This is exactly where many processes break.
My partners and I see it first-hand on search mandates every week.
A CFO in a carve-out.
A CPO in the middle of a redesign.
A CEO in a transformation.
We have a short call. Fifteen minutes, maximum.
Even in that first call, top candidates say things like:
• “I can’t wait months and then do five interviews in six weeks.”
• “I travel every week; I need flexible slots.”
• “I’m not doing a 90-minute case study in the evening.”
Sadly, that’s not an isolated case. It’s a pattern.
Internally, on paper, the process often looks professional: clear,
well documented and with plenty of stages.
On the slide, that looks professional.
In a top candidate’s daily life, it looks like a roadblock.
Typical sequences we see:
• a 45-minute first interview in two weeks’ time
• a 90-minute case study two weeks later
• then it gets postponed again
• many weeks later, a panel of four or five people
• the whole process: three to six months
That’s too long to keep the momentum, and the
candidate loses trust and interest.
First-class candidates have two or three alternatives, even in a downturn.
And that’s exactly where the process tips over: appointments are fixed but don’t fit, special requests are seen as a nuisance, and small adjustments need
several sign-offs.
From the outside, that signal looks insecure, unentrepreneurial and
very rigid. In the end, it isn’t the strongest candidate who signs. It’s
the most patient one.
For companies in transformation, that’s expensive. Time without a leader on board costs value.
What do organisations that win top people do differently?
They choose structure, but not a straitjacket.
For example:
• interviews bundled into half a day
• a clear fast track for C-level
• a remote first call instead of another round on site
They see flexibility as a sign of maturity:
• requests signal seniority, not “difficult”
• asymmetry is fine when the responsibility is high
• meeting as equals starts in the process, not just in the contract
They recruit like entrepreneurs:
• “How do we seize this opportunity?” instead of “This is how we’ve always done it”
• the candidate’s availability is part of business reality
• speed and clarity come before process comfort
Structure still matters, of course. But it needs room to breathe.
