Structure is how roles, responsibilities, reporting lines and decision paths are arranged in the FM team. When it is wrong, work stalls or escalates, briefs are hard to write and the wrong profiles get hired repeatedly. Fix ownership and decision rights first; then decide whether you need a new person at all.
Structure is the way roles, responsibilities, reporting lines and decision paths are arranged in the Facilities Management team. It is rarely the first thing anyone blames when the function struggles, and it is often the right answer. Structure shapes behaviour: if it is wrong, every new hire inherits the problem.
What a structure problem looks like
- Confusion over who owns what, especially compliance, budgets and service partners
- Decisions that take too long or escalate further than they should
- Duplication, or responsibilities that float between people
- Too many escalations and a steady diet of firefighting
- A team that feels busy while progress is slow
Where it usually comes from
- An organisation design that has not kept up with the estate or the business
- Legacy reporting lines that nobody chose deliberately
- Roles built around particular people rather than outcomes
- No clear model for who is accountable for what
- Blurred boundaries between FM, estates, property and workplace teams
Why it matters when you hire
A structure problem makes a clear brief almost impossible to write. Candidates notice the confusion at interview, the wrong profile gets appointed, and the new starter burns out as expectations shift around them. The role is then refilled, and the cycle repeats.
What to do before you recruit
- Map who owns each FM outcome, by name, and where decisions stall
- Redesign roles around outcomes rather than tasks
- Give each role a short list of core responsibilities and the decisions that go with them
- Agree three outcomes the new role must deliver before you write the brief
Questions to ask yourself
- When something goes wrong, who actually owns it?
- Where do most escalations come from?
- Which responsibilities float between people?
- Which decisions take too long, and why?
Where to start
The free FM Talent Scan check looks at structure alongside five other areas of your function and the decision you are facing. It takes about five minutes and tells you plainly whether a full FM Talent Scan is worth doing. If you would rather talk it through, contact us or call 0207 118 4848.
This article is one of six on the areas the check covers: structure, capacity, capability, tools and technology, leadership and culture.
