How to Attract Millennials and Gen Z to Facility Management

Younger generations have the potential to succeed in facility management roles. Are you ready to welcome them to your team?

Today is the moment for millennials and Gen Z to consider a career in facility management. Leaders must equip their workplaces to welcome future generations in order to remain competitive, because baby boomers retiring and senior members of Generation X are not far behind, your company needs new ideas. Whether they are just graduating or looking for their next career move, here are ways to attract young people to facility management jobs.

1. Creating successful career paths enriched with quality training

Millennials seek a career path with clear signs of advancement and well-defined opportunities for advancement. When looking for employment, they will choose companies that offer benefits related to their professional fulfillment and growth. This can include:

  • On-demand education during business hours
  • Trips paid by the company to relevant conferences for the management of facilities.
  • Opportunities to try out a variety of roles within the company.
  • Apprenticeship programs to prepare for your next role.

Organizations must constantly provide educational initiatives on the different ways to manage facilities. This will also benefit employers by increasing employee engagement and productivity so they can take pride in belonging to the company.

2. Make your workplace a collaborative space

Millennials and Gen Z value collaboration above everything else, with the majority preferring face-to-face meetings. As a result, creating a collaborative work environment is critical. Team-building activities should be developed and meetings organized that include the celebration of the successes achieved. Provide staff with collaboration-focused technology, such as internal instant messaging tools and group communication applications, that allow facility managers to connect privately online with each other and with their staff.

3. Promote diversity in the workplace

Engaging a varied talent pool will help to extend the facility management industry’s potential workforce and position it for a stronger future. According to a survey by Glassdoor, 76% of job searchers are interested in working for a company that has a diverse workforce. 

Millennials and Gen Z want to interact with a variety of clients and co-workers and will often turn down or quit a job if they find out there is discrimination at work. Job seekers and employees expect companies to be transparent and proactive about diversity and inclusion policies, and facilities management is no exception. Employers that are not inclusive run the risk of losing a large pool of talented staff.

4. Invest in the right technology and equipment

Younger generations have grown up with technology as an integral part of their life, and they expect to use it in the workplace as well. To attract Millennials and Gen Z to your organization, invest in cutting-edge facility management technologies that allow for efficiency and productivity. Automation technologies such as artificial intelligence and machine learning tools should be prioritized for daily work tasks such as hiring contractors and work order administration. 

5. Make work-life balance a priority

Studies show that taking time off work is beneficial to one’s health and productivity, and millennials and Gen Z are highly aware of this. Prioritizing work-life balance for your employees is critical. This includes being flexible with employee hours and where work is completed, and de-stigmatizing using allotted sick time and vacations.

Millennial and Gen Z workers like to get down to business, but work isn't the only thing that matters. Since they also want to have a life apart from the company. Emphasize to potential employees that emergencies should be dealt with right away, but minor matters should be dealt with only during business hours so everyone has a chance to be stress-free outside of work.

Are you and your company prepared to welcome Gen Z and millennials workers?

To successfully attract Millennial and Gen Z talent to facility management, your entire organization must be engaged. Be prepared to make some changes, as younger workers, with their intrepid adoption of technology and their thirst for innovation, have the potential to excel in facilities management roles. Is your company ready to receive them?

Article by Jeff Stripp

Source: CMM Online, GlassDoor, Allina Health, Service Now