Facility Managers: Not all Millennials are Bad

We hear plenty of talk about millennials and their career wants and demands in the media these days. And quite often, the image is hardly positive.

During NFMT 2016 in Baltimore, I hosted a conference session, and millennials were a topic of discussion among the maintenance and engineering managers and consultants who were part of my panel. Our panelists offered examples of working with the younger set, and some of the stories were, well, interesting.

But we are not here to criticize the millennials in this space. Today we’re going to praise at least two of them.

NFMT is a great opportunity for facility managers from all walks to meet with people like themselves. They can swap war stories with peers and learn from each other in a three-day setting featuring education sessions, networking opportunities, and browsing the expo hall to meet with vendors on the latest and greatest products and systems that will keep their facilities humming at tip-top shape.

We are happy to report that at least to millennials left a positive impression on many — motivated twin brothers who used the conference to network and hopefully break into the profession upon graduation. They are on track to graduate this spring.

I initially saw the brothers seated in the front row of our young professionals session, listening intently to advice from peers who reached the management level. They were asking all the right questions and taking all the right notes.

I had an opportunity later in the conference to speak with them during a young professionals happy hour and learned that the brothers were using their spring break from school at Farmingdale College in New York to attend NFMT and learn more about their desired profession and maybe pick up a few contacts along the way.

That’s hardly the image of millennials ingrained in our minds. While their friends were probably visiting South Padre celebrating the final months of their college lives, the brothers instead attended a facilities management conference on their own dime in hopes of getting an edge in their career.

Facility managers are always wondering where the next generation of technicians and eventually managers will come from. I know of at least two young men more than willing to do what it takes to break into the profession. Hopefully many are ready to follow their example.

This quick read was submitted by Dave Lubach, associate editor for Facility Maintenance Decisions. Reach him at dave.lubach@tradepress.com. . For more on recruiting technicians click here.

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