Managers of large facilities may have dozens of in-house staff members, including mechanics, technicians, administrative assistants, operators, and engineers.
While some FMs work hand-in-hand with human resources to find talented candidates to fill roles as they emerge, all should be at least familiar with smart recruitment and onboarding practices. Those facilities managers who wear the HR hat (among many others) will benefit directly from learning how to hire the best members for their team.
Crunch the Numbers to Plan Ahead
Before getting started, though, a little data analysis may be in order. We’ll use an example from the world of education to illustrate.
Sam Zippin at SchoolDude points to data in the 2016 Facilities Survey: Budget, Staffing and Operations Study (summary here), which examined the staff-to-student ratios at both K–12 schools and schools of higher education.
Custodial staff makes up the largest portion of any school’s FM team, but K–12 schools tend to have more custodians per students. Higher education, however, tends to have twice as many maintenance and grounds staff than K–12 schools do.
FMs can calculate their own staff-to-occupants ratios to better project staffing needs.
For example, imagine a school with 8,000 students, requires an average of 16 maintenance employees, 8 grounds employees, and 64 custodians. If enrollment goes up in the following year, staff numbers should rise proportionally.
FMs can predict hiring needs by calculating staff-per-area ratios, too. One maintenance employee is required per 72,881 sq ft in a higher education facility, for example, and one grounds employee is necessary 21 acres.
If the facility you manage is about to grow in size, those ratios can be helpful in predicting hiring needs.
Don’t Write a Job Description—At Least Not Yet
On his company’s Facebook page, recruitment and hiring expert Lou Adler, writes that “hiring the best starts by defining the real work involved, not skills or experiences, but the challenges and critical deliverables expected of a top performer.”
So, instead of writing a job description, write an ad.
As Adam Seabrook co-founder of Betterteam explains: “A job description is a technical document. It’s meant to describe the job for internal approval and to help candidates and new hires understand exactly what will be expected of them.
“A job ad, on the other hand, is not technical at all. It is marketing material, meant to sell your ideal candidate on working for your team. Writing a great job ad will help you find great candidates for your positions.”
Adler chimes in on a LinkedIn post that a great hire is not about experience, per se, but capability: “Those who got promoted the fastest never had enough experience. Instead, they had the ability to learn quickly, the confidence to take on projects they hadn’t encountered before and the leadership skills to inspire the people they worked with.”
Daniel Bauer, founder of Better Leaders Better Schools, has advice on hiring teachers that applies across professions and industries. The most important is to “hire for values,” he writes, not credentials and experience.
Digital marketing executive Scott MacFarland agrees and goes further, saying that all companies and employees should have the same values. While communicating those values is easier in a smaller business or department, it is crucial that employees understand how those values translate into “day-to-day, procedural operations.”
“When the employee value system aligns with the company value system,” writes MacFarland on LinkedIn, “then you have true corporate-employee balance. Once this occurs, the employee, department or division most likely will not make decisions that are adversely affecting the company.”
Work With HR or Recruiters to Smooth Over Hiring Issues
FMs with access to human resource departments can leave much of the hiring process to those professionals. Still, clear and proactive communication between your two departments will help smooth the process.
An HR department will also be able to help FMs understand the nuances and legal obligations companies have when hiring someone. For example, in some places candidates cannot (by law) be asked about their criminal histories during interviews. The law firm of Seyfarth Shaw in Chicago recently updated its guide at Mondaq to where such legislation. Its guide show where these rules have been adopted, and which employers within those areas are covered.
If a facilities manager is solely responsible for hires in his own department, the use of a recruiting company might be helpful. When you outsource the candidate search process, look for a recruiter with a strong background in the engineering and manufacturing industries so that you are provided with suitable applicants in terms of skill and experience.
Attracting Talent
If you’re having trouble attracting the caliber of employee you’re looking for, Kenneth Waldman at The Staffing Stream has a tip: Instead of focusing on just the requirements necessary for the position, “list some of the benefits that might attract potential job seekers.”
These can include actual benefits that are part of the compensation package, but Waldman adds that “small creature comforts” should also be listed. If your facility has a fitness center that employees can use, for instance, or is a pet-friendly workplace, put that in your job ad. Give potential hires a feel for what it might be like to join your team, says Waldman, “and what they stand to gain in the long run.”
The Creative Group at Robert Half Staffing Agencies listed the top perks and benefits that employees look for, but first the team took care to clearly define what those terms mean:
- Benefits are things such as healthcare and professional development that employees would have to pay for out of pocket if these were not part of their employment package.
- Perks are simply additional enhancements to salary and benefits.
These are the perks that attract candidates and help retain current employees, according to the blog post:
- Workplace wellness programs
- Free food (and good coffee)
- Work from anywhere
- Concierge services
- Transportation or parking reimbursement
If your budget doesn’t allow for those kinds of extras, the Creative Group blog has a related post on low-cost employee perks that are just as appealing. These include:
- movies
- game time
- employee referral bonus
- mailroom services
- loaner computers, tablets, and other electronic devices
- free seminars
What Makes a Good FM Team Member
Qualities you’re looking for in candidates include long-term potential. That may seem counterintuitive if you’re interviewing someone just out of school, but the University of Scranton team writes that “a candidate with a graduate degree … or multiple certifications [for example] would indicate a passion for pursuing learning, professional growth and long-term advancement opportunities.”
If you ask an interviewee to complete a task, the Scranton team tells you who to look for and why: “Candidates who keep their composure while simultaneously showcasing their problem-solving skills are often better prepared to work well under pressure and responsibility that might come along with the job.”
People who are passionate and lifelong learners make great employees. Bryant Garvin at Search Engine Journal writes: “If employees are passionate about what they do, they care more. They are more involved, inquisitive, and dig deep to solve problems.” While he’s focusing on marketers, the qualities of passion and a love of learning are certainly not limited by profession.
Garvin is another expert who believes that as long as you have mentors who can teach specific skills, it isn’t crucial that your new employee have that proficiency at the time of hire. As he says: “I have yet to find a way, to train someone to have integrity, or enjoy problem-solving.”
Credits:
bykstskeeze
keshavnaidu
