Hiring in professional services. Planning for reality not urgency

Hiring in Professional Services: planning for reality, not urgency 

By @Laura Drysdale Managing Director, Meraki Talent 

In the Global Professional Services market, one of the most persistent misconceptions we encounter from clients is around how long it should take to recruit the right person. Whether you’re hiring within your home market or across borders and cultures, the underlying driver is the same: you’re not just hiring skills, you’re hiring people. And that takes time. 

Meraki Talent’s Professional Services team is the largest of its kind in the UK, with years of experience navigating complex hiring cycles across multiple global markets. What we see repeatedly is that many organisations underestimate how long effective recruitment truly takes, especially in the Professional Services space where seniority, specialist knowledge, and global mobility are all part of the equation. 

Recruitment timelines are substantial and getting longer 

According to recent data, the basic global average time to hire is goes from 44 to 54 days from advertisement, with some candidate journeys extending even further depending on market dynamics and the complexity of the role.  

However, in Global Professional Services, for senior and specialist posts, roles that demand high levels of expertise and cultural fit, recruitment can take many months. In executive search, it’s common for processes to extend to 4–6 months or more, as external recruitment experts and industry studies show.  

Why timescales are longer in Global Professional Services 

There are several interconnected reasons why hiring in Professional Services, especially globally, simply can’t move at “lightning speed.” 

1. Depth of expertise and fit 
   Professional Services candidates are evaluated not just on skills, but on credibility, commercial judgement, client-facing capability, cultural alignment, and long-term potential. These qualities demand deeper, multi-stage assessment processes than transactional hiring models typically allow. 
2. Notice periods &candidate considerations 
   Candidates at these senior levels often have long notice periods, relocation decisions, and sometimes family or lifestyle implications to weigh before committing to a new role. These personal and logistical layers extend timescales in ways many organisations don’t anticipate.  
3. Workforce planning gaps 
   Reactive hiring, triggered by a sudden budget approval or unplanned growth, naturally moves slower because there hasn’t been time to proactively plan and engage the right talent pool. Strategic workforce planning helps predict future needs, align with business goals, and start recruitment early, reducing pressure and lead times.  
4. Global complexities
   If hiring spans EMEA, APAC, or the Americas, you must factor in visa and relocation requirements, salary benchmarking across markets, tax and compliance implications, and cross-border approvals. These aren’t process inefficiencies, they’re mandatory structural elements of global talent mobility. 

The myth of “Hire Now, Start Now” 

Many organisations expect that once a role is approved, hiring should move at warp speed. But the adrenaline that drives budget approvals rarely aligns with the candidate’s decision cycle. 

Rushing the process or cutting corners can have unintended consequences: 

• A role filled but misaligned with business needs. 
• Increased risk of early turnover.
• Poor candidate experience that harms your employer brand. 

The data supports this: candidates often evaluate multiple offers and take longer to decide when roles are more senior or complex, meaning rushed timelines push the best talent elsewhere.  

What great workforce planning actually looks like 

So what separates successful Professional Services hiring from the rest? Planning

Top organisations build recruitment into their strategic planning cycle that starts before roles become critical. Effective recruitment planning includes: 

• • Talent pipelining and future skills mapping. 
• • Engaging passive candidates early. 
• • Scenario planning for key roles. 
• • Clear role prioritisation aligned to business outcomes. 

  The payoff? A smoother hiring journey where timelines reflect strategy, not urgency. 

  My final thought: time is not the enemy 

  The question isn’t “why is this taking so long?”, more accurately, it should be “did we start early enough?” 

  Professional Services hiring is inherently deep, rigorous, and increasingly global. Viewing recruitment through this lens helps organisations set realistic expectations, align stakeholders, and ultimately bring in talent who don’t just fill a slot but drive impact. 

  At Meraki, we don’t just fill roles, we help you plan to hire with confidence and clarity. 

  If your organisation would like to chat about planning its next global professional service hire, we’d love to hear from you.