FM Careers Spotlight Interview: Phil Matis, Director, Churchill Group 

• What projects have you been involved in where you have experienced real diversity in your role?
• Can you talk to me about the diversity and variety of the FM sector and what you have been involved in?
• What challenges did you experience through COVID?
• What skills do you think are essential for success in the FM sector?
• How is it constantly working with lots of different stakeholders?
• What are your favourite things about FM?
• What additional advice do you have for aspiring FM professionals?

Michelle: I'm delighted to welcome Phil Matis to the latest in our spotlight series talking about careers in FM. Phil is Director at Churchill Group. Phil is also a fellow committee member, with myself, on the IWFM Veterans Network. Phil's been a PFM awards judge and previous Co-Chair and Digital Lead for the Emerging Workplace Leaders.

Welcome Phil.

Phil: Thank you very much. It's an absolute pleasure to be here and you made me sound wonderful, which is great.

Michelle: You are wonderful, you are wonderful Phil. So, I'm really interested in hearing all about your career journey into FM, how you got into FM in the first place and how you've got through to today really through that career.

Phil: Yeah, absolutely. I mean, I guess like a lot of other people, I sort of fell into FM, I guess, but not fully just walked into it one day and knew nothing about it. I was at university, I was doing a degree in Criminology and Sociology. Which has absolutely nothing to do with FM, obviously. And when I finished that and I was looking for, I guess, any type of career at the time really, as I just didn't know what I wanted to do.

I had a friend who worked in the sector who told me to get involved in it. I’d never heard of it and didn't really know what it entailed. He was trying to sell the dream to me, I guess, saying how great it is, what opportunities are there, and it just sounded too good to be true.

So I did a bit of research and actually, it looked great and I was thinking, do you know what? Starter for ten, that's a really good thing to get into. At the time I was big into training, as in delivering training, receiving training, and I managed to bag a spot in the sector as a training manager, for Churchill Group, funnily enough, so everything goes round and cycles, and I’m back there now, which is fantastic.

So I started as a trainer manager, not really sure what to expect over the next few years after that, to be honest. And then all of a sudden I was working with different teams, different people. I was moving cities. I think one fantastic thing about the industry is your ability and the flexibility to move around as well, because it's everywhere.

So I was literally moving from Newcastle, to Leeds, to Exeter, to all over the place. And then after many years and many different decisions, etc, I wound up in London. I was working for another company down there in the city. A huge learning curve for me there, with one of the biggest property developers in Europe.

I guess that opened me up to lots of different areas of the industry as well. At that time, I was just working in the cleaning sector, so I was doing sort of cleaning management, vertical services where I'm sort of role access, BMU, all that kind of stuff. But all of a sudden within that role, I'm talking to architects on designs and buildings, all that kind of stuff and working with communities. And I was like, wow.

It opened up the world even further for me, to be honest. So that was fantastic. And then move back up North and back with the Churchill Group. I've been back with them for a few years now and covering a big portfolio across the North of England, Scotland, Ireland and Northern Ireland. And yeah, everything's going really, really well.

Michelle: Amazing. Good. So you've definitely touched on variety there in terms of locations and different types of people that you've had to work with in your career. And one thing about FM certainly is the diverse nature of the sector and the different things you can get involved with.

So can you talk a little bit more about that variety in terms of what you might have been involved with throughout your career?

Phil: Diversity, and the industry being dynamic is probably putting it mildly, I guess. I think it's 100% safe to say that no day is the same within this industry.

I always say that FM defines the future. I think we work with everybody: businesses, organizations, people, to design buildings and I think smart buildings are a prime example of that. We look at it, we design it, we have a vision, and we're so far ahead of the curve that everybody else is thinking, what on earth are you talking about?

And all of that through to the actual construction and implementation and mobilisation of buildings, all the way down to cleaning and securing them and delivering all the necessary services within them. I think all of those elements are woven together. So I think dynamic-wise, I think it is very dynamic. Everything comes together.

And if one of those elements tends to fall down, I think it knocks all of the other elements down. So I think there's so many different things which are involved in this industry, it's absolutely phenomenal and very, very exciting.

I've touched on all of the smart building bits there, but IoT in the world of digitisation at the minute is absolutely fantastic in the sector. We've got buildings, we've got assets, that we're having to try and change, invest in, ready for the future. I just think it's absolutely fantastic, it really, really is. So yeah, dynamic, but critical.

Michelle: Yeah, I mean the critical nature of FM is something that probably people really don't know if they're not involved in it and everything that went on around COVID. FM was probably the most intrinsic sector at that point, wasn't it?

Outside of the healthcare professionals on the line delivering their services, but FM were right behind them, weren't they?

Phil: Honestly, 100%. If you go back to that time, nobody, no sector, whether it be the public sector, healthcare or private sector, was expecting it, or knew how to deal with it, and nobody went to their different internal departments and said, what do we do?

They came to the FM and Workplace sector, and we needed to know, and I honestly always say that the silver lining out of that is that no matter what organisation you work for in this sector, everybody came together. We had a plan, we had to strategize, we had to analyse and understand. People were looking at us as the be all and end all, the gurus, to understand what the whole entire country should be doing next.

It was definitely an interesting time. And I think that falls into our day to day working lives anyway. Yes, that's an absolutely huge and critical example of it, but in general everything on a day to day basis is just as critical. FM honestly touches every single sector. There is not a sector at all which doesn't have involvement from facilities management and workplace management.

So like you say, whether that be the healthcare profession, whether it be the educational settings, the finance sectors. We literally touch every single one. Critical, I would say, is definitely an understatement.

Michelle: What skills do you think are essential for success in the FM sector?

Phil: Well, we're a people organisation and industry and a people business overall, no matter where you work with FM. So I would always say that leadership is an absolute given, to be honest. I think we've got to be able to deal with people no matter where you are. So it doesn't matter if you're a cleaning operative, or it doesn't matter if you're a CEO of a multi-billion pound organisation, every single part of it is people.

So, I think the leadership element is absolutely key. I also think staying calm under pressure and the ability to do that is absolutely fundamental in what we do as well. I think, again, no matter what role you're in, we're dealing with changing environments all of the time, environments which adapt, environments which have issues to be honest. Nothing ever goes perfectly and we're the industry that deals with that and it's got address how not only to fix it, but to change it moving forwards.

And I think if we weren't able to deal with situations like that by staying calm while everything is going on, I think we wouldn't be very good at what we do, I guess, as an industry. So, I think that's massive.

And for people who are trying to enter the industry and come into it (because hopefully it is coming across how much I think it is an absolutely fantastic sector to get involved in), when people are saying, “What do I need to do?”, “How do I need to do it?”, “Do I need any qualifications?”, “Do I need X, Y, and Z?” I think, yes and no, is the answer.

I think one thing that I would always say is qualifications are needed depending on what type of job that you're doing. So, if you're working in finance, there'll be some wonderful finance courses which you will have to go through and whether you're working as a maintenance engineer or electrician, you've got to have some qualifications for those.

But I think in general, one critical thing for me is that qualification side of things around that leadership and management piece. And it's not to say, “Go out and do degree in Leadership and Management”, it's about just understanding the fundamentals and basics of people. How to deal with people, how to deal with conflict, how to manage and how to lead people properly and deal with people as individuals as well as a team.

I think for me, that was different to how it used to feel. I used to think that qualifications didn't matter, that it's all about experience, but especially in the past few years, I think it's definitely hit home that as everything else adapts and evolves, we need to be able to evolve and adapt with it. So whilst you're coming into the industry and you think that you're learning stuff, it doesn't stop there.

It's something which has got to be ongoing. We have got to evolve and adapt with that. So the constant forethought of trying to improve your knowledge in all of the different areas, all of the time throughout your whole career is absolutely essential. I guess what I'm saying is, if you're the type of person who goes, right, I'm done, it's not going to work. You always need to want to learn more and drive things forward. We have a very innovative industry.

Michelle: And you're constantly working with lots of different stakeholders, aren't you, and that can be different on an everyday basis as well. You're working with clients, you're working with lots of people across the public and the private sector, and that's ever changing as well isn't it?

So that collaboration piece and people piece is vital, isn't it?

Phil: Yeah, without a doubt. We were talking before about how you go from sort of one meeting to another meeting and you're literally walking out of a healthcare setting into an educational setting or into a finance setting.

I think, is it hard? Yes, because you have got to understand so many different elements, but I think that what that does is highlight how broad and encompassing facilities management actually is and that we do actually touch on every sector. Having that ability to understand what is going on in education and public procurement and different reforms, to literally know what's happening in the finance sector is vital, but also interesting because what other job do you go into and, not necessarily have to, but want to understand what's going on. Which makes you better able to deal with all of those different levels and actually look at stakeholder management properly from the core.

Michelle: What are your favourite things about FM? What do you love?

Phil: All of it! It's fantastic!

Michelle: Yeah.

Phil: But no, it actually is, there's so many different avenues I guess you can answer this question with because I do. I love the flexibility. I obviously love the job that I do currently, but I love the fact that it's literally a one stop shop for anybody.

Again, we touched on it earlier, but you don't have to come into the industry and think, “Right, what do I need to do to make myself fit or to make me okay at doing a certain job?” because there is absolutely room for every single person who wants to come in this sector.

Literally it's so vast, no matter what you want to do, there is space and there is room for you. So I think having an environment where everybody can truly be their selves, themselves is absolutely fantastic.

And I think it's never ending as well. So people can do that and they can think they're in the right place, but if they're not… If you're doing another type of job, you can't just change, you can't just go, “I don't want to be a doctor anymore”, so you've got to go out and then think, “Right, what am I going to do?”…

Whereas in this sector, in workplace and facilities management, you can do that. You can sidestep, you can go forwards, you can go backwards, you can go from operations to finance, from finance to human resources, to health and safety, the list is literally endless. And so I love all of that.

And I guess one final thing, what I would say that I love about this industry is that it actually gives us a true platform to be able to help people because we're involved in so many different things that, the IWFM Veterans Committee is a prime example, the Emerging Workplace Leaders and all of that kind of stuff.

I always say if you are in a position to help somebody, it shouldn't be a question of whether you should or you shouldn't, you should be obliged to, the question should be how. And this industry gives you so many opportunities to be able to do that.

Michelle: Which is great, isn't it? It's a good feeling on a daily basis if you’re doing something that really matters, isn't it? And you’re helping people.

Phil: It gives you that fulfilment factor, I think, doesn't it? I speak to loads of people on a day-to-day basis about what is success, what is success to a person?

And lots of people think that success to them is what other people think around them. So they always try to chase the title, the salary, the role, whatever it is, the promotion, but actually helping people, individuals, communities, all that kind of stuff, that has the fulfilment factor and the meaningful impact bit. And for me, that's what makes you successful.

Michelle: Any additional advice you'd have for aspiring FM professionals or people that are looking to move within the industry?

Phil: Be yourself, 100% is an absolute given. Don't try and let other people or organisations influence you, always be yourself.

And also to reach out to the organisations which I've just mentioned there, and many, many others. And speak to people. We are a people business, a people industry. So if you want to know anything, just ask. There's so many people who are willing to help point you in the right direction, facilitate beyond measure.

So yeah, communicate, speak to the people who are in the industry. and you'll get to where you need to be.

Michelle: Okay, thank you so much for your time, Phil. I've really loved speaking to you and hearing all about your career journey, but absolutely that passion that comes across, um, about the career you've had. So, thanks ever so much for your time.

Phil: You are very welcome. Thank you very much.

Michelle: Thanks.