Hiring the wrong HR leader doesn’t just hurt your bottom line—it shakes the very core of your organisation.
Selecting the right Chief People Officer is one of the most strategically significant decisions a business can make. The right individual will drive cultural alignment, support transformation, and guide leadership through change.
Yet too often, this appointment is approached like any other, with CVs, interviews, and a checklist of qualifications. But CPO hires demand more. They require a long-term view, strategic alignment, and cultural fit.
At re:find, we specialise in helping organisations make the right HR leadership hire, first time.
The real cost of a bad HR hire
According to research compiled by the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD), replacing a senior executive can cost upwards of £250,000 when you factor in:
- Recruitment fees and onboarding costs
- Lost productivity and strategic drift
- Culture damage and team disengagement
- Interim cover or re-hiring efforts
But that’s just the financial hit. What about the cultural fallout?
A misaligned HR leader can:
- Undermine trust at board level
- Stall transformation programmes
- Create political chaos across business units
- Push out top-performing talent through poor decisions or tone-deaf policies
In short: a bad HR leader poisons the well.
And when these mis-hires occur in C-suite hiring—where leadership influence is at its peak—the risks compound quickly.
A smarter, data-backed way to hire
At re:find, we don’t just fill roles—we de-risk your executive search from day one.
Our process is different because it’s built for leadership recruitment in complex environments:
✅ Stakeholder-driven briefing
We speak with the people your hire will impact most—not just the hiring manager. We ask what success really looks like and where others have failed.
✅ Behavioural & cultural alignment
We map your leadership values to candidate profiles—ensuring every shortlist is aligned with your C-suite hiring standards.
✅ Rigorous assessment
Every candidate is tested for more than just delivery experience. We assess emotional intelligence, resilience, and transformation muscle.
✅ 98% success rate
Yes, really. We fill 98% of the roles we take on. And not just quickly—but with leaders who last.
This isn’t volume-driven talent acquisition. It’s precision executive search for when the stakes are high.
And when your business is navigating change, hiring right the first time is crucial—not only for immediate results but for long-term organisational development.
Why it matters now
As organisations shift toward transformation, agility, and hybrid models, HR leaders have become business-critical.
Poorly scoped change management roles can stall growth, delay transformation goals, and reduce team cohesion. That’s why aligning every hire with the business’s workforce transformation agenda is no longer optional—it’s essential.
Don’t trust that search to a generalist.
Trust it to a partner who obsesses over getting it right.
Let’s fix the costly hiring mistake (before it happens)
If you’re hiring an HR leader in 2025, talk to us first.
We’ll show you how to avoid the £250K mistake. And why CPOs, CHROs, and transformation directors across the UK trust re:find to get it right—every time.
Book a confidential discovery call
