Q1 is the Time to Determine the Year: A Talent Strategy Perspective

The beginning of the year brings about a chance to reinvigorate; business plans are drafted towards the end of the prior year, and reflection has led to a renewed vigour to start the year strong and bring fresh impact to existing business operations or new initiatives.

The people behind the leaders are the ones who can help determine the success of a business strategy. Executive Assistants and Business Support roles specifically enable leaders to operate at full capacity and focus on the year ahead.

For almost two decades, Bain and Gray have watched a clear pattern emerge: the organisations that move early in Q1 to secure exceptional support talent set themselves up for a year of sharper decision-making, calmer leadership, and greater strategic agility.

This is the moment in the hiring cycle where opportunity and timing meet. And for senior leaders — especially those relying on roles such as Executive Assistants, Business Assistants and Chiefs of Staff — it’s the most impactful timing of the year.

The Quiet Catalyst for Operational Momentum

There’s something uniquely valuable about the first few weeks of a new year. Leadership teams return with clarity, and there’s a collective willingness to execute fresh plans that have been implemented. It’s a rare moment where ambition is high and resistance to change is low. This is precisely why support hiring in Q1 is so powerful.

A great EA or Chief of Staff doesn’t just “support” an executive; they multiply their output. Drop them into a business early enough, and they become an integral part of the dynamic: creating systems, building rhythm, streamlining communication, and eliminating bottlenecks before they harden.

By spring, that impact is visible in the pace of projects, the quality of decision-making, and the leader’s overall headspace. Hiring early in the year is crucial to this outcome.

Why Top Talent Moves in January

While leaders are resetting, so are high-calibre support professionals. After the holidays, many assess their career trajectory with surprising honesty: Am I being stretched? Am I learning? Am I still aligned with the organisation I’m supporting?

The result is a quiet surge of exceptional people entering the market; motivated, reflective, and ready to move quickly if the right role presents itself. The competition for them intensifies fast. By March, the best have already been hired. The early movers win because they’re meeting candidates at the moment ambition is highest and decision-making is more acute.

The Case for Retained Search at the Start of the Year

Support roles, especially senior ones, don’t behave like typical recruitment briefs. The margin for error is smaller. Chemistry, judgement, organisational influence and emotional intelligence are as key to the hire as experience.

A retained approach for these critical roles allows us to:

  • Map the market deeply rather than skim the surface
  • Approach discreet, passive candidates who aren’t applying to anything
  • Invest the time needed to identify the person who will unlock a leader’s best year
  • Control a carefully curated PR message to the market about your organisation

Across our retained mandates, we’re seeing a shift in what clients value most. It’s no longer simply about efficiency. It’s about adaptability, emotional intelligence, and operational influence.

The modern EA or Chief of Staff is expected to be a stabiliser during change, a translator between leadership vision and operational reality, a navigator of hybrid complexity, and, in many cases, the person who quietly engineers organisational calm. These are the hires that change the texture of a leadership team, which is exactly why timing matters so much.

Summary

When we look back at the clients who outperform their goals, there’s a common denominator: they secured exceptional support talent before the rest of the market had signed off on a job description.

Clearly, there will be further hiring as the year progresses, but when hiring at the beginning of the year there is a synergy, an alignment of momentum and aspiration, between organisations and potential employees that gives a company the opportunity to maximise this intersection to scale, innovate and lead with clarity.

If you’d like to discuss how we can help you shape your hiring strategy in 2026, or secure the senior support hire that will define your year, please get in touch.