How to reduce time to hire in finance and business support
A vacant position can quickly become a wider business problem. Depending on the role and the responsibilities it represents, an unfilled position can lead to anything from reporting slips to slower customer query resolution and leave managers to plug the gaps instead of leading their teams.
Yet despite the often urgent need to fill vacancies as soon as possible, there are several points in the recruitment process where momentum can drop.
Perhaps the hiring brief changes after interviews have begun, or the process stalls as everyone waits for stakeholder feedback. In the meantime, your preferred candidate could accept an offer elsewhere.
For employers recruiting across finance and business support, reducing time to hire without compromising assessment rigour is crucial. This guide covers the factors that can impact recruitment timelines, how to identify the weak points in the process and what to refine to move appointments forward.
How long should recruitment take?
A useful recruitment schedule distinguishes between identifying candidates, securing an accepted offer and the person starting work. What each stage entails will vary between companies, and there is no one-size-fits-all timeline for completing each.
Every milestone is affected by different factors, such as the scope of the role, candidate availability, assessment requirements and contractual notice periods.
At Howett Thorpe, we have supported appointments where clients moved from shortlist to offer in as little as two weeks. We have also seen searches extend to three months. These are different circumstances and should not be treated as a like-for-like benchmark, but they highlight the importance of understanding where time is being spent and where it could be saved.
Identifying where delays occur
When recruitment timelines slip, it is important to establish why. Identifying the issue and what factors have caused it will help you improve the process.
Here are three common scenarios where something in the approach could be putting progress on pause.
No candidate on the shortlist meets a key criterion
If every shortlisted candidate falls short in the same area, the brief might be the problem. The requirement may need refining, or the search may need a different approach. We have seen searches at both senior and transactional levels lose momentum because key requirements were still being clarified after recruitment had begun.
Suitable candidates are declining for similar reasons
If your candidates repeatedly give the same explanation for pulling out of the process, this could indicate something is missing or misaligned in the offer. Failing to use that feedback to review the opportunity before continuing the search could lead you to waste valuable time.
Candidates and stakeholders struggle to stay on schedule
If candidates do not have adequate time to complete assessment tasks and prepare for interviews, it is more likely progress will fall behind schedule. The same is true on the employer side; if the timeline is not communicated to relevant stakeholders in advance, they can become another source of delays.
Filling gaps in the recruitment process
After identifying the weak points in your recruitment process, the next step is refining it.
There are five process areas employers should focus on before hiring begins to avoid friction later.
1. Agree what the appointment needs to achieve
A departing employee may have accumulated responsibilities over several years. Replacing them like for like based on the original job description may no longer reflect the skills or support the business needs.
For example, your HR function may need someone who can support managers through organisational change. A finance position may have evolved into a role requiring greater ownership of systems and processes.
Determine those priorities before approaching candidates. Your recruitment brief should establish:
- The outcomes expected in the first three to six months.
- Core responsibilities, reporting lines and team structure.
- Essential skills, qualifications and relevant experience.
- Salary, benefits and any study support.
- Location, hours and office or hybrid arrangements.
- The type of appointment and preferred start date.
- Interview stages, decision-makers and approval requirements.
Top tip: Challenge each essential requirement. Does someone need experience of your exact system, or evidence that they can learn comparable technology? Is sector experience necessary because of a specific technical requirement, or simply a preference?
2. Establish who your package can realistically attract
A clear brief will only take the search so far if the responsibilities and package do not align.
A financial controller role combining reporting, team leadership, commercial analysis and a systems implementation needs a package and resources that reflect its scope. The same principle applies to an HR manager expected to cover operational delivery while developing the people strategy.
Consider the opportunity from the candidate’s perspective:
- Is the workload achievable with the support available?
- Does the salary reflect the accountability?
- Are the working arrangements clear?
- What makes the move attractive?
- Can you explain the development opportunity beyond a general promise of progression?
Where expectations and budgets do not align, making appropriate adjustments could make the search more effective.
Top tip: For employers across Surrey and Hampshire, the practical commute should also be considered. Office attendance, location and working hours influence who can realistically consider an opportunity.
3. Build a shortlist that supports a decision
A useful shortlist explains why each person could succeed and where further assessment is needed.
Job titles alone provide limited insight. Two finance managers may have very different levels of reporting ownership. Two HR managers may differ considerably in their experience of employee relations, organisational change or advising senior leaders.
Screening should explore what candidates have personally delivered. Depending on the appointment, this might include:
- Transactional finance — ledger ownership, invoice volumes, reconciliations and query resolution.
- Qualified and senior finance — reporting, controls, forecasting, business partnering and leadership.
- Business support — operational coordination, stakeholder management, HR delivery, customer service or process improvement.
Top tip: Confirm salary expectations, notice period, motivation and working arrangements early. These conversations help establish whether the opportunity is viable before either party commits to several interviews.
4. Give every interview and assessment a clear purpose
Agree what you need to establish, who will assess it and how the evidence will inform the appointment decision.
For interviews, consistent, job-related questions and clear criteria help interviewers compare candidates fairly. Before adding another interview, ask: what uncertainty will this resolve? If the answer is unclear, the next step may be an internal decision.
A short practical exercise can be useful where it reflects the work involved. For finance, that could mean interpreting management accounts or explaining a reconciliation discrepancy. For business support, it might involve prioritising competing requests or drafting a response to a realistic scenario. Keep the task proportionate, explain it in advance and make the process accessible.
Consider the timing, too. Asking candidates to complete substantial work before they have discussed the role can discourage engagement. Establish mutual interest, then use an assessment to explore a specific skill or question.
Top tip: Reserve interview and feedback time in advance, taking account of month-end, board meetings and other known commitments. Give candidates a clear update timetable, even when a decision remains outstanding.
5. Prepare the offer (and maintain momentum after acceptance)
The final interview should not trigger the first conversation about offer approval.
Confirm the available package, approval process and responsibility for paperwork in advance. Discuss the likely start date and resolve questions about benefits, working arrangements and expectations before issuing the offer.
Throughout the process, keep checking what matters to the candidate and whether anything has changed. An unresolved concern can become a reason to withdraw if it only emerges at the final stage.
Once the offer is accepted, maintain meaningful contact throughout the notice period. Address questions, prepare onboarding and help the candidate feel connected to the business they are joining. This also creates an opportunity to discuss any counteroffer and understand whether their reasons for leaving have changed.
Top tip: Where the business needs support sooner than a permanent recruit can start, interim or temporary cover may relieve pressure while the appointment is completed.
Move your next appointment forward with Howett Thorpe
Every day counts when a vacancy remains unfilled. Even a short delay can have a tangible business impact: management time spent covering responsibilities, work deferred and pressure on the existing team. Your recruitment timetable deserves the same attention as those operational consequences.
At Howett Thorpe, our specialist teams recruit across accountancy and finance, public practice and business support, from entry-level positions through to executive appointments.
We help employers refine the brief, assess relevant experience and coordinate the process through to offer and acceptance. Our established relationships also allow us to approach professionals who are not actively applying through job boards but may consider a well-matched opportunity.
If your vacancy is taking longer to fill than expected, speak to us about where the search has stalled and what could move it forward.