Mentorship: – Hiring the Attitude, Stimulating the Initiative

Whilst going about my day to day business, I often hear the comment “Where can I find good competent Facilities Managers, they just don’t seem to exist!!!!” This got me thinking, if Facilities Management has been around for years (under different titles and in different forms) what has happened to the skills base and where are the new entrants into this field?

The answer of course is that experienced Facilities Managers are still there and new comers are entering Facilities Management (FM) daily – the problem is that the experienced Facilities Managers are all actively employed and the new comers are not given sufficient opportunity or time to learn their new skill because of the pressures and demands of a FM environment. Hence the perception that there are no good newcomer Facilities Managers out there.

When remembering my entry into the market I realized that, with minimal experience, the one thing I did have was an excellent mentor; not a formal mentor via a mentorship programme but a manager that gave of her time and knowledge, that worked with me and trained me until I was ready to spread my wings and go at it alone. She also encouraged and developed my now deep passion for the industry.

Why is it that we don’t mentor our staff anymore? Are we too busy, is it too much effort, do we not know how? All these questions led me to consider the concept of mentorship and coaching within our environment and how we can go about bringing the concept back into the field.

Firstly let us define what mentorship is:
“The process whereby a more experienced person guides supports and counsels less experienced persons in such a way that they achieve their personal and career objectives and become competent employees within the organisation.” Professor MP Van Rooy

By definition therefore mentorship is a leadership trait that is displayed by individuals that enjoy interacting with people and show a genuine interest in the career development of others and therefore want to share their experiences. Mentorship relationships can be formal and structured, with regular set meetings linked to a programme, or can be informal, with a mentor just being available when needed. Generally mentors are seen as coaches or teachers and so often tend to be our managers or someone in a more senior position within our organization.

Good mentors are able to offer the benefit of their experience, give career direction, advice on organizational “politics”, assist with educational aspects, provide guidance regarding communication and how to handle conflict and act as a sounding board for ideas. In essence they get into the hearts and minds of their protégés and encourage passion and initiative whilst at the same time equipping them with the essential skills FM needs.

Within an international context, mentorship is paramount when employing staff. Generally job adverts relating to Facilities Management positions ALL ask for the ability to mentor, which clearly shows that the need for mentorship in our environment is very important to ensure that good quality Facilities Management is delivered. IFMA (International Facilities Management Association) also has a mentorship course within their leadership programme and even has a mentorship section on their website!!!

I therefore believe that, apart from all the other skills we require, we need to take cognisance of the fact that without playing a mentorship role we will never get to a point where we can say that we have good competent facilities managers. We also cannot just sit back and wait for others to do it because we will continue to have a poor skills base that we will just be frustrated with. The old phrase “you get what you give” really applies in this case.

My challenge to all of the experienced Facilities Managers out there is to take the time to make use of the skills and abilities that you have learned during your career and pass some of this on to the new comers. And to the newcomers – find yourself a mentor and make good use of them as it will hold you in good stead in the future.

Acknowledgements:

International Facilities Management Association (www.ifma.org)

Woman In Scholarship, Engineering, Science and Technology (www.wisest.ualberta.ca)

Institute for Management Excellence (www.itstime.com)

And Brenda Nicholson – my mentor

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