If you’ve been working within the Facilities environment for some time, or indeed any industry for a while, it is likely you have experienced constant changes and challenges. The constant change around you, coupled with the disruption of so many traditional industries with automation requires dedication and resilience.
Personal Guide to Industry Change
Change is inevitable, and while there are certain to be rapid changes all around you, there is so much you can be doing to help prepare and future proof yourself for these changes.
1. Get Tech Savvy
You need to be able to access applications on your mobile device and use the organisation’s customer relationship software and email system! Keep yourself up to date with technology and you will be very pleasantly surprised at the increased productivity this can offer your working day and your future employability. There are many online resources available to help you learn. Most people stumble through technology to make the best of self-learning, but the optimal approach is jumping on group training sessions, ask colleagues to demonstrate systems and maximise on available company processes to keep abreast of system changes and updates. There is usually someone in the team who will be more than happy to spend some time with you showing you how to navigate technology if asked.
2. Develop Your Human Skills
It is essential to enhance and develop your ‘human skills’. Often called ‘soft skills’, they’re also called human relational skills. These skills involve communication and attention to relationships with others. If you’re unsure what this means for you, it is related to your emotional intelligence and you should explore this concept in the context of a leader’s ability to navigate, and even lead, organisational change. “The value-add of the human worker will focus on essentially having human skills such as leadership, creativity & emotional intelligence”. It’s worth taking the time to assess your soft skills and develop these further through professional development programs offered within or outside of your current organisation.
3. Passion for Continuous Learning
A lifelong learner will be open to change and always able to learn something new. Your openness and ability to learn new skills will be a key lever for how well you can future proof yourself. In many ways it’s related to my first point of getting tech savvy. What is your appetite for acquiring new skills and passions? If you are scared, that’s okay! It’s all about being open to learning and finding the right guides who can help you on your career journey! Seeking out a good mentor who dedicates their time should be considered as gold in these busy times.
4. Think Global
Geographical barriers to business are getting less and less relevant. Remote workers are headlined as being ‘The New Normal, and more than half of hiring managers agree that remote work among full-time permanent employees is becoming more common. While this varies by industry, it is certainly true that your co-workers, clients and stakeholders now, and in the future, can be anywhere in the world.
The implications of this in terms of how to ‘future proof’ yourself are that you need to acquire the ability to work with the entire marketplace. I suggest you consider and work on the following elements:
- Learn about working with diverse cultures
- Ask for assignments that require international exposure
- Learn to respect difference
5. Develop Resilience
Resilience is defined as the capacity to recover quickly from difficulties. It’s about how mentally tough you are. The future is uncertain and you will encounter setbacks.
Developing resilience means you need to toughen up. And this is not always easy! Building resilience means:
- Identifying and working on how well you bounce back from setbacks and your ability to let issues go
- Considering your attitude towards setbacks/obstacles. Do you view these as ‘learning experiences’ or do you let them knock you over emotionally?
- Identifying how flexible you are when things do not go to plan
- Your ability to stay positive!
Your success requires others, so in essence, we all need to grow for us all to succeed.
Teamwork | Collaboration | Determination | Success
