The Problem No One Wants to Say Out Loud

You’ve heard this before. A landlord or operator announces five new properties coming online this year — but hasn’t started hiring for ops or site leadership yet. And when asked? “We’ll bring people in once things are live.”

That’s not lean. That’s risky.

Why Delayed Hiring Backfires (Every Time)

• Brand damage before doors open. Delays, poor launch days, and sloppy early ops leave a bad first impression — especially in high-footfall retail.

• New teams struggle with setup. From facility contracts to wayfinding signage, someone needs to own the checklist.

• Leasing teams carry too much. Without a site manager, leasing leads end up fielding vendor calls, handling tenant requests, and burning out fast.

The Real Cost? Reputation

Operations isn’t a plug-and-play function. Hiring too late creates chaos — and that chaos often shows up on Google Reviews and in tenant churn.

The Fix: Build Your Talent Timeline Like You Build Your Asset Timeline

If you’re budgeting capex for HVAC, you should be budgeting leadership for ops.

Hiring 8–12 weeks before a site launch gives time for onboarding, process setup, and human culture to take root. Hiring after you cut the ribbon? You’re just reacting.

What This Means for 2025 Hires

With rising site complexity and tight performance expectations, site leadership is no longer a “we’ll get to it” role. It’s the thing that makes the rest of your plans deliverable.