The False Economy of Rushed Executive Hires

The False Economy of Rushed Executive Hires

When a gap opens up in a leadership team, the pressure is instant.

Perhaps the CEO steps down and it leaves you, the founder there to plug the gap until you get a replacement.

When this kind of thing happens, the instinct is often “how quickly can we replace them?”

The issue is, when it comes to exec hiring, speed doesn’t always mean good. It means you’re likely missing vital steps to ensure you get the right person.

You probably know that a rushed hire can actually slow everything down but:

• The temptation is to move fast.
• When you’re under pressure, shortcuts can look attractive.
• Tick-box CVs. Someone who’s “done the job before” feels like a safe option.
• Reused JD’s. Role descriptions stay at the level of titles and tasks (not taking into account how the role and business may have changed).
• Minimal assessment. Interviews are informal chats over coffee, more about chemistry than ability.
• Referrals from people who deeply understand and know your business as it stands are really useful… but if they’re from somebody with a limited understanding of your challenges and just based on “She/He is worth a chat with”, they can be unreliable.

On the surface, it feels like progress. You’ve got a shortlist together, you’ve got interviews scheduled and decisions are being made.

But I reality, the real questions haven’t been asked. And if you don’t answer them now, they’ll crop up later… Potentially in a performance review or at the point they want to have “the chat”.

The cost of getting it wrong

A mis-hire at leadership level isn’t just an unexpected hassle. It’s expensive.

• Direct costs: salary, bonuses, onboarding, recruitment fees, severance.
• Indirect costs: a loss of momentum, delayed launches, competitors moving faster.
• Cultural costs: morale drops when the team sees the wrong person in the wrong role. High performers start to wonder if leadership really knows what it’s doing.
• Reputational costs: for boards with external investors or stakeholders, a revolving door at the top doesn’t inspire confidence.

In some cases, the true price of a mis-hire can be 10 times the person’s salary. Not because of what they did, but because of what didn’t happen while they were in position.

Why rushing breaks the process

When you focus on speed vs process, a few things usually happen:

Briefs stay superficial. You end up hiring to a job title, not to outcomes. “We need a COO” often masks the real issue: maybe the founder is still in everything, or delivery accountability is unclear.

Assessment is more around “do I like this person?”. Without structure, interviews default to “Can they do the job?” instead of “Will they do the job here, with these people, in this culture, at this pace?”

Psychometrics and referencing get skipped. These aren’t tick-boxes; used properly, they uncover blind spots and add rigour to your decision making process.

Hiring panel misalignment. If you haven’t spent time agreeing what “good/great” looks like, you’ll get five different versions of it around the table. This can lead to disagreements at the end of a process on who to choose.

The result? A leader who might look great on paper, might interview well, but isn’t set up to succeed in your context.

What better looks like

The good news: slowing down doesn’t mean dragging your feet. A structured process can actually save you time.

Sharpen the brief

Go beyond tasks. Ask:

• What must this person deliver in 12–18 months?
• Where does the business need to change gear? (and what sort of experience would help?)
• What’s missing from the current leadership team?

When you align on outcomes, the role often looks different to what you thought you needed.

Structured assessment

Use behavioural interviews, scoring frameworks, and psychometrics. They’re not about ticking a box; they’re about creating a better understanding along with the evidence. This takes bias out and sharpens instincts. The more you do this, the better you’ll get at it.

Alignment at the top

Before you meet candidates, align the hiring panel. If three directors want a steady pair of hands and two want a disruptor, you’ve got a problem, and it’s not the candidates. Sorting that alignment upfront saves months of pain. (We’ve had a situation previously where a non-exec, founder and investor were all looking for different things. This resulted in failed senior hires until they started working with us and we pointed out what the issue was)

Pace with process

Fast doesn’t have to mean rushed. If you invest time upfront, the actual search moves quicker because you’re not starting again. Clearer briefs, sharper criteria, and alignment mean fewer false starts and less repetition.

A story I see too often

I’ve seen businesses panic-hire because “we just need someone in post.” The CV looked great. Interviews were positive. They moved quickly. (And I mean, lots of recruiters will tell you to “move quickly”)

Six months later, it was unravelling. The hire was capable, they’d had lots of success in their previous businesses, but just not in that situation. They were used to structure where there was none. They wanted to delegate when the shareholders still expected them to be hands-on. They didn’t have the resilience for the pace. The role would have probably suited them 10 years ago, but they worked differently.

The board had to start again. Six months lost. Morale/confidence hit. Another recruitment fee. More investor questions.

When we went back to basics, the brief changed. What they needed wasn’t “a COO with 10 years’ experience in leading multi-site manufacturing and distribution operations.” It was someone who could build structure from scratch and work alongside a founder who was still heavily involved. Somebody who was willing to get their hands dirty. A different profile and a totally different hire.

That second hire stuck. The company moved forward.

Final thought

A rushed hire feels like progress, but it usually just pushes the problem further down the track.

Yes, there’s pressure. Yes, there are investors, deadlines, opportunities. But leadership isn’t about plugging a gap. It’s about shaping the team that drives the whole business forward.

Taking a couple of extra weeks to sharpen the brief, align the board, and run a proper assessment doesn’t slow you down. It speeds you up, because you only have to do it once.

The false economy of rushed hiring is paying twice for the same role. The real economy is getting it right the first time.

By Michael Hewitt, Director, Corvus people