It feels like we are in a constant cycle of challenge. Councils are navigating financial pressures, elections, rising demand, culture wars and even the ripple effects of global conflicts. Leaders are under pressure and the need for strong, resilient senior teams has never been greater.
Yet too often, when it comes to recruitment, short-term decisions end up creating long-term problems. Faced with tough budgets, it can be tempting to ‘have a go' at running a senior campaign in-house or to choose support that looks cheaper but doesn't cover the basics. But when roles go unfilled, or the wrong candidates are appointed, the costs quickly multiply.
We regularly hear that senior recruitment has faltered not because the talent isn't there, but because the search wasn't thorough. The obvious candidates weren't approached. The vanilla advertising didn't cut through the noise in a busy market. The process wasn't given the time and space to succeed.
When that happens, posts remain vacant for months, interim cover stretches budgets and the organisation can lose momentum.
Scrimping on recruitment can feel like saving money until the cycle repeats. Failed campaigns drain time, dent morale and make it even harder to persuade talented people to give the role a second look.
In such a challenging climate, there's no shortcut to getting senior recruitment right. It requires realistic planning, proper research, proactive engagement and the persistence to get the right people interested.
That doesn't mean gold-plating every process. It does mean recognising that when leadership matters so much, the upfront investment is a fraction of the cost of getting it wrong.
The real waste comes from failed campaigns, not from doing the job properly.
Better to invest once and move forward than to keep paying to stand still.
Greg Hayes is a director at Tile Hill Executive Recruitment
