What do you do if your Facility Management (FM) team lacks the necessary technical skills?

1 Assess the skill gap

The first step is to identify and quantify the skill gap in your FM team. You can use various tools and methods to assess the current and desired levels of technical skills, such as self-evaluation, peer feedback, performance reviews, competency frameworks, and online tests. You should also consider the future needs and trends of your organization and industry, and how they may affect the skill requirements of your FM team.

2 Provide training and development opportunities

The second step is to provide your FM team with relevant and accessible training and development opportunities to fill the skill gap. You can choose from different types of training and development options, such as formal courses, online learning, mentoring, coaching, shadowing, and on-the-job training. You should also encourage your FM team to take ownership of their own learning and development, and support them with feedback, recognition, and incentives.

3 Hire or outsource skilled professionals

The third step is to hire or outsource skilled professionals to complement your FM team. You can either recruit new employees with the technical skills you need, or contract external service providers or consultants to handle specific tasks or projects. You should weigh the costs and benefits of each option, and consider the impact on your existing FM team's morale, workload, and collaboration.

4 Leverage technology and innovation

The fourth step is to leverage technology and innovation to enhance your FM team's technical skills. You can use various tools and platforms to automate, streamline, or simplify some of the technical aspects of FM, such as software, apps, sensors, drones, robots, and artificial intelligence. You should also foster a culture of innovation and creativity in your FM team, and encourage them to explore new ways of solving problems and improving processes.

5 Review and monitor the results

The final step is to review and monitor the results of your actions to address the skill gap in your FM team. You can use various indicators and metrics to measure the outcomes and impacts of your training and development, hiring or outsourcing, and technology and innovation initiatives, such as productivity, quality, efficiency, satisfaction, retention, and profitability. You should also solicit feedback from your FM team, your customers, and your stakeholders, and make adjustments as needed.

6 Here’s what else to consider

This is a space to share examples, stories, or insights that don’t fit into any of the previous sections. What else would you like to add?