By Julie Statevski
At its core, facilities management (FM) is a people-driven sector. Across large, multi-site operations, the ability to deliver consistent outcomes comes down to the strength, reliability and structure of the workforce behind it.
As expectations around technology, sustainability and compliance continue to increase, building and retaining the right workforce is becoming more complex and critical than ever before.
Attracting, hiring and retaining the right people
To attract and hire the right candidates, organisations need to provide clarity and transparency from the outset. Candidates are far more likely to engage when they clearly understand what the role involves day-to-day, what success looks like and what is expected of them.
In practice, this level of clarity is essential to setting teams up for consistent performance across different sites and service environments.
Equally important is positioning facilities management as a stable and rewarding career, with genuine opportunities for progression beyond entry-level roles. Retention is strengthened when employees see a clear pathway for growth, feel supported by leadership and work within structured environments where expectations are consistent.
Evolving expectations across the FM workforce
Today’s FM workforce must be adaptable, capable of balancing traditional service delivery with evolving operational demands. The FM sector is also evolving rapidly. Increasing expectations around technology, sustainability and compliance are reshaping how services are delivered.
Technology is no longer a support function – it is embedded in daily operations, from workforce management systems and reporting tools to compliance tracking.
At the same time, sustainability initiatives and regulatory requirements are raising the standard of accountability across all sites. For operators, this means building teams that are not only reliable, but also capable of working within increasingly structured and data-driven environments.
The skills that underpin performance
The most successful employees consistently demonstrate behavioural strengths such as accountability, reliability and resilience.
These qualities are critical to delivering consistent, day-to-day operations, particularly in environments where performance must be maintained across multiple locations.
Those well-suited to FM roles typically demonstrate a strong work ethic, dependability and reliability, and the ability to follow direction.
They communicate respectfully and are willing to adapt to changing site needs. In many cases, these qualities are often more valuable than prior experience, particularly in frontline roles, as they form the foundation for long-term performance and operational consistency.
What effective workforce strategies look like
In my experience, one of the most common challenges in the industry is workforce reliability, particularly across multiple sites and geographically dispersed teams.
Maintaining consistency at scale requires not only the right people, but also the right systems, leadership and accountability measures to be put into practice.
Finding and retaining dependable employees can be difficult and, in many cases, the demand for labour outweighs supply.
To mitigate these challenges, effective workforce strategies need to be proactive, not reactive. In large-scale FM environments, this means anticipating workforce needs, embedding structure early and ensuring alignment across all sites.
Consistency across all sites is critical. Without structure, performance varies and operational risk increases.
Building inclusive and supportive cultures
Inclusive cultures are built through consistent behaviour, not just policy. This includes treating all employees fairly, ensuring expectations are applied consistently with clear communication across all levels and providing equal access to opportunities.
In practice, this consistency is what drives engagement across diverse workforces. When employees feel respected and included, engagement improves and retention becomes more sustainable.
For organisations operating across multiple sites, this alignment is essential to maintaining culture at scale.
Creating career pathways that drive retention
Retention improves when employees can see a future within the organisation. Promoting from within – internal progression – is one of the most effective ways to build capability and retain experienced staff.
Employees are more likely to stay when they can see a pathway from entry-level roles to supervisory and management positions.
Promoting from within not only strengthens retention, but also builds leadership capability grounded in operational experience. For example, from cleaner to leading hand to supervisor to site manager and then operations manager. This is the internal progression we’ve seen first-hand countless times in SKG Services where our own group chief operating officer experienced a strong growth trajectory over 30 years transitioning from cleaner to chief operating officer.
Creating opportunities to develop new skills and establishing recognition programs for performance and contribution are other ways FM businesses can create clear pathways that encourage their people to stay and grow within the industry.
Investing in the future workforce
Investment in the FM workforce through recruitment, training and leadership ensures long-term sustainability. Without a stable and capable workforce, service delivery becomes inconsistent and operational risks increase, particularly in complex, multi-site environments.
Ultimately, the success of the built environment depends on the strength of the people who deliver services within it.
Organisations that take a structured, proactive approach to workforce management and invest in building capable and reliable teams will be best positioned to meet the evolving demands of the industry and succeed well into the future.
Julie Statevski is the general manager for Group HR, People and Culture at SKG Services
Image: Charles Deluvio, Unsplash
This article first appeared in the May 2026 edition of FM magazine. To download the entire edition for free, click here.
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