Facility management is a diverse field and expects a lot from those who want to work in this industry. Ritu Grover tells you that if one has the necessary skills set, the sector has lucrative options
Most young people are interested in a career offering development opportunities that use their core strengths. Salary and work satisfaction are always important factors, but hands-on experience usually wins over a desk-bound position. Young people who are at the start of their careers will carefully consider all of these areas before choosing which direction to go in.
Facility Management (FM) is an excellent opportunity for young people to be paid and get trained on the job. It also offers a cost-effective resource for employers who would, in turn, invest in a new generation of facilities managers through a wave of apprenticeships.
It also offers many routes to fit a person’s skills set, whether this is in engineering, customer services, sales, team leadership, etc. For example, in case a trainee, who shows sales skills can work for an FM service provider in a highly competitive yet rewarding environment on multi-million dollars contracts, with clear opportunities to progress into a senior team management position.
Nowadays, FM professionals have great opportunities to work towards their own job satisfaction and career paths to make their job enjoyable and rewarding. Whether it is gaining amazing experiences at the vibrant multi-nationals or a tech company, or working in a local/EMEA/global role. Facility managers make very good mentors and management consultants due to their varied and hands on experiences.
Overall, we can confidently say that FM is a fantastic career path in the Indian corporate and hospitality sector. Facilities management is the co-ordination of services related to the operation of commercial or institutional buildings. It typically includes activities like: Maintenance, security, cleaning and catering.
As a facilities manager one would be responsible for providing and managing these wide ranging services for your clients, whether one is employed by the client’s organisation (in-house) or a specialist contractor (supply-side/outsourcing).
The facilities management industry in India is made up of just over 406,000 staff and just over 25,600 workplaces across India. Basically there are two types of facility management services.
Hard FM: Here the services deal with buildings. For example anything that is related to mechanical or electrical.
Soft FM: There are services that are provided by people. For example security, cleaning and catering.
The Indian facilities management industry is all set to enter the next phase of the market life cycle, the development stage. Industry participants are looking for unconventional areas expand their growth prospects. The market is poised to grow at a stupendous rate and offers huge area of growth for FM companies. Demand for both hard and soft services is expected to remain strong as end-users value the experience and professional service that these providers can offer.
This optimism towards facility management services in India is not something new. The growing maturity of end users and the need for improved safety, comfort and professional maintenance of assets have aided this feeling. With the economy now growing in the tier I and II cities, the facility management industry will also see its expansion.
The market is estimated to grow 17 per cent to cross $19 billion mark over the next five years, says a report by Global Infrastructure Facilities and Project Managers Association. According to the report, the overall services sector held 33.3 per cent of GDP (at current prices) in 1950-51 and it grew to 64.8 per cent in 2012-13. It was also found that the qualification and the minimum salary of the manpower vary with the type of service to be offered.
But to enter the industry the person has to have certain skill sets. While one doesn’t need to be an economists or a mathematician, budgeting and financial planning are important parts of the job. The more financial insight you have, the more effective a manager you’ll be. One should be IT savvy, have people skills, have quick reflexes and have a go-with-the-flow attitude to be an effective facility manager.
The industry is all set to enter the next phase of the market life cycle, the development stage. Industry participants are looking for unconventional areas expand their growth prospects.
Demand for both hard and soft services is expected to remain strong as end users value the experience and professional service that these providers can offer. The outlook of facility management services in India is becoming highly optimistic mainly due to the growing maturity of end users and the need for improved safety, comfort and professional maintenance of assets.
(The writer is CEO, The Global Helpdesk)