The purpose of this research is to better understand the current state of US healthcare FM industry hiring practices from FM academic programs. A national survey was distributed to healthcare FM directors to collect quantifiable information on healthcare organizations and their hiring practices from FM academic programs. Survey respondents that hired directly from an academic program were contacted for phone interviews. Results indicate that the healthcare FM industry is hiring very few college interns and new college graduates for entry-level management jobs. This paper is valuable in establishing the current state of the US healthcare industry's hiring practices from FM academic programs. Results will be used to better understand the needs and barriers of entry-level FM employment from FM academic programs as a potential source for new talent to the healthcare FM industry. LITERATURE REVIEWAn extensive literature review found no published research on the healthcare FM industry's hiring practices

The purpose of this research is to better understand employment barriers into the healthcare facilities management (FM) industry for new FM college graduates. Design/methodology/approach: A national survey was distributed to healthcare FM managers and directors to collect information on individual demographics, hiring practices, and opinions of FM college graduates. Designated survey respondents were also contacted for phone interviews. Findings: Results indicate that strong homogeneousness demographics, backgrounds, and paths of entry among existing healthcare FM professionals has created an industry bias against candidates attempting to enter healthcare FM from non-traditional sources. The healthcare FM industry's principal source for new talent comes from building trade succession within healthcare organizations. However, continuing to rely on building tradespersons as the main path of entry into the healthcare FM industry may prove problematic. Most existing healthcare facility managers and directors will be retiring within 10 years, yet it is taking more than 17 years of full-time work experience to prepare building tradespersons to assume these roles. Younger professionals are more commonly entering the healthcare FM through the path of higher education. Although few new college graduates enter the healthcare FM industry, they are experiencing similar promotion timeframes compared to other candidate with many years of full-time work experience. Unfamiliarity with FM academic programs, work experience requirements, limited entry-level jobs within small organizations, and low pay also present challenges for new FM college graduates attempting to enter the healthcare FM industry. Originality/value: This paper is valuable in establishing major barriers of entering the healthcare FM industry for new FM college graduates. Findings may facilitate development of interventions by healthcare organizations and universities to further open FM academic programs as a sustainable source of new talent to help address healthcare FM attrition.

The purpose of this research was to identify the technical skills that are necessary for competency as a facility engineering technician (FET) in the healthcare built environment. The Delphi method was used to draw upon the knowledge and experience of healthcare facility engineering managers and technicians to identify and prioritize baseline technical skills, as well as to identify proficiency levels for the skills. A total of 73 skills were identified as necessary for healthcare FET baseline competency including areas of wood, plastic, and composite; flooring; doors; plaster and gypsum board; mechanical support; fire support; plumbing; electrical; and safety and compliance. Of these 73 skills, 35 were deemed key with strong agreement consensus. Successfully recruiting, training, and maintaining a competent FET workforce is essential but challenging for healthcare organizations, in part because of the lack of formal education programs and an unclear path of entry into the profession. The results of this research are valuable in that they can be used to develop training for the healthcare FET workforce. Trainers can use the findings of this research when developing curriculum and determining which skills to emphasize. Healthcare organizations can use the findings to assess current capabilities across staff, to determine whether there are gaps in needed skills and to begin developing strategic programs in response to the challenges of attracting and retaining competent FETs. This research suggests other types of jobs need to be examined to move toward developing a more complete understanding of the skills and capabilities necessary for the spectrum of the facility engineering workforce (from technical to managerial) to address attrition, recruitment, retention, and succession challenges.

Purpose— The purpose of this research is to better understand learning outcomes essential for college students to be effective entry-level healthcare facility managers, establishing a healthcare FM education framework to further open FM academic programs as a sustainable source of new talent for the healthcare FM industry. Design/methodology/approach— A Delphi method was used for this research to draw upon the collective knowledge and experience of 13 experts over three iterative rounds of input. Phone interviews were also employed. Findings— This study shows that gaps exist in student learning outcomes for a comprehensive healthcare FM education; key technical topics specific to the healthcare industry are not being addressed by organizations accrediting construction and facility management academic programs. Many of these student learning outcomes could be readily combined into existing learning outcomes or used to develop a comprehensive healthcare FM education covering accreditation, regulatory and code compliance, infection control, systems in healthcare facilities, healthcare construction project management and methods, and clinical operations and medical equipment. Interestingly, academics in the field of FM generally disagree with industry professionals that these technical topics are important student learning outcomes. Consequently, FM academics prefer to teach students general FM principles with the expectation that specific technical knowledge will be gained in the workplace after graduation from college. Nevertheless, candidates attempting to enter healthcare FM without industry specific knowledge are disadvantaged due to industry perceptions and expectations. University-industry linkage must be improved to successfully attract students into the field of healthcare FM and open colleges and universities as a sustainable recruitment source in helping address FM attrition. Originality/value— This paper is valuable in establishing a healthcare FM education framework to elucidate college student learning outcomes upon graduation for successful employment as an entry-level healthcare facility manager. These student learning outcomes provide a framework for healthcare FM education to be used by industry and academia in preparing future professionals.

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to address the knowledge gap on the use of benchmarking techniques as utilized by facilities management (FM) professionals for the purpose of identifying means to improve industry benchmarking practices and guide the direction of future FM benchmarking research.Design/methodology/approachData were collected through surveying 585 FM practitioners representing various countries, organization sizes, types, industries. The data were summarized and analyzed through creating frequency tables, charts, and cross-tabulations. The survey results were compared to a previously published study on benchmarking use to identify the similarities and differences between benchmarking for FM functions vs core business functions.FindingsThe findings indicate that while FM-oriented benchmarking has been adopted at similar levels as other industries, FM-oriented benchmarking tends to be simplistic, lacks a strategic position in the company, often relies upon self-report survey data, is often performed by an individual with no formal benchmarking team and does not utilize process benchmarking or benchmarking networks. These findings emphasize the need for benchmarking education, advocacy for FM as a strategic business partner, the development of verified data sources and networks specifically for the unique greater facilities management field functions.Practical implicationsThese findings provide needed data on the state of FM practitioner use of benchmarking specifically for FM functions in North America. The results can be used as an assessment for the industry, to improve practitioner use and knowledge, and to identify further avenues for academic study.Originality/valueThe value of this study lies in filling in identified knowledge gaps on how FM practitioners are using benchmarking in practice. These data are absent from the research literature and offer the potential to help bridge the academic-practitioner divide to ensure that future research will focus on addressing practitioner needs for the industry.