Nicole Mabvurira, Facilities Manager, Colliers
Briefly, what does your job involve?
I am responsible for the operations and maintenance of all things pertaining to the built environment for one of New Zealand’s leading banks’ commercial property portfolio where I manage a combination of 81 retail and office properties.
For the most part, I am the main point of contact and manager for all building operations and maintenance for my clients’ 500-plus employees, alongside liaising and coordinating with all stakeholders involved in their bank operations.
How long have you worked in facilities management?
Almost a year.
How did you get into facilities management?
The built environment is always something that fascinated me. In addition to this, throughout my university study, I had always wanted to get into the commercial property space. However, I was always curious and searching for a niche. During my final year of studying, FMANZ held an event in Dunedin where I was studying. From there, I did my research on what the role of an FM entailed prior to the event and I was enthralled, inspired, and motivated to make Facilities Management my niche.
By July, I had made an Excel spreadsheet, shortlisting all commercial property companies based in Auckland, and embarked on a “cold call” endeavour of emailing all hiring managers, expressing my interest and zeal for becoming a Facilities Manager prior to my forthcoming graduation in late November 2021.
Colliers found interest in my CV and due to my qualification (Bachelor of Construction, majoring in Quantity Surveying) they saw my technical competence and referred me to their Building Consultancy team where I worked as a Graduate Building Surveyor. This role really augmented my technical outlook and approach in my current role and helped me have a strong and thorough methodological basis in property.
Eventually, a role opened up in September of last year as a Facilities Manager for Colliers, Corporate Solutions’ biggest accounts. I managed to transfer and go straight into a Facilities Manager role after nine months as a graduate. I owe that to my hard work ethic and eagerness for progression from the start of my career until now.
What do you enjoy most about working in FM?
As cliché as it sounds, no two days are the same. I thoroughly enjoy being able to communicate with various personalities and stakeholders throughout my day, every day. With this role, there’s such a vast variety of day-to-day tasks to keep me on my toes. I absolutely love the challenge of making targets and reaching them to the fullest of my potential, every day.
What do you think are the most important skills/traits a facilities manager needs?
Productivity is a key skill that a Facilities Manager needs in order to excel and succeed in the role. It is important to have structure and organisation to help increase your productivity to the fullest of your abilities.
Productivity is a skill I pride myself in. It is important to me to maintain a high level of productivity so from there, I can include more tasks to complete throughout my day. The role of an FM is ongoing and never-ending. However, for my portfolio, it is important to me to have my inbox monitored at a highly productive efficiency, where I start and end my day with a cleared, up-to-date inbox thread.
By doing this, it improves productivity and allows me to devote the rest of my day to all my planned, reactive, and project work. From there, I can smash it all out in a fast and competent manner and keep on top of or ahead of my workload with a great level of attention to detail.
What’s one skill that is overlooked?
Emotional intelligence is a skill that is overlooked in this role. When things begin to turn hectic, and requests and work pile up, it is important to remain level-headed and not act out of emotion.
It is important to be mindful of the bigger picture of the future and vision for my clients. It is also important to carry this skill as, ultimately, I am acting on behalf of my client. No matter the circumstance, it is important to operate at the highest, most professional standard.
Any advice for someone considering a career in FM?
The advice I would give is to really put yourself out there. The second you feel as though the career path/role interests you, apply yourself. Make it known this is the path you’d like to take, attend events, and cold-call email! I couldn’t recommend that enough.
The skill of putting yourself out there and networking can be useful in conjunction to finding your interests and pursuing them. I would say, if you are a fan of coordinating, planning, and managing work, this is the correct path for you. If you enjoy being challenged, kept on your toes, and liaising with various stakeholders, the role is perfect for you.
In terms of subjects and interests, I would recommend anything involving the built environment. That would help supplement a strong basis and understanding from a building operations standpoint. In contrast, subjects and interests in management would also be beneficial for this role. This can enhance the skills of coordination and liaising with stakeholders.
When you’re not at work, what do you enjoy doing?
In my spare time, I actively practice mindfulness. I love all things self-care. Therefore, when I am off the clock, on a weekday, you can find me at Les Mills, partaking in their group fitness classes. For me, a workout after work is the most rewarding and fulfilling feeling and way of signing off the day.
In addition to practising mindfulness, to start my day, I enjoy carrying out a quick 20-minute meditation. This ensures my mind, body, and soul are all in tune for the day ahead. I really do credit this practice to my constant desire to develop my emotional intelligence. In addition to this morning routine, I like to write in my gratitude journal and list off the top 10 things I am grateful for, alongside some daily affirmations to set the tone for my day.
As well as this, personal development is something I really value and have a great interest in. When not working, I enjoy taking out self-development books from the library and going for nice walks when the sun’s out with an inspirational and informative podcast playing through my headphones.
Moreover, balance of course is key, so you can also find me with a glass of wine in hand from time to time.