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Engagement

The fractional COO first week

A fractional COO earns trust in the first week, not the first month. This is what the first five days actually look like — the tasks, the documents to request and the meetings that turn an outsider into the owner of an operating agenda.

Onboarding with intent

The first week sets the tone for the whole engagement. Done well, it leaves the leadership team confident that the COO understands the business, the cadence is running, and there is a credible plan for the first 90 days — not a queue of meetings that produces nothing.

The structure below is the starting point I use for technology, hardware and manufacturing businesses. It is tuned to each company — a pre-funding scale-up moves faster; a regulated manufacturer spends longer on quality and regulatory evidence — but the intent is the same: listen first, read the evidence, then stand up the rhythm and commit to a plan.

What the week is for

Four objectives for the first five days

Everything in the first week serves one of these four outcomes. If a task doesn't move one of them, it waits.

  • Establish credibility fast

    Land the first week ready to make decisions, not just gather data. The aim is to be operating — chairing reviews, owning a decision list and visible to the team — by day five.

  • Build an honest picture

    Read the plans, the metrics, the risks and the live issues before forming a view. Diagnosis comes from evidence the business already holds, not from opinions volunteered on day one.

  • Set the rhythm

    Stand up the lightest version of the operating cadence — a daily standup and a weekly review — so the team sees how the engagement will actually run.

  • Agree scope and access

    Confirm decision rights, working days, access between days, reporting lines and the boundaries of the role with the CEO before any work is committed.

Before and on day one

First-day setup

Onboarding begins before day one. A short setup checklist — workspace, tools, access and an internal announcement — means the first hour is spent on the business, not on logistics.

  • Before day one

    • Confirm working days, hours and the engagement start date in writing.
    • Book the day-one calendar: CEO session and functional-lead intros.
    • Send the information request so documents arrive before day one.
    • Complete legal onboarding — agreement, NDA, data processing and insurance.
    • Nominate a single point of contact for access and logistics.

  • Workspace & tools

    • Desk or touchdown space booked for working days (onsite or hybrid).
    • Laptop provisioned, or BYOD enrolled to the network and domain.
    • Email account, distribution lists and calendar access set up.
    • Shared mailbox or calendar delegate access arranged.

  • Access & induction

    • Building/security pass and site induction booked ahead of day one.
    • Provisioned in SSO/identity with the right role groups.
    • Added to comms channels (Slack/Teams) and leadership groups.
    • VPN or remote access configured for working between days.

  • Communication

    • Internal announcement from the CEO: role, scope and reporting line.
    • Bio and photo added to the intranet or team directory if applicable.
    • Day-one schedule shared with functional leads in advance.
    • Reporting line and decision rights clarified to the wider team.

Provisioning

Systems access

Access is granted deliberately, not broadly. This is the provisioning checklist I ask for ahead of day one — the systems that matter, and the access level that lets me read, ask and decide without unnecessary privilege.

  • Operations & planning

    • ERP / MRPRead + reporting
    • S&OP / demand planningRead
    • Production schedulingRead
    • PLM / PDMRead

  • Engineering & quality

    • QMS (CAPAs, non-conformances)Read + comment
    • Test & deviation trackersRead
    • BOM / configuration controlRead
    • ECN / change managementRead

  • Supply chain & procurement

    • Supplier portal / PO systemRead
    • Inventory / WMSRead
    • CEM / OEM portalsRead (as invited)
    • Freight / 3PL dashboardsRead

  • Finance & commercial

    • Accounting / finance systemRead
    • Budget & forecast modelsRead
    • Board pack / investor reportingRead
    • Pricing & margin modelsRead

  • Data, BI & reporting

    • KPI dashboards (Power BI / Looker)Read
    • Shared drives / repositoriesRead + write
    • Data warehouse / exportsRead
    • Meeting & decision logsRead + write

  • Identity & comms

    • SSO / identity providerProvisioned role
    • Slack / TeamsMember
    • Shared mailbox / calendarDelegate
    • Video conferencingHost

Before any confidential work

Legal onboarding

The legal foundations are completed before any confidential work begins, not bolted on later. These are the documents and checks that protect both the business and the engagement.

  • Confidentiality & IP

    • Mutual NDA signed before confidential information is shared.
    • IP ownership clause for any work product created during the engagement.
    • Background and foreground IP clearly defined and allocated.
    • Residual knowledge clause where appropriate.

  • Engagement agreement

    • Consultancy or services agreement (or letter of engagement).
    • Statement of work: scope, deliverables, days, fee and term.
    • Working-days calendar and access-between-days expectations.
    • Notice, termination and handover provisions.

  • UK tax & status

    • IR35 / off-payroll status determination (UK engagements).
    • Right-to-work / identity verification where required.
    • VAT registration and invoicing arrangement confirmed.
    • Outside-interests declaration completed.

  • Data & privacy

    • Data processing agreement (UK GDPR / GDPR) where personal data is accessed.
    • Need-to-know access only — no broad data sweeps.
    • Data handling, retention and deletion expectations agreed.
    • Sub-processor and transfer considerations documented.

  • Insurance & conduct

    • Professional indemnity and public liability insurance evidenced.
    • Conflicts check completed before work begins.
    • Confidentiality obligations reinforced to the team where relevant.
    • Code of conduct / information-security acceptance where required.

Day by day

The first-week plan

A day-by-day plan for the first five days — what to focus on, the tasks to complete and the meetings to run. Pace and depth are tuned to the business; the sequence holds.

  1. Day 1

    Listen, align and access

    Tasks

    • Founder/CEO working session — agree scope, decision rights, working days and the first-week plan.
    • Receive access to systems (ERP/MRP, PLM, shared drives, reporting) and the existing operating plan and budget.
    • Introductory meetings with each functional lead — no diagnosis, just questions and listening.
    • Walk the operation: production floor, lab, warehouse or build area, wherever the work actually happens.

    Meetings

    • Founder/CEO working session (90 min)
    • Functional lead intros (30 min each)

  2. Day 2

    Read the evidence

    Tasks

    • Review the operating plan, budget, KPIs and the most recent board pack and investor reporting.
    • Map the current operating model: processes, owners, systems and the management cadence in use today.
    • Examine the product roadmap and NPI pipeline — stage-gate status, gating items and launch confidence.
    • Read the risk register, CAPA log and any open non-conformances or customer escalations.

    Meetings

    • Operations / manufacturing lead deep-dive (60 min)
    • Engineering & NPI lead deep-dive (60 min)

  3. Day 3

    Supply chain and quality

    Tasks

    • Review the S&OP process, demand vs supply, inventory days and the CEM/OEM schedule.
    • Assess supplier base, single-source risk, lead times and the make-buy-partner picture.
    • Examine the quality management system, field returns, warranty exposure and regulatory/marking status.
    • Note where data is missing, untrusted or inconsistent — that itself is a finding.

    Meetings

    • Supply chain & S&OP lead deep-dive (60 min)
    • Quality & regulatory lead deep-dive (60 min)

  4. Day 4

    Stand up the rhythm

    Tasks

    • Draft the first operating scorecard from existing data — one page, the metrics that already matter.
    • Publish a first-week issue list: what is live, who owns it, and the decision needed.
    • Stand up the lightest cadence — a daily 15-minute operations standup and a weekly review slot.
    • Confirm the weekly calendar and invite owners; set expectations on agenda and decisions as output.

    Meetings

    • First operations standup (15 min)
    • Finance lead deep-dive (45 min)

  5. Day 5

    Synthesise and commit

    Tasks

    • Draft the diagnostic readout: where the operation stands, what matters most, what is working.
    • Propose the first-90-day plan: diagnose, design, run — with named priorities and owners.
    • Agree the next week's cadence and the first set of quick wins to land.
    • Confirm decision rights in writing and the escalation route between working days.

    Meetings

    • Founder/CEO readout & plan alignment (90 min)
    • First weekly operations review (45 min)

Information request

Documents to request before and during week one

Most of the diagnostic comes from evidence the business already holds. Every item below has a real template in the client portal — download it, complete it, and upload your version back to the same place. What is missing is as informative as what arrives.

  • Strategy & planning

    • Business strategy and the current operating planTemplate: one-page operating plan with objectives, owners and quarterly milestones.
    • Annual budget and latest forecastTemplate: budget vs forecast summary with headcount and capex lines.
    • Most recent board pack and investor updateTemplate: board pack structure — scorecard, risks, decisions requested.
    • Three-year plan, if one existsTemplate: capacity, headcount and margin trajectory outline.

  • Operations & supply chain

    • S&OP process and the rolling demand vs supply viewTemplate: 13-week rolling demand vs supply sheet.
    • Inventory position, days-on-hand and slow-mover reportTemplate: inventory ageing and days-on-hand tracker.
    • CEM/OEM schedules and capacity modelTemplate: build schedule and capacity constraint model.
    • Supplier list, lead times and single-source flagsTemplate: supplier risk register with lead time and sourcing flags.

  • Product & engineering

    • Product roadmap and NPI pipelineTemplate: NPI pipeline by programme with launch confidence.
    • Stage-gate status (EVT/DVT/PVT) and launch confidenceTemplate: stage-gate checklist and exit criteria.
    • Open design-for-manufacture / test itemsTemplate: DFM/DFT open item log with owners.
    • Bill of materials and configuration control logTemplate: BOM change and configuration control record.

  • Quality, regulatory & risk

    • Quality manual and QMS scope (ISO 9001 / 14001)Template: QMS scope statement and process map index.
    • Open CAPAs, non-conformances and field-return trendsTemplate: CAPA and non-conformance log.
    • Regulatory status — UKCA, CE, UKNI and notified-body certsTemplate: market approval status tracker.
    • Operational risk register and the latest review notesTemplate: operational risk register with scoring and mitigations.

  • Systems, data & people

    • ERP/MRP overview — modules, owners and known data gapsTemplate: systems inventory with owners and data-quality notes.
    • Current KPI dashboard or scorecardTemplate: one-page operating scorecard.
    • Organisation chart and key role accountabilitiesTemplate: accountability map by function.
    • Recruitment plan and open operational rolesTemplate: hiring plan with sequencing and cost.
Open the client portal

The rhythm starts

Meetings to set up in the first week

The right meetings, run the right way, are how the cadence takes hold. These four are stood up in week one — each with a standing agenda and a calendar invite you can add straight to your diary.

Calendar invites are generated from this date, spaced across the first five working days.

  • Founder/CEO working session

    Day 1, repeated Day 5

    Align on scope, decision rights and access; close the week with the diagnostic readout and first-90-day plan.

    Standing agenda

    • Scope of the role and what the COO owns outright
    • Decision rights, escalation route and access between working days
    • Working days, cadence and reporting line
    • First-week plan and the information request
    • What success looks like at 30, 60 and 90 days

    Output: Agreed mandate, working-days calendar and a written decision-rights note.

    Agenda document

  • Functional lead deep-dives

    Days 2–4

    Understand each function from the owner's view — what works, what is breaking, where they need ownership.

    Standing agenda

    • What the function is accountable for today
    • The metrics used and whether they are trusted
    • Top three constraints and what has already been tried
    • Dependencies on other functions and on suppliers
    • What the lead would fix first with support

    Output: A function-by-function picture of state, risk and the obvious first moves.

    Agenda document

  • Daily operations standup

    Day 4 onward

    A 15-minute pulse on throughput, blockers and the day's decisions — the start of the weekly rhythm.

    Standing agenda

    • Yesterday's output versus plan
    • Today's plan and constraints
    • Blockers needing a decision today
    • Safety, quality or customer escalations

    Output: An actioned blocker list and a shared view of the day's priorities.

    Agenda document

  • First weekly operations review

    Day 5

    Run the review to the agenda the engagement will use — scorecard, risks, CAPAs and decisions.

    Standing agenda

    • Scorecard review — trend, not snapshot
    • Delivery and NPI programme status
    • Supply chain and inventory exceptions
    • Quality, CAPA and regulatory items
    • Risks, decisions required and owners

    Output: The first published scorecard and a decision list with named owners.

    Agenda document

Each of these meetings is tracked in the client portal — scheduled date, whether it has been held, the notes taken and the actions agreed — so the first week is a live record rather than a static plan.

Track meetings in the portal

End of week one

What you should have by Friday

If the first week has worked, these exist — not as drafts in a deck, but in use.

  • A diagnostic readout the leadership team recognises as honest
  • A first-90-day plan with named priorities and owners
  • A running — if light — operating cadence
  • Agreed, written decision rights and the escalation route
  • The first published scorecard, one page
  • A live issue and action list with owners

Common questions

First-week questions, answered plainly

Is the first week mostly data-gathering?
No. Data is read in the first few days, but the week is designed to end with the cadence running and a diagnostic committed. The point is to be operating — chairing reviews and owning decisions — not just collecting files.
What if the business doesn't have all the documents listed?
That is common and is itself a finding. Missing plans, metrics or a risk register tells us where the operating system is thin, and those gaps shape the first-90-day plan. We work from whatever exists and build the rest.
Do you need a desk and system access on day one?
Yes — system access (ERP/MRP, PLM, shared drives and reporting) and a point of contact to grant it are set up before day one. A walk of the operation and time with each functional lead are the only other day-one needs.
How is scope agreed if the business is unclear what a COO should own?
Scope and decision rights are agreed with the founder or CEO in the day-one working session and confirmed in writing by the end of the week. They are reviewed at the end of the first 90 days as the operating picture becomes clearer.
Does this onboarding change for smaller businesses?
The structure holds, but the pace and depth adjust. A pre-funding scale-up may compress the deep-dives and move faster into cadence; a regulated manufacturer may spend longer on quality and regulatory documents. The plan is tuned, not imposed.
What comes out of the first week?
A diagnostic readout, a first-90-day plan with named priorities and owners, a running (light) cadence, an agreed decision-rights note, and the first published scorecard. That is the foundation the rest of the engagement builds on.
Is legal onboarding — NDA, contract and insurance — done before day one?
Yes. The NDA, the engagement agreement or statement of work, the data processing agreement, insurance evidence and a conflicts check are completed before any confidential information is shared. For UK engagements an IR35 status determination is agreed up front. Legal foundations are not bolted on later.
What systems access do you need, and how is it controlled?
I request read access to the systems that matter — ERP/MRP, PLM, the QMS, finance and KPI dashboards — plus write access only to shared decision logs and shared drives where collaboration needs it. Access is provisioned through SSO with appropriate roles, scoped to need-to-know, and removed at the end of the engagement.
Fractional COO

An engagement that earns trust in week one

If you want a fractional COO who is operating — not just observing — by the end of the first week, let’s talk about what your business needs.

Book a conversationSee the operating cadence