At Aequitas, our searches have been closing faster than ever these days (24% faster than this time last year). We can attribute that to a variety of things, like getting the right candidates in front of our clients with record speed and precision (12% faster), having a very experienced team, and making improvements in process and tech, but we can’t take all the credit. Search at this level isn’t just about the right person at the right time - other factors have to align, too.

So we got curious - what do our fastest searches in the last 12 months all have in common? Two external patterns emerged across our fastest searches.

The client had a relatively clear (and attainable) picture of what the ideal candidate looked like. There will always be calibrations along the way, which we bake that into our process in several ways, but there shouldn’t be wild swings. A major shift in required experience may add several weeks to the timeline as the search gets effectively restarted. If you’re doing the search on your own, we recommend having informational sessions with a few individuals who can provide guidance before you take the search to market. It may feel like it’s taking longer at the front-end, but it pays dividends on the back.

The client had a people leader or an internal person who is acted as “project manager” for the search. That means making sure there’s an ironed out process for candidates to go through, ability to get candidates on calendar, obtaining fast feedback from colleagues, and pushing the team to make fast decisions. This doesn’t always need to be another individual outside of the search champion. The search itself needs to be an operational and administrative priority for someone on the team.  

What this demonstrates to us, is what we’ve always known. Our work is not just a simple vendor relationship, it’s a true partnership. Regardless of whether or not you’re working with a search firm, having clarity on the role and shepherding candidates deliberately through a process will lead to a successful outcome.

P.S. Don’t let things stall out at offer stage! We released an abridged version of our 2024 Digital Health Compensation Study, accessible here, so that you can be aligned with the market as you launch your search. If you’d like to get the full study months ahead of the general public, keep your eyes open for the 2025 intake period, starting in late Q3.

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