Professionalism

There is no doubt that continual improvement and changes of management are key aspects of many facilities managers’ roles. Integrating learning and professional development into an organisation’s continual improvement process is critical for success. Are you keen to raise your profile, adding value to both your role and your employing organisation as well as managing your customer’s expectations?

There are many qualities expected in successful managers, including a command of the basic facts; relevant professional understanding; continuing sensitivity to events; analytical, problem-solving, decision and judgement-making skills; social skills and abilities; emotional resilience; pro-activity; creativity; mental agility; self-knowledge and balanced learning habits and skills. There is evidence to show that successful managers are likely to be:

- Independent learners;
- Abstract thinkers (ie being able to relate practice to theory and vice versa); and
- Capable of using a range of learning processes including formal or informal input; discovery from their own experiences and reflection.

Facilities managers have such different roles both within and between organisations that it may seem impossible to work out what you need to know to be a successful facilities manager. How do you know what you don’t know? Anyone who has recently embarked on a course of study will confirm that the more you learn, the more you realise you don’t know. Learning needs to be recognised as a continual activity, and like so many other skills, you can improve your learning and study skills. Many of us have no formal training in learning and just hope that reading a few books is all that it takes.

Taking control of your self-development is an important element of being a successful manager. Appraising yourself and your situation is the first step. One of the easiest ways to start this is to undertake a SWOT – a quick way to quickly see the main issues to focus on areas for development. Match this against a checklist – the BIFM can give you a framework to plan training and self-development activities. So the next stage is to look at opportunities and threats in terms of achieving your professional development. The threats are different for each of us and may include financial, domestic, location, and time pressures. It is also useful to understand more about your preferred learning style and how this can be matched with the variety of different learning opportunities. Are you an activist, reflector, theorist or pragmatist? Ideally, you will need to use a bit of each to benefit from all the learning opportunities available.

The BIFM examination is a way of confirming a level of knowledge of the competences required in facilities management. There are seven examinations set at two levels – three at the Part 1 and four at the Part 2. Students study the 20 topics and sit national examinations twice a year.

BPP Professional Education has been providing tuition and study support over the past 10 years, and its students won the BIFM Student of the Year Award in 2004 and 2006. With more students than any other provider, BPP is well placed to offer a learning and development programme for up-and-coming facilities managers wanting to get a recognised industry qualification.

About the author: Jane Wiggins MBA CFM FBIFM is BIFM examination programme manager at BPP Profession Education, a leading teaching organisation specialising in professional training of business managers. www.bpp.com/hr