“I’ll know it when I see it,” is a common refrain from hiring managers in all industries, including financial services. But that kind of laissez-faire attitude about hiring can be extremely detrimental to your company, slowing down the process and in turn costing you time, money, and resources. In a time when the financial industry remains highly competitive—and candidates have plenty of options—you need to act quickly if you want to secure top talent. If you draw out the hiring process because you keep looking for that “special something” in someone, you unwittingly limit your candidate pool and end up missing out on high-quality candidates. In fact, a slow hiring process can have several real, measurable consequences on your financial organization. Here are just some of the negative affects of a slow hiring process on your business.

1. The loss of top candidates

The truth is, when you wait to make a hiring decision because you hope that a “better” candidate comes along, what you’re really doing is alienating the good financial candidates you met with at the beginning. Job seekers don’t put their search on hold, and while they’re interviewing with you they’re also interviewing with your competitors. If you see someone who checks most of your boxes but think you need to see what else is out there, it might be time to reconsider that impulse. Remember: regardless of the economy, finance as an industry continues to be extremely competitive, and the people your interviewing are not necessarily short on options.

2. The cost of not filling the role

Of course, the time to hire someone also takes a toll on the rest of your financial services. Who is doing the work that should be handled by this employee? Are other employees taking up the slack? Does that mean the productivity levels for their other duties are decreasing? The longer they need to do this, the less productive they’ll be over time. If they see that finding help for their department doesn’t seem to be a priority, they may also become dissatisfied in their own positions and look for new jobs. There are also compliance issues that need to be addressed when it comes to data security and customer privacy. Not having a dedicated professional in your open role could open your organization up to vulnerabilities or data threats.

3. A lack of excitement for the job

When you wait on a hiring decision, you’re also creating a domino effect of waning excitement. Active financial job seekers are regularly returning to online job boards and social media to see what the market looks like. Imagine you’ve applied for a job and were told you were a good candidate. Then you didn’t hear anything from the company. What happens when you review their website and see the position is still open? You’re much less likely to be interested in the position due to lack of follow up from the hiring managers.

4. A negative impact on customers. While your employee productivity levels are just one way you see the cost of not hiring for an opening position rise, that open seat will also quickly impact your customers. If your financial services aren’t being provided at the level your customers have come to expect, they will begin to wonder why. If they don’t find another service provider right away, they may begin talking about your quality of work with others, which can impact your reputation in the finance industry. Your customer expectations are a top priority, and not filling this role can definitely affect their experience.

Are you concerned about the high cost of a drawn out hiring process in your financial services company? Talk to the team at US Tech Solutions to see how we can help you source and hire strong professional finance candidates.