Case Study: Developing Exceptional FMs

The rapid development of the Asia-Pacific (APAC) region continues to drive higher client expectations, more complex workplace experience needs and greater challenges in attracting, developing and retaining talent. The facility management services market has felt this acutely given the considerable reliance on a capable, responsive FM workforce.

As leaders in the FM industry, CBRE identified the need to contribute to the professionalization and advancement of FM – both as a practice and as a career. By doing so, the firm sought to elevate the FM profession and cement CBRE as an employer of choice, where FMs can build a rewarding career. In addition, with FM outsourcing being a relatively new approach in certain markets across the region, organizations are discovering how this professional service can improve employee experiences, help save energy and resources, as well as provide a positive contribution to sustainability.

To tackle these challenges, CBRE sought to understand the future of FM services for building owners and occupiers and thereby, the skills and knowledge that future FM professionals would need. Wanting to equip future FM professionals with these skills while remaining engaging and relevant for today’s workforce, CBRE leveraged its findings as a basis for the firm’s recently launched, comprehensive Asia-Pacific Facilities Management Certification Program.

Identifying learning needs for an evolving environment

CBRE did extensive research and analysis to better understand current industry trends, identify the future skills required for the profession, and define the behaviors and mindsets needed to be successful. Client expectations and needs are also changing, with clients regularly requesting advice and expertise from CBRE as market leaders. FM professionals must have a broad understanding of many different functional and technical areas, and they need to think laterally, responding to global, regional and local changes — and support clients when they need it the most. For these reasons CBRE needs to ensure its FM teams have relevant and up-to-date tools, resources and training to respond.

Structuring the program for continued FM career development

Competency and comprehension levels evolve throughout an FM’s career as their role and experience grows. To cater to this evolution, CBRE’s program was designed with two certification levels. The first level, the Core Certification, is appropriate for FM staff with less than five years of experience, as well as those who are new to the role or pursuing a career in the FM industry. The certification focuses on building a consistent level of baseline knowledge across key competencies regardless of the country or client they support, strengthening foundational knowledge and preparing them for success in their role.

Those with more years of experience and skills pursue the second level Advanced Certification, in which they can build and enrich their existing knowledge. This approach ensures CBRE’s clients receive a consistent level of services and expertise and allows the firm to provide an engaging employee value proposition, anchored on a clear development pathway for staff as they progress in their career.

Collaborating with the best

CBRE also recognized that for the program to be successful, it was critical to design a comprehensive curriculum that would resonate with FMs. It had to be robust, credible and relevant, giving participants both formal and informal qualifications and credentials, which could only be accomplished by collaborating with industry experts and professional associations.

As such, the program integrates content and industry best practice from sources including CBRE subject matter experts, world-class experts and courses from Harvard ManageMentor, LinkedIn Learning, as well as highly sought-after industry recognized qualifications from IFMA and the Institution of Occupational Safety and Health (IOSH). This holistic and collaborative approach provides FMs not only with the knowledge and skills they need for today, but also gives them professional industry recognition they can carry into the future.

Specifically, the collaboration with IFMA helps CBRE bring world-class professional certification to APAC, aimed at providing systematic training to our employees at scale across the region. This will further enhance consistent quality of CBRE’s professional services while instilling professional pride in employees.

New bespoke training modules have also been developed by CBRE and approved by IOSH where relevant, bringing additional quality assurance and industry standards to the training content.

By designing a comprehensive curriculum that leverages best practice across multiple sources, the program can quickly adjust content to match the latest industry trends and client requirements. This approach has proved invaluable as CBRE quickly responded to global changes and educate FMs on how to adapt fast — especially around pandemic insights and how this will influence

Learning trends for FMs

In such a rapidly evolving profession, continuous learning for FMs is necessary to provide the best service to clients. While this covers a broad spectrum of topics, FMs should stay abreast of key trends including:

• FM Professional Qualifications — as the industry becomes more competitive and demanding, qualifications and credentials will be essential to ensure the FM profession remains credible. Individuals will need to become more marketable, as both clients and the industry demand more. However, training programs must be diverse with education across different topics, incorporating a variety of sources and industry bodies to get different insights and perspectives from experts.

• Innovation — there is no doubt that disruption and innovation are transforming the FM industry. FM professionals must understand how new technology, products and services are changing the practice and how they can harness innovation to their advantage.

• Energy and Sustainability — FMs are in a unique position and have a vital role to influence change around sustainable practices and reducing carbon footprints. FMs must be accountable and committed to developing their knowledge and understanding of these practices, and helping clients create more sustainable facilities.

These are just some of the key topics and insights included in CBRE’s Program, helping FMs think differently, reimagine their role in creating workplaces for the future and delivering exceptional outcomes for clients.

The importance of having a health, safety & well-being culture

As FMs adapt to COVID-19’s challenges, the focus on maintaining a productive, healthy and safe workplace continues to be central alongside a culture of prioritizing health and safety. This means everyone should anticipate unsafe acts or conditions and take corrective actions or steps to help minimize risk and ensure the safety of all.

FMs are essential to creating and maintaining a safe and healthy workplace or environment for tenants, employees, contractors and visitors. With CBRE’s FM certification Program, participants have access to training modules that provide the knowledge and skills needed to manage health and safety effectively, as well as how to meet legal and compliance obligations when managing facilities.

The pandemic emphasized the need to effectively manage health and safety risks within facilities, producing unprecedented challenges, as well as opportunities, for FMs to play a pivotal role in supporting clients to harness changes, while minimizing risk. It is essential that FMs have the required risk management training and skills to support clients when they develop their health and safety protocols and reopening strategies.

It is envisaged that the pandemic will have a lasting effect on the future of work and the workplace. Therefore, it is imperative for FMs to evaluate the impacts on FM operations, assess to what degree these impacts change pre-COVID-19 workplace risks and be able to continue to adapt as the environment and client needs change.

As organizations bring their employees or tenants back into their facilities, FMs play a critical role in preparing the facilities and supporting how organizations continue to actively adapt to new health and wellness practices. Organizations are also looking to the commercial real estate industry for innovative ways to integrate health and well-being programs into the workplace. FMs require the health, safety and technical training to identify opportunities to enhance the well-being of client employees and occupants, whether through the introduction of new technologies, equipment and/or processes.

Attracting talent

Attracting more talent and bringing excellence to the FM profession is critical as the industry grows and becomes more competitive. Client needs and expectations are also evolving, and they look to CBRE as a source of advice and expertise. The COVID-19 pandemic has accelerated this process and highlighted the powerful benefits of a true partnership. Organizations are looking to the FM industry to help lead the way and guide them. The CBRE FM Certification Program in APAC not only helps to attract new talent into the industry and profession, but also helps to retain and develop FM staff, which increases the quality of service. A collective workforce that has consistent skills and knowledge enables more mobility and agility. It creates a pipeline of strong talent within the organization, with the ability to adapt as the business changes.

Key to success

The CBRE FM Certification Program in APAC has been hugely successful since its launch in June 2020, reaching the target enrollment goal within the first six months. FMs going through the program have been incredibly enthusiastic and are immersing themselves in the program, all highly driven to complete the certification. Looking forward, CBRE’s FM Certification Program content will evolve and adapt to the latest industry trends, innovations and client needs. The continued collaboration with IFMA and IOSH will strengthen the FM industry across APAC. By developing exceptional FMs through the program with recognition and qualifications they desire and are proud of, CBRE is championing excellence within the FM profession and creating more visibility for FM as a respected and valued career of choice.