09 May 2024

Facilities managers have been encouraged to support and mentor each other, especially the younger generation, in order to facilitate the growth of their profession.

Addressing facilities managers who celebrated World Facilities Managers Day in Gaborone on Wednesday, the managing director of the International Facilities Managers Association (IFMA), Ms Lara Paemen, emphasised the importance of each individual in the role of facilities manager taking on the responsibility to mentor and motivate others.

Ms Paemen highlighted facilities management as a broad discipline that includes maintenance, space management, and security services, consolidating various services under one management umbrella.

This consolidation, in turn, promotes improved communication and coordination among different stakeholders, she noted.

Furthermore, Ms Paemen stressed the crucial role of integrating facilities management into a company’s overall structure, as it significantly influences how people work. 

She highlighted the importance of positioning facilities management as a strategic function within an organization, rather than just a support service.

Ms Paemen thereby urged facilities managers to be innovative and embrace emerging technologies and reimagine traditional practices as well as challenge themselves to think outside the box to push boundaries of what was possible.

For her part, Botswana Facilities Managers Association (BOFMA) vice president, Ms Golesedi Chankuluba said facilities management was an essential service as realised during the COVID 19 era.

“While other professions were on lockdown, we were a few of those that were running around to keep things going, and this just shows the importance of this profession,” she said.

Ms Chankuluba said it was good that the newly formed BOFMA was set, a move she said would achieve objectives such as inspiring others, as well as integration and innovation.

“Mutual support has to reign for the sake of progress, so let us grow this field and encourage participation of women in facility management, which is still the male domain,” she said.

She however, admitted that according to the membership of the association, there was not much disparity in gender.

She also said it was encouraging to note that the association membership was growing annually.

In his welcome remarks, BOFMA president, Mr Michael Mafa applauded members for having kept it alive without any sponsor since its establishment in 2018.

He said it was also good that facilities managers have come together under one association, which he said would make it easier to work together.

“This will also bring respect and awareness for us apart from ensuring that the required standards are enforcement and adhered to,” he said.

Mr Mafa said they started advocating for such standards looking at the fact that facilities management was now global. He thereby urged more managers to join the association to help share ideas and challenges.

The day was celebrated under the theme, Inspire, Integrate, Innovate, Ignite your Career in FM. Ends