Puzzling pieces

MORE FROM THIS COLUMNIST: Build for the end user, not for the developer; Out of sight

From the many discussions that I have had recently with key players in the FM world in Dubai, there is clear consensus that something is missing. Everyone seems to agree that there is a need for both technical skills and supervisory/management training.

As we win new business, we need to staff up. We cannot simply recruit a whole contract full of new staff and assign them to our new contract; the risk and expense would usually be too great. Typically we see good staff moved from existing contracts to the new ones, and new staff mixed across both existing and new sites.

This leaves the experienced staff that we have transferred to manage not only the new facility, but also the new people, and possibly there will also be a need to promote someone on our existing contract to fill the gap created.

Although we assigned our staff to their new roles because they were technically good in their last role, we usually have not made sure that these people have the necessary supervisory, management and/or leadership skills to deal with everything they are going to meet. Usually we just hope.

If the new assignment is a promotion, the new supervisor will probably find himself interacting with the client at a completely different level. Is he ready for this? If he is, you can count yourself fortunate.

Impressions
First impressions count. If the supervisor is found wanting at the first contact, you have a problem. Potentially this is a very big problem. Now you have to deploy the upper-level team to firefight and restore client confidence in the new supervisor.

If the technicians in his team see any weakness, they will start to exert their influence over their supervisor, rendering him ineffective.

The newly-promoted supervisor will tend to migrate back to his comfort zone unless he has support. That comfort zone is usually his technical ability.

He will begin to get more involved with the technical aspects of an issue, trying to demonstrate his ability by identifying and implementing technical solutions. But what is his team doing while he is engrossed in his technical task?

And what of those personnel who are transferred to the new contract at technician level? If our new supervisor worked alongside these people before, is he able to lead the team now? Does he have the skills needed to take control effectively?

Consensus says he does not. I have seen new facilities managers flounder while HR departments and department managers ignore the problem and go about their daily chores. It is not a pretty sight.

In one case, if it had not been for the ‘unofficial’ support of colleagues from other departments who recognised the problem and collectively took action to help, the new FM would have been looking for a new job.

Support
Indeed, one HR department member of the company in question remarked that, if the FM did not improve, he would be fired. No support; no training; no root-cause analysis; nothing.

But just whose fault is it that the concerned person was ill-equipped? He was, after all, interviewed for the position by the very staff that now stalked him. Just what questions did they ask at the interview?

Not everyone is born a manager or leader. Most of us need support and training to be effective as we move up the corporate ladder. There is a saying that we all rise to our level of least competence, and this appears to be true.

We do well at one level and then, because we were good at that job, we get promoted into a new position that we are not fully equipped for. If nothing goes wrong in the first few months, we learn as much as possible, as quickly as possible and survive.

At the end of the year, our team has performed well. Upper management recognises our potential; after all, we have delivered results – even if those results came from the actions of the previous team leader.

Then we are promoted again, to a higher level, and our skills are even more inadequate. Again, if nothing goes horribly wrong at the start of our new appointment, we survive and, because we have performed at our new level and the company does well, we get promoted yet again … Now we are even more incompetent than ever.

But how do we know when we have got the right skills to operate at the highest level? Surely the answer cannot be total incompetence? So prepare your training plans and give your people the skills they need before you throw them in the deep end.

They will thank you, your company will reward you and, perhaps most importantly, your clients will appreciate your service.

Go on, make a difference!

Alan Millin is a Chartered Engineer and LEED Accredited Professional. He is an independent consultant, coach and trainer, based in Dubai. He has over 35 years’ experience in the HVAC industry, and has led the consultancy mission of two major Dubai FM companies. Contact Alan at akmillin@hvacandr.com for more information on his upcoming seminar on ‘Get Clients Now! The Effective 28-Day Marketing Programme’.