How higher ed can bridge the Facilities talent gap
The COVID-19 pandemic has worsened the already extensive Facilities talent crisis. Service and maintenance staff have had the greatest concentration of job losses on campus since the start of the pandemic, seeing an overall decline of 6%.
Combined with an aging workforce talent poll, fewer workers in the labor market, and demographic decline (for example, an overall 8% decline in the percent of working age people in the U.S. population), EAB predicts Facilities and Estates leaders will have to spend more of their time and resources on recruitment and retention challenges in the years to come.
In a series of working groups, “Bridge the Talent Gap: 4 Conversations to Recruit, Retain, and Re-skill Facilities Employees,” EAB convened Facilities leaders and HR directors to discuss the unique barriers and opportunities relevant to different segments of the Facilities workforce. Major findings from each session are highlighted below. Explore the takeaways below or jump to the next steps.
Review the key takeaways
Make frontline service employees feel heard, respected, and supported
Many custodians, landscapers, and security guards were on the frontlines of the pandemic, keeping campus operated in person and exposing themselves to physical and mental health risks. Facilities leaders are convening staff engagement councils, establishing mission-connection campaigns, and providing community space on campus to help this staff cohort feel welcomed and seen by the rest of campus.
Skilled tradespeople are drawn to the stability and flexibility of higher ed employment opportunities
Institutions are changing the way they calculate and market compensation to quantify and promote non-salary related benefits, as well as create mentorship and apprenticeship opportunities to create more effective labor pipelines and transfer knowledge between generations of tradespeople
The plethora of responsibilites falling to project managers stretch their capacity and engagement
Institutions are establishing support positions to take basic administrative and communication work away from project managers to allow them to work at the top of their skillset, while also standardizing submission, reporting, and communication processes to help free designer and planners time to focus on strategic activities.
Standard training is often not enough for first time managers and supervisors in Facilities and Estates
Senior Facilities and Estates officers are working with their HR partners to create dedicated leadership training modules for frontline and skilled trades managers. These modules focus on the hands-on nature of the functional work compared to standard administrative supervisor trainings, while also reinforcing time management and people management skills often less accessible to the workforce.
Take the Next Steps
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Establish an apprenticeship program
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