Facilities management top tips
The FM Guru Guide to a Great CV
The CV is the most important tool available to you in looking for work or progressing your career. It should be looked at as your major piece of advertising material and you should constantly work on polishing, refining, adjusting and improving it.
The FM Guru Guide to Asbestos
Asbestos is a potentially lethal substance which was once used extensively in premises as an insulator and building material. In total, about 6 million tonnes of asbestos, mainly chrysotile, have been imported into the UK since the turn of the last century. Sales of asbestos products were vigorously promoted after the Second World War, peaking in the 1960s and 1970s. The importation, use in manufacture and marketing of all forms of asbestos are now banned but there are still significant amounts in place in existing buildings and workplaces.
A guide to surviving the economic slowdown
The recession of 2008/2009 has put every facilities management operation under pressure. The negative growth that began in the last quarter of 2008 has left a trail of damage across the world's economy. Rising unemployment levels and record levels of business failure and personal bankruptcy have led many to compare the downturn to the great depression of the 1930s.
Ten Top Asbestos Dos and Don'ts
Asbestos is a potentially lethal substance which was once used extensively in premises as an insulator and building material. Although this practice is now illegal there are still large amounts of asbestos still in place in offices and workplaces. Facility managers who are responsible for the maintenance of buildings have legal duties concerning asbestos risk management.
Ten Top Coaching Tips
There are a number of theories that require you to continually adapt your management style to take account of the different needs of each team member who are all at different points in their own personal development. That can be hard to do. The best default is to adopt a coaching style because it works for everyone from newbies to world class superheroes.
Ten Top Conference Call Tips
Make sure that everyone understands the purpose of the conference call. Is it a briefing or a conference? What is expected of them? Issue an agenda before the meeting and keep it short. Agenda items take longer because everyone needs to speak.
Ten Top Contract Management Tips
1. Know exactly what the contract covers. 2. Make the delivery of that your first priority. 3.Find out what the Salesman promised and understand any variations..
Ten Top Customer Service Tips
1. Be highly aware of good and bad service wherever you are 2. Learn everything there is to know about your customers 3. Design products, systems and processes from the customers' point of view.
Ten Top Email Tips
1 Use the subject line to inform the reader of the nature of the message without having to open it. That saves me time and helps to avoid me reading things more than once 2 Keep it short. Email is supposed to be a quick form of communication. If I have to scroll the screen to read it you should have written a letter or put it in an attachment
Ten Top Empowerment Tips
1. Empowered teams need strong leaders who can change things 2. The team must share in the leader's vision 3. Every manager must be a great communicator
Ten Top FM and Social Media Tips
Social networks are far more than another way for the young to chat and idle their time. They are a powerful new business media, connecting people and businesses and providing instant access to information, comment and new markets.
Ten Top FM Books
There are many excellent books covering specific aspects of Facilities Management but few that capture the breadth and depth of our complex discipline. The following list highlights some of the better offerings from my overcrowded bookshelves which cover the core principles of facilities management:
Ten Top Innovation Tips
1. Exercise your creativity muscles for new solutions 2. Apply old solutions to new problems for innovation 3. Banish the blockers 4. Be positive - magic happens
Ten Top Networking Event Tips
1. Take plenty of business cards and keep them in a handy pocket 2. Identify and target the people you want to meet 3. Introduce yourself to new people, don't stand with your friends
Ten Top People Management Tips
1. Thoroughly understand your objective 2. Make your expectations clear 3. Start as you mean to go on
Ten Top Performance Appraisal Tips
Everyone who manages staff should carry out regular performance appraisals whether part of a company scheme or not. These help team members to feel that their good work is recognised and that they are valued. It can also provide the opportunity to discuss any weaknesses or problems they may have, and to agree a way to deal with them.
Ten Top Personal Effectiveness Tips
1. Planning relieves stress and removes unnecessary work 2. Organise, Prioritise and Rationalise 3. Work earlier not later
Ten Top Punctuation Tips
Facility Managers spend a lot of time writing business reports, emails or tender documents. Incorrect punctuation can confuse the reader or even completely change the meaning of a sentence. Taking care over punctuation and proper use of English can dramatically improve the effectiveness of your communication.
Ten Top Tips for FM survival in the recession jungle
1. Review Everything: Your current Policies, Strategies, Systems, Processes, Specifications and Service Levels were all designed for a different climate. New times require different solutions. The rule book has been torn up. Fixed costs need to be variable. Cost centres need to become profit centres. Business drivers have changed and strategies need to change in response
Ten Top Refurbishment Dos and Don'ts
Moving offices is hideously expensive and can cause major disruption to business resulting in loss of revenue, key staff or even customers. A refurbishment programme can avoid many of these problems if managed well.
Ten Top Uncreativity Tips
1. Always do the same thing 2. Lack ambition for you and your people 3. Be satisfied with things as they are 4. Be negative - nothing ever works
Ten Top Voice Mail Tips
1 Record your own voice message. With a network message I'm never sure if I've got the right number. 2 Try to sound cheerful and welcoming unless you really want people to think you're the Grinch