search-consult Issue 25

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2005 / ISSUE 25

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The International Executive Search Magazine

Assessment: Hitting the Right Target

IIC Partners: Planning the Next Steps

Power Shift: Are Candidates Taking the Helm?

Interview with the HR Manager of Coca-Cola CEE

COMING UP IN FUTURE ISSUES:

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Planning the Next Steps

By Jason Starr in Bangkok

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ooking past the crowded reception on the manicured lawn of the Bangkok Peninsula Hotel, toward the lights of the huge city, IIC Partners Chairman Urs Wüthrich says simply, “Size is not enough.”

As the leader of one of the top 10 executive search organizations in the world, Wüthrich should know.

IIC Partners now lists 59 offices in 35 countries, covering the business capitals of five continents. More importantly, in his view, revenues will surpass $100 million for the first time in 2006, and likely by a fairly wide margin.

But as 80-plus IIC partners and consultants meet at their 2005 annual general meeting in Bangkok, and prepare to celebrate their 20th anniversary next year in Rio de Janeiro, Wüthrich is pressing his board of directors and general membership to develop plans for what he calls ‘Next Steps’.

“We’ve outgrown the need to place more dots on the map,” Wüthrich says.

“We have very strong coverage in Europe, Asia/Pacific and the Americas.

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We will continue to add locations, s e l e c t i v e l y a n d s t r a t e g i c a l l y, and we always welcome expressions of interest from potential new members. But geographic growth is no longer a primary focus for IIC Partners.”

“We have the size and the intellectual capital

to compete for very senior search assignments against the biggest integrated search firms and the best of the boutiques.

We frequently do that very successfully - but not frequently enough in my view,” he says. within IIC

“The reason is simply that, by their very nature, integrated search firms are able to focus their marketing efforts on a few key cities and sectors — and they have a single brand.”

THE ADVANTAGES OF BEING LOCAL IIC’s network of homegrown search firms, meanwhile, offers the advantages of local knowledge and long-established access to business leaders in every country where they operate. Eight practice groups lead strategic marketing initiatives, providing technical skill sets and industry experience equal to the best of the competition, in his estimation.

Increasingly, he says, IIC has the critical mass necessary to raise the profile of the shared brand. “We won’t be signing up David Beckham or Tiger Woods for TV ads,” he smiles. “Frankly, it wouldn’t be the right approach, even if we could afford it.”

Instead, he says, IIC convened a special two-day session in Bangkok to involve all AGM delegates in crafting ‘Next Steps’ for the organization. To facilitate this effort, the Zürich-based

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Chairman recruited Dr. Jan Kubes, professor of strategic planning at the world-renowned IMD (Institute of Management Development) in Lausanne.

“IMD is recognized as one of the world’s top business schools and Dr. Kubes is one of the IMD stars, so you can see we’re very serious about how we proceed,” Wüthrich says. “This is very practical stuff. As Jan told us, corporate visions are just hallucinations unless they lead very quickly to action.”

Wüthrich explains: “As a group of independently owned search firms, we’re not much interested in mass delusions.

Out of these sessions,

our members have given us ideas for a range of concrete initiatives in eight areas. Now our board is working through the process of assigning priorities, budgets and professional talent to these tasks.

He won’t discuss specifics of the new projects, but it’s a safe bet they will support his constant theme that IIC is “the network that works.”

He says industry literature indicates there are as many as 45 executive search networks claiming to provide regional or global services, with varying degrees of credibility.

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“Some of these groups are little more than telephone referral services, whose members wouldn’t know each other if they met on the street,” Wüthrich says. “They share very little more than the hope for additional business, based on claims of geographic coverage.”

BUILDING EFFECTIVE GLOBAL REACH Wüthrich describes how one of their “biggest jobs is to elevate the network concept in the minds of potential clients, or at least to differentiate our organization from the image they may have of a network.”

“We’ve invested a great deal of money and 20 years’ time and effort to build an effective and professional search organization with genuinely global reach. But that’s not a message you can squeeze into every client conversation, so we spend as much time as we can, talking with the trade media about these issues.”

He says IIC has grown very deliberately, applying a system of due diligence to ever y new member application, auditing the accounts of the prospective new partner, as well as verifying experience levels and checking references.

“We spend a lot of time identifying potential new members and a good deal more on the final selection of the firm who can be the strongest contributors in a particular market,” he says. Every member firm is required to attend at least two meetings per year and to support strategies for promoting IIC Partners regionally and globally.

Members are expected to employ quality processes and best practices in all their work and, most especially, in shared transborder assignments passed between one IIC firm and another.

Later, with a laptop computer, Wüthrich shows off the secure, internal IICNet (“ice-net”) system. The home page resembles a newspaper front page, displaying the latest news on IIC and member activities - and Wüthrich

Martine Bournerias* and Urs Wüthrich

says new items are posted on a nearly daily basis.

“We employ a communications consultant to keep our websites current and meaningful and I call IICNet our virtual home, because it keeps us all informed and connected, wherever we are in the world,” Wüthrich says. The borders of the IICNet homepage contain links to member directories, business agendas, practice group bulletin boards and downloadable c l i e n t b r o c h u r e s , Po w e r Po i n t presentations, IIC logo files and information on something called a ‘clone’ website.”

Wüthrich elaborates: “We have an IT consultant who spends part of his time creating and updating websites for members. We call the member sites ‘clones’ because they’re based on the IIC model, so that our entire Internet presence is more unified and professional. Clones can be created very quickly and cost-effectively, so there’s a significant value-added impact for members.”

Wüthrich says communication is central to IIC but peripheral to the client.

COMMUNICATION IS KEY “Communication gives us a strong central identity — but what the client wants is performance on the search ISSUE 25 2005 search-consult

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assignment. The heart of our professional capabilities is our system of eight practice groups: Auto, Board Search, Consumer and Retail, Energy, Financial Services, Industrials, Life Sciences and Technology,” Wüthrich states.

Two of them are new this year, but not really. IIC has created a new Consumer & Retail group, but it was formerly active as a subgroup within the Industrials practice. The core team just felt that Luxuries and Fast Moving Consumer Goods needed an identity separate from Mining and Transportation sectors.

Wüthrich also describes how IIC has a new Non-Executive Board Search group.

“It’s based on senior consultants who have extensive experience in board search in their own markets.

Increasingly, international companies need directors with international experience and so we’ve brought together a group with the experience and global reach to serve those clients.”

While he’s confident all this separates IIC sufficiently from most other networks, Wüthrich insists that his organization also holds certain advantages over the larger, integrated firms.

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“We’re hearing from our contacts in the HR community that there’s a level of impatience with the status quo in the search industry and that’s reflected in some of the larger client companies creating internal search groups. They feel search firms have become too big, bureaucratic and expensive and that they’re not very responsive to specific client needs.”

Wüthrich explains how “we’re actually glad to hear that from companies because we say they ’re using the wrong search firm. In fact, this is the area where a strong network of independents can be more responsive and innovative. We can provide customized boutique services — but we also have access to a depth of expertise in our practice groups and to established and effective global connections.”

Despite the shif t away from geographic expansion to a strategic focus on increasing market power, IIC continues to add new locations. At the Bangkok meeting, four new offices were admitted to membership.

“We’ve added three new offices in Mumbai, Bangalore and New Delhi to our previous position in India; and put Boston on the IIC map as well.”

Wüthrich notes all four new locations are partners in the New York-based Gilbert Tweed organization, which was already an IIC member.

“Boston is very strong in Financial Services, and a strategic addition to our capacities in New York, London and other financial centres,” Wüthrich says. “And, of course, more offices in India are a tremendous asset, both immediately and for the future.”

Wüthrich notes that IIC now has four offices in India, five in Greater China and a total of 14 in the Asia/Pacific region.

“It’s more than obvious that Asian economies are claiming an important position in global trade, and we have excellent exposure throughout this region,” he says.

“It’s also true that the management talent pool in Asia is expanding rapidly.

More and more Asian business students are going abroad to acquire the language skills they need to become truly international managers and this is happening just as a huge cadre of baby boomers in Europe and the Americas are approaching retirement.

How that dynamic will play out is not entirely clear but we are now well positioned to play an important role.”

Wüthrich describes how several other prospective new members are being developed in Europe, the Americas and Asia/Pacific.

“We would be the first to admit that our organizational model has its challenges,” the IIC Chairman remarks. “But we like the advantages it confers and we think those are becoming more and more obvious to the market. Over the coming months we’ll be doing more to continue to communicate those ideas.” * Martine Bournerias is the Paris-based European Vice-Chair of IIC Partners.

IIC Partners was formed in Europe during the mid-1980s, anticipating the needs of internationally competitive companies to access a world-class executive talent pool serving the emerging global economy.

Today IIC Partners celebrates its 20th anniversary as this leading network's main objective has endured, continuing to work with clients worldwide. In fact, IIC Partners is currently placed among the top 10 global search firms by revenue and locations, with more than 59 offices worldwide, providing instant access to 35 countries.

www.search-consult.com For more information, contact: Web: www.iicpartners.com

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The Art & Science

By Dora Vell xecutive tenures aren’t what they used to be. With decadelong executive stewardships a thing of the past, today some terms are shorter than a NFL season. A sign of the times, boards of directors no longer seem shocked by early exits; for some it’s almost de rigueur.

While coping successfully with CEO churn is critical to a company’s health and well-being – imagine a ship without a captain - it’s still an area that many companies neglect. Overlooking it is easy. There’s always a more pressing matter and CEOs typically avoid the topic. Correcting the damage caused when a CEO leaves and there’s no clear replacement, on the other hand, is much more difficult. From lack of strategic direction to poor operational follow-up, the consequences can be dramatic and lasting. Indeed, some corporations never recover.

By planning ahead, companies don’t just ensure continuity in leadership; preserve intellectual property; and create a seamless transition; they manage their own destiny and – importantly, when you consider the millions of dollars most corporations

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today have at stake - avoid falling victim to circumstance.

Equal parts art and science, succession planning and management have always been one of the best investments a company can make. In the current environment, that’s even truer than ever.

NINE INSIGHTS TO MANAGE AND PLAN CEO SUCCESSION: 1. Make it a board-owned and driven process Boards – independent with diverse skills and experience - are best equipped to choose new C-level executives and so their leadership is essential. CEOs, search firms and assessment consultants are vital process participants but responsibility mustn’t be abdicated to them. And, in the majority of cases, CEOs must not be “king-makers”.

2. Let strategy drive succession planning Corporate strategy should dictate the requisite core competencies for the position being filled. The board must determine what’s required as the

company moves ahead and how does it relate to the open position? Is the company expanding globally? Then global experience is likely important.

An executive who fits the company’s long-range strategic plan is essential.

3. Develop a talent rich company Seeding the management team with the right high potential talent is fundamental to C-level succession planning. Developing a depth and breadth of top performers ensures enough executive potential to fill top posts as natural attrition takes place.

Removing low performers and attracting, developing and retaining top talent are key elements to this process.

4. Identify and groom potential CEO candidates within the company Determining who has C -level potential is a critical step that benefits from outside input.

External benchmarking complements and confirms senior management’s views, objectively assesses executive performance, evaluates the company’s talent vis-à-vis the marketplaces, and ensures cronyism doesn’t develop.

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Once identified, executive bench strength must be cultivated through challenging assignments, coaching and exposure to different business facets.

Many candidates should be developed, not just a handful. When executives exit, the board needs to have a choice.

5. Avoid overt horse races An overt horse race is damaging to a company ’s health, causing good people to leave and depleting valuable bench strength. Absolute discretion – which means that internal candidates names must be kept confidential - is key, ensuring runners-up aren’t publicly embarrassed when they don’t get the top job.

Runners-up are at risk of leaving due to bruised egos. Avoid losing them by thanking them for their contribution and recognizing their importance through “perks” like additional stock options and choice assignments.

Bottom line, make sure they feel attended to and valued.

6. Make it an ongoing process Don’t create a plan and put it on a shelf. Companies evolve over time and with these changes new objectives and strategies develop. As a result, leadership requirements must be modified accordingly and senior managers’ performance and potential must be reassessed. As the company and its leaders evolve, so must the plan.

7. Consider the emergency scenario A key shortcoming of many succession plans is their failure to deal with emergency situations.

Corporate icon and publicly traded Disney, when President Frank Wells died in a helicopter crash and CEO Michael Eisner had to undergo emergency heart surgery, suddenly was without its top two executives.

Literally, overnight the company ’s bottom line and global expansion initiatives were in question. Crises are

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always unexpected. When one strikes, having an established plan to seamlessly fill the vacant post with a skilled and experienced executive is imperative.

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cultivate acceptance by solidly backing the executive. Boards can provide extra support to outsiders by: • Helping to diagnose the cultural and organizational environment • Outlining the key issues • Detailing expectations and • Drawing a clear picture of the landscape.

Dora Vell

8. Follow “right hire” principles When selecting a new executive, “right hire” principles must be followed.

Perform a thorough review and assessment of each candidate’s skills and competencies; consider insider versus outsider advantages; check references diligently even of internal candidates; dedicate the time necessary to complete the task; and pay what is necessary to attract the right candidate to the position.

Choosing an outsider doesn’t mean your succession planning has failed.

Sometimes an executive psychologically removed from the situation is required in order to provide a major shift.

9 . Pr o v i d e s u p p o r t t o t h e n e w executive Whether an insider or outsider is chosen, providing support through "The First 100 Days" is essential.

Solidify the organization underneath the executive by ensuring star employees do not leave; openly show support for the new leader; and

BE PREPARED AND “HIRE RIGHT” Fr o m m a k i n g i t a b o a r d responsibility to developing bench strength and ending with providing support to the chosen candidate, the process has its challenges but is clearly worth the time, commitment and focus. As the old saying goes ‘failing to plan is planning to fail’ so be prepared and when the inevitable happens, “hiring right” will be a rewarding process.

Dora Vell is Managing Partner of Vell & Associates Inc., a Waltham, MA-based global corporate and technology executive search firm specializing in C-level and Board searches for Fortune 200s, funded start-ups, private equity and venture capital firms. Prior to her career in executive search, Ms. Vell had an equally successful career in technology, authoring seven worldwide software patents during her tenure at IBM. She has two Computer Science degrees (including a Masters) and an MBA. She has been a featured speaker at industr y conferences and CEO roundtables and contributes to technology, business and human capital media from around the globe. She can be reached at: dora.vell@vellassociates.com

www.search-consult.com For more information, contact: Web: www.vellconnection.com

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Central Eastern Europe:

An Evolving Marketplace

By Mark Hamill

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s one of the fastest growing e m e rg i n g m a r k e t s i n t h e w o r l d ’ s e c o n o m y, C e n t r a l Eastern Europe (CEE) is a key target area for many international companies. The majority of countries in this region have impressively pulled themselves out of undemocratic regimes and a proportion of them are now members of the European Union, with more to follow in their footsteps.

All this has occurred in just fifteen years.

As multinational companies such as Coca-Cola, Colgate, Unilever, GlaxoSmithKline, Procter & Gamble and Pepsi set up regional HQ in the CEE it is imperative for a search provider to be able to not only specialise in a local market search but also have the ability to search in neighbouring markets to be able to effectively identify top talent.

For example: when undertaking a project to find a senior marketing manager for the Polish market, the search firm must have the ability to source high value Polish candidates currently working in other CEE cities

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s u c h a s Pr a g u e , B u d a p e s t a n d Moscow. This is achieved through a strong company network and having local consultants and researchers in each key city throughout this region.

SEARCHING FOR TALENT Moreover, there is now a growing number of CEE nationals working in pan-European positions throughout Western Europe or even further, such as Japan, Korea, Australia, and the US. A search partner must therefore have the research and tracking ability to effectively identify these candidates for searches based back in their home markets.

Within this context, it is ver y important for companies to realise that these CEE nationals returning home bring back to their home economies vital international experience, coupled with language skills and an understanding of other cultures which are vital in today’s global and dynamic business world. While not all CEE nationals abroad wish to return to their home market, many do, and

while not all would be suitable for local roles, many are.

It is imperative for a search firm to have the ability not only to intimately understand the client's needs, but also its own internal ability to effectively identify high value candidates not always located in the obvious places as well as managing this highly valued talent pool over time.

At the same time, companies since 2002, especially in the FMCG sector, are focusing on developing local talent. They is an ever increasing number of high-value CEE nationals who are reaching their peak in their local emerging markets, and they are now looking for - and obtaining opportunities to work in mature markets. Firms like Reckitt Benckiser, Unilever and Danone have been extremely active in taking high calibre C z e c h s , S l o v a k s , Po l e s a n d Hungarians into developed markets such as France, UK and Holland.

Although this movement is more common in commercial roles, such as marketing and sales, we are now beginning to see this extending to

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other industries, such as HR, Pr o d u c t i o n , S u p p l y C h a i n a n d Finance.

We have noticed that candidates who achieve a high level of local experience may be missing out on other areas of development since working in a European marketing HQ is a very different level of exposure than working in an executive role in a local market. Working abroad helps candidates acquire a deeper level of strategic understanding and better conceptual skills. It allows them to gain valuable personal experience in learning how to work more effectively in a larger market as well as how to be able to adapt to working in a different market with new challenges such as a new language, culture and so forth.

CLIENTS’ EXPECTATIONS As the candidates change, so do the clients. In the mid to late 90s, the trend was to fill seats in IT, FMCG, Retail and Banking sectors for mostly Project Managers, Category Managers and Key Account Managers.

At that stage if you had a decent profile, there were opportunities for you. Companies grew to unsustainable sizes and many had to cut back when the results simply were not there. Unilever, for example, cut back from 15 Key Account Managers to 5 in one Key Account Cycle in one of the key regional marketplaces.

Roles in finance (CFO/Finance Directors) in addition to Sales Directors are of recent importance throughout the region. There is also a new focus in Supply Chain, particularly in FMCG markets such as Poland and Russia. Trade Marketing and Category Managers are other areas where companies can gain a competitive advantage in the marketplace.

Now there is a much more cautious approach to hiring, more thought goes into what really is needed as role profiles tend to be better produced and more complete. It has become

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employer market where it is relatively easy to approach and to convince candidates whereas in Russia it is an employee market where it is extremely difficult to motivate the candidate where there is a lack of corporate culture and a lack of loyalty.”

Mark Hamill

more popular to use assessment centres and psychometric testing as part of the recruitment procedures.

This approach is obviously more scientific, but the main concern is how HR Managers are paying less attention to instinct and gut feelings, preferring the hire to be based on figures and results. And quite simply, once a candidate has been through one of these tests it becomes relatively easy to know what you are being asked for when it comes to future testing. How many executives would ace an psychometric test due to true knowledge and skill versus having the appropriate knowledge and skill to play the system?

Difficulties also arise in mid-level searches where there is a larger pool of average candidates, thereby taking more time to cover a market for a good calibre Key Account Manager or Trade Marketing Manager than for a Marketing Director or Country Manager. A search partner should take the time and effort in the beginning of the process to manage their expectations versus what exists in the market.

Zbigniew Plaza, Country Manager for Russia and Poland explains: “We also have to look at the vast differences in each of our countries.

For example, in Poland it is an

CHANGES IN THE MARKET The search market itself has changed considerably since the 90’s, when it was dominated by the major players, amongst other European branded search and selection firms.

The CEE was seen as easy markets for these firms, and few really had the quality approach and local knowledge that is required.

Since then many search firms have come and gone, but there are now a handful of quality search partners with the vital deep local and regional knowledge.

Currently the more stable markets in the region are Czech Republic and Hungary, with Poland not far behind.

New markets for us include Romania and Ukraine, as they develop closer links to the EU and we find ourselves doing more work in both of those countries.

I believe the market will change even further in the coming years, with a return to solid business, companies driven by character and drive and a unique approach to developing each market. Making it work for the future very much depends on the people; having seen some wonderful ideas and companies fail due to deficiences in the management teams, both in Western and Central Europe. I firmly believe that positive motivation, energy, drive and ambition are the cornerstones for any company to succeed, particulary in this continiously emerging region.

Ac c o r d i n g t o B l a k e W i t t m a n , Country Manager, Czech Republic and Slovakia: “Performing a search in CEE today is a more daunting task than even just five years ago. Gone are the days of asking three or four ISSUE 25 2005 search-consult

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contacts for a great Finance Director or outstanding Marketing Manager.

This was the more common way of finding people because there simply weren't too many people with the ideal profiles. Approaching 17 years after the iron curtain fell CEE nationals now challenge Western European nationals for experience in international companies and are increasingly scrupulous about choosing a business school. And thus searching is now certainly a wider, more extensive and more in-depth task than years before as the markets compete and s o m e t i m e s b e a t , t h e i r We s t e r n counterparts.”

Peter Szabo, Country Manager Hungary states: “I believe the two most important factors for clients when looking at a search partner in CEE are reliability and contact base.

I am not thinking about a database of candidates or clients but rather a network in a given sector who share with us relevant information about the sector, the market, the candidates in the market, processes and connections between organisations, suppliers and partners as well as helping us determine the level of the selected or targeted individuals. Vital to this building of a network are: personal attributes of the consultant, relationship with the consultant and the service level of the team.”

Brian Rovetta, Practice Group Leader IT/Telco who is based in Moscow and has been a search consultant for the CEE markets for 9 years, believes that today’s consultant needs to be “much more professional than was previously accepted, with a greater depth of experience and understanding within the markets they operate in. Previously, in the late 90’s, anyone who could sell was seen as being a potential consultant, regardless of their background. The search consultant of today must not only be able to sell but needs to combine this skill with an in-depth understanding of their particular markets (geographical and business

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sector) and a proactive consultative approach to the process.”

As someone who has been living in the CEE since 1997 and working in executive search since 1999, I have seen many changes in the environment, the people and the opportunities. If we take for example the local talent in the region; the initial wave of high value nationals has come and gone - many CEE nationals who joined the likes of Procter, Unilever and Coke in the early 90’s developed careers at an unpreceedented rate compared to developed markets.

Many climbed the heights of senior level management in four to six years.

Companies gave these high value locals opportunties, and many still value the “mentor” approach taken by certain expat managers they worked with. Other companies allowed locals only to achieve certain levels within companies and repeated cycles of expats for many years, much to the frustration of the bubbling pool of local talent below. Certain expats viewed opportunites in CEE markets as merely stepping stones for their careers and did not attempt to develop those below them as they could have.

More recently however, particularly over the past three years, it is possible to perceive a more realistic view of what can be acheived in these markets. The pot at the end of the rainbow scenario no longer exists and companies know that they will only succeed in these markets through the right management (which can be purely local, or a mixture of an expat and a local), the right strategy and solid decision-making. More and more HR people see the value in promoting high value nationals to opportunities in developed makets, upgrading skill levels locally and investing in the future of local management. What we recently do see is those who are now in senior level local positions have a much more levelled approach to doing business, and are more focused having seen both good and hard times.

When one considers what was happening in Western Europe just 15 years ago and then looks at the former Eastern Europe and how it functions today - it is without a doubt an impressive metamorphosis. With the right global network and a dedicated team of local and international consultants who understand the changes this region has undergone and continues to undergo, there will be, for the foreseeable future, a strong market for executive search, providing the search firm provides the right partnership and transparency to the client.

Mark Hamill, Regional Director CEE for SpenglerFox, has conducted executive search for seven years and has completed over 230 searches. He has placed mid to senior level executives across all sectors in the CEE and Russian markets with a special focus on FMCG, Retail and Pharma/Healthcare.

Mark began his career in search in 1999, working at Antal International. He then joined Pedersen & Partners in CEE. He joined the SpenglerFox Group in 2003.

Prior to executive search, Mark worked as an International Brand Manager for Heineken in Dublin and Prague.

Of Irish origin, Mark speaks Czech, Spanish and French in addition to his native English.

He can be contacted mhamill@spenglerfox.com

at:

Defying all conventional practices, since launching its brand in 2003, SpenglerFox has opened twelve offices across Europe and the Middle East, proving to its clients and investors, its network’s dedication to being a leading partner in executive search.

SpenglerFox is the Executive Search wing of Grafton Recruitment, the wholly owned Irish group established 25 years ago. SpenglerFox, established just two years ago now has twelve offices and a client list that defies conventional expectations.

www.search-consult.com For more information, contact: Web: www.spenglerfox.com

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Coca-Cola: Selection is Key to Remain Successful

By Pilar Gumucio n an era that is increasingly international and interconnected, success depends on innovation and in-depth knowledge of the different markets where a company operates. As globalisation intensifies, more and more multinational firms are opening offices in emerging markets as they look to expand and claim a stake in these new frontiers.

The Coca-Cola Company is fully aware of this as it affirms that its success is based on being innovative in marketing, with its brands and consumer relationships that reflect the unique character of the markets where they are established.

In fact, this company has been in operation for more than a century and is currently the world's leading manufacturer, marketer, and distributor of non-alcoholic beverage concentrates and syrups, used to produce nearly 400 beverage brands, with local operations in over 200 countries around the world.

Aniko Szabadfalvi, HR Manager of Central Eastern Europe (CEE) for Coca-Cola, talks to search-consult to discuss how this company must be extra careful to make sure that the talent they select incorporates the company’s core values, matches the cultural fit and can effectively contribute to the company’s present and future growth. Finding the right search provider, in turn, is fundamental to be able to continue selecting outstanding talent that will help them keep their competitive edge.

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DEVELOPING TALENT As HR Manager, it is essential that she make sure that Coca-Cola can continue to attract the right talent. Most importantly, the

brand name is still very attractive.

Then as a leading global company, explains Ms. Szabadfalvi, there is a variable workload offering interesting challenges and opportunities as these talented individuals can make local decisions with strategic and global implications. In fact, Coca-Cola strongly believes local execution has, and will continue to benefit this company’s longterm success.

She describes how people today want a job where they can enjoy what they are doing.

Therefore, Coca-Cola aims to offer them an enjoyable work environment while at the same time providing them opportunities to continue to develop so that these talented individuals can feel that they are gaining valuable experience and knowledge.

“Good opportunities, good development plans and good compensation” are vital to attract and then retain these highly valued employees.

Within this context, the recruitment process is instrumental. Ms. Szabadfalvi states: “We may spend more time focusing on the selection process because it is important that we get the match right the first time since we don’t have the luxury to get it wrong.”

She then explains how her and her team are very meticulous. They must not only think about the immediate position that must be filled, but must broaden the reach so that the selection process encompasses the right fit for the future as well.

“We make sure we select very carefully, not just in the short term but looking longer term and at a bigger scope,” declares Ms. Szabadfalvi.

LOOKING AT A BIGGER SCOPE As HR Manager, Ms. Szabadfalvi notes that she must be able to identify and select talent that has the potential to be developed even further. For very senior roles the search may be global, but usually is regional, which means searching within 7 countries to find this sought-after talent.

For her, the profile will include people that can possibly be moved within Central Eastern Europe, but also beyond.

She must assess if the person can perform the job at hand effectively, but can also be efficient if moved to a different country or given more regional responsibilities.

Therefore, evaluating the mobility of the candidate is essential.

Moreover, “we need to assess if the person is flexible, cooperative and open to changes.”

According to Ms. Szabadfalvi, it is vital that the candidate embody the values of the company, such as excellence, honesty, integrity and responsibility. He or she also has to respect the unique customs and cultures in the communities where CocaCola operates.

SELECTING THE RIGHT SEARCH FIRM As Ms. Szabadfalvi strives to find the right match, it is equally important that she strives to find the right search provider.

She explains that there are various options to choose from. On one hand, there are the local boutiques that offer a reliable and personalised service. On the other hand, there are the big international search firms that offer industry expertise with global connections.

Ms. Szabadfalvi prefers to use both types, depending on the requirements of the search

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assignment. “Although I might have a list of providers that I prefer to use, they may not cover a particular area that I am looking for.

For instance, they may be great in filling a marketing position, but if we need to fill a technical position then I would select a company that has more expertise in this particular area.”

There are those search firms that meet her expectations, and therefore she will repeatedly use them. At the same time, she is eager to keep her options open, reviewing her existing list of providers as well as meeting new ones that will be able to demonstrate that they can provide quality service.

CONFIDENCE AND EXPERTISE In the end, what counts is the quality service the search firm can provide. This, coupled with who is running the business, is fundamental.

Ms. Szabadfalvi declares: “It is really personal! They must be able to demonstrate that they know what they are doing, they know the market, they know the industry, they have the necessary experience in executive search and what type of experience they have so I have the sufficient confidence in these consultants” to be effective in carrying out their searches.

She highlights industry expertise as paramount. “Does the search consultant really know the particular industry CocaCola is operating in? How much does he or she really know about the talents working in it? How familiar is he or she with our company?”

Another element that Ms. Szabadfalvi considers to be important, especially since she is covering 7 countries, is finding a quality search firm that operates throughout Central Eastern Europe. This can be beneficial, as she does not have to take the time to reexplain Coca-Cola's expectations but can simply contact this firm’s consultant and initiate a search.

She explains: “The search firm already knows your culture, your challenges, the difficulties you are facing, what you are planning and what opportunities are arising as the overall strategy is the same throughout this region. They already know Coca-Cola and what we are looking for.”

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Ms. Szabadfalvi admits that there are differences in each country, but the search firm is also already aware of them. This is favourable for both parties, as they can immediately begin managing the intended search.

PERMANENT COMMUNICATION The HR Manager of Central Eastern Europe for Coca-Cola strongly believes that search firms have a fundamental role in updating her and her company on what is happening in the industry and market.

She states: “ I have regular conversations with the search firms I am working with on what is happening in these countries and what is happening when it comes to marketing because they are acting as my consultants.”

According to Ms. Szabadfalvi, it is vital that the search provider always puts the client first. She describes how the firm really needs to know and thoroughly understand Coca-Cola. Sometimes this is difficult because “consultants might like one candidate over another, but the best service they can provide is defining what the best is for Coca-Cola.”

As HR Manager of Central Eastern Europe for the company, she strongly believes that the success in finding and selecting the right candidate is a joint effort. Within this context, it is important that she and her team be closely involved in the whole search and selection process.

Ms. Szabadfalvi states: “We are extremely careful in spending a lot of time in the selection process. We have to be sure we obtain the right match since we know better than the search firm what our cultural fit is.

They may have some idea from working with us, but ultimately, it is more our responsibility to select the right candidate.”

To help with the selection process, Ms. Szabadfalvi considers that an assessment tool can really add value to the process, and especially helps support the decision taken when hiring the selected candidate.

She notes: “I have seen many times where the candidates have been brilliant but the company culture was not appropriate for them to perform well in. If we ask the search firm to carry out an assessment for us these

issues can be identified before we make the final decision.”

One of the advantages of having the search firm perform this task is that “they are already familiar with the profile, the position required and well, the entire process.”

What is essential is that Ms. Szabadfalvi makes sure that the selected search provider and her firm are in constant communication.

There is continuous contact throughout the entire process. “We are discussing what companies are included in the search as well as where they are searching,” she comments.

“There must be total honesty between us,” Ms. Szabadfalvi declares.

She must be able to give the consultant her honest feedback if it was a right fit or not, and why she believes this to be the case. In turn, Ms. Szabadfalvi expects the consultant to be completely honest with the progress of the search, and especially if there are difficulties arising so that she has the opportunity to redefine the original profile.

“During these discussions I try to make sure I know exactly what is occurring so I can see the effort the search firm is doing and I feel confident that they have done everything required to find the right person,” states Ms. Szabadfalvi.

If this is carried out effectively, both the client and the search provider will have achieved their aim of finding the right match.

Ms. Szabadfalvi has over 14 years senior management experience in human resource function at different multinational companies.

Currently, she is HR Manager at the CocaCola Company, taking responsibility for Hungary, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Poland and the Baltics.

Previously, Ms. Szabadfalvi worked for HBO as HR Manager for Central and Eastern Europe from 2001-2003. Before that appointment she was HR Manager of Ericsson Hungary Ltd. from 1998-2001. Prior to that role, Ms. Szabadfalvi was Chief Officer for Sales and Administration at the HR department of Coca-Cola from 1994-1998 (Coca Cola’s Hungarian bottler). Before that, she was a Training Manager of Pizza Hut Hungary from 1991-1994.

Ms. Szabadfalvi graduated at the Janus Pannonius University of Science in 1997. She completed her MBA studies at the Budapest Technical and Economic University in 2004.

www.search-consult.com For more information, contact: Web: www.coca-cola.com

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Making

IMD:

a Global Imprint

by Pilar Gumucio MD International Search & Consulting has been around for over 30 years now, as its formula for success has been based on its ability to work with its partners and clients to help find and develop top talent on a global scale.

Sherilyn Shackell, Board Director of IMD and CEO of Highfield Human Solutions in the UK, explains how the last few years have marked enormous changes, especially from a client requirement perspective.

“Although there has always been a need for a global supply, there is now more of a need to pull talent from countries outside of the clients own domestic market and to find those people with international experience that maybe working as expats at the moment,” she states.

This is a real challenge because clients are no longer requesting that a search for a top-level executive be based in, and for, one country. The scope of the search must be broadened to include multi-country searches.

As globalisation intensifies, clients are also requesting that the candidate pools be broadened. Shackell explains how clients now look at the skill sets and culture fit of candidates rather than just the practical experience.

As a result, the search process is evolving.

She elaborates: “A search used to be very classically directed within the client’s own industry sector and within the core role function. For instance, a search for a SVP in Marketing would be focussed in the marketing function, in the direct competition, and within the country that the position is to be based. Today, in order to find exceptional talent, the process needs to be much broader.

You now need to look in additional countries for that talent, in other additional functions

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and you need to look outside your client’s competition base.”

“If you were conducting a search for a Managing Director in the UK,” Shackell adds, “it is possible that the best candidate might currently be a SVP for a telecom company based in Prague, but is a British expat. It is vital that we widen our scope to be able to find the right candidate.”

As a result, IMD is adapting its processes to ensure it continues to add value to their clients, providing them with unparalleled levels of service for all of their global resourcing needs.

She insists: “As suppliers we need to be able to adapt very quickly, to think outside the box, to be more innovative and to be more flexible as we partner with our clients.”

“IMD provides this level of service because we are all owner-managed businesses that stand, or fall, on the relationships we have with our clients, as well as our partners within the organisation,” says Shackell.

AIMING TO BE A WORLD LEADER IMD, which is a global affiliation of first class executive search firms that are leaders in their domestic markets, combines the boutique flavour with global accessibility.

This formula has definitely proven effective, as IMD’s total revenues have grown by over 30% during the last twelve months.

At its latest worldwide conference held in Zürich, IMD announced its expansion into five countries. New partners included INX Executive Search in India, Bubenik & Partners in Czech Republic, Executive Network in Poland, Epsen Fuller & Associates in the US and Corinthe Executive Search in Holland.

IMD’s expansion plans do not stop there.

They are currently conducting new partner acquisitions in Russia, Canada, South America and the Middle East. They are also looking to further their development within the US. Shackell affirms: “Our absolute strategic objective is to be within the top 10 search firms worldwide based on revenue.”

She explains that IMD currently has reached the top 10 by the number of offices, but that is not enough. They want to be within the top 10 by revenue, and they want to reach that objective by 2007.

Shackell admits that it is “quite an ambitious growth plan, but we were bang on target this year,” and she is optimistic that IMD will continue to move closer to achieving this objective.

She describes how “these growth plans are responding to what our clients are requesting from us. For instance, last year our clients needed capability in Asia and so we brought in Malaysia, China and India.

This year we are responding to our clients needs of where they need us to be in order for us to continue to support them.”

At the moment, IMD is strong in Europe and Asia, with the Americas in the process of being developed.

“We have expanded into Eastern Europe, gaining a foothold in Poland and the Czech Republic," comments Shackell. “We are building a strong capability in this area as well.”

She explains how the world is changing at different rates. “For instance, the UK market has been saturated for such a long time; we desperately need to innovate our offering if we are going to add any real value to our clients.”

According to Shackell, there are some markets, such as India and Eastern Europe,

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which have immature search markets.

Therefore, the services provided will obviously be tailored to meet those clients needs. Although methods may vary from country to country, the recruitment processes used are appropriate to the targeted market.

THE EXACT FIT IMD partners tailor their approach to fit exactly the local context, effectively providing: • Global solutions with local control, • Direct involvement with country experts, • Deep experience with pan global search, • No language/cultural barriers, • Worldwide economy of scale, and • Fast access to international candidates.

“Since we all run our own businesses,” she states, “we can make decisions very quickly and we can come up with new financial models without having to go through a massive decision-making apparatus - which benefits our clients enormously.”

In fact, Shackell describes how IMD is constantly looking at ways in which to innovate their offering and provide new additional services to clients. For instance, IMD is effectively working on growing its capabilities outside just pure search, either by providing it through their partners or forming alliances.

She explains how in order to provide more value to clients, IMD has created strong assessment capabilities for management and board audit, robust coaching capabilities and a very vigorous talent management service that offers organisational design and planning as well as management and leadership development.

Shackell remarks: “It’s all about developing talent on a global scale, and that is not just about finding new talent and bringing it in; it’s about developing the talent you already have. Clients are becoming more focused on getting the most out of the talent that they have rather than just enjoying somebody else’s, and then having to pay for that acquisition.”

She describes how the candidate market is also changing, which brings new challenges. “Fifteen years ago you would have a young executive who was willing to sweat blood for his career, go anywhere in the world and work ridiculous long hours to climb that corporate ladder.”

Shackell explains how now it is getting

harder to persuade those executives to move.

There is more of a work/life balance as the me-too-generation is changing the psychological decision-making of senior candidates as the power has switched strongly from the employer in favour of the candidate. As a result, she believes that it is vital that search consultants walk the extra mile in order to exhaust all potential talent pools and identify that absolute match between client and candidate.

Sherilyn Shackell

CLIENTS DEMAND MORE TRANSPARENCY & BETTER VALUE As the “War for Talent” intensifies, Shackell sees the search market consolidating as clients continue to expect top quality searches at real economic value. “Clients are demanding more transparency and want to know where their money is being spent.”

Within this context, she explains how it is imperative that “we find ways to deliver real economic value while utilising the fact that we are now operating in over 50 offices in 23 countries. We have very robust processes where we can offer clients much reduced costs when a search covers a number of countries or even continents, and that is perceived as real added value to our clients.”

She notes that as owner-managed businesses, they live and breath on their ability to deliver results.

She then states how IMD has “robust processes for assignment execution,

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specifically when working on multi-country searches for our clients.”

Shackell describes, for instance, how IMD provides clients with a single Accounts Director, which means that when a client has three or more ongoing searches, the key decision maker will have one contact person that will be able to provide him or her with feedback about the progress of each search at any given time.

“This does not detract from the relationship that the country will have with the local decision maker, but it does mean that real deep and statistical information is fed back to the client through one point of contact,” informs Shackell.

She explains how the relationships and the delivery will be held very strongly in country of the search in order for that country to be able to use the knowledge of the cultural environment, economic environment and so forth.

Within this context, communication plays a fundamental role. “We are always sharing information. We are conferencing calling between countries all the time, we have partner conferences worldwide twice a year, we have researcher conferences across the world, we have sector groups that will meet monthly and we have regional groups that meet regularly. This process of sharing knowledge has proven immensely beneficial to our clients.”

Shackell explains that there are performance measurements in place to ensure that all the partners are operating under the same key performance indicators.

She states: “This is way we can ensure IMD always delivers quality, speed and value for money.”

Shackell comments: “We are not a hard sales organisation, nor are we in the luxurious position of relying on the strength of a highly recognised global brand for business to drop into our laps. What we are doing is to ensure that the quality and service levels are so high that our clients will use us time and time again simply because there is no reason not to.” www.search-consult.com For more information, contact: Web: www.imd-search.com

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By David Reddin arlier this year I was invited to work with the senior management team of a major bank located in South East Asia. The HR Director stood up in front of her senior management team colleagues to introduce me. She talked about the phenomenal growth the Bank had been experiencing, and to the nods and smiles of satisfaction of the group, told them how they had hired an additional 800 staff over the past four months.

The smiles soon disappeared when, without missing a beat, she then added that they had also lost 700 of that 800 staff within three months!

This is not an uncommon story. All around the world, HR and line managers are making decisions about people – whether to promote them, hire them, relocate them overseas or into a new area of the business. But how is the decision being made?

I remember seeing one of the very early John Cleese training movies years and years ago. There was a brilliant line in it, something along the lines of “no one will ever admit to being a bad d r i v e r, a b a d l o v e r o r a b a d interviewer”. There seems to be a feeling that we can become good interviewers or good assessors of people almost by osmosis. It just doesn’t work that way!

Reddin Partners has been doing a lot of work in Australia and in Asia, working with organisations looking to recruit and retain top talent. McKinsey spoke of “the war for talent” way back in 2000. It hasn’t diminished. Business is faster, more competitive and more

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demanding than ever. Often the only thing that gives a company an edge is its people.

ASSESSING THE CANDIDATE As I worked with my banking client it became apparent that their senior managers and their managers in turn, were falling into the age-old trap of not truly assessing the candidates they were meeting. All the evidence was there: “I know within 15 minutes if it’s the right candidate”, “I have a strong gut feel for whether or not a person will fit”, “there was just something I didn’t like about that candidate …” – we’ve heard it all before.

Research has shown that anything up to 10% of all the people in an organisation should never have been hired in the first place. Up to 45% of an organisation’s population have been “easy way out” hires – that is they’ve got the skills to do a particular job at a particular point of time, but they don’t have that extra “oomph” required to develop within the company and add value over a period of time. Only some 25% of new hires are true “high potential” in the sense that they have that hidden ingredient that will ensure their success in an organisation if they are developed and nurtured. The frightening thing is that only 20% of what we would call “future leaders” really have what it takes to be high achievers in whatever role they’re put into.

Most of us who recruit know that it’s important that we look at the skills that a person brings into the organisation

and we have a pretty good feel for the level of those skills that we require. A lot of recruiters also understand that an element of “cultural fit” is important; but all too often the real emphasis is placed on skills, experience and knowledge and not enough on the fit.

Let me go back to my banking client.

Sure my brief was to work with this group of senior line managers and refresh their basic interviewing skills, but my real aim was to show them how to assess candidates rather than just interview them. It is the ability to truly assess somebody’s fit that dictates the success or otherwise of the hire, promotion or transfer of that individual.

THE CULTURAL FIT Those of us who work in the executive search business have heard our clients over the years claim that their businesses are “unique”. Many of us smile knowingly when we hear this and pay lip service to the claim.

Those of us who are in the business of assessing people need to understand that organisations’ cultures are often quite unique. It’s true that there are many common factors in business and that most businesses have to tackle the same sorts of problems and challenges. However, it is the culture of an organisation, that unique set of factors that almost define the “soul” of the organisation that makes it unique.

My first challenge with my group of banking managers was to get them to accurately describe the culture of their organisation, but more particularly the factors or characteristics that a person

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needed to demonstrate in that organisation if they were to be successful. There are a number of ways to uncover this information. You can use a range or combination of detailed interviewing of a vertical slice of the organisation, 360 feedback appraisal, psychometric testing – and typically coming out the other end, you’ll identify somewhere between four and six factors that seem to be shared by those people in the organisation who are seen as the most successful.

When I took my banking clients through this exercise it sounded very simple to begin with. However, complexity arises because different people see the organisation’s culture in different ways. They have their own measures of success, and many define success by what they read in management texts or what they think people want to hear.

My line managers came up with a list that included such words as:

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for the storage of carcasses. The company also had a large polythene bag manufacturing operation and sales of that product tended to be in the form of multi-million dollar contracts negotiated in fairly plush boardroom settings. When I asked my Managing Director client to define some of the key characteristics that the successful sales and marketing person would need to show, one of his first words was “flexible”.

• Multi-tasking • Capable of working under stress • Team focused • Results oriented David Reddin

Having got this list of words out of them, I then asked the hard question – how many of them shared these characteristics? Without missing a beat, they all agreed that each and every one of them shared all those characteristics in common.

I then added a twist to the question.

I asked them to actually translate terms like “team oriented” and “results oriented” into what I call “dirty language”. By this I mean a description of the bland term, but a description in such words that it is absolutely impossible to misinterpret what the factor means. I gave them an example.

Many years ago I’d been asked to recruit a ver y senior sales and marketing person for an organisation in Melbourne.

This company manufactured hessian bags for the then Australian Army sandbag contract, but bags that were also used in abattoirs

Once again I asked a question to my banking clients. How many of them saw themselves as “flexible”? Without hesitation, all 15 admitted their flexibility. I said to them, “so, no one in this room would count themselves out of contention for this particular role based on the fact that you are all flexible?” Heads nodded.

A MORE IN-DEPTH FOCUS I then went on to put the word “flexible” into “dirty language”. I explained that flexible meant being able to cope with the blood and guts of a killing floor in an abattoir and yet being equally at home negotiating a multi-million dollar deal over an expensive lunch in a plush boardroom setting. I looked at the group – they looked at me. I asked the question again – “How many of you now see

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yourself as being flexible?” Not one hand reached to the sky.

The point I was trying to make was that we all too often describe the characteristics we are seeking in a person in the most bland manner, open to interpretation, and yet so full of value judgement that people are always going to count themselves in. If you are going to assess a person accurately you need to assess them against those fit factors that determine success, and you need to be able to express those fit factors in a way that is highly reflective of the behaviours you are looking for in the organisation, the behaviours that dictate success.

The interesting thing about my banking client is that, although everybody in the room said they were a team player, it wasn’t true. They were successful – they’d been with the Bank for a reasonable period of time, they were the leadership group and they had taken the business through a period of significant growth and image enhancement. However, analysis of those factors that appeared to be critical to success within this Bank, and I’m talking about analysis that had been undertaken right around the World, showed that the successful person within this Bank was NOT a team player, rather they were a very results oriented individual who could leverage resources and who understood that one of the resources at their disposal was a team.

You can see that once you put the term “team player ” into this dirty language you actually get a feel for the behaviours you’ll be looking for, almost the smell and feel of the person who is going to be successful in your organisation, that is they are going to fit well and blossom rather than just exist within the company culture. So the day continued. Between us we were able to define six factors that do actually predict success within this Bank’s unique culture. That was just the start. What we then had to do was work through the application of an assessment process based on an in-

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depth interview aimed at uncovering choices, patterns, trends and motivations that underpinned any candidate’s history.

If we can accept that a person’s past behaviour will predict their future behaviour,

and if we can therefo uncover the patterns and trends that make up their history to date, we should be able to predict with reasonable accuracy their fit in our organisation and their ability to grow and contribute.

ESTABLISHING RAPPORT I showed my banking clients that spending 15 minutes with a candidate was not enough. They had to establish rapport with the candidate and get them to relax to the extent that the person would begin to volunteer information. The interviewer would certainly guide the process, but by going right back into their history and starting at the beginning and working forward, they could begin to see what choices the individual had been faced with in life and why they had made those various choices, they could see what motivated them consistently over time, but could also see the patterns as they began to emerge. The interesting thing is that patterns and

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trends can only be seen if you start at the beginning and move forward – you can’t see a trend developing if you start with a person’s current role and move backwards.

And so I introduced my banking clients to a structured approach to interviewing. I introduced them to a range of questioning techniques that encouraged the candidate to talk about the choices they ’ve faced in employment, what their roles have been about, what they liked in those jobs and what they didn’t like in them.

I showed them how to get candidates to talk about their achievements (obviously making sure that they quantified them!) and also to disclose the feedback that they ’d received along the way. I showed them the importance of keeping interview notes and writing observations as they went.

I emphasised the importance of understanding how people view themselves and how that should match with their own view as the interview progressed.

At the end of the process, I spent time showing them how to use their interview notes and their recorded observations to begin to truly note the patterns and trends that had emerged.

I stressed that they needed to be able to point to at least three bits of evidence before turning a hypothesis about the candidate into a true conclusion. That was the honesty check, and it was designed to remove the “gut feel” element.

It’s true that I was asking each and every one of these senior managers to put a little bit more time into every interview they conducted. However, I’d also given them a process they could use right up front, a process to screen candidates out and make sure that they were, in fact, seeing fewer candidates for each role. In this way they were spending exactly the same time across the total recruitment process, but getting better results.

The result? Staff turnover in this particular region has declined by some

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30%. The Bank is developing a reputation for targeting top talent. Top talented individuals are also becoming aware of this as they are beginning to apply directly to them. The cost of recruitment has gone down, the succession plan is back on track as HR and line managers are sharing a common methodology and a language that they both understand. Candidates know they have been given every opportunity to sell themselves effectively, and even when rejected, can be given feedback that helps them understand the decision. This is one of the first steps in building a reputation as an organisation where people want to work.

Good assessment boils down to using a process that produces factually based conclusions about an individual and their potential to not only do the job you want done today, but to continue developing and adding value to the organisation over time. It demands a rigorous process, thorough training and practice in the use of effective interviewing skills, and a commitment to establishing rapport with a candidate and getting them to “tell their story ”. It demands good reflective listening skills and the ability to spot choices, motivations, patterns and trends.

David Reddin has been working in the executive search industry since 1980 and is the foundation partner of Reddin Partners based in Melbourne, Australia. He works extensively around Australia and throughout the Asia Pacific region, supporting clients in a range of industries in executive search, executive assessment and executive coaching.

He can be contacted at: dreddin@reddinpartners.com.au and on +61 3 9620 4822 or +61 409 258 597.

www.search-consult.com For more information, contact: Web: www.reddinpartners.com.au

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Power Shift:

Are Candidates

Taking the Helm?

By Pilar Gumucio n an increasingly demanding, competitive and dynamic market, today ’s companies are more dependent on having the best talent on their side.

MRINetwork™, which has nearly 1,100 offices in more than 35 countries and draws on 43 years of history in the search and recruitment industry, has recently conducted a global survey, reporting that because a growing number of companies are experiencing difficulties in filling senior and middle management positions candidates are now having more choices and a greater amount of leeway to dictate the terms and remuneration packages companies are offering them in order to convince them to join their team.

High turnovers and bad hires are costing businesses millions, especially when it comes to executive talent. As a result, businesses are increasingly recognising that people are a company's most valuable asset, which means they are ferociously battling to attract and retain them.

Search-consult spoke to three franchise members of the MRINetwork™ to see how the role of the candidate is evolving, especially in the last three years. Dave Campeas, President and CEO for Princeton Search Group in the US; David Roots, Managing Director of ISM B.V. in the Netherlands; and Tony Dickel, Chief Executive Officer of MRI China Kong

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provided us with their insight on this interesting debate.

ATTRACT THEM RIGHT The Managing Director of ISM B.V explains that the smaller to mid-size companies are reacting quicker and more effectively to attracting the right people, offering good packages and terms to candidates.

However, “larger companies and multinationals are still generally slow to react to the change in the market and many still act with the arrogance and complacency that people will want to join them because of their name, assumed status, market position or image,” comments David Roots.

It is this precise attitude, he insists, which is making many good candidates turn down these larger companies, favouring “smaller and more flexible firms that offer them more scope and opportunities.”

The CEO of MRI China describes how in the olden days the company dictated a candidate’s terms and package, always having the last word.

“The candidate was interviewed by the company and if there was going to be a dominant decision maker it was the company.”

“Now if a search is going to fail,” he continues, “it will because the company has messed up the candidate management process,” as the candidate has ultimately selected a

company that has a more effective candidate management process.

Tony Dickel notes that candidates are very cautious about the whole recruitment process, especially the candidate management side. A couple of years back candidates were content to “accept a process where they may be interviewed 7-8 times before any decision was made. Now we are finding that candidates are now requiring companies to make quicker decisions, and they are getting fed up with companies that can’t seem to make that decision.”

According to David Roots, one of the main reasons deals have failed is because candidates are becoming frustrated with “a company’s inability to make a quick decision, get an offer out to a candidate in a timely manner and then be able to ‘sell’ the opportunity effectively.”

To n y D i c k e l c o m m e n t s : “ T h e negative decision is more likely going to come from the candidate versus the client. The people we have to keep happy in the process tend to be more candidates versus the customer. It’s definitely a switch.”

But what’s happening now to make candidates have more choices and really be able to negotiate their packages and terms more?

WHAT’S THE CATCH? The answer, according to all three

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of the consultants from the MRINetwork™, is that companies’ need to hire top talent is increasing.

The environment is changing as talent becomes more of a premium than ever before.

According to the President and CEO for Princeton Search Group, in the US there are not enough people to replace retirees, thus providing a candidate the upper hand in the hiring process.

Tony Dickel explains that in China more than 3,000 new companies are coming into that country each month.

And many of the foreign firms already established there are expanding their operations even further.

He explains that these companies “are facing a dramatic shortage that they weren’t expecting in a country of 1.3 billion people. Today ’s current environment reveals that there is a very limited pool of foreign eligible talent, and the demand far exceeds the current supply.”

As a result, there is salary inflation - which in some cases can be extreme.

“There is a recent case of a mid-level engineering candidate,” comments Dickel, “that has changed jobs three times in 12 months, and in each has received 100% salar y increase.”

Although this example may not be the norm, it does prove what companies are willing to do to get the right talent on board.

Tony Dickel also insists that because the demand for good talent exceeds the limited supply, many companies are “getting desperate to acquire talent” and are resorting to “promoting c a n d i d a t e s t o o q u i c k l y. . . T h e environment is encouraging this sort of behaviour, and therefore people are ending up in roles they are not necessarily suitable for.”

For Dave Campeas, it is more of a talent shortage than a skills shortage.

“Companies are not settling for a B or C player. Thus, the competition for A players is much more intense.”

Consequently, the offer has to be more attractive and businesses have to fiercely compete to convince

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candidates to join their firm over another.

David Roots

David Roots cautions that although offering competitive salaries for the market is important to candidates, compensation alone is not sufficient.

It must be “closely followed by a clear opportunity and career progression path whereby the successful candidate can see exactly where his or her career path” is heading towards.

“Clients need to be aware”, explains Tony Dickel, “that if you simply bribe candidates then they are going to leave you quickly because there will always be a company that is more desperate and willing to pay more to acquire that sought-after talent. You have to acquire talent for the right reasons.”

Gone are the days when a candidate would simply accept the first job offer.

Because candidates are receiving simultaneous calls from various headhunters, it is increasingly becoming standard procedure to receive various offers and counter-offers. Therefore, candidates now have a wider scope of choices to select from.

HOW TO STEER THE WHEEL? As a result, today is more of a candidate driven market as the demand for the top talent exceeds the current supply. The ‘War for Talent’ is

intensifying as companies must analyse how to identify, attract and retain their most valued assets.

Within this context, David Roots advises: “companies have to be very competitive in all aspects of their offerings to get the right talent on board.”

For Dave Campeas, “lifestyle compensation” - which means having more holiday time, having the flexibility to work from home on occasions, and travelling less - becomes instrumental in being able to secure the A player.

According to David Roots, candidates are now “taking control of the recruitment process to make sure that the offer meets all their goals before committing to move ahead.”

Therefore, candidates are asking more questions about the current role, t h e c o m p a n y, t h e l o c a t i o n , t h e corporate culture and environment as well as prospects for the future. They are asking about the pay and perks as well as the challenges. They are researching the company thoroughly, inter viewing senior management before an offer has even been decided upon so that candidates can determine for themselves if this opportunity and company are compatible with their personal and professional objectives.

A REWARDING CHALLENGE There is no doubt that this change implies more challenges for search consultants as they must work harder to get the perfect candidate for their client.

Nevertheless, many search consultants haven’t adapted their process to these changing circumstances.

Tony Dickel notes how “it’s very easy to do, and will benefit everyone involved, but many recruiters don’t do it because it adds a bit more work to the process.”

Dave Campeas agrees that there are more challenges to contend with, but at the same time, he insists: “It is also the most rewarding time for recruiters.

It truly allows us to find the absolute

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best candidate, and the process becomes more of a courting than a hiring.”

He explains that in today’s current environment a candidate and a company have to “work to come together”, making it more meaningful and increasing the likelihood that the match will last longer.

In order to be effective, David Roots reports that recruiters should “concentrate more skilled resources on headhunting the best talent in the marketplace.”

Dave Campeas

The numbers of jobs that can be filled by database or online job board methods have certainly decreased.

“Those recruiters that continue to rely on passive methods will probably fail,” he adds.

In fact, search consultants are finding that job boards are virtually impossible to pick up good candidates.

O n o n e h a n d , To n y D i c k e l describes: “If we do find good candidates on job boards we find that they are virtually uncontrollable and the reason for that is because everybody is pitching at them because there is such a high demand for talent in certain industries and functions.”

On the other hand, he says that today there are less candidates proactively job-hunting. “You may think that the

current environment might attract candidates to be proactive, but the reality is that candidates are somewhat fuzzy about getting their resume into the market.”

As a result, it is vital that search consultants effectively source a list of possible candidates; thus, using their industry knowledge, expertise and broad network of contacts to be able to locate, screen and recommend the best candidates to their clients.

In fact, David Roots describes how “we offer to work with our clients to help them understand where they should be ‘pitching’ a job and the best way to attract new people to their companies.”

UNDERSTANDING THE CANDIDATE As companies begin to realise the importance of matching the right company and candidate, search consultants are becoming instrumental in helping their clients actually achieve this objective.

David Roots explains how one of his tasks includes offering “our clients a very broad range of services including in depth psychometric testing in order to cut down the instances of bad hires.”

Tony Dickel states that they key elements needed to have a successful placement are: competency, chemistry and goals.

All three consultants reported the importance of conducting diligent competency-based interviews as a means of really being able to uncover what the candidate has been responsible for and analysing if the candidate is really ready for the given role.

Tony Dickel insists that in an environment where there is an extreme talent war, unfortunately, consultants find that people’s interviews become more superficial when actually they should become stronger.

“We train our customers to improve their interviewing process so that instead of just looking at the positives, they also look at the negatives as well.

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And we are finding that companies are ignoring the warning signs in somebody because they want so desperately to make a hire. When you have such an extreme talent war you get this type of behaviour because people are not doing the proper due diligence, and it is costing them,” he adds.

As a result, search consultants need to be preparing their clients better so that they can be more effective in identifying, selecting and then retaining their top talent.

Together they have to prepare a plan of action, taking into consideration the selling points that will attract candidates. But they must also discuss the negative points of the job and the company so that these search consultants can then discuss these points as well, when approaching these candidates.

“Companies often won’t tell you the bad, but they have to tell you this as well since candidates are going to find out when they research your client’s company after this information has been disclosed to them. It is better that the client tell you what the problem is, and then you can help them put a strategy in place moving beyond the problem so that you can share this with the candidate,” remarks Tony Dickel.

FITTING IN Within the executive recruitment process it is vital that the consultant assess if the candidate really fits in with the client’s corporate environment. In other words, are the heart and mind of the candidate really aligned with the heart and mind of the client’s corporate culture?

Tony Dickel provides an example to highlight this point: “If a candidate says he wants to be a financial controller for a company like GE, then there is no point in making him CFO of a start up company. You have to find a way of being certain what type of company the candidate will feel most comfortable working in, and what will continue to motivate him or her to stay.”

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STORMY WATERS AS PROBLEMS ARISE If communication breaks down, problems will arise. In fact, the number one problem companies are having is that candidates are turning down offers at the last moment, after having endured a very long and difficult process. At the end of the road, candidates are changing their minds.

Why is this occurring so of ten?

Fa l l o f f s , w h i c h i s w h e n t h e candidate actually signs an offer but doesn’t show up to work because in the interim he or she has received

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All three of the consultants from the MRINetwork™strongly advise companies to work with a recruiter that really understands a candidate’s personal and professional goals, and makes sure they are aligned with the client’s goals before any opportunities are even discussed with the candidate.

To be effective in executive search, Dave Campeas insists that it is crucial that recruiters maintain an open dialogue with candidates.

He strongly believes that “candidates have to feel comfortable enough with recruiters to tell them what is really going on in their lives, and companies have to realise that recruiters are truly guiding them in the process, and not just trying to close a deal.”

Often candidates don’t tell the consultant about their concerns or reservations regarding the role that is being discussed. Therefore, recruiters need to figure out ways to find out what the candidates’ concerns and reservations are.

According to Tony Dickel, “our screening process allows us to ensure that we are going to fish out the concerns the candidate has along the way… In fact, in every conversation we have with the candidate we always ask what else they have going on because it is a very dynamic market as candidates can by called by three different headhunters in the same week, and we need to be able to keep our client well informed.”

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another offer better aligned with his or her goals, are also growing in number.

As a result, companies and consultants must jointly analyse where the process is going wrong, and see how to prevent these problems from occurring in the future. Provide the client and candidate with feedback so that each party is aware of how the recruitment process is developing.

Furthermore, in an environment where counter-offers are becoming standard procedure, challenges arise as consultants must be able to effectively plan for these occurrences within their recruitment process.

Tony Dickel explains how his firm doesn’t simply wait until a counter-offer is made. “We have to manage that counter-offer well ahead of the offer actually being made.”

He reports how this preparation begins the first time they meet the candidate, and is worked in every single conversation afterwards until the placement has been successfully made.

The CEO of MRI China also cautions that there is a great deal of resume fraud as reference checking must be conducted better.

As companies demand for top talent increases and the current supply continues to be constricted, this environment encourages some candidates to exaggerate their resume or their compensation package, hoping that this type of behaviour will land them a better job. Since the current environment is very dynamic and is favouring quick executions, many people are not detecting these irregularities as often as they should.

This is partly because the people conducting the interviews don’t have the necessary experience to uncover these mistakes.

However, explains Tony Dickel, another reason is that the “the demand is so high that it is encouraging that candidates bet their luck and probably get away with it. If they don’t, it doesn’t matter because another company will come along soon after where they can

exaggerate their resume, inflate their salary and sooner or later, they will get away with it.”

TAKING THE HELM In order to avoid these types of problems, all three of the executive recruiters from the MRINetwork™ that search-consult interviewed suggested that companies and search consultants need to thoroughly reference check and make sure that the list of candidates presented are all willing and able to take the job offer.

Within this context, David Roots explains how it is becoming increasingly important to “keep a very close watch on ‘hooks’ that others are using to attract people,” and then advice your client accordingly.

Companies involved in the hiring process must ensure their processes are faultless, well planned and also that they have the flexibility to arrive at a decision quickly in order to avoid losing that 'perfect' candidate.

Search consultants must always make sure to provide feedback to the client so that the company is well informed and can then provide proper feedback to the candidate, reassuring him or her of any reservations that may, a n d u s u a l l y, a r i s e d u r i n g t h e recruitment process. Moreover, it is vital that the client always know what the candidate is thinking and who else they are competing with.

As the market continues to be candidate driven, David Roots insists that effective search consultants must make meaningful interactions with both the client and the candidate, acting “as the broker in putting the actual terms and conditions of the deal together.

That way we can more effectively control the process and ensure that offers are on time, in line with the market and meet the candidate’s expectations.” www.search-consult.com For more information, contact: Web: www.mrinetwork.com

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Online with the Client

By Jason Starr

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his regular section in search-consult is about technology in search. I’ve written before that the search industry is one in which technology will always play a back seat - and I largely stand by that statement. However, it is noticeable that search firms are increasingly beginning to use technology as a way of differentiating themselves in the eyes of the Client.

One firm that is already achieving this is Boyden Global Executive Search, and Chris Clarke, President of this leading company, explains how at the end of this article.

Yet Boyden is not alone. Speakers and delegates that attended Kennedy Information’s most recent Executive Search Summit in New York discussed the topic at length. As a vendor of IT solutions to the executive search industry, Dillistone Systems

is increasingly seeing that our ability to provide this form of functionality is a key differentiator for us. This was certainly the case for Blackbird Partners, an Oak Brook, IL, USA-based boutique for which the ability of FILEFINDER to facilitate extranet access was key.

PERMANENT ACCESS Managing Director Kelly Carlson remarked: “Our clients have come to expect complete transparency and 24x7 access to comprehensive information related to search assignments.”

The benefits of such a service are numerous. The most obvious one is that it provides access to information whenever and whereever the client requires it. By adding the ability for him or her to provide

feedback on the same basis, the search process may be sped up significantly – particularly on assignments with multiple decision makers in multiple time zones.

The second benefit for the search firm is that the provision of such a service may be a competitive advantage. The busy HR executive may be involved in managing numerous searches across a range of business units. If a search firm can provide 24x7 access to all project data in a single location, it is likely to motivate that HR executive to provide that search firm with a higher percentage of their firm’s work.

The availability of online reporting tools can also substantially reduce the administrative overhead associated with producing paper – or even email – based reports for the client. Depending on the

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implementation model chosen, the extranet site is either updated automatically whenever the search management system is updated or – at worst case – it is updated with just a couple of clicks. Compare this to the time taken in the traditional production of client reports!

SO, HOW DOES IT WORK? Essentially, there are two models. The first, which we call ‘Client Reporting’, provides live but controlled access to the Search Firm database using a variety of web-based technologies.

CONTROLLED ACCESS The keyword here is controlled. None of these search firms will allow the client to go wandering around their database.

Clients are strictly limited in what they can see – typically, no more information that would have been provided in a traditional paper format. This might include a summary of short-listed candidates along with detailed profiles on specific candidates. Some clients also provide information on ‘target companies’ and access to project documents such as the Candidate Profile, the Assignment Brief or even invoicing information.

Clients are able to review the assignment online 24x7. In addition, however, they can interact with it. Many of our sites will include ‘message board’ technology allowing multiple client contacts, along with representatives of the search firm – to leave notes and feedback as, and when, appropriate. This has the impact of speeding up the search significantly.

The alternative model, which we call FFCIM (Client Interaction Module), does not provide the client with live data but, rather, an exported subset of the database.

This provides the search firm with an additional layer of quality control, while also simplifying the implementation and ongoing support of the site.

Either of these methodologies – but FFCIM in particular – may be very quickly, easily and cost effectively implemented by any size search firm - indeed, many of our clients will pass the running cost of the tool on to the client as an expense – and so it is no surprise that they are in such demand.

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Chris Clarke

Chris Clarke is President and CEO of Boyden Global Executive Search. He has been successfully leading this firm since January 2000, breaking all time records in the process.

Boyden's search approach is highly tailored and personalized to be able to meet clients' specific needs. Within this context, he explains how Boyden is embracing online technology to be able to continue to provide their clients with a faster, more direct and custom-based service.

It is a little amusing to hear some competitors trumpeting their technology and service ‘breakthrough’ in getting online with the client.

As far back as 25 years ago suppliers in the automotive industry were already online with clients, ensuring components were just in time. Likewise, the retail industry has managed the entire logistics chain this way. Banks have been directly linked to their leading customers, and more recently to every customer desiring it.

How clever of our search industry dinosaurs to discover this technology and boast about their innovation. The reality is that sophisticated clients have demanded it.

Boyden, like other large search firms, has embraced the Internet Revolution and its opportunities for direct connection to clients. As a minimum, which can be made available to all clients, there is the opportunity for feedback on every search performed to be given online. A higher level of online connection is to have real-time information available on the state of the search. This is in place for several of Boyden’s preferred provider clients.

They can see candidate information, schedule interviews and many other matters, as well as being able to comment on any issues and quality at any given time. The highest level of client connectivity is to have a separate dedicated website. This concept is working well and allows the client and the search firm to jointly manage the search with complete transparency online.

All this said, we have to remember that executive search is a high touch business. We must never allow it to be dehumanized into pure e-commerce.

Boyden clients do not want this; they value the Friday call to discuss progress.

They value the face-to-face review meetings and personal contact.

Technology is merely a tool to make the process more efficient, never a substitute for the human touch. The day we dehumanize the process will be the day we treat clients and candidates as things, not people, and this must never happen.

To the dinosaurs, which are only now discovering the wonders of the Internet, welcome as late arrivals to the club.

Also, ensure adequate security protection for your clients and candidates, and ensure that you are complying with the different laws on privacy and data protection in relevant jurisdictions. www.search-consult.com For more information, contact: E-mail: sales@dillistone.com Web: www.dillistone.com www.boyden.com

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The Trainer: Jill Dillistone – arguably the Search industry’s leading trainer with over 20 years experience of conducting research for a number of premier search firms in the UK and Europe as well as delivering training courses internationally for major search firms such as Russell Reynolds, Heidrick & Struggles and Whitehead Mann.

BOOK NOW FOR:

London

Brussels

Hong Kong

Tokyo

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EXECUTIVE SEARCH TRAINING WORKSHOPS a series of 1-day training seminars for Search Professionals

"Workshop was great. I learnt some important issues regarding client management."

Sorin Popa, Accord Group, Romania "Well structured, well paced, clear presenter, good group discussion and clear objectives covered."

Sally Clark, Kathleen Townsend Executive Solutions, Australia "As a newcomer to the industry, I found the day very useful and came away with a knowledge of processes and techniques." Susan McCabe, Halcyon Consulting, UK

THE WORKSHOPS:

Research and Candidate Development Workshop: London: 31 January 2006, Brussels: 21 March 2006, Hong Kong: 10 May 2006, Tokyo: 15 May 2006

This 1-day workshop is for less experienced researchers and consultants. The three themes covered during the day are research skills, telephone techniques and administration and project management.

You will learn: How to be creative in solving your search • Five techniques to screen candidates effectively • How better to set priorities and manage your time • The secrets of getting to the best candidates fast

Search Execution and Client Management Workshop: London: 1 February 2006, Brussels: 22 March 2006, Hong Kong: 11 May 2006, Tokyo: 16 May 2006

This 1-day workshop is for professionals involved in the search execution process and focuses on effective and successful client management and liaison (including progress reporting), candidate interviewing and referencing and the preparation of candidate reports and package negotiation.

You will learn: How to get the real story behind the CV • Five techniques to add value in the search process • How better to manage client meetings • The secrets of developing long term client relationships

Interview Skills Workshop - London: 2 February 2006, Brussels: 23 March 2006, Hong Kong: 12 May 2006, Tokyo: 17 May 2006

This 1-day workshop covers an introduction to compentency-based interviewing and an exercise in critical-incident based interviewing. The benefits of the day include the opportunity to improve your skills in candidate evaluation; practice different questioning techniques in role plays and learn about different approaches to interviewing.

You will learn: How to match candidates to clients' requirements • Five techniques to improve your interview skills • How better to get the detail behind the CV • The secrets of presenting the right candidates

Maximum 16 attendees per workshop.

For rates and to book, please complete the booking form available online at www.dillistone.com/workshops and send it with the payment to (please make cheques payable to Dillistone Systems Ltd): Executive Search Training Workshops, Dillistone Systems Ltd Calvert House, 5 Calvert Ave, London, E2 7JP, UK If paying by credit card, please fax it back to us on +44 (0)20 7729 6108.

Refreshments will be provided throughout the day.

For more information, please visit our website www.dillistone.com/workshops or send an email to marketing@dillistone.com

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Knowledge - FREE with every record.

Opening a company record in FILEFINDER will present the user with both the ‘data’ from the database and the very latest news on that company – delivered automatically from the Web.

This gives users a benefit in terms of both business development and research. In turn, this will help your search business perform better.

FILEFINDER software is designed for Executive Recruitment and is supported by people who understand Executive Recruitment.

To find out how your business can benefit, book your FREE demonstration TODAY! US: +1 (201) 653 0013 UK & Europe: +44 (0)20 7749 6100 Germany: +49 (0)69 27 40 15 807 Australia/Asia: +61 2 9006 1194 Rest of the World: +44 (0)20 7749 6100 sales@dillistone.com www.dillistone.com U S A

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