IFMA's Best of the Best: Our Top Resources from 2025

If there’s one thing 2025 has made clear, it’s that the role of the facility manager keeps expanding. From sustainability to strategy, from data analytics to people leadership — today’s FM is a connector, analyst and changemaker all at once. 

At IFMA, our mission is to empower facility professionals through knowledge, research and community. This roundup brings together some of the most impactful IFMA resources from 2025 — the blog posts that started conversations, the podcast episodes that inspired new thinking, the research that redefined priorities, and the FMJ articles that put it all into context. 

Whether you’re looking to upskill, benchmark, or just stay ahead, here’s your one-stop guide to the year’s best content.

Top Blog Posts of 2025

IFMA’s Connected FM Blog remains one of the most accessible ways to keep up with industry trends, leadership insights and professional growth stories. 

Here are a few of the year’s standouts: 

1. AI in Facilities Management: Unlocking the Future

A forward-looking piece by Brian Sanders that explores how AI, including both traditional analytics and generative AI, can transform facilities management through improved data accessibility, predictive maintenance, energy optimization and space utilization. Check it out. 

2. 4-Step Formula to Earning Your CFM Credential

This post outlines how to obtain IFMA’s Certified Facility Manager credential: teaming eligibility, preparing for the exam, applying and taking the exam. Great for FM professionals considering certification. Check it out. 

3. How to Become a Facility Manager

A helpful guide for newcomers or career changers entering the FM space. It outlines what the profession looks like today from essential competencies to credentialing and career paths. Check it out. 

Connected FM Podcast Highlights

Facility management is as much about listening as it is about learning, and IFMA’s Connected FM Podcast brings those conversations straight to your ears. 

Four standout episodes from 2025 include: 

1. From Codes to Compliance: NFPA Standards for Facility Managers

Brent Ward and Ray Bizal provide a clear breakdown of the critical codes from the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) that facility managers need to know — covering fire, electrical and life-safety standards, plus newer topics like wildfire and active-shooter preparedness. Listen now. 

2. The Role of Mentorship and Strategic Career Planning in Expanding Opportunities for Women in FM

In this powerful conversation, host Kelsey Hirsch interviews Teena Shouse about her career journey, how she mapped her path into leadership, and the importance of mentorship and diversity in facilities management. Listen now. 

3. A Strategic Guide to Transforming Facility Management with AI

Lorri Rowlandson of BGIS guides us through a three-layer approach to AI in facility management: (1) individual desktop tools, (2) operational automation, (3) client-value-driven innovation. Listen now. 

4. Snap Out of It: Why Workplaces Need a Wake-Up Call

In this candid and future-facing dialogue, Kay Sargent (Director of Thought Leadership, Interiors at HOK) and host Edward Wagoner challenge the status quo of workplace design and FM roles — arguing for a shift from “sustainability” toward “regeneration,” and from doing things as they’ve always been done, to bold rethinking. Listen now. 

IFMA Research & Reports You Need to Read

Research remains at the heart of IFMA’s mission. In 2025, several studies stood out each offering actionable takeaways that professionals can apply immediately.

1. The Rise of the FM Analyst

Data isn’t just for IT anymore. This report highlights how FMs are increasingly using analytics to tell the story behind facility operations. It explores how curiosity, storytelling, and data literacy are reshaping FM roles and how teams can build analytical capacity for smarter, faster decisions. Read the report.

2. The Value of Early Facility Manager Involvement in Capital Projects

When FMs are involved early in capital projects, everyone wins. This report demonstrates how early input from facility teams prevents design inefficiencies, reduces lifecycle costs, and improves performance outcomes. Read the report.

3. Circular FM: The Role of the Circular Economy in Facility Management

Sustainability continues to dominate the FM agenda. This report explores how facility managers are leading the transition to a circular economy through smarter resource use, reuse models, and long-term asset thinking. Read the report.

4. Insights into the Personalities of Facility Managers: The People Behind the Facilities

The FM profession is as much about people as it is about places. This fascinating study dives into the psychology of FMs, revealing common traits like integrity, adaptability, and collaboration. Read the report.

FMJ Articles That Stood Out

The FMJ continues to provide practical insights that tie IFMA’s research to real-world practice. Below are several stand-out articles from 2025 worth sharing with your team or audience: 

• "Smart Facilities, Smarter Decisions” by Felix Oluwalomola: Explores how IoT, sensors and analytics are shifting FM from reactive to predictive. Read the article. 

• “The Full Perspective” by Grant Sommerfeld: Breaks down 8 common blind spots in FM operations and how to shift from invisible cost-center to strategic partner. Read the article. 

• “The Ever-Evolving Office” by Katherine Ahrens: A look at how hybrid work and employee expectations are rewriting how offices should be designed, managed and optimized. Read the article. 

• “The Hidden Cost of Noise” details why acoustics matter in facilities operations and how sensor-based platforms can transform focus and privacy. Read the article. 

Wrapping Up

From the data-driven mindset of the FM Analyst to the insights behind effective leadership, 2025 has been a year of reflection and reinvention for the facility management profession. IFMA’s growing library of blogs, podcasts, reports and FMJ articles continue to equip FMs everywhere with the knowledge and insights they need. 

The takeaway? The world of FM never stands still, and neither should you.