Wary firms, candidates on fence slow top-level hiring

Senior-level hiring is taking time to hit the bullseye, as companies want to scrutinize candidates’ history of competence and behaviour over as long as 10 years, and candidates in turn sit on the fence, waiting to be sure before jumping in after having burnt their fingers earlier.

Headhunters, therefore, are hit by both sides, leading to mandates taking longer to close than usual—up to six months or even more. Companies in the IT, product services and retail sectors, for instance, want search firms to look into the past decade of candidates selected for CXO posts.

The compensation negotiations for middle and senior management have stopped and the changing demands of businesses are making HR firms rethink their decisions on candidates.

“Over the last 6-8 months, while mandates have opened up, companies are talking long to close positions,” said Anshuman Das, chief executive and co-founder of Careernet, a talent solutions provider. “During the hiring frenzy, while employees were given offers in a couple of weeks, now it is taking 4-6 months to hire as compared to 1-3 months earlier,” Das said.

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