Senior FM searches usually stall because the hiring team has not agreed the brief, the decision-makers or the salary before candidates are seen. Prevent it by ranking the role's priorities in advance, naming who decides, approving the package before launch, holding interview dates and giving feedback within 48 hours.
Most senior FM and estates searches do not fail because there are no good candidates. They stall at the shortlist. The candidates are there, but the hiring team cannot agree, the process slows, and the best people drift away or accept something else.
When we look back at searches that stalled, the cause is almost always set before the first candidate was seen.
The five common causes
1. The brief was never really agreed
The Finance Director wants cost control, the Chief Operating Officer wants a change leader and HR wants someone who will settle the team. All three are reasonable. If nobody ranks them before the search, the shortlist exposes the disagreement, and every candidate looks wrong to someone.
2. Nobody knows who decides
A panel of five with no named decision-maker will usually reopen the brief rather than choose. Candidates sense the indecision quickly.
3. The package was not signed off
Discovering at offer stage that the salary needs another level of approval costs days or weeks, and senior candidates rarely wait.
4. Diaries take over
Finding a date that suits six senior people can add a fortnight to every stage. Over three stages, that is the difference between a process that completes and one that loses its strongest candidate.
5. The shortlist is judged against an imagined candidate
Sometimes the team compares real people against an ideal that does not exist in the market at the salary on offer. Market evidence early in the search avoids that.
How to prevent it
- Rank the priorities. Agree the two or three things the role must deliver in its first two years, in order. Our free role readiness check is a quick way to test this.
- Align the stakeholders privately. Ask each person on the panel what they need from the appointment before you meet anyone. The stakeholder alignment tool shows where views differ.
- Name the decision-maker. Others advise; one person decides.
- Approve the package before launch, including any flexibility you are prepared to show for the right person.
- Hold the dates. Put interview dates in diaries when the search starts, not when the shortlist arrives.
- Feed back within 48 hours. Momentum is part of the candidate experience, and senior candidates read delay as doubt.
- Use one scorecard. Every interviewer scores against the same agreed criteria, so the discussion is about evidence rather than impressions.
What a stalled search costs
A search that stalls rarely restarts cleanly. Strong candidates withdraw or accept other offers, the market notices that the role is still open, and the next round is often weaker than the first. Meanwhile the function carries the vacancy: compliance gaps go unowned, contractor performance drifts and capital projects wait for a decision-maker. For a senior estates or facilities role, a lost quarter can cost far more than the appointment itself.
If a search has already stalled, the answer is usually not more candidates. Go back to the brief, agree the priorities and the decision-maker, and then decide whether the existing shortlist already contains the right person.
Momentum is part of the brief
A well-run search treats the hiring team's readiness as seriously as the candidate market. At Maxwell Stephens we test the brief and agree the process before we approach anyone, so that when a strong shortlist arrives, the organisation is ready to act on it.
If you are about to start a senior FM or estates appointment, talk to our team or read how we assess senior FM leaders.
