27.06.2018

Recruiting a Facilities Manager: 5 reasons to use a recruitment agency?

Need to recruit a Facilities Manager and don't know where to start? There are a number of reasons why recruiting a high calibre Facilities Manager in-house may be an insurmountable task.

Knowledge and experience

The sheer variety roles, responsibilities and experiences that candidates are exposed to in this industry means that there is no one way to recruit a Facilities Manager. Each recruitment project can be different, and often the specialist knowledge that is needed to recruit a Facilities Manager may not be available in-house. When assessing what it is you want from an ideal candidate, there is a lot you need to consider. What industry specific qualifications or memberships do they need to have? What kind of previous experience should we be looking for? What technical skills are required to meet the demands of the role? What is the current state of the FM market? Where do we pitch the salary? These are just some of the questions you should ask yourself when it comes to recruiting a Facilities Manager - and you need to know the answers to find the best candidates.

Capacity

Many companies rush headlong into the recruitment process without fully considering the logistics of hiring a Facilities Manager. Writing an appropriate and engaging job advert; research to ascertain where to advertise the position; arranging and carrying out interviews; reference and document checks. The work involved in recruiting a Facilities Manager very quickly starts to build up and may become unmanageable if you don't have the time or resources in-house to deal with it. This is where a specialist recruitment agency can help.

Cost

One of the most common reasons why people choose to carry out their recruitment in-house is the perceived cost saving when compared to using external recruitment specialists. As previously stated there is a significant amount of legwork involved in recruitment, and this can be expensive. Job postings; administration; senior management time for interviewing; it all adds up. And what if you hire the wrong person as your Facilities Manager? In the long-term this can prove to be significantly more expensive, whether that's due to reduced efficiencies in the working environment, poor negotiation of utility contracts or inefficient budget management. All of the associated costs, both long and short-term, need to be taken into consideration before starting a recruitment campaign. More often than not, using an external recruitment agency proves to be the lower-risk and lower-cost option.

Active vs Passive

Recruiting a top Facilities Manager is not as simple as posting a job advert and waiting for the applications to flood in. In a large number of cases, the best candidates are 'passive' job hunters, meaning they are not proactively applying for positions or looking for a job, yet they still may be open to new career opportunities. To access this pool of passive candidates you need to have a wide and well-established professional network, which is not something you can generate overnight. Using a specialist external recruitment agency means you can immediately tap-in to the right network and generate interest amongst the top candidates.

Closing the Deal

A lesson we have learnt (sometimes the hard way) is that recruitment is not always smooth sailing. When dealing with the best talent in the industry, it is not uncommon for a top candidate to have several offers on the table. Having the ability to negotiate effectively as well as the expertise to properly 'sell' a position is a vital skill when recruiting a Facilities Manager. As shown in Maxwell Stephens’ Salary Surveys over the past few years, the level of remuneration may not be the deciding factor for many Facilities Managers. The challenge a role offers, the future career opportunities a company provides, and the variety of work they will be undertaking are amongst some of the key factors FMs consider when looking for a new role. To attract and secure the best candidates it is vital that you know what their motivations are, in addition to effectively communicating what the position has to offer at all stages of the recruitment process.

Maxwell Stephens lives and breathes Facilities Management recruitment. Operating for over a decade within this sector, the team at Maxwell Stephens have built up a knowledge of the Facilities Management industry that is second to none. If you would like to discuss any of our services please give us a call on 0207 118 4848, or email info@maxwellstephens.com

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