My career from facilities management client to service provider

I was working as a property executive for a property developer whilst studying for a degree in construction management when my interest in facilities management (FM) began. In this role I became more and more interested in the daily operational side of property management through my interactions with members of the facilities team.

After graduating, I moved to work at the headquarters of the company, initially managing service charges, and then moving on to new developments. Here, I learnt a lot about FM outsourcing and became curious about being on the other side, as the service provider.

After 10 years with the developer firm, I took an opportunity to join an international FM outsourcing company. The first year was a big adjustment for me, making the shift from client to service provider was tougher than I had expected. But I made the choice to embrace the change and found that my experience as a client actually helped me to anticipate how my clients would respond.

Facilities management pioneer in Singapore

After 4 years, an opportunity came up for an operations manager with Sodexo. I knew very little about the role or the company when I went for the interview. However, I came away very clear that it was an amazing opportunity to join Sodexo, which was in the early development of FM service delivery in Singapore. I loved the idea of joining at such a pioneering time and being able to grow with the company.

And I have never regretted this decision.

At Sodexo, every day is different. Each day I have different problems to solve but the level of satisfaction when you complete a project or solve a complex problem is incredibly high.

As an operations manager, I had the opportunity to join a leadership program, expand my network and learn from colleagues in similar roles. In 2017, I progressed to senior operations manager where I learnt a huge amount through the mobilization of four large accounts.

My most recent move was in 2019, when I took the opportunity to become regional account director for one of our large international pharmaceutical clients.

Support and opportunities to progress

Each role I’ve had throughout my career has prepared me for the next step. My experience as a building developer client prepared me to anticipate the response of clients as a service provider. My experience in operations helped me to gain the experience in finance and contract design, which has helped me as a regional account director.

Find out my tips for a successful facilities management career in this video:

My resilient and flexible nature has enabled me to forge ahead despite challenges. Without a doubt, the most challenging element of facilities management for me is people. Not because clients are always difficult to please but because, as a line manager, there is no one way of working which suits every person in your team. Everyone responds to different management techniques, so I constantly adapt my style and make improvements. 

When I started my career with the developer firm, I was just one of two women in the whole department. Women frequently experienced discrimination; it was simply believed that women were not capable of doing the same job as a man.

At Sodexo, it couldn’t be more different. In my experience, women are always given their fair share of opportunities to progress at Sodexo and the workplace community is respectful. There is always room for improvement of course and I am delighted to be part of Sodexo’s journey to develop a more gender balanced team of FM professionals.

Find out more about a career at Sodexo!

This article was created by Monica Ong, Regional Account Director, Sodexo APAC