Recruitment drift is one of the most costly and least discussed risks in senior recruitment. It does not announce itself: the brief shifts, diaries clash, stakeholders disengage and what began as a focused search becomes an open-ended, momentum-free exercise. In construction, manufacturing and engineering, the consequences are significant: the best candidates disengage, internal confidence erodes and pressure to compromise grows. Structure eliminates drift: defined briefs, fixed timelines, agreed milestones and proactive communication transform a passive search into a managed, accountable project. Read the full article on recruitment drift in senior hiring for a detailed breakdown of causes, consequences and solutions. To see how our process prevents drift at every stage, visit our executive search process page. To see what a bad senior appointment actually costs, try our free bad hire calculator.