Giving the market conditions and economic situations that defined the Real Estate sector in 2016, no one needs to be told that it will take a different breed of talents, operational approaches and process strategies to stay afloat in 2017.
Facilities Management is a very integral sub-sector of the Real Estate. In fact, it has been said that up to 80% of the Asset or Real Estate life-cycle is Facilities Management. In addition, besides things like location, infrastructure, design and construction; FM services also contribute significantly to the value of Real Estate assets.
In the face of these realities, Real Estate developers and promoters are pressed for value-driven FM service; and there is no hope that this demand will abate in 2017. If anything, FM will be one of the Real Estate sub-sectors to be especially tasked to add and retain value for Real Estate this year. And some of the skills that will be in high demand to help Real Estate promoters, owners and developers ride against the tide will include:
STRATEGIC PLANNING: Giving that Real Estate cost constitutes up to 40% of business overhead, the market’s pulse this year will requires a strategic alignment between organizational goals and Facilities Management objectives. This is because if well-structured, FM can play significantly in the goal of most businesses to reduce cost of overhead. So FM professionals with the requisite skills and know how in development and implementation of strategic processes, procedures and tactical plans will be highly sought-after.
For FMs willing to be in high demand in 2017, their strategic planning skill should also be developed to include ability to lead, manage and organize Man, Money and Machine to help organizations achieve their corporate goals.
EXCELLENT PROJECT MANAGEMENT SKILLS: Because of the wide range of project scopes, complexities and financial risks available in the Real Estate sector today, professional FM with no sound Project Management skill will always play second fiddle. Project owners, Real Estate developers and investors need to be assured that their FM Company or professional can run through the spectrum of their projects: beginning with the strategic planning, right scoping, scheduling and detailed reports scooped from structured evaluation mechanism. FMs who will dedicate time and resources to acquiring this skill will be in high demand this year.
OPERATION AND MAINTENANCE: Well, this is the core responsibility of the FM Company or manager. However, the 2017 FM market will require that FMs have a working knowledge of building systems – interior, exterior, structure, etc – to be able to make the building function efficiently, reliably, safely and securely in a manner consistent with existing regulations and set organizational goals.
FINANCE & BUSINESS Acumen: With the turn of event in today’s Real Estate market, the knowledge of financial technologies and fundamental accounting concepts are must-haves for the Facilities Managers. This is because from corporate Real Estate to residential, retail and commercial, the Real Estate asset is a key business asset. Moreover, in the current market setting the critical metric the FM customer understands is how much he has saved or how much FM has added to his bottom line, by ensuring process efficiency. Therefore, the FM must think like a business owner who sets out to declare profit to its stakeholders at the end of the day. To this end, demand will be high for FMs or companies with the right people process and procedures that support making business cases, analyzing financial reports, contracts and procurement management, among other capabilities.
