows it’s not nearly that simple; life is not linear. There are side trips and segues, missteps, and derailments along the path of life, and the same is true of your career. When it comes to your professional life, having a vision is often the difference between going far afield and staying (or getting back) on track. This vision helps you create a plan to develop your professional growth, and that is where Career development comes in.

WHAT IS CAREER DEVELOPMENT?

According to Wikipedia, career development refers to the process an individual undergoes to evolve their occupational status. It is the process of self-knowledge, exploration, and decision-making that shapes your career. It requires successfully navigating your occupational options to choose and train for jobs that suit your personality, skills, and interests.

In a nutshell, it is managing the next steps in your career, setting both short and long-term goals, and getting the training you need to master new skills and abilities, all with the goal of moving up the ladder. It is a vital, yet sometimes overlooked component of our lives. Just like Eniola, people can get caught up in just getting the job done, to the exclusion of casting an eye toward the future.

Not having a plan for your professional growth leaves you at the mercy of circumstances, developing your career helps you chart your own course; a roadmap to you being in the job you want, at the level you want, and with a path that will lead you into the future you want after spending 40-plus hours each week.

BELOW ARE SOME TACTICS YOU CAN DEPLOY TO DEVELOP YOUR CAREER:

Self-reflect

Knowing what you want is the first step to creating a path to get there. You need to set aside some time to reflect on who you are, where you’ve been, and what you ultimately want from your working life. Are you happy with the path you’ve taken so far? Are you in the right industry and the right role?

Set Goals

Setting goals help actualize your plans. You can start with a short-term goal, which is usually a subsection of your long-term goal, so forget about where you see yourself in 5. years for the moment. Where do you see yourself in one year? What skills might you need to move up to the next step of the ladder? Write down your goals and create a timeline for yourself to achieve them.

Acquire Skills

In today’s economy, professionals need to keep their skills up-to-date. The fact that employers are struggling to keep skilled employees, means that professionals who have the right skill sets will find many opportunities in the job market.

However, the practice of actually keeping your skills up-to-date is often easier said than done. Between full-time work and personal responsibilities, many professionals wonder how one finds the time to continue working toward their next career goal. As a result, finding new ways to continue learning on the job is crucial to not just staying up-to-date with current industry trends, but also keeping yourself marketable for future opportunities.

You can take advantage of trainings offered at Alpha Mead Training to grow your facility management skillset and abilities. Over time you’ll gain the skills you need to succeed and get promoted.

Pursue Opportunities

In other words, “go after it!”  When you’re sufficiently skilled for new employment opportunities, ask for a promotion and new responsibilities. If your current role doesn’t have growth potential, start applying for new jobs.

Here are a few ways to look for new career opportunities:

Get active on LinkedIn: you can reach out to recruiters or catch up with people from your network that are hiring.

Use your other social media platforms: Instagram and TikTok are huge these days, and companies you follow might be hiring. 

Talk to human resources about your professional development goals: they might loop you in on your company’s learning and development initiatives, which can help you get your next promotion.

Work on career development planning with your manager: they’ll be excited to hear you’re motivated to grow in your role and might even offer some ideas to help you get ahead.

Career Development is vital. To get yourself started, ask yourself the question “Where do you see your career in the next 5 years” and unlike Eniola, be open-minded to having a vision for your career at whatever stage you are professionally and be intentional in achieving professional growth.

We are conducting a Facility Management survey of organizations to gather data on their current FM deployment and assess how we could help solve their FM needs. We would really appreciate you taking a minute to take this short survey. Facility Management Solutions – Google Forms

Technology has made it possible to create courses on the web in various forms such as presentation, videos, audio, and texts; making it much more accessible anytime and anywhere around the world. This disruptive innovation saves time and eliminates the hurdle of traveling long distances to learn. Virtual classrooms are a part of e-learning, designed to enable participants to interact with their classmates and instructors in real-time using the computer and internet connection.

Widely adopted around the globe as a cost-effective and convenient way of sharing knowledge and skill, E-learning method reachs a wide range of students irrespective of distance and time. Many institutions and corporate organizations still leverage E-Learning even after the reopening of physical classrooms during the pandemic, according to KPMG “in some large organizations, up to 60% of total training costs are attributed solely to traveling costs”. This might just be one of the many reasons why E-learning remains a better option.

Now we know the value that this innovation has brought us, how can we effectively use it to achieve our goals without missing the experience of self-paced learning?

Make adequate preparation:

Like physically learning, learning through the internet also requires preparation. Besides registration and signing up on the e-learning platform, you want to ensure that the right arrangements have been made with regard to the study environment. It is extremely important to avoid distractions while taking a course online or completing an assessment. It is best to position yourself in a quiet space with fewer interruptions from people and even your mobile devices. Another thing to consider is timing, yes! E-learning is self-paced; however, it requires discipline and commitment in terms of planning your time and sticking to your schedule. Remember the goal is to learn within a given time frame. You do not want to spend 3months on a three-week online course that can be completed in two weeks by someone with better time management skills. Verify your network connection is good enough. Make your writing materials available, to note down important points.

Set learning objectives and create a learning schedule:

What are your expectations as you learn? Identify the learning objectives, list them out and ensure all are checked out by the end of the learning sessions. Some sessions can be very exhausting, it is necessary to take breaks in between these long classes to recharge and relax for a moment. Learning for a long period without a break reduces overall productivity. While creating your schedule, be sure to include breaks where necessary schedules are also very helpful when studying multiple online courses. All these should be put into consideration while planning for an eLearning course.

Practice as you learn:

One method of making knowledge relevant is by applying it, making use of the new skills as you go on with other activities, let the impact of the knowledge be felt by you and those around you. This will remind you of the new things you have grasped from your last e-learning session.

Learning can be mind-boggling irrespective of the form, the result of several hours, days, or weeks invested in training should not result in feeling drained but rather empowered. eLearning can be very engaging and satisfying when you make the most of it without forgetting the objectives.
Virtually all industries have created the opportunity for people to learn online, for those in Facilities Management, we have a great eLearning platform that can keep you productive while working remotely or during the holidays. Visit https://elearning.alphameadtraining.com/ to learn facilities management online.

Humanity affects the environment and climate on a global scale and one major environmental issue that has been identified is Global Warming. According to Palmetto, a solar energy solution brand, Global Warming is a gradual, long-term increase in the average temperature of Earth’s atmosphere. It is typically attributed to the over-accumulation of greenhouse gasses (GHGs) such as carbon dioxide (CO2), nitrous oxide (N2O), and methane (CH4) in the Earth’s atmosphere. The excess Greenhouse Gasses can come from a variety of sources, from Burning Fossil Fuels, Deforestation, Agricultural practices, Built environment etc. The energy that emits from these activities play a huge impact on our atmosphere.

Buildings are big contributors to greenhouse gas emissions as all along its lifecycle, from the construction phase, their usage and their demolition. According to architecture2030.com, the built environment generates nearly 50% of C02 emission annually, which has a debilitating effect on the environment. In response to these alarming numbers, green buildings were introduced to minimize energy and water consumption thereby combating climate change while creating a positive impact on the environment.

Therefore, The World Green Building Council defined “a ‘green’ building as a building that, in its design, construction or operation, reduces or eliminates negative impacts, and can create positive impacts on our climate and natural environment. These buildings preserve precious natural resources and improve our quality of life.” In a nutshell, Green Buildings are developed with environmentally responsible and resource-efficient practices to last their life cycles. Although green buildings are gaining popularity in this part of the world, not many people have adopted them. Individuals are still largely unaware of its environmental benefits and how it improves quality of life.

From reduced water and energy consumption, preservation of natural resources, improved quality of life, and reduced operational cost, green buildings are the future and its benefits are enormous. Some of these benefits have been categorised into these three segments; Economic, Social and Environmental.

Environmental: Green buildings essentially reduce carbon emissions that deplete the ozone layer owing to the nature of their designs which allow for more natural gasses and less burning of fossil fuel. Green buildings are also constructed to accommodate environmentally friendly energy generation systems such as Solar energy and Biomass.

Economic: People who live in green buildings enjoy huge cost savings on utility bills because of the reduced energy and water consumption designs. Generally, green buildings are cheaper to operate and maintain due to the eco-friendly materials used in construction compared to traditional buildings. Studies have shown that residents of green buildings also experience a number of health benefits related to improved lightening systems and upgraded air quality.

Social: Green buildings are generally more resilient and are considered a better investment with the proclivity of attracting buyers and tenants, hence creating an increased market value. A study from Harvard University shows that ‘employees in green and well-ventilated office spaces, show a significant increase in cognitive function, crisis response and focused activity level’.

So, how can we make our buildings sustainable and help save our planet?

The concept of “green building” has already gained major attention around the world, with residential and commercial buildings becoming carbon neutral, or even carbon positive. Developers are now moving from the traditional buildings to adopting green buildings concept, undergoing EDGE Green Building Certification trainings to study the best methods to enable them make positive impact towards saving the Earth and driving the right environmental designs with the objective of ensuring best practices in bio-climatic design and creating more resource-efficient buildings.

EDGE Green Building Certification is an innovation of the International Finance Corporation (IFC), a member of the World Bank Group, that offers in-depth knowledge for building design professionals and others who wish to learn about resource and energy efficiency measures of green buildings. The training gives the opportunity to become an EDGE Expert, offering consultation and support services to builders and owners in a global market. Alpha Mead Training Centre offers the EDGE Expert training by accredited trainers with experience in managing the built environment.

The world is heating up. If we don’t take preventative action now, future generations will be faced with warmer temperatures, as well as higher sea levels, extreme weather events, crop failures, extinctions, and other devastating effects. Check out bit.ly/3OiUfu9 to learn more about the EDGE training offered by Alpha Mead Training Centre or call 0700-25742-6323 to get started.

According to Fortune Business Insights, acompany that offers market studies and consulting services to globalbusinesses. Through its in-depth research, trend analysis, and forecasting. The global facility management market is projected to grow from $1,249.45 billion in 2021 to $1,759.25 billion in 2028 at a Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of 5.0% between 2021-2028, meaning that facilities management is a critical, lucrative, and strategic business discipline. Facilities represent a large part of a company’s asset and yet do not usually receive the required attention that it needs to deliver great value in the built environment. 

A career in Facilities Management is sure to take prospective candidates down different paths depending on their specialization, experience, qualifications, and ability. There are two groups of FM services that apply to the built environment; hard and soft FM services.

Hard facilities management services pertain to the physical structure of the building. Hard FM services include HVAC systems, Lighting, electrical, gas and general maintenance. On the other hand, soft facilities management services are not necessarily required by law and may be added or removed. Typically, soft FM services make a building more pleasant and comfortable for its occupants.  Soft FM services include landscaping, decorating and ground maintenance to mention a few. If you are wondering how to get into the profitable FM industry, the below is for you:

   
Education

Although, success in Facilities Management is not entirely dependent on your academic achievements because skills and technical know-how can be earned solely as a result of experience gained over time, showcasing these capabilities to prospective employers or demand organisations is not always a piece of cake, thus your qualifications and certifications are added advantages that can make you the preferred candidate. Acquiring a certification from a reputable Facility Management Training centre like AMTC gives you the required leverage to excel exceedingly in your facilities management career. Training is available for all levels, helping form the fundamentals of understanding the crux of Facilities Management services.

Qualifications are also useful to experienced Facilities Management practitioners, as they enable candidates to stay up-to-date with technological trends, global policy  and best practices in the industry. 

Get Access to Specialized Facilities Management Qualifications at Alpha Mead Training Centre

The Fundamentals of Facilities Management Practice (FFM) is a two-day, certifiable intensive  training designed for young graduates and newbies looking to start a career in facilities management, and businesses looking to improve their FM employee productivity by skilling them for the challenges of optimizing assets and efficient day-to-day running of their facility. Consisting of a range of mandatory modules, the FFM qualification will provide a basic introduction to the main principles behind Facilities Management and provides candidates the opportunity to demonstrate this knowledge. 

Some Business Benefits Of The Fundamentals of Facilities Management Practice (FFM) include:

• Help participants understand the scope and principles of FM practices and the key areas of operations.
• Introduce participants to the right skills and competencies for a successful career in FM and help businesses improve employee productivity to ensure organizational goals are achieved effectively

So, if you are a young graduate who wants to begin a career in Facilities Management with the right skill and understanding, this training is for you. Those already working in FM related roles  and experience difficulty in linking day-to-day operations with the FM objectives of their employer, this course will be of great help. Register with AMTC to get your FM career started.

Facility Management is often seen only as a maintenance and repair activity. Meanwhile, the International Facility Management Association has defined it as “a profession that encompasses multiple disciplines to ensure functionality, comfort, safety and efficiency of the built environment by integrating people, place, process and technology.” This indicates that Facility Management goes far beyond repairs and maintenance as many have assumed but extends to ensuring business activities go as planned while guaranteeing comfort and safety, as well as contributing to the company’s bottom line. Facility Managers are saddled with the responsibility of maintenance, safety and other activities that are not core functions of the business but have a direct impact on operations and productivity.

Corporate objectives are a company’s fundamental reason for being in business, which often transcend profit and market share. Most companies describe their objectives as one that focuses on value creation for its stakeholders as well as creating a sustainable business model. These objectives are further broken down to functional objectives which relate to specific roles that are carried out daily by employees to ensure corporate objectives are met at the end of the day. In a bid to achieve these objectives, business operations take a toll on human resources particularly when several extraneous activities are receiving attention that should have been invested in core business functions, consequently slowing down productivity. 

For employees to perform their best and fully participate in crucial business activities, it is necessary for them to operate in a safe, comfortable and functional environment. Facility Management, therefore, provides balance for businesses by allowing them to clearly focus on their core business activities without the hurdle of dealing with maintenance, safety, comfort, managing operational equipment, property value and several other functions that are primary responsibilities of Facility Management professionals. With a well-articulated Facility Management policy, businesses can prevent operation downtime, save cost on repairs through preventive maintenance, and maintain high Health and Safety policy compliance; which protects, assets, environment and reputation of the business by minimizing workplace accident and its possible effects; mitigating risk with thorough risk management processes; and ensuring maximum productivity via a safe, comfortable and functional working environment. 

Another benefit worth mentioning is the exceptional quality management policy that superior Facility Management provides, using Alpha Mead Facilities as an example, one of Africa’s leading Facility Management companies with ISO 9001:2015 certification, by United Kingdom Accreditation Services (UKAS). The ISO 9001 is a Quality Management standard by the International Organization for Standardization (ISO), with a strong customer focus alongside other principles that help ensure superior quality products and services for businesses to thrive. Companies with ISO Certification are committed to delivering quality services using global best practices in driving corporate goals.  A company like Alpha Mead Facilities has been able to remain at the top of the FM market in Nigeria, by providing customer focused quality FM services to businesses across Africa saving them huge cost.

Businesses can conveniently achieve their Corporate Objectives and save costs along the way by utilising Facility Management services in addressing other activities that are not their core business functions. Some agile companies are beginning to provide professional Facilities Management trainings to members of their Operations team, equipping them with the right knowledge on how to take on some of these technical FM functions, this also result in increased productivity amidst other benefits. 

One of the best places to receive the right Facility Management training in Nigeria, is at Alpha Mead Training Centre (AMTC), a leading Facility Management training provider. AMTC offers Facility Management training to Individuals and Corporate Organisations requesting professional Facility Management training for their staff. Visit https://alphameadtraining.com/training-programs/ to find out more. 

Missing scheduled maintenance:

In the sphere of facilities management, it is imperative that all maintenance is scheduled and properly managed in order to track facility usage. The Facilities Management industry thrives on its ability to ensure minimal to zero downtime whilst ensuring business runs smoothly without complaints.  Schedule maintenance will help prevent equipment breakdown hence optimizing cost and productivity. Maintenance can be scheduled on a computer software that sends a prompt to the inspection officer as well as the supervisor reminding them of the various inspections, another way to follow up on this is by keeping an inspection calendar and checklist.  In your operations, ensure not to miss a maintenance schedule as it could have dire consequences.

Sloppy HSE compliance:

Accidents and injuries do not happen every day, but when they occur you want to reduce the disruptions they have on the business and manpower. Workplace health and safety is about sensibly managing risks to protect workers, assets and reputation and as an FM professional, it is necessary to regularly conduct and coordinate regular effective HSE internal inspections and audits to reduce lost-time injuries. Ensuring staff and visitors comply with all safety protocols, report cases of unsafe conditions and act accordingly. Lastly, always be prepared for emergencies, they rarely occur, but be equipped well enough to manage them effectively.

Inadequate FM Trainings:

Like many other professions, FM is evolving and learning they say never stops. To remain at the peak of your career in Facilities management, frequent training is required for the Managers and Workers alike. When workers are not rigorously trained according to industry standards, they are most certain to deliver below expectations which can be very chaotic for both end users and the FM professional. Steer clear of this, by providing intensive present-day FM training for workers and professionals. Alpha Mead Training Center (AMTC) offers a variety of facilities management trainings from fundamental to advanced and professional internationally recognized FM certifications that will keep you up to date with modern FM techniques needed to succeed in the industry.  Poorly trained FM workers deliver low quality services and needless to say; these services are often dissatisfying. Deliver exceptional service to your customers by upskilling for success.

Ignoring soft skills:

In the workplace several skills are needed to get by and  as an FM professional, it is essential that you employ not only technical skills but also soft skills in delivering right. You do not want to yell at clients or coworkers because they do not take your great ideas on board, or delay making an important decision because it lacks urgency. Soft skills like proper communication, problem-solving skills, decision making ability should never be put aside by an FM professional.

In the final analysis, seek opportunities to develop yourself and your team to deliver on organisational mandate.  At Alpha Mead Facilities, our years of experience of delivering exceptional services to organisations of different sizes across the globe is a cutting-edge that our clients enjoy. Speak to us today for your facilities management needs, call 0700-25742-6323.

In professional spaces, this is also the trend as well. Accountants, Facility Managers, Designers, Software developers and different members of the skilled workforce have joined the throng of people who acquire new skills and brush up on existing ones online.

The e-learning industry itself will be worth $240 billion by the end of 2022, according to estimates by Statista. As more online course creators and educational institutions keep making learning resources available virtually, the volume of learners online has continued to skyrocket.

58% of professionals globally love the ease of access that E-learning gives.

According to the National Centre for Education Statistics (NCES), 58% of people working with one company or the other reportedly prefer to learn using e-learning platforms globally. This huge proportion shows the significant rate at which people have adopted e-learning platforms as the new wave of skilling up. The major reason why e-learning is preferred by this set is that it allows them to learn at their own pace and digest course materials from the comfort of their homes or wherever they choose. The Alpha Mead E-learning platform offers a user-friendly interface that not only makes learning easy, but fun and accessible as well.

People complete e-learning courses 60% faster than in-person courses

Because people can access e-learning courses at any time of the day, they can study at their peak periods and complete courses faster. Research by Papers Owl shows that most people digest and complete their upskilling courses 60% faster when they take it on online platforms like Udemy, Coursera, and Alpha Mead E-learning than in person.

In addition to these advantages that learning online gives, Alpha Mead E-learning take it two steps further, in a bid to give people who choose us an edge over those who do not.

One of these “additional steps” is allowing students to meet the facilitator virtually after completing a course online. Not only does this make the learning experience more exciting for the student, but it also provides an avenue to gain more insights, pose questions directly to the tutor, and foster healthy mentor-mentee relationships.

There is no doubt that practical tours improve the outcomes of teaching sessions, whether those sessions are online or in-person. Some e-learning platforms go the extra mile of providing opportunities for physical tours to their students.

E-learning platforms like Alpha Mead E-learning give students the free will to take courses at their pace from anywhere in the world. To make the learning experience richer and more fulfilling for the person on the other side of the screen, the academy also facilitates virtual meetups between students and course instructors, on successful completion of courses.

Alpha Mead E-learning tours are fun and educative – The Alpha Mead E-learning platform makes learning tours available to e-learners. All a student or prospect has to do is, to request to be a part of the next learning tour for a specific course and he/she will be notified when the next tour is open. Easy-peasy.

E-learning opens up a whole lot more possibilities for people. Platforms like Coursera, Udacity, Alpha Mead E-learning, EdX, Udemy and others make it possible to learn from smart people in the farthest parts of the world, as long as you have an internet connection.

As more people embrace this form of learning, online platforms and instructors will keep finding new ways to deliver better value to students.

Green buildings and sustainable building practices: 

A lot of companies are focusing more on engaging with facility management partners who provide sustainable equipment and solutions, which in turn will help to reduce their carbon footprint as well as help facility managers ensure that the workforce is well-conversant with positive environmental practices. This is because these partners may assist in recommending the usage of sustainable practices like banning the use of non-biodegradable materials to make buildings more eco-friendly. HVAC units, insulation strategies, motion-sensor lights with automatic turn-off are all technologies that are on the right step forward. Partnerships and collaborations with related industries will help the FM market to keep evolving. 

AI, robotics 

A lot of software providers are now committed to innovation, making room for AI and robotics in FM. It is evident that facility management businesses need to integrate with more software platforms and tech devices and equipment. The internet of things [ IoT], Artificial intelligence [AI] and smart building technologies have created new ways of working and managing end-to-end platform FM processes and workspaces. 

User experience is key 

When it comes to the FM space, a lot of organizations are already beginning to digitize their operations by operating on digital platforms. This is mainly to ensure ease of user experience. Companies are now looking at solution providers that provide an entire range of offerings like asset tracking, energy consumption monitoring, security, inventory management, HVAC, and mobile capabilities: under a single roof. This increased interaction with software for simple operations is indicative of the trend of using a system that users are comfortable with and which is universal across software sectors. 

All these above trends have been driven forward by changes brought forth by the pandemic. As these trends continue to advance, one can surely witness the emergence of newer technologies that will reshape employee experiences driven by FM trends in a different way altogether. The role of the facility manager is becoming more prominent and even beginning to shift from an operational to a strategic level, facility managers now combine an eye for innovation, expertise, strategic thinking, and continuous improvement. Change is inevitable – but these facility management trends are here to stay. 

Having a good knowledge of how to manage these facilities will help companies and families save money. Here are three different ways in which Facility Management skills will help you to reduce operating cost: 

1. Facility Management helps you make better use of space 

One of the lingering impacts of the covid-19 pandemic is the increase in the number of people who are choosing remote work over going to the office. In Nigeria, there was a 22% drop in workplace activities by August 2020. A 2012 report by GSA showed that only 35% to 50% of the workplace is actually used by employees during work hours. 

For businesses, all of these numbers point to the fact that less space is actually being utilized on a daily basis. When you consider that the company is spending money to maintain all of the space regardless, facility management knowledge becomes indispensable.  

Equipped with facility management skills, any professional, including accountants and lawyers, will be able to create effective space management strategies. This will, in turn, put spaces in the building to more profitable use and reduce the hefty long-term cost of maintaining it. 

2. Facility Management helps to save extensively on energy cost 

35% of the energy consumed by a building is usually by the Heating, Ventilation and Air Conditioning Systems (HVAC) while lighting takes up another significant 11%. Refrigerators, Water Heaters, Freezers take 18% while electronics and other miscellaneous equipment split the remaining 38%.  

This is where Facility Management skills come in. The overall electricity bill can be brought down significantly from the lighting unit consumption. The knowledge from a Facilities Management course will teach and guide anyone in adopting energy-saving techniques like using double-glazing on windows and enhanced wall insulation. 

Not only will this energy-saving knowledge bring down the company’s energy cost in the long term, but it will also reduce its carbon emission. It will help it come up with more cost-saving measures by tracking energy use.  

3. Facility management skills improve employee productivity levels and lower staff attrition rate 

 Facilities Management knowledge can play a significant role in helping the company retain staff, increase employee productivity and support recruitments. The organization benefits more when the members of staff are able to make the workplace more inspiring and productive for themselves with the knowledge that facility management courses provide. 

People tend not to stay long in places where they are not often inspired and their productivity levels continue to drop. Replacing these staff costs time, money and manpower. This cost is greatly reduced when the staff is equipped with the knowledge to make their workplace more enjoyable and inspiring. 

The goal is not to turn lawyers, engineers and other professionals into Facility Managers. However, the individual and the company will be better off in the long term when professionals have the requisite knowledge of how to manage their facilities and get the best results from them. Here is a course that can provide the essential FM knowledge that you need.