Erika's story: The office magician

I started working in facilities management before it was even really a profession. Back then we just called it building operations management because that’s what we did; we managed buildings. But facilities management nowadays is so much more than that.

 

A new day, a new challenge

 

Being a facilities manager involves a lot of public relations. It’s about really getting to know your clients and working with the human beings inside the buildings. The work is vast and varied and that is what I love about it. Every day presents new challenges and new problems to solve.

 

As I’m sure is the case in virtually any other industry on the planet, Covid really changed the workplace for us as facilities managers. After the pandemic peaked and people started coming back into the workplace, we needed to come up with solutions to create a hybrid way of working. We had to rethink the way we design spaces. An office wasn't just about having a desk anymore ౼ or at least not the desk as we knew it. Offices today have standing desks and lower desks designed to be used next to a couch; meeting rooms are flex spaces that have to be capable of transforming at a moment’s notice ౼ from a conference room to a room for new mothers, to an exercise space.

 

I actually have a degree in architecture, which really comes in handy in facilities management because the job is all about understanding how people live in and use space. When you have the concept of architecture and knowledge of space, it broadens your outlook and helps you see, for example, that a wall can be so much more than just a wall. You can add a desk, a couch or even install circadian lighting or a biophilic wall.

Find out more about… a career with Sodexo!

 

This article was created by Erika Casallas, Regional Account Director, Sodexo LatAm