FM Contract Mobilisation Plan: A 90-Day Checklist

A mobilisation plan is the structured programme of work that takes a new facilities management contract from signature to a stable, fully performing service. For most soft services contracts it runs for around 90 days and covers people and TUPE, site surveys, health and safety, equipment and consumables, IT and CAFM, KPI baselines, communications, go-live and a post-go-live review.

Get mobilisation right and the client barely notices the change of provider. Get it wrong and the first quarter of a multi-year contract is spent firefighting missed cleans, unpaid staff and confused building users. This checklist sets out what a good FM contract mobilisation looks like, phase by phase, with owners and timings you can adapt to your own sites.

What is FM contract mobilisation?

FM contract mobilisation is the period between contract award and the point where the incoming provider is delivering the full specification to agreed service levels. It is distinct from the tender itself (covered in our guide on what to include in an FM tender or RFP brief) and from steady-state contract management.

A mobilisation plan in facilities management usually has three audiences:

• The client, who needs confidence that service will not dip and that risks are being managed.
• The outgoing provider, who has legal and contractual exit obligations, including handing over employee information.
• The incoming provider, who must recruit or transfer staff, set up systems and prove readiness before day one.

If you are changing supplier rather than outsourcing for the first time, read this alongside our article on how to switch facilities management providers without disrupting operations.

The 90-day mobilisation plan at a glance

The table below is a practical framework. Day 0 is the service commencement date; negative numbers are days before go-live. Compress or extend it to suit contract size, but do not drop phases.

Phase	Timing	Key actions	Owner
1. Pre-contract and governance	Day -90 to -75	Confirm scope, contract schedules, mobilisation team, RACI, risk register, weekly mobilisation meeting	Client contract manager and provider mobilisation lead
2. TUPE and people	Day -85 to -1	Request employee liability information, review contracts, inform and consult, plan recruitment for gaps, uniforms and ID	Provider HR, outgoing provider HR
3. Site surveys	Day -80 to -60	Walk every area, verify floor plans and frequencies, record condition, photograph baseline	Provider operations manager with client FM
4. Health and safety	Day -70 to -20	Site risk assessments, RAMS, COSHH assessments, fire and emergency procedures, permits, induction pack	Provider H&S lead, client H&S
5. Equipment and consumables	Day -60 to -10	Asset register of inherited kit, order machines and stock, agree storage, PAT and servicing	Provider procurement
6. IT and CAFM	Day -60 to -7	Helpdesk set-up, CAFM data load, task schedules, user accounts, reporting templates, network access	Provider systems lead, client IT
7. SLAs and KPI baseline	Day -45 to -7	Agree KPI definitions, measurement method, audit tools and baseline scores	Client contract manager and provider account manager
8. Communications	Day -45 to +30	Staff briefings, building user notices, contact sheet, escalation routes, FAQ	Joint
9. Go-live	Day -7 to +7	Readiness review, day-one checklist, supervisor presence, daily stand-ups, issue log	Provider mobilisation lead
10. Post-go-live review	Day +30 to +90	First monthly report, KPI review, lessons learned, formal handover to account team	Joint governance board

Phase 1: Pre-contract and governance

Mobilisation fails most often because nobody owns it. Before anything else, name a mobilisation lead on each side and agree how decisions will be made.

• Confirm the final specification, frequencies and any variations agreed during clarification.
• Build a RACI so every action has one accountable owner.
• Open a mobilisation risk register (TUPE data delays, recruitment gaps, long-lead equipment, access passes).
• Set a weekly mobilisation meeting with a short written action log.
• Agree the readiness criteria that must be met before go-live.

Phase 2: TUPE and people

For cleaning, front of house, security and similar labour-intensive services, the people workstream is the critical path. When a service moves from one contractor to another, it will often be a service provision change under the TUPE Regulations, and the staff assigned to the contract may transfer to the incoming provider on their existing terms.

Employee liability information

The outgoing employer must give the incoming one employee liability information (names, ages, terms, recent disciplinary and grievance history, claims and collective agreements). Acas guidance states this must be provided at least 28 days before the transfer date. Ask for it much earlier, and chase it formally if it is late, because you cannot plan rotas, payroll or uniforms without it. Our guide to the TUPE measures letter and employee liability information explains the process in more detail, and our introduction to what TUPE is and how it affects FM contracts covers the basics.

People checklist

• Reconcile the ELI against the site rota and identify vacancies or overstaffing.
• Issue measures information so the outgoing employer can inform and consult its staff.
• Hold welcome sessions for transferring staff, ideally on site and in their working hours.
• Set up payroll, bank details and pension enrolment ahead of the first pay date.
• Complete right to work checks for transferred staff. Home Office guidance allows a grace period after a TUPE transfer, but do not leave it to the last minute.
• Recruit and vet for any gaps; for airside or secure environments, allow time for ID passes and background checks.
• Order uniforms, name badges and PPE in the right sizes.

TUPE rules are detailed and fact-specific, so take employment law advice on your particular transfer.

Phase 3: Site surveys

Never rely solely on tender drawings. Walk every floor, plant room, washroom, car park and back-of-house area with the client’s facilities manager. Record:

• Actual floor areas and finishes compared with the specification.
• Current condition, with dated photographs, so the starting point is agreed.
• Access arrangements, key holding, alarm codes and restricted zones.
• Storage, cleaners’ cupboards, water points and waste routes.
• Peak occupancy times that affect scheduling.

Any significant difference between the survey and the tender should go through the change control process now, not three months into the contract.

Phase 4: Health and safety and RAMS

The incoming provider needs site-specific risk assessments and method statements (RAMS) for each task, not generic company documents. Typical items include lone working, working at height, manual handling, slips and trips, and chemical use. If cleaning chemicals are involved, COSHH assessments and safety data sheets must be in place before the first shift.

• Obtain the client’s fire risk assessment, evacuation procedures and asbestos register.
• Agree permit-to-work and contractor control rules.
• Prepare a site induction and record that every operative has completed it.
• Set up accident and near-miss reporting into the client’s system.

Phase 5: Equipment and consumables

Agree early which equipment transfers with the contract and which the outgoing provider will remove. Create an asset register with serial numbers, condition and service dates. Long-lead items, such as ride-on scrubber dryers or specialist access equipment, should be ordered in the first month. Set minimum stock levels for consumables (washroom paper, soap, bin liners) and agree who pays for them.

Phase 6: IT, helpdesk and CAFM

A computer-aided facilities management (CAFM) system or helpdesk is where tasks, reactive requests and evidence of work live. Mobilisation actions include:

• Loading the asset and location hierarchy from the site survey.
• Building planned task schedules that match the specification frequencies.
• Setting up user accounts, mobile devices and QR or NFC check-in points if used.
• Agreeing helpdesk hours, contact routes and priority categories.
• Testing the monthly report template with the client before go-live.

Phase 7: SLAs and KPI baseline

KPIs written in the contract often need refining before they can be measured fairly. Agree exactly how each one is scored, who audits and how often. Run a baseline audit before day one so both sides know the starting standard. A short, balanced set usually works best:

• Quality audit scores by area.
• Reactive response and completion times by priority.
• Planned task completion percentage.
• Staffing fill rate and absence cover.
• Health and safety incidents and near misses.
• Complaints and compliments.

Many contracts allow a KPI grace period during mobilisation, with service credits applying only once the service has bedded in. Agree this in writing.

Phase 8: Communications

Building users, transferring staff and the client’s own team all need to know what is changing. Prepare a simple communications plan: who is told what, when and by whom. Include a one-page contact sheet with escalation routes, a short notice for building users about the new helpdesk, and regular updates for transferring staff so rumours do not fill the gap.

Phase 9: Go-live

Hold a formal readiness review in the final week against the criteria agreed in Phase 1. On the first days of service:

1. Have senior operations staff visibly on site at shift start.
2. Check every operative has a pass, uniform, induction and equipment.
3. Run a short daily stand-up with the client for the first two weeks.
4. Keep a single issue log and close actions quickly.
5. Confirm the first payroll runs correctly; late pay damages trust faster than anything else.

Phase 10: Post-go-live review

At around 30 days, produce the first monthly report and review KPIs against the baseline. At 90 days, hold a lessons-learned session, close the mobilisation risk register and formally hand the contract from the mobilisation team to the account team. This is also the right point to confirm the continuous improvement plan for the year ahead.

Frequently Asked Questions

How long should FM contract mobilisation take?

Around 90 days is common for a multi-site soft services contract. Smaller single-site contracts can mobilise faster, but the TUPE information and consultation steps still need adequate time.

Who owns the mobilisation plan?

The incoming provider normally writes and leads it, but the client should approve it, attend governance meetings and own client-side actions such as access, IT and approvals.

What is the biggest risk during mobilisation?

For labour-intensive services, it is usually people: late or inaccurate employee information, unfilled vacancies and payroll errors. Start the people workstream on day one.

Should KPIs apply from the first day?

KPIs should be measured from day one, but many contracts agree a short period before service credits apply. Baseline audits make that conversation fair.

What documents should be ready before go-live?

Site risk assessments and RAMS, COSHH assessments, induction records, the asset register, the helpdesk process, KPI definitions and a contact and escalation sheet.

Plan your next FM mobilisation with WWSG

WWSG provides cleaning, housekeeping, front of house, car park and operations support across airport, retail, hospitality and corporate settings. Talk to us about facilities management services in the UK or contact our team to discuss how we would mobilise your contract.