In this insightful interview, Prince Botwe from Ghana explores the critical role of communication, especially non-verbal cues, in facility management. Discover how buildings communicate, the impact of non-verbal signals on safety and confidence, and strategies to elevate the profession globally.
Did you know that 62% of communication is nonverbal from signage to the layout? Every detail speaks volumes.
Today we're diving deeper into this topic with host Edward Wagoner and IFMA Global Influencer and operations manager of the IFMA Ghana Chapter, Prince Botwe. Together, they explore the critical role of communication, especially nonverbal cues in facility management, how buildings communicate, the impact of nonverbal signals on safety and confidence, and strategies to elevate the FM profession globally.
This episode is sponsored by TMA Systems! Discover more at https://www.tmasystems.com/ifmapodcast
Prince Botwe: [00:00:00] There are two types of communication that happens in facility management. That is the facility manager as a communicator and the facility itself as a communicator. What it means is that some of the things the facility manager says, or some of the attributes that he or she communicates to tenant, uh, staff.
Customers, the communication activities of the facility manager speaks a lot. And then also the building or the facility that the facility manager himself manages. So you enter a building and then you ask yourself what does the building say when you enter into it? Or what does a wet floor signs communicate?
So these are the building communicating to you.
Host: Welcome to Connected fm, a podcast connecting you to the latest insights, tools, and [00:01:00] resources to help you succeed in facility management. This podcast is brought to you by ifma, the leading professional association for facility manager. If you are ready to grow your network and advance in your career, go to ifma.org to get started.
Did you know that 62% of communication is nonverbal from signage to the layout? Every detail speaks volumes. Today we're diving deeper into this topic with host Edward Wagoner and ifma Global Influencer and operations manager of the IFMA Chapter, Prince Botwe. Together, they explore the critical role of communication, especially nonverbal cues in facility management, how buildings communicate, the impact of nonverbal signals on safety and confidence.
And strategies to elevate the FM profession globally. Now, let's get into it.
Edward Wagoner: Prince, welcome to IFMA's connected [00:02:00] FM podcast. Thank you for taking time and congratulations on being named an IFMA Global influencer.
Prince Botwe: Thank you very much Edward. I'm very happy to be here and thank you for having me.
Edward Wagoner: It's, it's incredible and I know you are calling in from Ghana in Africa and I was doing a little bit of research before we got on our, our call and I think, you know, often in my career.
US Western European, the big global portfolios we work in, they would often overlook the continent of Africa. And I did a little bit of research, and as of March of this year, 20% of the world's population lives in Africa. There's 54 countries and there's almost 244 million businesses. If Google is to be believed, but still that's an astounding number.
And it's,
Prince Botwe: yeah, it's,
Edward Wagoner: it's a lot of real estate for facility managers to manage. So I'm so glad you [00:03:00] joined us. I'm so glad that we're gonna talk about the topic that is near and dear to your heart.
Prince Botwe: Thank you very much. I think you've said it all.
Africa is a land of great potential as far as FM is concerned. So, leave Africa at your own peril. So let's set. Its rolling.
Edward Wagoner: Love that. So what would you say to the world's facility managers to influence us? What topic is near and dear to your heart right now?
Prince Botwe: Well, I think that if you check the, that is to start with, if you check the FMA core competencies.
One of the models or the competence is communication. Lots of time we talk about the other models or competence, like the real estate operations and maintenance, leadership and strategy, business and ance, risk management and what have you. And then we leave the communication aspect. I, I'm yet to hear people talking more about the communication aspects.
So [00:04:00] today I decided to look at the impact of. Nonverbal cues and facility management, nonverbal cues are under communication. So today we want to enjoy ourselves and then know more about communication. And then under communication, we are looking at the nonverbal cues. And F Yes. So today, like I said, we are looking at the impact.
Nonverbal cues in facility management.
Edward Wagoner: So my mother would say a perfect topic because I talk too much, and I know talking is a part of communication, but describe how communication applies to the field of facility management.
Prince Botwe: So let's look at it from this perspective. Communication applies in two ways in facility management, so the facility manager as a communicator, that is one.
And then the building. Also as a communicator. So what it means is that some of the [00:05:00] things that the facility manager says, or some of the attributes that he or she exhibits communicate to whoever the facility manager is dealing with. So in the case of a tenant in the case of staff and in the case of customers.
The activities or the communication activities of the facility manager speaks a lot. And then also the building or the facility that the facility manager himself manages. So you enter a building and then you ask yourself, what does the building say when you enter in the it or. What does a wet floor signs communicate?
So these are the building communicating to you, or again, what does your office location say about your authority? These are things about the facility that communicates to the people or occupy of the facility. So basically they are. [00:06:00] Two types of communication that happens in facility management. That is the facility manager as a communicator, and the facility itself as a communicator.
Edward Wagoner: When we started this topic, I didn't even think about the building itself communicating back, but as you've made that statement, my mind is spinning it all the ways that buildings do communicate with us, either through signage. Or being inviting to come in, you know, how, how we think about the buildings when we look at them.
And I'd not thought about that until you said that you, you started out talking too about nonverbal communications. So give me some examples of nonverbal communications in facility management.
Prince Botwe: Okay. So, first of all, it's very important that we know what non-verbal communication is. So basically it has to do with you communicating without speech.
So the non-verbal cues that you [00:07:00] show to people or the recipients of your message what refer to as a non-verbal communication. Now research has shown that 62% of communication is non-verbal.
Edward Wagoner: Hmm.
Prince Botwe: 62% of communication is non-verbal. So now to your question, when we talk about examples of non-verbal cues and facility management, now we have what we call the artifacts.
Artifacts, and then we also have what we call the kinesics. Also, we also have what we call the power language. I'll explain all these to you, but I just want to mention them one by one. So later on I come back and then explain all all of them to you. We also have what we call the chronemics. The chronemics, and then maybe finally haptics.
Haptics. So there are lot of these, nonverbal cues in facility management, and again, we [00:08:00] have the proximates. Proximity is very important. I mean, I couldn't have forgotten about pro because it's one of the very important things that every facility manager should know in FM or as far as their execution.
As concern. So to go over them quickly, we have KIN six para language body language how do you call it? Pros and then chs. And then the last one has to do with the Kinesis. Yes. So basically these are the examples of non-verbal cues and facility management.
Edward Wagoner: So give me an example of one of those nonverbal cues in, in real life and, and I'll actually share with our audience, when we joined to do this recording, we had a little bit of trouble with microphones and hearing each other, and we ended up,
Prince Botwe: yes,
Edward Wagoner: writing on cards and showing them to the screen so that we could [00:09:00] communicate.
And you told me that I was actually doing nonverbal communication before we even started.
Prince Botwe: Exactly
Edward Wagoner: what, what are some other examples that that people would understand about nonverbal communication in facility management?
Prince Botwe: So, so some real life examples as what I mentioned, I com, I said we have artifacts that is communication through objects.
So the, the use of signages, uniforms, suits, and then designs, Hmm,
Edward Wagoner: so
Prince Botwe: signage, safety signage in buildings. So again when you are. You know, climbing the stairs and then the possibility of falling. So they put a sticker there and tells you that warning, be careful of your trip. What it communicates to you is that you have to be careful because if you are not careful, you are going to slip.
And once you slip, it is going to be at the peril of the facility manager. [00:10:00] So let me give you a classical example. You enter a banking institution or a bank, and then. There was cleaning ongoing. Now you enter the bank and there was no signage that tells you that cleaning is currently underway. What's your trip?
You enter and then you slip, you dislocated your arm. What happens is that the, the individual who fell can sue the bank. Why? Because the facility manager failed to do his work by putting a signage there that says that the floor is wet, I should say. So the facility manager, to repeat that aspect, the facility manager failed to do his work by putting a signage there that will communicate to customers of the bank that says that there is currently cleaning ongoing.
So please be careful of your step now. If the person forced, it's to be at the detriments of the bank. That is [00:11:00] an example. So to avoid being, being sued for that is very important to have signages around, just to prevent things like that. Again, a classical example of an artifact is the use of helmets and then jackets or vests.
So usually when you are on on a construction site. And you are wearing those things. It does communicate a lot. It tells people that this is a construction site and so we take risk seriously. We take hazards seriously, and so if you are not in these PPEs, you are not allowed here. These are all classical examples of the use of artifacts, which are also non-verbal cues in facility management.
Then again. Another one, which is very important to me is Proximics. So Proxemics basically has to do communicating with distance. And Edward, I dunno if you've been to a corporate institution and then [00:12:00] you've asked where the facility management department is located, but in my part of the world, you see the facility management.
Located in a cubicle, small one in the organization, in others to you go and it is located in the basement. Now it tells you how we are regarded in the organization and then our role in the organization as well as our place in the organization. Again, you go to this same corporate organization and they tell you the office of the CEO is located on the feet floor.
That means that they give credence to the CEO and so they'll put him at a particular place where getting him becomes very difficult. So you have to go through lots of people before you get to the CEO. So what it means is that they are, the company is communicating with distance, that is what we refer to as proximus.
Again, in a corporate environment where we have an open [00:13:00] space office. You go there and you see the common steps, all of them seated in the open space, but you have a small cubicle in there, and so you are able to know easily that the person in the cubicle is the manager. It happens a lot in the banking institution.
This person is the manager. So as far as Proxim is concerned these are some of the real life examples that we, we can give. As is concern. And then in the area of Chrons, chrons is communication or communicating with time. So if the AC of the bank breaks down okay at 10:00 AM and you, you are the facility manager, you become proactive enough by fixing the issue.
What happened is that by 10 30 if the [00:14:00] issue is solved, the customers of the bank wouldn't know that something happened. But if when it happened by 12:00 PM nothing has been done about it. The customers of the bank will know that the AC is not working and that. Communicate, lack of agency. It'll communicate non-responsibility.
It also communicates non-professional, but on the other way around, if you are able to do it and do it well, what it means is that it communicates professionalism. Agency preparedness and responsibilities. So these are classical examples of nonverbal cues that we have from facility management. And trust me, if you gimme the opportunity, I'll go on and on and on and on.
Edward Wagoner: My, my head is literally spinning because I've never thought about communication from that way, but, but you're right. I remember when I first started my job, little tiny desk. The [00:15:00] big bosses had the big offices that could look out over the city. Now, as I advanced in my career, the offices disappeared and we all went to cubicles.
So that may tell us something, but I, I never thought about it as communicating your status in an office. Something else that you said that. Really changed my thinking. You know, we, we do a lot of focus in facility management, especially the last 20 years around safety. And we think about that from like communicating safety moments or talking about it before we start a meeting.
But when you talked about the signage. How we place it, where we place it. That's also a safety communication that I'd never thought about it that way. You know, making sure it's in the right place, making sure we have the right focus. Making people sure people know how to, how to position it. And then the last one around janitorial and wet floors, both the safety message and then your, your other example.[00:16:00]
About the air conditioning. I never thought that, not fixing it in time, actually communicate something to the people. A negative message, yes, they're upset because they're not cool, but I had never thought about it could communicate a lack of professionalism or a lack of urgency on our part as facility managers, if we're not telling them, Hey.
There's a bigger problem, bigger, we're on it, it's gonna take another hour to fix it. Just the, the lack of communication is a nonverbal communication. So a lot to think about and unpack here. And I know many of the, the large service providers actually have communications people they will put on the global portfolios, and I was thinking as you were talking, the jobs that they're doing actually have a bigger, broader potential impact.
If they bring in all of this nonverbal communication that you're talking about, their impact could be so [00:17:00] much larger. So I've got a follow on question. What would you say about communication and facility management and how it operates at the different levels?
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Prince Botwe: So communication and facility management is very, very important.
And not only facility management, but the other fields as well. So the HR needs facility management because the HR is going to communicate with other people. The HR doesn't work in isolation. The PR team need facility manager need communication. The marketing team need communication. Other departments need communication.
So in facility management too, it is, it is very important for the facility management manager or whoever is in the home of affairs to communicate effectively with the people that they are working with. Let me give you again, another classical example. So. You are a facility manager for a residential apartment, and then you don't communicate with your tenants.
They get in touch with you and tell you that [00:19:00] they are AC is not working. Most of the things in their rooms are not working. They communicate this to you. You, the facility manager sits aloof with doubt doing anything about it. Most of the time it's very important that you, even if you can't fix it immediately, it's very important that you communicate to your tenant so they have an understanding of what is happening.
Communicating with tenants helps a lot to reduce tension and then lack of confidence because failure to communicate with tenants brings about lack of confidence. So it is very important to restore confidence in facility managers if we communicate consist. With the people that we work with and within this contest the tenant of the people that we are dealing with. Now the building itself, the building. Cannot speak for itself, [00:20:00] but it is what has been done to the building that communicates to others. Let me explain it this way. So like I said, if, if I'm traveling to another country and I'm told that way, I'm going to lodge. A five star hotel and when I got there it was a single room.
You can just imagine me being given a single room, and then I'm told that that single room is a five star. Obviously the building is communicating to me, and then when I see it, I, I don't have to be a prophet to say that this is not a five star hotel, but this is a single room that has been branded as a five star hotel.
So what it means is that indirectly, without even talking to me, talking or as in without a person or someone talking to me, the building has communicated to me already. And so I know what. I am going into so quickly I may [00:21:00] have to change my plan. So it's, it's very important that the kind of things that we give to our tenants and then the kind of things that we do ourselves as facility managers are things that will communicate confidence to our clients or customers.
If you ask me. You
Edward Wagoner: know, as you were saying that the five star hotel in the single room, it struck me
Prince Botwe: in the single room.
Edward Wagoner: The building will always tell the truth.
Prince Botwe: Exactly.
Edward Wagoner: So Prince, talk to me a little bit about how these nonverbal cues influence the people that use our buildings, the tenants, the clients, the staff, and how that impacts how they perceive us as facility managers.
Prince Botwe: Yes. So if you take the para language for Renaissance. I want to use the power language to explain this question. So power language basically has to do with the [00:22:00] pitch of your voice. So basically it has to do with, so if you asking for something from me and then I use a low tone it communicates something to you.
And then if I use a high pitch too, it also has another way of communication. Now. Of an emergency. If I am a facility manager and I'm trying to evacuate the people from the building and I use high pitch, it tells the people how serious I am. Evacuating them, and it gives them confidence because I'm available once they see me wearing my PPEs.
In this case, or in the context of nonverbal cues, it says artifacts. Once they see me wearing my PPEs, it gives them confidence. The right person to evacuate us is here, and so we have to follow the orders of the person. And so the kind of things or the, the kind of things that we put on, communicate confidence to the people that we are working with, it tells them [00:23:00] that the right person is in the home of affairs and so.
The issue of panic reduces the issue of lack of confidence also reduces. So basically the key word for me is the confidence that it gives us the facility managers. Yeah,
Edward Wagoner: and you know, as you were talking, you reminded me of the Chicago fire drills. So when we have fire drills in Chicago skyscrapers, they actually will bring in a fire chief.
To help run them. And his voice communicates authority, but also, you know, he knows what he's talking about. He will point out to people when they come down the stairwells that their shoes are not safe for an emergency situation and the problems it can cause. And as, as I think about all that we've talked about, I made a joke about, I talk a lot.
Communication is so much more than talking. It's [00:24:00] the signage, it's the uniforms we wear, making sure they look right. It's, you know, it can communicate safety with hard hats on a job site. Yes. Or the right vests on in an emergency. I'm uh, thinking back to your comment about the chief executive officers, the top of the building and facility management Yeah.
In the basement. That, that distance of proximity and listening to you influence us. I had the thought that the way that we communicate using all these different skills that you've talked about, verbal, nonverbal, all the different areas where we can communicate, we can actually close that gap through our communications.
Everyone in that building understands the importance of facility managers and that your organization would not run as well without the work. The facility managers around the world are doing. Prince, an incredible, incredible interview. So happy that you [00:25:00] took time out of your schedule to to talk to us.
Before we close though, our audience loves Fi Spring questions on you to get to know you a little better. So if you have a few more minutes, I'll throw some of these questions at you if you don't mind. Here's my first one. So you've been named an IFMA Global influencer Who influences you?
Prince Botwe: Alright, so I was influenced by. The chapter president of the International Facility Management Association f Ghana Chapter. Yes. Mr. Sampson Opare-Agyemang. So he influenced me and then I have developed that interest for facility management. Yes. I mean, who would've thought that?
And then a development communication student will be in facility management. It, it'll only take the guidance and then the mentorship of. One person to do that. And then that has been [00:26:00] Mr. Sampson Opare-Agyemang. Yes. Who happens to be the president of FMA Ghana.
Edward Wagoner: Love that story and love the influence he had on you. And I would actually say anyone listening to us from Ghana, that's not a member of that chapter, they should definitely check it out.
I can tell you every chapter I have ever. Talked to or worked with is just an incredible group of people that will help you in your journey in facilities management. Which leads me to my next question. What can we do to attract more people to the facility management profession? And, and maybe you could actually give your opinion on what we could do to get more people in Africa interested in facilities management as a profession.
Prince Botwe: Okay. So I think that the very first thing is to integrate it in a academic system. So if you check most of the institutions in Africa, they don't have facility management integrated in their curriculums. And so once we have it [00:27:00] in their curriculums and we get more graduates coming out of school, obviously we are going to have people.
Who have developed interests for facility management, and then they're going to go out there and then preach the gospel according to facility management. So I'm sure lots of people developed interest for the other professions because these professions are present in most of the institutions. So once facility management is also present in these institutions, we are going to get people or graduate from these universities who are going to advocate more on facility management.
Because once you come out, you study facility management. So obviously your work or encompass facility management. And so whatever that you do is going to be facility management. You will advocate for facility management and what they do. So number one is reintegrating facility management in our academic system.[00:28:00]
And then number two is creating more awareness. And so you again, check with other countries and you realize that the awareness or the advocacy of facility management is very low. And so if you spend time and then advocates more in these countries, and I'm sure that we're going to get people who may be interested in facility management because I tell you what, there are lot of people who are doing the work of facility managers, but do not know that it is facility management work that they are doing until they are told that the work they are doing has to do with facility management.
So these are basically some of the things that we can do to promote facility management in Africa.
Edward Wagoner: I love one point you made. There are tens of thousands of people around the world doing facility management work and they don't realize it.
So if you're working on a building. You might be a facility [00:29:00] manager and there's a ton of resources available to help you in your career and I love that you mentioned the resources that IFMA has with the different training and certification programs and information about that's available on the website for anybody interested.
Clearly you have a passion for communication, but what's one other thing that you love about our facility management profession?
Prince Botwe: All alright, so. I love the passion and the zero of facility managers. I mean, trying to respond to. Issues being problems about them and all that. When everything is working, the facility manager is not recognized, but when there is an emergency, then we call on the facility manager tells me the nature of the job.
Even with that, facility managers don't give up. So I like the Zillow of FMS and then the passion they have for the job. Trust me, if you don't have [00:30:00] the, if you don't have passion for fm, you'll quit. And from where I sit, I always tell people that I get people coming to me, especially the ladies telling me that at this point I think that I've had enough in their profession.
I have to switch. And so the vessels are switching. But those with the passion are still doing fm. So fm I love for what the other love doing because the issues keep coming. Yes. So they don't give up, but press on to make sure that we live a comfortable life in our facilities, that we find ourselves.
Edward Wagoner: And I, you know, as you were, were speaking, I, I thought about the fact that what we as facility managers do. Touch every single person on the planet, even if they're not around a building. We have an impact because of the building's impact on the environment. And so there's very few professions where you can say you're impacting the entire world with what we do [00:31:00] as a profession.
Two more questions. Being a global influencer means you are constantly learning. What's something that right now you're learning or working on, either personally or professionally?
Prince Botwe: Okay, so some, something that I'm learning professionally. So what I want to do to do the practical aspects of sustainability.
Edward Wagoner: And so
Prince Botwe: I see lots of bottles around now. I traveled to Rwanda and then I realized that. Bottles or plastics are not allowed in Rwanda just because it takes time for plastics to decay. And so Rwanda is classified as one of the sustainable countries in Africa, and that is one of the things that I want to do that is personally, that wherever I find myself.
Okay. As much as possible I would discourage people from using plastics. So you move on to [00:32:00] paper bags and all that. And so wherever there is plastic, I try as much as possible to gather all of them and then sell it because I know there is a company in Ghana that's, that's recycling. So I gather this and then give it to them for them to do the recycling.
But again. This, this is not like a full-time job that I do this within the scope that I find myself, but I'm hoping to expand this so that our country will also be as a sustainable country. So one day Ghana will be a sustainable country similar to what Rwanda is also doing. So it's one of the things that I want to have more knowledge about, how to go about it, how to process these plastics so we can recycle and use it for other things in order.
Maybe in future we'll open a recycling company that will be recycling. Plastic and, and rabbits and all that. So it's, it's, it's one of [00:33:00] the things that my hands that I'm learning about,
Edward Wagoner: and I love that. And it's very timely because Imas, Dr. Matt Tucker has released research about the circular economy and the importance of, yeah, sustainability.
So very, very timely. Last question. This is probably the most personal. What song do you sing loudly when you think no one is listening?
Prince Botwe: Oh. Oh.
Edward Wagoner: I'm not gonna ask you to sing it. I'm not gonna ask you to sing it here unless you want to. I
Prince Botwe: know, I know, I know, I know, I know, I know. We're the world.
We are, we are the children that is all stars. That features. Michael Jackson and other musicians. So we are the world, we are the children, we are the world. To make a better day, ES start leaving. So that is actually the, the song that I usually sing a lot when no one is around. I actually love that song a lot.
I love it.
Edward Wagoner: You know, hearing [00:34:00] you sing that in the words words, it's actually the perfect song for facility management. Exactly. We serve the world and I can't think of a better. Topic to end on. Facility management serves the world. The way we communicate, both verbally and non-verbally communicates that message to the world and the people we serve.
Prince, thank you so much for your time and again, congratulations on being named and ifma global influencer.
Prince Botwe: Yeah, Edward, thank you very much also for having me. I do appreciate it and I don't take it lightly at all. Yes, thank you very much.
Host: Thanks for tuning into the Connected FM podcast. If you enjoyed today's episode, please take a moment to rate and review the show because it really helps us reach more listeners just like you. And don't forget to hit the subscribe button so you never miss an episode. See you next [00:35:00] time.