FM: the professional interface

The world‐wide growth of facilities management (FM) institutions with ambition to become recognised as professional gatekeepers raises issues about the claim of FM to be a profession. Does FM practice and conduct merit this designation? Using Nutt’s resource‐based approach to FM with its four “trails to the future”, the tensions that exist on the interface between the “business trail” and the “people trail” provide the context needed to discuss the nature of FM’s professional credentials. This paper examines this context and the factors that influence each side of this professional interface and the implications for the development of a successful FM profession in contemporary society.