Most organisations spend months finding a senior FM leader and about a week onboarding them. This guide sets out a 90 day structure: start before day one, agree success in writing, spend the first month listening, pick two early wins in month two and report back with a plan by day 90. It also lists the warning signs that onboarding is not working.
The First 90 Days as an FM Leader is written for the people who sit around a new senior hire: the managing director, COO, HR director, finance director and the line manager who inherits a new head of FM, estates or workplace.
A senior hire is at their most open, curious and credible in the first three months. This guide shows how to use that window, who should own it, what the new leader needs from you and how to tell early whether it is working.
What the guide covers
- Preboarding: using the notice period to build belief, and removing friction before day one
- A one page outcomes agreement, so the leader and the business expect the same things
- Days 1 to 30: listening across people, places and paperwork, and handing over the true picture of risk
- Days 31 to 60: choosing two early wins that build credibility
- Days 61 to 90: setting direction and reporting back
- Warning signs, sponsor check-ins and a new FM leader onboarding checklist
Related reading
- The Modern FM Director
- How to Reduce Hiring Risk in Facilities Management
- How Retained Executive Search Works in FM
Who this resource is for
Chief executives, COOs, HR and finance directors and line managers who have hired, or are about to hire, a senior FM, estates or workplace leader, and who want that appointment to succeed.
Talk to Maxwell Stephens
Maxwell Stephens is a specialist Facilities Management recruitment consultancy. If you are planning an FM, estates or workplace appointment, contact us for a confidential conversation.