Laura Haggan | Director – Senior Finance
Recruitment has become increasingly focused on speed, with promises of CVs within 48 hours, interviews in a matter of days and offers on the table within a week. While an efficient process is important, particularly when a vacancy is putting pressure on a business, filling a role quickly does not necessarily mean filling it well.
For senior finance appointments, where experience, commercial judgement and leadership capability can have a significant impact on a business, it is worth asking whether speed alone is the right measure of success.
The Best Candidates Aren’t Always Looking
The strongest candidates are often already performing well in their current roles. They are not necessarily browsing job boards, updating their CVs or actively considering a move. Yet these are frequently the individuals businesses most want to attract.
Reaching them requires more than a quick search of the active market. It means identifying relevant talent, starting meaningful conversations and understanding what might persuade someone to leave a position they are happy in.
For a senior Financial Controller, that decision is unlikely to be made overnight. A compelling opportunity needs to offer the right combination of responsibility, leadership, culture and future potential. Candidates want to understand the business, research its prospects and consider whether the move makes sense for their career.
That consideration takes time, and it is an important part of securing the right person.
A Shortlist Is Only as Good as the Search Behind It
A rapid shortlist can look impressive, but the number of CVs delivered is a poor measure of the quality of a search.
Effective senior recruitment starts with understanding what the business genuinely needs, both now and as it develops. From there, targeted market mapping and direct engagement help identify candidates whose experience and ambitions align with the opportunity.
The result should be a smaller, more carefully qualified shortlist, with a clear rationale for each recommendation. It is not simply about finding people who can do the job, but understanding who is likely to thrive in the business and why they would choose to join.
This is particularly important when recruiting professionals who are not actively looking. A well-matched candidate may need more engagement and consideration than someone already applying for multiple roles, but that does not make them a less valuable prospect. Quite the opposite.
The Real Cost of Getting It Wrong
The pressure to fill a vacancy quickly is understandable, but a poor appointment can prove considerably more expensive than a search that takes a little longer.
Beyond the direct cost of recruitment, a senior finance hire who leaves prematurely can create disruption across the team, delay key projects and leave important responsibilities uncovered while the business starts again.
Of course, a longer process is not automatically a better one. Unnecessary delays, indecisive hiring managers and poor communication can all undermine a search and risk losing good candidates.
The objective is to spend time where it adds value, while moving decisively when the right person emerges.
Be Deliberate in the Search, Decisive in the Process
There is a clear distinction between taking the time to find the right candidate and allowing a recruitment process to drift.
Employers and recruiters should be aligned on the brief from the outset, provide timely feedback, arrange interviews promptly and maintain clear communication throughout. Once a strong candidate has been identified, decisions should not be delayed without good reason.
This is where speed genuinely matters: removing unnecessary friction without compromising the quality of the search.
Ultimately, time to hire tells you how quickly a vacancy was filled. It does not tell you whether the person appointed will perform, contribute and stay.
For senior finance recruitment, the real measure of success is not how quickly an offer is made, but whether the right person accepts it for the right reasons and goes on to make a lasting contribution.
At Artemis Human Capital, we believe that finding the right person starts with understanding both the business and the talent that will help it succeed. If you are planning a senior finance appointment, we would welcome a conversation about how a considered, targeted search can deliver the right outcome.