If you like monotony—clocking in and out every day doing the same tasks at work—then facilities management probably isn’t for you. But if you enjoy a good challenge, expect the unexpected, and thrive in chaos, Gretchen Martin urges you to join in on the excitement that an FM career can offer. In fact, “constant mayhem” is her favorite part about working in the industry.
Martin currently serves as a property manager at major commercial real estate services firm CBRE, where she manages the day-to-day operations at a mixed-use development in downtown Pittsburgh. In her role, she oversees 1.7 million square feet across four office buildings, which also include some retail space.
Martin has been in the industry for over 10 years. Before joining CBRE in March, she was most recently the director of facilities for a local non-profit. She holds a number of academic degrees, earned a Certified Facility Manager (CFM) designation from IFMA, and serves as the treasurer of IFMA Pittsburgh. She’s also active at BOMA Pittsburgh, where she’s a former board member, current events committee co-chair, new member committee board liaison, and mentor.
To learn more about Martin and her take on industry issues, please read the “Faces of Facilities” interview below:
How did you get your start in the field?
I wanted to be an artist, but my mother told me that I wouldn’t ever be able to make a living doing that, so I got a marketing degree first to try and stay within the creative realm. I graduated from University of Pittsburgh (Pitt) at the height of the recession and when the foreclosure crisis was just getting started. I couldn’t find an entry-level job in anything besides banking.
I worked for a bank for five years, and then I applied for a job as an operations coordinator on a whim and got hired. I was tired of working downtown, and on my way back from lunch, I saw the monument sign outside our building and started looking up the companies on it. It was sheer luck and happenstance that I found it and was hired for the role. My father was a carpenter, so I knew my way around the tool bench and facilities skills came easy for me. I had already gotten my first master’s degree prior to being in facilities, but in 2022 I decided to go back to school and get a second master’s in my field.
Who has been your biggest influence in the industry, and why?
My biggest influence in my industry through the first five years was my mentor at the employer where I was the operations coordinator and facilities coordinator. She was at the account level and recognized my hunger for information, willingness to step up, and knack for problem solving complex issues successfully. She helped me fine-tune a lot of the skills I still use daily.
The most recent years of my career have been heavily influenced by several well-respected women within the industry. It’s often very difficult to navigate this field as a woman; once you get above entry level, the number of women in positions at the management level is few. Our skills and intelligence are constantly called into question, and it can be defeating if you let it bother you. I’ve leaned on them for advice and to let things like that roll off my back.
What’s your best mistake, and what did you learn from it?
My best mistake was probably applying for that operations coordinator job because it led me to where I am today! I learned that the sky is the limit, and the only person doubting me was ME. Operationally, I have made some mistakes with repairs or approaching problems the wrong way. I have learned that having a post-repair or post-problem conversation with key players can help identify who, what, where, when, and how the problem became a mistake and how to avoid it next time. I think it’s important to recognize that we all make mistakes; it’s not the end of the world, but you have to fix what happened, so it doesn’t continue to keep happening.
What are some of the biggest facilities management issues at your organization?
I think we have similar issues to other organizations in that there’s a never-ending list of problems and issues for the facilities team: There’s always something in need of repair or replacement, but there’s not an unlimited budget to address it all. Sometimes the easiest fix isn’t always the most cost effective, and vice versa. Facilities is a lot of lessons in prioritization and urgency, and that means that sometimes things like cosmetic issues that employees or tenants see get bumped onto the back burner in favor of an HVAC upgrade. That can be difficult to manage because they’re not privy to the age or condition of equipment and why we’re fixing it before a ceiling tile that has some water spots on it.
What’s your favorite part about working in the industry?
My favorite part of this industry is the variety. I enjoy coming to work daily and having a plan for my day, but that plan has been shredded before 8 a.m. because a car drove into the side of the building or a flood caused damage from the 7th floor down to the basement. FMs are the chaos coordinators of the world, and I always say it’s like a whack-a-mole game. I solve one problem and another few have already popped up. A fire, a plumbing issue, and a roof leak can all happen at once, and I have to be able to pivot from what I was doing, determine which problem has the highest urgency, deal with it, and then address the rest of the problems too by deploying labor and resources in the most effective manner.
It’s almost like being a 911 operator 24 hours a day because you never know what is going to happen next or when the next crisis will be, but you always have to stay vigilant and prepared for anything. I enjoy that I will never have the same day twice, and thrive in chaos, so I absolutely love what I do because it is constant mayhem. It takes a very specialized skill set to be able to manage in facilities.
What changes would you like to see in the FM industry?
There’s been a big push to integrate AI into the facilities world, and while I love automation and making tasks easier, I think it needs to be integrated in a way that makes sense. There are certain things it can definitely help with, but it has its own limitations and isn’t any kind of one-size-fits-all solution. I am definitely excited about the possibilities it’s capable of doing, but I’m not threatened by it making its way into my world.
I have also noticed that many places are very reactive with their maintenance programs instead of being proactive; while I can understand not every place has the ability to be proactive, a lot do and choose to remain reactive. Reactivity results in many more maintenance issues and more downtime because equipment or machinery isn’t being maintained or is maintained poorly. Instead of a planned outage or planned upgrade at the end of life, you now have an emergency repair on your hands and have to explain to employees or tenants why they won’t have air conditioning for three days or three months until the new unit comes.
I had a large HVAC project that required a new 15-ton unit that was on backorder for over 18 months, so we were responsible for providing temporary cooling/heating units during those 18 months. The cost of those temp units over that period was almost the same as the full replacement project, which could’ve been avoided if the unit was replaced as recommended by both the manufacturer and HVAC vendor. Proactivity equals cost savings! Using a more proactive approach also takes a lot of stress off of the maintenance team.
Lastly, I would like to see more women in this industry have management roles or higher. I recently read that a very small percentage of positions above entry level in facilities are held by women. I’m not sure why they don’t go further, but I would imagine some get burned out dealing with their intelligence and skill set being questioned. I also think women tend to doubt themselves and not feel they’re qualified for jobs like being an FM.
However, when I was in college for my undergrad and first master’s, I never even knew or thought about who maintained the buildings and all the other things facilities is responsible for overseeing. I don’t think that it’s a career path that is discussed enough in the appropriate places like high schools or colleges, but I also think it’s on our industry to change that. BOMA Pittsburgh has started partnering with local universities to encourage students to explore it as a career. We spoke to the real estate club at Pitt last fall, and it was so cool to go back to my alma mater and talk about my job that I love and encourage others to consider it as a career path.
How can company leaders make facilities management a value within their organization?
I think leaders need to prioritize facilities management a bit more in some cases. I say that because I’ve worked for organizations that have chosen to purchase fancy marketing materials or build new locations while in the same breath cutting the facilities budget in half. We are what makes the organization continue to function daily, and most people take that for granted and do not understand what would happen if we stopped showing up or fixing things.
Cutting funds from facilities makes us pick and choose what issues get addressed and what has to wait, and that can be extremely difficult to choose which three of five leaking roofs get fixed and which two don’t. It’s even more difficult to explain to the two that weren’t chosen why they were going to have to wait even longer for a fix. Facilities shouldn’t be an afterthought—we should be a working partner at the table for the organizational vision and purpose discussion. We make that vision and purpose come to life every day. If the organization wants to cut costs from the facilities budget, ask them for ideas on how to do that instead of just slashing it in half.
I also feel that facilities is the afterthought of the business world. We live mostly behind the scenes, start our days pretty early, fix equipment, paint after hours, come in at 3 a.m. when the building is on fire, etc. It is a thankless job; most people just show up at work, do their jobs, and go home without ever considering who changes the light bulbs or fixes leaky toilets. Oftentimes, when we do have a more forward-facing role or job to do, we are treated as second class because we’re “maintenance.” Spotlighting the facilities team for jobs well done or crisis averted is something that rarely happens, and I think a lot of the stereotypical ideas about maintenance would go away if we were featured more.
I do also feel it’s on the facilities team themselves to brag a bit more about what they do. I’ve noticed a lot of the maintenance employees just solve issues without being asked or happen upon a huge problem and take care of it without it blowing up into a bigger issue, but they don’t consider it a big deal because it’s their normal “work.” I make sure my engineers now take before and after photos and keep a narrative of what happened and what they did to solve it so I can take it back to my direct supervisor to show her what they’re capable of doing in a day’s work. Everyone likes being recognized for a job well done or a crisis being averted, and facilities needs more thanks for their contributions.
Where do you see the industry heading in five years? Are you noticing any major trends?
I think there’s been some changes in the industry in the previous five years due to COVID’s impact; there’s not as much office space being occupied, but buildings still have to be maintained. A lot of buildings are already in receivership or heading there, and I believe it’s due to lack of tenants. Pittsburgh has been no different, but we have seen an uptick in office space being converted for other things like residential use. I don’t think this is a bad thing since it’s keeping the building occupied, which is in turn, job security for facilities workers. Converting it for a different use keeps the building open and keeps all the jobs associated with that.
With prices of goods and services increasing substantially, I do think more companies are going to continue to cut costs by reducing their square footage footprints and allowing more employees to work from home again. This move toward residential and other uses will likely continue to be a trend if prices keep rising and forcing organizations to reevaluate their spending.
I have also noticed a huge push toward sustainability for a while, and I do feel that will also continue to be a major trend. Organizations are recognizing other cost-saving measures by developing their own methods to reuse and recycle to save money. More of them are also embracing data that shows greener choices can have huge cost savings impacts over time. One past employer was rolling out a simple BMS installation to all its 500+ locations, where the temperature of the HVAC could be always held between 68-72 degrees. It was estimated that the return on the multimillion-dollar investment would be seen in less than five years by saving on energy costs.
What are you most proud of?
I’m most proud of how far I have been able to advance in my career. I came from a very low-income home and was the first to graduate college in my immediate family. I then went on to get two master’s degrees, and I have several certifications relevant to my field. My second master’s degree I started at 38 and finished at 40, and most people were amazed I had the desire to continue my education at that age.
I pride myself on my ability to be resilient and the ability to stand tall in the face of immense pressure constantly at my job. I never back down from a problem until I find an answer or solve it in a satisfactory way for everyone involved.
Do you have any advice for people entering the profession?
It takes a special kind of person with a very specialized skill set to be successful in this line of work. Anything can happen at anytime—floods, fires, power outages, etc. You are basically on call 24 hours a day, seven days a week, in case any of those things happen because you have to be able to not only physically get there quickly, but also deploy the proper resources/labor and implement the right protocol while doing so. These issues aren’t like other traditional problems that happen in organizations, and there’s no playbook to prepare you for it. You have to be able to think on your feet, trust the decisions you make based on your experience and observations, and manage very serious situations under a tremendous amount of pressure. Organizational and time management skills are a must, as you have to be able to thrive in constant chaos. It’s a really great job for anyone who is mechanically inclined and also struggles with more monotonous jobs because every day is different.
It’s a really great time to enter this profession; there are a lot of opportunities and positions that need to be filled, whether commercial or residential. The job itself is what you make of it, and by that, I mean that you don’t necessarily need a degree or experience to break into the field. You can start off entry level and learn the ropes and move into supervisory or management roles as you feel more comfortable. It’s a job where you will never truly know every answer to every issue or situation that occurs, but you will learn multiple new things every day about the job or your facility.
I would also like to add, for anyone looking to move up or get more education in the field, Purdue University has a great facilities management master’s program that’s all online. I graduated in 2024 from the program, and while educational learning happens in a vacuum, it was a really good program and I highly recommend it. The elective for emergency preparedness in facilities was one of my favorite courses.
Lastly, I cannot stress enough to join the professional organizations in your area. I’m a member of BOMA, IFMA, GBA, and NAIOP. If you want to move up in the field, it’s important to start building your personal brand, and by joining those organizations, you are able to network with others in your field regularly. Get involved in committees and run for board seats. Go to the networking events. A lot of those organizations offer free events occasionally, but their other events are normally open to non-members so you can get a feel for what each organization does and what their goals are. Find a particular area of the field that interests you and join the committee that helps support that effort. Get a mentor—that way, you have someone more seasoned to bounce ideas or questions off of without feeling embarrassed.
Are you or a colleague an FM professional interested in being profiled for the “Faces of Facilities” series? Please contact Editor Joe Bebon at JBebon@BLR.com.