FMJ Facilities Management magazine providing industry-specific intelligence to FM and property professionals
Q: What was your first ever job?
When I left university, having studied Quantity Surveying, I was adamant I didn’t want to work for a company so I started a clothing business. I had always wanted my own business growing up. I saw an opportunity in buying clothing lines that the shops had cancelled with their manufacturers. I hired rooms in large businesses (over 500 staff) and sold “work clothes” at discounted prices to their staff.
Q: What was you first job in the FM sector?
My first job in FM was working for Atkins as a Surveyor and then as a Contracts Manager. I looked after contracts such as Lloyds TSB and Allied Domecq. I fell in love with FM there really – I love the day-to-day variety that the job br
Q: What made you choose FM as a career?
I didn’t actively choose FM, I discovered it after taking a Contracts Manager job at Atkins. I really enjoyed my job due to the commercial and operational aspects I got involved in, I knew then that this was the career I wanted.
Q: How did you progress through the profession to your current role?
I left Atkins after two to three years when an opportunity arose to work for one of the contractors that I managed, Willmott Dixon. I joined as Senior Surveyor at their Birmingham branch and over a seven-year period worked my way up to being a statutory Board Director responsible for national operations in their FM Company, known as Wilmott Dixon Sustain. I left Wilmott Dixon in 2009 and used all of my past experience to set up Diamond Facilities Support with fellow Managing Director Adam Atkins. Nine years later and we now have a 125-strong national workforce with an annual turnover of £10 million.
Q: Do you have any qualifications or training in FM and related areas such as health and safety? And how have you benefited from them?
No specific FM training but I left university with a Quantity Surveying degree which gave me a basic understanding of the commercial, legal and construction elements you find in FM. I have also undertaken health and safety training and various management courses.
Q: What is your greatest contribution to the FM sector, or your current role?
I think encouraging other women in FM and demonstrating that it is a sector with great opportunity. I was one of the first Senior Board Directors in an FM company and now own and manage Diamond Facilities Support, which is a top 4 per cent national FM company. Many women over the years have told me that seeing my success has encouraged them to try too. I think the communication and multi-tasking skills that women have make them ideal candidates for senior operational positions within FM.
Q: What’s changed most since you started in FM?
I would say technological advances are really starting to take the industry to another level. Real time reporting through engineer apps is improving service levels and driving down costs.
Q: What personal qualities do you think are most needed for a successful career in FM?
An ability to cope with a fast-paced and sometimes stressful environment is essential along with great communication skills and an appreciation of clients’ needs. Delivering an excellent FM service is done through great people being happy in their jobs.
Q: If you could do one thing differently in your career in FM, what would it be?
Maybe starting up Diamond Facilities Support earlier. That said the experience I gained working for both a consultancy and contractor was invaluable so I probably needed this learning to make Diamond Facilities Support the success it is today.
Q: What would make the biggest difference to the FM sector? And how could that be achieved?
The profile of FM in the UK needs raising in order to attract talent at all levels into the industry. I would like to see extensive work done with schools promoting FM as an excellent career choice. It would benefit those that are more practical, along with some properly supported apprenticeship schemes. The current apprenticeship levy scheme is not working. Businesses I speak to want to take on apprentices but the current system is complicated and disjointed.
Q: Are you a member of any FM association or body and if so what benefits do you think they provide?
I am a member of BIFM and also more recently an Ambassador of E2E. This is a fantastic organisation – an “ecosystem for entrepreneurs”, it gives you an opportunity to meet and network with other like-minded people.
Q: What advice would you give to young people coming into the profession now?
I would advise them to get a recognised qualification and then join a company like Diamond Facilities Support that has tremendous growth potential. Work hard and then when career opportunities open up (as they do frequently in growing businesses) you are in a great place to seize them.
Q: What are your long-term goals for the next seven to ten years?
I have lots of goals but my main goal is to grow our current business from £10 million to £25 million. We have launched a further three businesses this year in different sectors so that 90 per cent of our services are delivered by in-house staff. These include drainage business Jet Through Ltd, Sanctuary Fire & Security Ltd, and commercial cleaning business Nationwide Property Clean Ltd. I am looking forward to getting these businesses established and successful in the market place.
Q: What do you predict could be the main changes to the FM sector over the next few years?
I think IT is changing FM rapidly – apps enable quick real time data, and eases the pressure on day-to-day operations. I expect costs in FM to be driven down as a result of this efficiency.
Q: What are the greatest challenges of working in FM?
The greatest challenge is finding good people in FM. There is a definite skills shortage within the industry both in terms of professional and engineering. I see this as the biggest inhibitor to the growth of Diamond Facilities Support.
Q: What do you enjoy most about working in FM?
Not just one thing – I love the fast paced, day-to-day variety and the chance to always learn something new!
