This occupation is found in the facilities management (FM) industry both in the “supplier” side (i.e. those companies that supply FM services to their customers) and the “client” side (i.e. the recipients of those contracted FM services).
The FM industry covers a wide range of industry sub-sectors. Therefore, typically, this role could be found working in a range of environments e.g. in an office and/or on-site, for example, in residential developments and commercial properties, hospitals, schools or retail centres and industrial locations.
Beyond their immediate team, Facilities Services Operatives (FSOs) liaise with colleagues in other departments (e.g. Finance, Procurement/Commercial) and collaborate with technical experts and other FM-related roles such as security personnel, cleaners, catering and front-of-house staff. This is an outward-facing role where liaison with customers is a key priority and forms a major part of the role. An employee in this occupation may work alone in a small enterprise or in teams of up to anything from 30 to 500 people in a large-scale operation, depending on the size of the contract.
In their daily work, an employee in this occupation interacts with colleagues within the FM department and reports to the FM Supervisor. There is no typical pattern of work, but Facilities Services Operatives are often employed on a Monday-to-Friday basis. Night working is rarely involved.