Ethics in Facilities Management
Our FM life is not what it
used to be. Of course, nothing is. We
are enveloped by information about
digital technology, sustainability and global
warming; the effect that national and local politics
may/will have on us; and the unknowns associated
with our workforce-in-waiting. It is easy
to put aside certain values that, in fact, should
always demand much of our professional (and personal) attention.
One of the most challenging topics to discuss with students
wanting to become FMers has been ethics. It is not that they don’t
believe in it; most of them do. Like the rest of us, they have trouble
wrapping their minds around what it is. In these days of digitalization
and social media, it is easy for management and employees to
lose touch with ethical values.
There are a kazillion publications and articles that explore
ethical values in a wide range of professions. There is a paucity
of such articles pertaining to ethical behavior among/by facility
managers and their employees. I suspect that at least one reason
for this absence is that facility management was not considered
and respected as a true profession until a relatively short time ago.
Let’s Start the Discussion
I think it could be interesting to bring together a dozen or so
respected facility managers representing various educational
market segments to discuss this topic. I would ask them to identify
behaviors that would typify a high degree of ethics among facility
management organization. Perhaps they would come up with a
non-prioritized list that might include the following:
- To treat all employees fairly and consistently, regardless of
religious preference, ethnicity, places of origin, etc., as stipulated
in every type of local and national legislation that describe
unwanted, inappropriate or discriminatory behavior.
- To react immediately and appropriately to all violations of
discrimination or harassment regulations, regardless of the position
of the alleged offender. Ditto for building occupants (e.g., we
treat a part-time clerk with the same level of respect that we treat
a dean or a well-funded researcher).
- To apply all resources made available to us as a senior facility
manager in such a way as to support the mission and vision of
our institution/agency.
- To treat vendors, contractors, etc., fairly, without prejudice. (This
means getting them paid on a timely basis.)
- To place priority on the needs of the teaching/learning process.
- To avoid using our employees for personal gain — financial or
otherwise.
- To stay current on professional trends in facility management
and apply them to our own situations, as appropriate.
- To treat facility management as a complex business.
- To make sure that we do the right thing at the right time, to the
benefit of our institution.
- To provide a learning and living environment that is safe, secure
and free of health hazards for everyone who comes in contact
with our campus.
- To be respectful of our neighbors and the surrounding community.
- To assure that employees are fairly compensated, and to assure
that compensation or promotions are based on relevant skills —
not personal relationships — anywhere in the organization.
- To communicate openly; up, down and laterally.
- To avoid implementing change just for the sake of change.
- To remember that our employees have lives of their own, and
that they deserve our respect — regardless of their positions in
our organization.
- To avoid pitting one employee against another, or sharing confidential
knowledge.
- To provide the tools and resources necessary for our staff to do
their work, and then get out of the way.
- To be totally committed to sustainability and respectful of the
environment.
- To complete, regularly, fair and constructive performance assessment
specific to the individual.
I recognize that is easy to come up with a list such as this. It is
much more difficult to consistently live by it. In larger organizations,
it is even more difficult to assure that all levels of management and
supervision have adopted these values. I recognize that as seniorlevel
leaders, we may not always be aware of what is happening
throughout the department. Managing by walking around and
developing a level of trust with our employees is one way. But even if
we don’t learn about it until HR contacts us, we must correct the situation.
If we don’t, we are only inviting additional transgressions.
This article originally appeared in the issue of .
About the Author
Pete van der Have is a retired facilities management professional and is currently teaching university-level FM classes as well as doing independent consulting. He can be reached at [email protected].