The latter half of 2021 was rife with reports of “The Great Resignation”. Some HR sites are still warning of a “great reshuffle” coming in 2022, particularly as the jobs market stabilises and public confidence around businesses remaining open increases. This means that talent retention will be high on the agenda for businesses. FM services play a vital role in talent retention, from creating a safe and comfortable workspace employees want to come to, to assisting in providing equipment for and optimising the spaces they work in at home. There will also be more pressure on FM and HR teams to work together to make strategic decisions around workplace experience and creating a healthy work environment regardless of where employees physically are. These teams will also be responsible for the continued facilitation of hybrid working and engaging employees remotely.

An increased focus on employee retention will mean continued emphasis for the FM sector on equity, diversity and inclusion (EDI) strategies and ensuring that these are implemented. FM companies will need to keep up their partnerships to support EDI internally and for clients and candidates through the deployment of new technologies to assist in providing an inclusive experience.

Working from home will also continue in the roles where this is possible and for people changing jobs, we may see a continued rise in this as a priority. People have become accustomed to prioritising family life and personal wellbeing, something that flexible working models allow more easily. Productivity has increased where companies allow people to work flexibly and building this culture will be imperative for both company and employer brand when trying to attract talent.

The sector will likely also see a series of pay rises which began in 2021 as companies struggled to find candidates. Front line workers such as supermarket staff on minimum wage, engineers, healthcare workers, warehousing staff and hospitality staff have all seen salaries rising for new hires over the past few months. We expect to see more pay rises across various front line roles over the next few months as companies continue to have difficulty sourcing the amount of talent they need to fill vacancies.

We also expect to see the FM sector working to tackle skills gaps in the industry, as well as identifying which skills employees will need in the future. The IWFM has reported “worrying skills gaps in key areas, including net zero, procurement and the circular economy” which will need to be addressed in the short term. Sustainability has been a strong trend in FM for years now, and 2022 will be no different. The FM sector is making strides towards their sustainability and net-zero goals, with many companies in 2020 and 2021 making public sustainability pledges. The focus now should be on upskilling the sector to meet future demand and to ensure FM is at the forefront of making these vital infrastructure changes.

We have also seen high demand for expertise at the senior level in commercial understanding (understanding P&L and managing budgets), statutory and legislative compliance knowledge, understanding data and analytics (and having a data driven mindset), and technological intelligence. We also often see a necessity for expertise in softer skills as well such as conflict management, leadership, strategy and creativity. Creativity is especially useful where technological innovations in the market are concerned. Leadership and emotional or social intelligence will be of particular importance in a market where staff retention is key.

Firmly set on the agenda for FM as things stabilise is technological innovation. We can expect FM to create and adopt more AI, Internet of Things (IoT) solutions, and connected devices to be utilised within the workspace strategy. Part of this will be the embedding of hybrid working into the FM structure alongside creating a healthy work environment, assisting with the assessment of buildings and their energy output, performance, etc.

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