What do you look for in FM networking events?

Firstly, thank you to all those who completed our survey recently. Here’s what you told us:

Over two thirds of you already attend networking events, both for professional and personal development. If you don’t attend these events, it’s generally due to lack of time, or the location being inconvenient.

Early evening events pip the post for the best time, followed by breakfast sessions; in terms of content you told us you prefer presentations from guest speakers and bite-sized training – shorter, more focused events work best for you, with plenty of interaction and time for networking. Many respondents comment that networking is actually quite difficult; ‘facilitated’ networking is often a good way to tackle this – we are working on this right now.

How about topics? Well, there was an even split between FM-specific topics and more general business subjects. The one thing that you tell us that you hate above all else is when a speaker, who in advance seems like they will deliver an informative presentation, proceeds to present their ‘sales pitch’.

Interestingly, most of you said you would be happy to pay to attend networking events – the amounts mentioned depended on length of time, venue and content. We’ll come back to you soon with our thoughts on this – we want to give you value for money, make networking events accessible, but still ensure that those who sign up to attend, do indeed come along. It’s frustrating for us all when we have to turn people away or put them on a waiting list, only to find those who did book a place, fail to turn up.

So, what next? We are looking at venues, speakers and trainers, with a view to launching a new series of networking events in 2011.

If you’d like to be considered as a speaker at one of these events, please get in touch with Liz Kentish The FM Coach coach@lizkentishcoaching.co.uk 01778 561326 / 07717 787077

An exciting new role from 1 June

I am thrilled that from next week I will be taking over as Chair of Women in FM (WiFM), which is a special interest group run for the benefit of BIFM members (www.bifm.org.uk)

Our aim as a group is to promote women within the FM sector throughout the United Kingdom, to encourage them to join the industry, to develop their careers and to provide networking groups at which knowledge and ideas can be shared. All BIFM members, women and men, are welcome to join us at our planned forums throughout the year throughout the country. In order to meet as much of our target audience as possible, these are held in both the afternoons and the evenings.

People in the industry with experiences to share tell their stories at forums across the UK. The forums encourage open discussion around subjects that are pertinent to everyone involved and there is often the opportunity for a building tour led by the Facilities Manager at the venue.

Want to find out more? Email me coach@lizkentishcoaching.co.uk or call Liz Kentish The FM Coach on 07717 787077